I was researching the tires that would best fit my style without breaking the bank. I do drive aggressive, so I was thinking about the BF Goodrich g-force sport or the nitto nt555. Any comments or suggestions.
Printable View
I was researching the tires that would best fit my style without breaking the bank. I do drive aggressive, so I was thinking about the BF Goodrich g-force sport or the nitto nt555. Any comments or suggestions.
I got the Nitto 555 and they are pretty good. I drive pretty aggressive and they have lasted a while.
Ok, thanks I'll give them a try.Quote:
Originally Posted by fireman1018
BEST for what ?
cornering ? drag ? mileage ? water ?
IF you car is not stock i wouls stay away from the nitto 555. those tires are great for handling but they suck from a dig. the best tires you can get are mickey thompson street drag radials
They will suck on corners and in the rain. I've had good luck with my GS-D3's so far. They are a bit pricey though.Quote:
Originally Posted by spookyz28
I was wondering the same thing and been doing a lot of research on the subject.
Now I agree it really depends upon what you want the most for there are trade offs.
I haven't made up my mind on my own selection... But I do know I don't care about wet handling because the car never sees rain. I'm not over concerned about mileage either because the car is rarely driven (2000 miles annually)...
So I was considering the MT ET Street radial (rear axle)... But is it a tubless tire? I've heard it both ways... But I hear they break rear ends but it seems to happen at the track where traction is the very best. I don't plan on visiting the track so will the MT ET Street radial be a little more forgiving on the street? Highways are not a drag strip so traction should be less and therefore less likely to break an axle... But yet at the same time greatly increase traction over a regular street tire.
As for the fronts I don't know?
thought about:
1. Nitto 555RII all the way around
2. Nitto 555RII up front and 555R on the rear
3. BFG g-force TA all the way around
4. BFG g-force TA up front and BFG Drag radial on the rears
5 BFG g-force TA up front and MT ET Street Radial on the rear
6 Nitto 555RII up front and MT ET Street Radial on the rear
Any experience fellow LS1'ers or suggestions?
i have the 555's in the front and the 555r's in the rear. now the 555r's suck in the rain because its a drag radial that only has 3/16" tread depth new, not 1/4"-5/16" tread depth like other street tires.
i have had no issues with my 555's in the front being bad in rain/water. i would also suggest Perili P Zero Nero M+S tires (they are all season) but have great ratings on them and i had them on my old 95 z28. you can find those on www.Tirerack.com
i would go with the 555RII all around. that way you can rotate them, well front to back any way. And they will last a while.
BF Goodrich
im with him on the pzero neros as far as a great all around tire .......best bang/buck and a tire thats good at everythingQuote:
Originally Posted by SSwt00SS
Not that it really matters but I do hear the 555RII are some ruff riding sneakers?
The Ex-GF had the Nitto 555's on her Bird and I agree they were a decent tire but no better than any other top notch street tire. I quickly discovered that the regular 555's wasn't serious enough for my taste.
I'm in search of something much more serious... They should grip great but have terrible wet traction and last about 6,000 -8,000 miles...
1. Nitto 555r better than a street tire but not too much grip
2. BFG Drag radial maybe slightly better than a Nitto 555r
3. MT ET Street great at dry traction but terrible mileage 3,000 and under
As I was saying there are several good tires on the market and many perform well under several conditions. However therein lays the trade off, they are good tires over a wide range of conditions but don't exceed in any one area. If you want wet traction and longevity then the trade off is a loss of dry traction. It all comes down to how use the vehicle and your prefered direction on performance.
Extreme Performance Summer = 15,000 - 20,000 mile tire
Ultra High Performance Summer = 20,000 - 30,000 mile tire
High Performance All-Season = 30,000 - 40,000 mile tire
Standard Touring All-Season = 40,000 - 50,000 mile tire
Give or take 3,000 miles depending upon driving habits
Nonetheless, I greatly appreciate your input and really like hearing about your real world experiences. Your opinions are much better notes than any write up in a magazine article.
