Tire opinions

[sbhunter]

I’m sure this has been thoroughly discussed before but tire tech and brands change so here goes. I have 17” wheels. 9” and 10.5”. I plan to drive this car a lot with trips to autocross and dragstrips mixed in. I am leaning strongly towards the Nitto NT555 G2’s. 1st question is 245 or 255 in front. I will be going with 315/35 rears. 2nd question is open. What are opinions of these tires and has anyone found something else they like better?

[GoDadGo]

I’m sure this has been thoroughly discussed before but tire tech and brands change so here goes. I have 17” wheels. 9” and 10.5”. I plan to drive this car a lot with trips to autocross and dragstrips mixed in. I am leaning strongly towards the Nitto NT555 G2’s. 1st question is 245 or 255 in front. I will be going with 315/35 rears. 2nd question is open. What are opinions of these tires and has anyone found something else they like better?

My wheels are 17X9's & 17X10's so I'm running 245/45-17 up front with 285/40-17 out back.

https://youtu.be/IGYtX-3p7xk

If I were going to run 315/35-17's, I'd have to go with the 255/40-17's up front since they will give you a little rake.

[edwardb]

I ran the Nitto 555's on #7750. With 255's up front (which I recommend) and 315's in the rear on FF rims. Reasonably priced and nice running street performance tires. Good temperature range so handled the cool mornings we often have here in Michigan, and also worked well when caught in the rain. I liked them a lot. They would certainly stand up to occasional auto-x or drag strip pass. But wouldn't perform at the level of a more dedicated race style tire.

[Jeff Kleiner]

I prefer 255/40 on the 9" rim; 245/45s are stretched just a bit.

The stairsteps within the Nitto line are as such---like Paul said and as reported by others the 555 G2 makes a good street performance tire but it is neither a serious autocross or drag tire. The Nitto NT-05 will perform better for auto-x or track use but is not as well suited to cool or wet weather. I run R compound NT-01s; they grab like a cat on carpet but are most definitely not a cold or wet tire and will be used up in 5-7,000 miles.

Jeff

[steno]

I’m running 255 front and 315 rear 555 G2’s myself. Pretty much echoes what Paul and Jeff say. I put some pretty serious miles on the car, with an occasional “extra spirited” patch here and then. Very happy!

[mike223]

I run R compound NT-01s; they grab like a cat on carpet but are most definitely not a cold or wet tire and will be used up in 5-7,000 miles.

Jeff


This statement intrigues me - I wouldn't have expected the NT-01 would last 5-7000 miles.


So, just for clarity, Jeff - you're running NT-01s full time, street and autocross, and getting 5-7000 miles on them?

How many autocrosses are you running a year?

Are they not heat cycling out early (like an A6 or A7 would)?

[GFX2043mtu]

Tires selection is a tough one. You say you want to drive a lot and yet auto x and drag the car. In a way they make tires tailored for each of these activities. Tires focused for lots of driving tend to have medium stiffness side walls and harder rubber so that they last longer. Because of this they give up some grip. Auto x tires tend to have firmer side walls for fast response and soft sticky rubber that heat up easily for ultimate grip. The firmer side walls do not do you any favors for drag racing how ever this is minimally offset by the sticky rubber. For daily driving they don’t last as long as a harder compound tire and due to the large tread blocks for grip they don’t do well in the rain. Drag focused tires have soft sidewalls that at launch deform and flatten out the tire to give a very large contact patch for more grip. They tend to run rubber as or softer then some auto x / road race tires. So they don’t have the life span of a good performance street tire. The soft sidewalls make them also have slower response times then the auto x tires and extreme performance street tires.
For a good daily mileage tire with good grip the Rival S and RE01 tires are hard to beat. For auto x or road race tires that are dot legal The R888R and RT615K’s are great. And for dot legal drag radials the NT05 or NT555’s are great. In the end you have to figure out what works best for you. Wheel size and tire might also play into what is available. Lastly I will say you should run a 255 width tire up front. It’s the correct size for the rim and should not rub.

