I've been testing with a difficult tire 275 40 17 Nitto NT01 and its just not working with a stock spring and street shock (KYB). The best I can do is 11's and not consistently at that, they can't take any hit at all. I've also spun 275 50 17 M&H's drag radials if they weren't heated up a lot. Kevin made a point in another thread about how slick allow a stock suspension to work versus a drag radial only class, and now I understand. I bolted up my little 9 inch MT ET Drags and bam! easy 10's again. I really can't spend any money on my car this year anyways, but a cheap coilover mod sounds like a good idea to help a drag radial car hook.
BTW- fiberglass is so old school, I want a carbon fiber hood!