Question for you Nitto drag radial owners??

[Ram]

How bad do they pick up little pebbles and other road debris and sling them against the lower quarter panel?? I've been told other drag tires are real bad about this.
I need some new rear tires and have been thinking about them but I don't want to ding up the paint too bad. It's a show only car but I need the extra traction on those Sat. nites to smoke some of the non belivers.
Also how much better traction can I expect with the nitto's verses reg old street radials? Right now it spins all throught 1st gear.

RAM

 

[JDSfastGN]

they catch more stuff than regular radials but aren 't that bad compared the the BFGs. The only get real sticky when they get hot in a big burnout at the track. I don't have any new chips or anything, but i still have the stock rock gaurd finsih on the bottom fender. They hook a lot better than regular radials and should help a lot on those saturday nights

 

[TurboSlacker]

That's exactly my same concern running drag radials. I like to balance the best of both world's: look nice and quick on the street. I know from a riding in a friend's car that the Nittos definitely spit rocks on your lower quarter panels. I think all drag radials will since there a softer compound.

Two options that I see
1) stick with ultra high performance tires and lose some traction on the street compared to a heated drag radial, or
2) slap on your favorite drag radials and have 3M chip guard installed on the lower quarter panels http://www.chipguard.com/

 

[TurboSlacker]

Bummer, I found out today that the 3M protective film won't look right on the rough surfaced GM chip resistant lower panel. The film requires a smooth surface. If your car's lower panels are smooth it should work, but mine are rough. Also, the 3M film is pricey but I didn't find out how much.

Guess I'm back to either getting drag radials and living with rock chips or sticking with high performance radials.