In honor of my beautiful bride blowing out a tire today, I thought I would discuss my tire prep for Hot Rod Drag Week. But this may not be what your thinking when I say tire prep.
Tires are going to be my weakest link. 99% of the Drag Week racers will be trailering their cars to the start/stop location at Cordova International Raceway. I’ll be driving the roughly 850 miles there in my car. And with no trailer, I won’t have any backup tires.
So the concern starts with the requirement to run drag radials. At my power level, the factory Michelin Pilot Super Sports actually hook pretty good. Being Zero Pressure (ZP) tires, I would have no concerns if I ran over something during the trip. Plus I’m sure I could source replacements locally if need be.
But the organizers have mandated drag radials. 😡
Thankfully, I have some experience with this. I had a 2014 Silverado I raced and drove daily for two years with drag radials and no spare. So I’ll be carting the following with me to account for any tire problems.
- Viair 00088 88P Portable Air Compressor
- Viair (00016) 6′ Portable Compressor Air Extension Hose
- Joes Racing 32310 (0-60) PSI Tire Pressure Gauge with Hold Valve
- All the above fit snug as a bug in a rug in this…Rothco Mechanic Tool Bag, Black
I’ll also be packing the following for any needed tire repairs.
- Safety Seal KAP30 30 String Pro Tire Repair Kit with Storage Case
- Fix-A-Flat S430 Aerosol Tire Inflator with Hose for Large Tires – 20 oz.
The drag radial I’ll be using is the Mickey Thompson ET Street S/S Radial Tire P285/35R19 (Jegs). So glad they just recently came out with this size, which is a perfect fitment for my car. Saved me from having to futz around with new wheels or odd sized tires.
So if I damage one of these during the trip or event, I’ll be screwed because I doubt there’s anyone local in that area that I can source from. Hopefully, it won’t come to that.