Do you have to roll the wheel well lip to get the MT ET streets to fit?
What about the BFG drag radials?
Are the MT ET Streets tubless or tubed?
1st off... how much power are you putting down ?
2nd... what kind of driving you have in mind (street, street/drag, drag, street/autox)
3rd... how important are:
dry grip (straight)
dry grip (cornering)
wet grip
snow conditions (you ever see any)
mileage (any requirements there)
Without any of those answers, we can name any tire brand/model, without even suggesting something that is decent for his needs... we have no clue what his needs are.
Try asking in the engine section: "What is the best cam ?"
depends on lots of things: current setup, goals, use of car.
I could recommend roadracing slicks... they stick very well... and can be considered the best on that.. but does it meet his needs ?
that is the question.
Very well said... :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
I just wasn't getting my point across very good about how different tires really are. A great street tire is just that "a great street tire" well behaved in various conditions but not excellent an any one particular area.
FactoryQuote:
How much power?
Street only driving, but something more along the lines of street/drag.Quote:
what kind of driving you have in mind (street, street/drag, drag, street/autox)
on a scale of 1 - 10Quote:
how important are:
dry grip (straight)
10
7 or 8Quote:
dry grip (cornering)
2 or 3Quote:
wet grip
LOL... Don't see any of that white stuff here in Florida and it rarely ever gets below freezing maybe five to ten days in the heart of winter total . So, the answer is 0Quote:
snow conditions
Not a real concern, I'd be happy if they only got 10,000 miles.Quote:
mileage
Summary: Just looking for something that grabs really good on dry pavement. It'd be nice to be able to take off without spinning the wheels at such low RPM's...
nitto drs out back and whatever u like up front fits the bill your lookin for
I didn't know how picky people were on the specifics. If you read the first post, you would see BF Goodrich g-force sport or Nitto Nt555, which is a performance summer tire.Not drag. I should have made my title differnet,my mistake. I want a tire with performance for everyday driving. Just bolt-ons mods. Wet,dry, cornering.. how about all of the above.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
Ok, I'll look into Perili P Zero Nero M+S tires. thanksQuote:
Originally Posted by SSwt00SS
another question. How wide of a tire could I put on a stock rim 17x9. stock tire is 275/40/17.
I don't know if anyone has had any experience with Bridgestone, but just a few months ago I put the Bridgestone Potenza RE750's 275/40/17 on my 2002 WS6. I love them, and they have good specs. Here is a page that compares alot if Ultra High Performance tires...the RE750's are #5...
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/survey...speed_rating=Y
Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Power
LOL, yea there is more to a tire than what most people give credit. It all really depends upon what is being asked of a tire. A slick is great for dry traction on asphalt but not worth a crap in snow, rain or the mud. A good street tire is a tire that performs well in many areas but doesn't excell in any one particular area well...
In your case since longevity and all around operation is of parimount, then a Nitto 555 or BFG g-force T/A KD would both be excellent choices. Expect about 20,000 miles of use from them and fair handling in the rain & snow. That's not too bad for a tire that isn't a competition tire.
Those of us who are looking for something a bit more aggresive have to deal with the trade offs. Such as less wet traction performance and longevity. If I drove my car more often then I'd be purchasing a Nitto 555 or a BFG g-force T/A KD. As it is I'm looking more at the Nitto 555R , Nitto 555RII, BFG Drag radial and maybe even the MT ET Street radial (5,000 mile tire)
having that in mind... it's much clearer...Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
REAR: 555R (drag radials) rear
FRONT: 555RII (look alike drag-radials)... but stiffer sidewall... same thread, same compound... but limited sizes... 275/40-17 are available for sure.
Not that we're picky... but without more information, it's hard to give decent advice... not knowing what you are really looking for.... that's all.Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Power
Anyways... knowing that you are focusing more on a street tire... I would lean towards the GoodYear F1 GS-D3... great tire that sticks and deals very well with wet conditions... and doesn't just melt away.
