Well I thought just for the heck of it I would find out the load capabilities of the 28X4.5x15" Hoosier front runner that so MANY of the Lightning crowd uses. I contacted Hoosier and they told me quote"750 lbs of load at 35psi. per tire". I about chit

Our front ends weigh much more that 1500lbs... Makes me affraid to use that tire now...Any suggestions?

 

I bought the Mickey Thompson sportsman fronts, they are nice 4ply. I couldn't get anybody to recomend a front runner drag tire for the truck. Think about how heavy they are in the front if you rifle the brakes real good.
Dale

 

To be honest w/ you I would not worry too much. No one has had a problem that I know of to date and most products that are load bearing are typically tested to 3 times their advertised wait just to be safe and cover the *****. I believe our trucks weigh 4-5k lbs so 1/2 of that would still be less than double that. And these are only used how often? Not subjected to stress all that often. If your doin wheelstands and bouncin on those front tires hard I would worry ..otherwise fuggedaboutit

 

Dale that was my concern. I have never heard of a Gen 2 front skinney failing but it would be catastrophic if it happen...

 

Man I'd be careful there. That's not NEARLY enough load capability. If you figure 5,000 pound full up, 65% weight on front, that's 1625 pounds on each tire!!!

That's before heavy braking transfers weight up front.

If you figure race weight at 4500 pounds that's still over 1460 pounds per tire.

If you lose a front tire when you start braking at the big end of the strip (most likely time and the worst case) it will get very ugly very fast.

 

I posted a long time ago corner weights for our trucks. If memory serves the fronts were around 1300LBS each. As Dale stated braking hard can multiply that. It is possible to generate more than 1G during hard breaking. Translation that turns 1300 into 2600LBS. Granted that is for a very brief moment but that moment happens at your top speed. May not have had any problems to date, but it will happen.

 

Jeff,

What are those wheels in the picture of your L?

 

Boze Fatals.....20x10 rear 20x8.5 front....

 

I am not going to say you should or shouldn't use them after all you are a racer and racing is a very big hazard anyway.BUT I can tell you what happens when you loose a front tire on a mustang or vette at the trap speed you guys are beginning to run.and it is NOT pretty some have rolled,some have tore the ***** out of the vehicle and some have DIED!STan

PS I don't want to hear any bitching about how they should of been able to take the weight either.They were NOT designed for 1200+ lbs just 750.JUST like the stock rods in our motors were designed for STOCK boost levels!!!.

 

NOT bashing here but with everyone so wanting to get the most out of the HP dollar they spend........how come no one has done a comparision of the benefits of the front runner to say just a skinnier tire or even the stock tire?
Would be very simple to do one run with and one without you can change the back tires in a few minutes the fronts can't take any longer either.Stan

 

What is another option? Especially with only a 5" wide wheel.....

 

Volkwagen tire, 1400# rating but not speed rated I guess its a pick you poison sort of thing.

Doesnt Don use a nice sized tire that isnt actually a true front runner ?

 

Amen to that!

And yes, Don's Bolt did a complete search for a wheel/tire combo that's safe for our trucks. Maybe he'll drop in or do a search......the info is out there

 

I think I'll go with a 16" front and a 195/80 tire that is rated for 1800lbs....that is much better than 750

 

I would feel safer with a tire that has a better load rating and not the speed rating.I think that the vw tire is good to 118.STan