Plaid on Drag Radials! First full 1/4Mile Passes! 900+HP Hellcat 'Cuda rematch to 1320 feet!! 4K UHD

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

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[@GregoryMannarino]

Great and close races!

[@daytona3927]

Love the CUDA, beautiful car.

[@casualguy393]

Definitely! I can't think of a better color combo too. Would have loved to see more of both cars though.

[@charles6084]

Andrew, always great to watch your races and hear the post race conversation. Have fun, stay safe and look forward to your next video.

[@ivegoneplaid]

that first race was awesome! super close!

[@Glassssman]

Great video with 2 great races.

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

Thanks Pete!

[@deanmcmanis9398]

Such a close race against the Cuda! That was fun to watch! The drag radials seem to be a good choice, but I think that they will do even better when the weather warms up next year.

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

Agree! Looking forward to a pass in the high 90s next year 👍

[@TIGERSDFW]

I used nitto drag radials back in the 90's. I believe they were the first drag radial tire. Before that I used autocross radials.

[@danmyers9372]

Actually BF Goodrich was the first company to sell a drag radial tire.

[@TIGERSDFW]

@danmyers9372 I used bf goodrich auto cross tires before the nitto drag radials. Because that is all I knew of. If bf good rich was making a drag radial in the 90's. Nobody at my 3 local dragstrips knew about them, here in north carolina

[@Danlovestrivium]

BF Goodrich made the first drag radials and then Mickey Thompson shortly thereafter. Mickey Thompson dominated the drag radial market for a long time with their ET Street Radials and ET Street Radial Pros. Nitto didn't start making drag radials until almost 2004.

[@TIGERSDFW]

@Danlovestrivium well, I have a video from 2000 with me racing nitto's. So I don't know where you get your 8nformation. Actually I won some races with them and have the trophys as well. May be on rockingham website,

[@TIGERSDFW]

@Danlovestrivium piedmont dragway as well. 2001 phantasm shootout

[@Danlovestrivium]

Do Model S Plaids from each year all perform about the same?

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

We haven’t noticed any difference between our two Plaids (from 2021) and the 2022-2024 models we’ve encountered at the dragstrip.

[@andrum417]

Great results with the drag radials! Do they seem to bite a lot better on unprepped asphalt also? My 21’s just started to split in the inside, time to give Intense a call and get a set of 19’s. Was considering doing an 18” in the rear with 275/45/18 MT SS but they are 32lbs per tire. M&H Racemaster Drag radial 275/45/18 are 26lb each but they don’t list a weight rating and may be sketchy with the weight of a plaid.

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

@@andrum417 We almost ordered 18”s, but it requires a modification to the brakes to fit them. We have a buddy at our local Tesla Service Center and they have no problem with how we’ve gutted the car. But, they were very clear that if we touched the brakes to fit 18”s, it would void our warranty. Additionally, it would violate the NHRA rules that allow us to run without a roll cage. So no 18”s for us

[@andrum417]

⁠@@TeslaPlaidChannelThank you for letting me know that. That could have created a headache!

[@robotfootage]

@@andrum417 Yeah, I made the wheels he's using now, and tried to modify the design of the barrel in every safe way I knew how and just couldn't account for even couple mm clearance between the caliper and barrel. We tried reshaping it, thinning the barrel and adding structural ridges in a different zone so we could thin the barrel; lots of things, but nothing was safe enough in the simulations to warrant building a test set in real life. Currently designing a 19x9.0 square setup to cut some extra weight and to give the radials he's running a bit more bulge on the overall diameter to get it closer to 28.0"

[@andrum417]

@@robotfootageNice! I am definitely interested in a set of the 19 X 9.0’s when you get them designed. I will send an email to Intense to get the ball rolling. Thanks for the info!

[@M-TRON]

05:10 E-PIC! "Fast and Furious 4 Real" The Globe 🌐 needs to see this!

[@Redeyereaper8]

When do they have to have a parachute and roll cage?

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

NHRA-sanctioned tracks require a parachute for cars that exceed 150MPH in the 1/4 mile. We typically run 149-151, and our local track hasn't hassled us about this. Rollcage requirements are much more complicated, with most cars running under 10 seconds requiring them, but with exceptions for 2014-model-year and later full-bodied production cars with NO MODIFICATIONS to any safety equipment, including Brakes, Seatbelts, Airbags, etc. That why we've kept our passenger seat inside (it has airbags in it). It's also why we've kept the OEM brakes, despite many other rotor and pad alternatives. Our car remains legal for tech inspection.

[@Blanaba]

Nice runs. Looks like these drag radials are slightly more consistent but not particularly quicker in these cooler conditions compared to regular street tires?

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

👍Agree. We could have expected 9.25-9.35s on the Pirellis under these conditions, based on the ~900 passes we’ve made on them under many different circumstances…

[@OxBlitzkriegxO]

thats because Nittos arent really any better than a street tire. theyre slightly sticker but nothing like a real drag radial. the only drag radials come from mickey thompson, hoosier, and M&H racemaster. everything else is inferior and the times have consistently shown that on back to back tests

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

@@OxBlitzkriegxO Which of those preferred companies makes a 28.0” DR that fits on a 19” or larger wheel? (as required to fit over the brakes) Our research shows none. We’ve run Mickeys on our other Tesla that has a different tire diameter requirement. We’ve also run M&H on our NOS foxbody with great results. Are Nitto NT555RIIs the “Best” DR? Most would agree not. Are they a “drag radial”? Yes. Yes they are 👍

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

@@OxBlitzkriegxO From tiresize dot com: “The Nitto NT555RII is a D.O.T. compliant competition drag radial tire designed for the weekend drag racer who wants better performance with out using a second set of tires. With added flexibility and large grooves for wet handling on your way to the drag strip and a high-grip compound for superior traction at the starting line, the NT555II has you covered.”