In your case, i'd really consider looking into the Nitto NT-01 which has a better compound that the 555R and 555RII and do well in cornering.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
Heck that's what i chose for my "street" tires ;) but haven't installed them yet.
Yea, I know it seems a bit silly to use some sort of R compound tire for the street. Yet, I hardly drive the car and a good street tire will start cracking and rotting from having it on the rim for too many years. It took 5 years to wear my previous tires down to 6/32 but did it in only 18,000 miles...Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
So, with such low usage and despite the fact the car doesn't go to the track. I'm still more interesed in a tire that will out perform a regular street tire. That's why I mentioned the ones I brought up and I'm aware of the NT-01... Just not sure I want a tire more directed at autoX than Drag? I really like the MT ET Street Radials but I hear about 5,000 ,iles is all one can expect out of them? Plus I don't know if they are tubless and will I have to roll the wheel well lip to get them to fit? That makes a great difference in my selection? Otherwise, I may go with something more autoX and comprimise a little less grip than a Drag radial... But I should still have far superior grip than a regular street tire. If I could get the car to take off at 2,000 RPM with no wheel spin that would be nice... As it is anything above an idle will light the tires up, I have to roll about 80-100 ft out before you can really get into the throttle... then second shift is again useless have to ginger it or it will be all sideways...
The way i see it, the NT-01 will stick just a bit more than a drag radial... but with much better cornering abilities.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
Many ppl drive w/ 555R and 555RII on the street.
The NT-01 is meant to replace the 555RII... it's an improvement.
I find that driving w/ R-compounds on the street is a pretty basic requirement at least for me, since i like cornering, and with 508-511 rwhp within the 4400-6600rpm... gotta have something with decent traction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
I've spent more hours than I care to remeber reading up on this tire stuff. But I think I'm coming close to a decision...
I've read several post you have made throughout the LS1 site and you seem to be very informative. You echo pretty much what the reality is and don't side with the tire articles unless they speak the truth. We know how each company likes to claim their the best and sometimes this is true and sometimes it's not, but you won't ever hear them say how their tire is less superior than the competition.
I guess my last real question is how much difference is there in the Nitto 555R and the Nitto 555RII, when it comes to a launch with normal air pressure (30lbs), since the tire will be operating 99.9% of the time in that fashion?
The reason I ask is to see if there is any real benefit to having a DR on the rear axle? IF not then I might look more closely at the NT-01's?
for all intent and purposes... the launching on the 555RII is identical to the 555R... lots of people running 1.6-1.9sec 60' on the drag radials and 555RII.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
Both tires share the same rubber, thread, the RII just has an extra steel belt.
Having said that... some ppl that use 17x11 on all corners also use 555R for AutoX (due to available sizes limitation on RII) and the tire takes it well... even if sidewall is a bit softer. The NT-01 is meant to be a little uprade on the present setup... after all it's been several years using the same compound and technology has evolved a bit... allowing for better advantages without necessarily getting some drawbacks anymore. (ie raising the bar a bit... but let's be realistic... won't be night and day difference... the tire is meant to stick as much if not a tad more, but handle better, without sacrificing the present longevity and not getting into the heat-cycling horror)
In all honesty, you won't see much difference between the 555R and 555RII... you only notice a bit on the front tires in an autox environment.
since the RII has good grip on launches... i don't see why Nitto actually made 2 tires that are so similar to each other.... the 555R doesn't seem to outperform the 555RII while launching... so why bother w/ it ?... make them all RII, imho... but i guess marketing and perception of the consumers disctate otherwise...
Also, the thing with R-compounds is that you get close to a limit where you can get more grip, but are prone to heat cycles... it's tough to find a balance where the tire won't dry and heat cycle to death by using it on the street.
