Tires, a set for the track?

[BB73Challenger]

Well I posted this in the racing forum because I thought, this is a race specific question, so if the wrong section please move.

So, I'm putting enough grunt to the ground that my Firehawk radial tires don't grab for squat at the track.
My set up is an aluminum headed 499 stroker with all the typical goodies, 4 speed, 8-3/4 rear with 3:55 gears.

Here's where my question comes into play...

The car is a street car, with what will hopefully be some more track time but not a track dedicated car, so it's pretty heavy.
I also just have the leaf spring rear with adjustable pinion snubber.
So I read that a 4 speed will need a bias ply to "hook".
My concern is, with a bias ply I would HAVE to run a separate set of "track wheels" - from what I read a bias ply is NOT a street tire despite how DOT rated.
Concern #2 - If I start to "dead hook", sending that 8-3/4 to an early grave.

OR, is there any possibility of running a "drag radial", with having some slip that won't "shock" my current rear parts to death, or is a drag radial and a 4 speed no improvement over my current tire.

So any feedback would be appreciated, and thanks again for your time! 

[Chryco Psycho]

I like the Nitto Drag radial from Discount tire , they have good life & you can run them all the time , very good traction ,  free delivery too , personally I would add some more front 1/2 leafs & clamp them with a square top U bolt over using the pinion snubber this way you will not beat the floor to death.

[joelson6]

i use to run BFG drag radials, found out not too long ago, that you can't get them anymore. so i ordered a set of Mickey Thompson ET street
tires and literally just took the brand new tires out for a ride tonight. these tires are awesome! on the street i would be able to spin the
BFG's where these Mickeys just hooked. 

heading to Atco tomorrow to see how they are on the track. everyone that i talked to that has these tires love them. now i can see why.

my car is a "street" car that i occasionally take to the track. looking to get back into the swing of things at the track. my car sounds
similar to yours. 440 - indy EZ heads - '70 18 spline 4 speed - 3.73 gears - super stock springs - adj. snubber - ram 3200# pressure
plate w/ 900 series disc.

i could never get the car to dead hook. there was a fine line between frying the tires and bogging the motor. and i've been running this
setup for years. back in the 90's i use to run cheater D.O.T bias ply M&H tires. they were ok on the street, but i like the drag radials so
much better. best time on the car is 11.64 @ 118.9, my 60' times aren't that great.

as for the 8 3/4, i had close to 500 time slips on my '72 4 speed and never had a problem with the rear. and this was a 741 case and a set
of 4.10's . when i put the gears in my '74, they blew up on me because the race on the cap for the sure grip cracked and the rest is
history. the pumpkin and the gears were destroyed but the sure grip was (is) still good.  put it in a 489 case with 3.73's, still going strong

a friend of mine had problems twisting his 8 3/4 in his duster, but he's running 9.80's.

[HP2]

You don't "have" to run a bias ply to hook, but if your launch experience is dump the clutch and stab it, they may be a bit more forgiving than a radial tire as they have a much more linear feel when they break loose and when they recover from a spin. By contrast, once a radial breaks loose, they feel like your on ice.

A bias ply can be a street tire,  they used to be 35 years ago, but they behave differently than a radial on the street and the front tires will not tolerate as wide a range of alignment specs which will directly translate to how aggressive you may feel the car can corner and be driven on the street.

Modern drag radials are very good and will go a long way to hooking up over the old Firestones.

i use to run BFG drag radials, found out not too long ago, that you can't get them anymore. so i ordered a set of Mickey Thompson ET street tires and literally just took the brand new tires out for a ride tonight. these tires are awesome! on the street i would be able to spin the BFG's where these Mickeys just hooked. 

When I was shopping for drag radials I talked to several sources about this exact comparison. The general consensus was that the BFG was a street tire that was drag race capable, whereas the MT is a drag race tire that is street capable. Subtle but important distinction.