New Whipple now needs stickier tires for the street. Any suggestions?

[B229218]

Hi, I have 24 with the A-10 stock continentals. This baby Definitely needs sticker street tires. I want to stick with stock 255/40/R 19 on 8.5 inch rims. does a low tread life number indicate
stickier traction?

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[Q6543]

Not any sticky tires really in that size, you could go R888R from Toyo, they’ll help but not as good as a true drag radial compound

I have nitto 555R2 on my stock 19x8.5s but I’m looking to go an inch wider, but I did run them all last year
275/40/19, they hold really well, but it still gets sideways 70-80 up. I’m on 3.5 pulley/E30 though so mid 800s

 

[D/\rK•650]

I agree with Q6543. I think you'd have to change the setup to get what your looking for. If you get a 180 or lower tread wear it would be sticky but also gone in a like a single burnout. And I dont think it will do anything you want in regards to foward grip. Drag radial is what i think you'd want.

 

[MustangMitch69]

Putting 800+ horsepower through a 255mm contact patch is essentially like trying to run a marathon in dress shoes.

A 255mm tire on an 8.5-inch wheel will likely struggle to find traction, even with a premium compound. Most supercharged builds move to at least a 10-inch or 11-inch rear wheel to fit a 305mm tire, otherwise you might find yourself spinning the tires through the first three gears, which takes away from all that new power.

Not speaking from experience, but I've done a ton of research on this because I plan on eventually whippling mine, but first getting better half shafts and new wheels and tires to be able to properly put down the power.

A supercharged car that can't put down the power and just spins its wheels is basically a Hellcat.

So my plan is to get 20x9.5's for the front and 20x11's for the back, and then 275/35R20 tires for the front and 305/30R20 tires for the back.

Technically, a 305/35R19 can fit on a 19x10.5 wheel, but for a high-horsepower build, you want the tire carcass to be as stable as possible. On a 10.5" wheel, you lose some of that lateral stability, which can make the rear end feel "squishy" or "sway-ish" when you're rowing through gears at full boost.

A 305 tire on a 10.5" wheel doesn't actually give you much more usable "contact patch" than a high-quality 295 tire would on that same wheel. To truly take advantage of a 305 or 315 width for a 800+ hp car, an 11-inch wide wheel is the industry standard for a reason. It allows the tread to sit perfectly flat across the pavement.

For make an model of tire, it's all about tradeoffs. For a pure drag car, Micky Thompson drag radials are probably ideal, but your car will slide all over the place turning or in the rain. A step away from that would be something like Nitto G2 on the front and R2 in the rear, which can handle daily driving and will hook your whipple much better than most standard street tires.

Then a step further from that (what I'll most likely be getting) would be something like the Michelin Pilot Sport 4S, a best-in-class street tire that has better dry launch grip than Continentals but won't hydroplane the rear in the rain (unlike the others), and will have sharp & precise cornering (also unlike the others).

 

[D/\rK•650]

Agree with MustangMitch69, his explanation sounds spot on. Driveability vs straight line performance is what its about.

 

[B229218]

Excellent advice gentlemen I totally agree with you. I used to drag race 71 Mustang with 10 inch rims and 10 inch slicks. I was trying to keep my stock rims but yeah I think I’m gonna have to go up to 11” rears. I definitelywant this thing to go around corners better than my 71 did. i’m trying to find wasp block 11 inch wheel that would look similar to the front rims. It’s the Ford night pony package rim suggestions?

 

[smurfslayer]

Just keep in mind, your powertrain has built in fuses, so to speak. Right now, the fuse is your rear tires. If you go to a sticky enough tire, all that power is going to look for the path of least resistance and the next likely breakable is going to be your half shafts.

Street tires, probably ok. Not sure about drag radials.

 

[GrabberB]

As other have stated you'll need wider rims and softer compound tires on the rear. I cannot imagine how "squirrely" your SC Mustang is on those narrow stock rims and tires.

For reference - I have a 2024 Mustang PP, SC, 6-speed manual, Torsen diff. w/3.73's - Rears - 11" Rims with Nitto NT05 305/35/19. WOT in 1st gear is all but impossible - "Pedaling" helps but still falls short. WOT in 2nd gear requires excellent throttle control - AKA "pedaling".

Simply answer to your question. Lower treadwear rating = softer compound/stickier tire. The lower the number the softer the compound(s).

 

[MAT1955]

.....rule numbers 1-5 on high HP builds are spread the money evenly across components. Hellacious power will destroy the next weakest component. No purpose in having 2000HP if you detonate your transmission and overpower your cooling.