[CDXXVII]

Nitto to NT555 G2

I am running these with the 255-40's on the front 315-35's on the rear.

The tires seem noticeably better planted than the original NT555 tires.

The shape of the sidewalk has changes and at first glance seem odd on our cars. I do not think you would be happy with the 245-45's. Even the 255-40's seem a bit stretched. Almost flush with the FFR 9" front wheels.

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81532&d=1519491401


https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=81533&d=1519491417

[BEAR-AvHistory]

NITTO 555R in 255X40 & 315X35. 100 treadware high traction tires. Have over 8,000 miles on them now.

[sbhunter]

Thank you to all that responded. Hard choices ahead. Maybe I’ll just get 2 sets. Now I just have to figure out how to convince my wife that I’m saving money by getting 4 extra tires so I don’t wear out the street tres!!

[TexasAviator]

REAR SETUP

16.5 Inches from roll bar center hole on left body hole.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/40509562641_ac424aeda6_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/24HG6Dc)20180226_160530 (https://flic.kr/p/24HG6Dc) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr

15.5 inches from roll bar center hole on left mount.
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4654/39614872355_51480505bf_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23mCzoB)20180226_160123 (https://flic.kr/p/23mCzoB) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr

Should leave me an inch of tuck for the rear tires.

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/39614517165_480ee94a8b_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23mAKND)20180226_150130 (https://flic.kr/p/23mAKND) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4612/39799480784_e1f954ca2d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23CWK3y)20180226_153048 (https://flic.kr/p/23CWK3y) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr

FRONT SETUP

20.5 Inches from hood opening to edge of wheel well

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4656/26638673868_53eb9a6344_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GzYaEu)20180226_160623 (https://flic.kr/p/GzYaEu) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr

20.5 inches from outside of tire to inside frame rail on the chassis

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4743/26638672958_92319fb6c2_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/GzYaoN)20180226_160734 (https://flic.kr/p/GzYaoN) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr

Should leave me flush with the outter tire or better. With a bit of camber I should have a clean tuck....

[TexasAviator]

Here are some extra shots of the wheels and tires I ended up with.



https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4761/38699484240_56388a430f_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21XJYoU)20180226_151228 (https://flic.kr/p/21XJYoU) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr


Front 275/40ZR17 Tire on 17x9

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4607/39614511085_014d3f53f3_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23mAHZP)20180226_160807 (https://flic.kr/p/23mAHZP) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr


Rear 315/35ZR17 Tire on 17x10.5

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4713/38699478090_eb0c20140a_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/21XJWyS)20180226_161128 (https://flic.kr/p/21XJWyS) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr



NT555 these are going to need some tirestickers.com

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4744/39614514845_7f8fb1473d_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23mAK7D)20180226_153032 (https://flic.kr/p/23mAK7D) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr



10.5 inch wide front tire and 12.5 inch rear tire

https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4616/39614516865_673a753194_c.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/23mAKHt)20180226_150401 (https://flic.kr/p/23mAKHt) by Brandon Fertig (https://www.flickr.com/photos/158928436@N07/), on Flickr...

[TexasAviator]

"With the NT555 G2-equipped car, the wet traction was greatly improved. The car was far more predictable in the turns, and Glen was able to go hotter and deeper into the braking zone. He even approached 130 mph on the straight during our ride-along. Then we hopped out and watched the wet braking test where the NT555 G2 stopped 20 feet shorter than its predecessor. Moreover, when you want to drop the hammer on dry pavement, the 275 and wider tires feature larger tread blocks to improve traction."

https://www.svtperformance.com/2015/09/08/news-nitto-tire-nt555-g2/

Im running 275 front and 315 rear for as much bite as I can get. Steering seems to be great so far while the car is in assembly stage. Its only going to turn a bit less in the driveway due to the larger meats.