[@Blanaba]

@@OxBlitzkriegxO respectfully, I think you are being a little bit too critical of this tire. Has better traction than summer tires, especially for a 1000 HPAWD car the other tires you mentioned have closer traction to a full-blown slick.

[@snaky72]

That was a VERY great race with the Cuda! I like the car. Unfortunately I don't understand David very well, so here are a few questionn: Are you allowed to drive on public roads with those tires? Do they have the tire pressure sensor in them? That's additional weight, isn't it? Are there regulations for rear-wheel drive or all-wheel drive only? Do you have to drive far to get to a drag strip, or do you spend the night there? It's a shame that you both had a red light. I think it's really nice how you talk to each other about the race and the cars, ... no matter what type of engine. I love the Ford F100 from 1955. Do they drive too? Sorry for all the questions, I'll keep it shorter next time. Best wishes from Switzerland.

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

Most Drag Radials are DOT Approved (Dept of Transportation) and therefore technically legal. But it can be foolhardy to drive them on the highway in Florida, as there are dozens of days every year where the forecast says “0% chance of rain” and then there’s a sudden unexpected shower. TPMS are rarely used in cars more than a decade or two old. No way the Cuda has them. We’ve put them in our Nittos because we like to know where they are for PSI at every moment.

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

There aren’t many dragstrips in Florida, currently only 3 quarter miles and 3 eighth miles. They don’t have accommodations at these tracks, so almost everyone drives in and drives out. It’s somewhat uncommon for 9-second and faster cars to drive under their own power, most are trailered. Hence David’s comments at the end. Cars like his break down frequently, and towing it home is expensive if he drove it in.

[@johnkeskes]

any idea what that Cuda Weighs?

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

About 3700 lbs, says David (The Plaid is 4775 from factory, ours is around 4650)

[@4literv6]

Now that the sapphire has been out for a bit and the new taycan turbo(with no turbo gt. Elon needs to release a plaid+ or the gen2 roadster!

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

That would be nice! 👍

[@greglaird299]

Welcome back Kotter!! Lol

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

👍 "Up your nose with a rubber hose" 🤣

[@greglaird299]

@TeslaPlaidChannel Us sweat hogs gotta stick together!!

[@KingCobbones]

Well, up your gizzard with a rubber lizard!

[@greglaird299]

@@KingCobbones haha!! Good one

[@TeslaPlaidRacing]

Is it just me that notice the Nittos dont seems to inprove much at all ? Its weird OR maybe conditions were suboptimal that day?

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

Conditions were quite suboptimal as mentioned a couple times in the video. Temps were 15 degrees lower than what we need to run 9.1s. The track prep had every other car spinning their tires, as David and I discussed. The first race with the Cuda was the ONLY low 9-second pass we saw from over a hundred cars out there that night, and only because of poor traction. We discussed the cars that trapped 155-160MPH but ran high 9s due to spinning. David’s Cuda spun bad in our 2nd race. Yet we didn’t spin once all night. Bottom line: The Nittos did exactly what we hoped. They gave us reliable traction in imperfect conditions. We never expected them to make the car “faster”, as the 1020HP hasn’t changed. Remember that our original Pirellis had some great 9.1 runs when the conditions were perfect 👍 But it required ~900 passes to get a dozen or so of those (including one just recently)

[@Crooked_Clown]

Honestly, I think electric cars should only be racing other electric cars. They have a clear advantage over the ICE cars without any money put into them. ICE cars should only be racing other ICE

[@NickWainwright6970]

What has that got to do with it? These race cars are more than $100 ,000 the Tesla cost. It’s just modern technology works better and is more consistent.

[@mikeweiss7978]

What's rattling

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

The car is gutted out in the back. All the sound deadening material is removed. The rear hatchback is shaking on metal.

[@ztwntyn8]

For fun all good though

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

@@Crooked_Clown Observant viewers will notice that we don’t point cameras at the Tesla… This is a gearhead channel in appreciation of the wild cars we race against 😃

[@davidhavard1908]

Yeah it’s fast but it’s boring. A c6 zr1 banging gears that’s a car

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

The ‘Cuda is boring? 🤔 Dream on. It’s an amazing build 🤩 And that ZR1 can’t even crack into the 10s. Its 11.3 ET is 20 car lengths behind both of these 😵

[@davidhavard1908]

@ Na the Tesla . Sorry

[@davidhavard1908]

@ not all about the time about the experience. The feeling behind the wheel of a Corvette zr1 or Cobra 03 Mustang it’s just RAW . There’s nothing compared

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

@@davidhavard1908 When did we ever point our camera at the Tesla? 🤔

[@davidhavard1908]

@ I just rode in a Tesla I felt there boring compared to a motor car . My opinion.

[@basedsigma5634]

Electric cars dont count in old school books. Get your own classes. Race other boring cars😁

[@TeslaPlaidChannel]

We’ve got about a thousand guys we’ve raced on this Channel who disagree with you. Real racers. So it would seem your opinion is in the smallest minority… And how about Big Daddy Don Garlits? He’s been drag racing EVs for more than a decade. He also knows far more about this sport that you do 😃

[@dansherwood9851]

Then me? No way😆

[@basedsigma5634]

I will consider building a fox body powerd with my 380v dough mixer motor🤣😖🙈🙈🤡