 

[MustangMitch69]

.....rule numbers 1-5 on high HP builds are spread the money evenly across components. Hellacious power will destroy the next weakest component. No purpose in having 2000HP if you detonate your transmission and overpower your cooling.

I second this, 100%. This is exactly why not as a mustang expert but as a mechanical engineer I plan on beefing up as much of mine as possible BEFORE the boost.

For some examples, on drivetrain/transmission I plan to get the G-Force Outlaw Half Shafts which will essentially replace a "fuse" with a component rated for 1,500 HP.

To prevent overpowering the cooling, I plan to get the Ford Performance Oil Cooler and a 170-degree thermostat to handle the engine's "internal" heat, and the MMR Head Cooling Mod to specifically prevent the #8 cylinder from detonating due to a localized hot spot.

Finally, detonation (rare, but when it does happen...) often starts with the oil pump gears shattering at high RPM under the added harmonic stress of a supercharger belt, which can be prevented with Boundary billet oil pump gears and crank sprocket, the industry-standard fix for this.

Considered overkill by many, but these cars aren't built by Ford to handle 800+ hp at the crank for 100k miles, otherwise they would warranty them for a lot longer, so in my opinion your options are 1) try to beef the car up yourself by addressing these most common failure points, which isn't cheap, 2) roll the dice by boosting the car and praying (which works for a lot of people, to an extent) or 3) buy another make and model that comes boosted from the factory, where every component of the car is already prepped, that costs anywhere from 2-10x more.

Before getting the mustang I seriously considered a Ferrari Portofino M due to basically getting most of what I wanted "out of the box", but in my opinion there's a different level of pride in buying an American car with a V8 and really investing your time and energy into it over time, and making it unique and something you love and that grows with you.

 

[Ryunker]

Remove your Whipple, and ship it to me, problem solved.

 

[robvas]

To prevent overpowering the cooling, I plan to get the Ford Performance Oil Cooler and a 170-degree thermostat to handle the engine's "internal" heat, and the MMR Head Cooling Mod to specifically prevent the #8 cylinder from detonating due to a localized hot spot.

That's not really going to do much of anything for cooling. You want a vented hood and larger radiator.

 

[MustangMitch69]

That's not really going to do much of anything for cooling. You want a vented hood and larger radiator.

Been hoping for a decent vented aluminum hood to come on to the market. You aware of any? Only ones I've found have been carbon fiber.

And I hear you on the radiator, although I plan on mine being a daily driver 99% of the time, and on average only doing 1 or 2 track days per year. A bigger radiator is great for road racing because it takes longer for the whole system to heat up, although for a daily driver the stock S650 radiator seems pretty robust, and a a massive radiator can sometimes make it harder for the car to reach operating temp in the winter.

 

[SS2 GOTZ]

Hey Mitch, I too have been researching the tire size issue and you confirm in a fantastic summary what I have been finding and this will be my preferred set up as well. One question, at the risk of sounding dumb, why 20 inch rather than 19 (which were stock on my 24 GT Performance PP Vert). I have the Bembros and 20 will likely not fit mine anyway, but conventional wisdom says smaller=less rotating mass for better performance. Also, I'm trying to understand the aspect ratio numbers. My OEMs were 40 front and rear and I notice most after market tires in this quality level don't seem to be available in 40. Here, you're thinking 35 front and 30 rear. I expect this will allow the car to sit slightly lower (mine is already lower with Steeda progressive springs) but will going larger in front cause the front to sit at a higher angle at the back?

 

[MustangMitch69]

Hey Mitch, I too have been researching the tire size issue and you confirm in a fantastic summary what I have been finding and this will be my preferred set up as well. One question, at the risk of sounding dumb, why 20 inch rather than 19 (which were stock on my 24 GT Performance PP Vert). I have the Bembros and 20 will likely not fit mine anyway, but conventional wisdom says smaller=less rotating mass for better performance. Also, I'm trying to understand the aspect ratio numbers. My OEMs were 40 front and rear and I notice most after market tires in this quality level don't seem to be available in 40. Here, you're thinking 35 front and 30 rear. I expect this will allow the car to sit slightly lower (mine is already lower with Steeda progressive springs) but will going larger in front cause the front to sit at a higher angle at the back?

You're spot on about rotating mass in a vacuum, but for a Whipple build, the priority shifts entirely to traction. An 8.5" wheel maxes out around a 255mm tire, which just can't put down 800hp,.you'd be spinning through 3rd gear.

Regarding fitment, I could be wrong, but I think 20s actually offer better clearance for the Brembos than 19s. Also, the 35/30 aspect ratios are calculated to match the OEM total diameter. Since the overall height stays the same as stock, your car’s angle and rake won't change, even with Steeda springs.

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