So far, Toyo RA1 and Nitto 555RII/555R are among the only ones not affected by heat cycles... the Yoko A032R is on the borderline and gets affected by heat cycles... so that's why I'm trying the NT-01.
the Yoko A048 seems interesting... but i'd like to test it first... maybe i'll get a set for free from Yoko directly for some more testing w/ their R&D + marketing department as i've done in the past. (but since they no longer sponsor me... not sure how that'll work... for now, I'll be on Hoosiers @ the track) They Sounds promising, though... but not willing to take the risk of getting it and notice the same as the A032R that heat cycle and become hard, losing the grip with time while there is still plenty thread left... so i'll wait to see how it proves itself first.
fwiw... in case you haven't noticed... tires in 315/35-17 are getting more and more rare... especially in the R-compound world... and there are more and more 18s... it looks like the bigger wheels are winning the market, although you get better performance with smaller wheels, as long as it clears the brakes... anyways.
Having the dilemma i was mentioning above concerning the heat-cycling, i ended up saying f*** it... keep my 17s for slicks and get 18s for street w/ R-compounds.
As of now, there are 3 possible tires that seem to be great candidates:
Nitto NT-01: http://www.nittotire.com/tires_nt01.asp
Pirelli PZero Corsa: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....tTire=13YR80CR
Yoko Advan A048: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....1=yes&place=12
At the limit the Kuhmo, the V700-ECSTA, not the V700-Victoracer can also be considered...
p.s: I'll stfu and let others comment too... lol
Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
From my understanding it didn't start off that way. The 555R came first and had been on the market for a couple of years when Nitto realised people were using the drag tire on all four corners in autoX. It was then Nitto realised there was a market they had overlooked and that if the 555R was doing so well at a job it wasn't really designed for, then it wouldn't be too hard to redesign the same tire in a configuration that was geared more to that aspect. They just took a proven design and adapted it to be a little stronger in certain areas. Unlike the NT-01 which wasn't even on the drawing board at the time and is a complete ground up new design that has it roots based on what they learned from the 555R & 555RII...Quote:
i don't see why Nitto actually made 2 tires that are so similar to each other.... the 555R doesn't seem to outperform the 555RII while launching...
So out of the two 555RII or the NT-01?
I know there isn't a night to day difference between them.
But either are a far improvement over regular street tire like a Goodyear F1 or a BFG g-force T/A KD, right or no?
I'd go NT-01... it's meant to be the next 555RII with several improvements.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
Note that the NT-01 was the tire used in av8ss last year... so there is plenty of feedback on it ... and it's unanimous that the tire is an improvement over the 555RII.
Now i'm just anxious to have fun w/ it on the street. ;)
I know that there is a lot of varibles such as horsepower, weather, highway/track conditions etc,. But all said:
60 ft times:
MT ET Streets radial =
Approx times (1.5) 3000 mile life expectance, dry only tire...
Nitto 555R, 555RII & NT-01
Approx times (1.8 - 1.9) 10,000 mile life expectance, mostly dry only tire but can handle some water
BFG Drag radial
Approx times (1.7 -1.8) 10,000 mile life expectance, mostly dry only tire
Street Tires: GY F-1, Nitto 555, BFG g-force T/A KD
Approx times (2.0) 20,000 mile life expectance. good in dry but handle well in rain too.
Hey, I'm just making this up and in no way am I advertising that this is real world numbers. This is meant only as a compatative view for argument sake. Perhapes we can narrow the reality of this to a more precise measurement in general for those who have experience with tires... I believe we would all like to see a nice graph of where each tire can be expected to perform?
note that most of these #s are based on stock hp, and suspension setup plays a role.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
As an example... w/ the A032R... when i was @ ~325rwhp, i was consistantly doing 1.8-1.9 60' ... and i'm not the best launcher.
now, if i'm able to get under 2.3, I'm lucky... but i also have 510+rwhp NA (same suspension setup)
also... using ET streets, they will suffer from heat cycling... and won't stick as much as the amount of times you drive add on, without necessarily putting lots of miles.
Now I'm only guessing, never put the car on a dyno but I'd say its some where around 350-370 HP at the crank?Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
Also note I'm lucky if I put 2000 miles on the car over a years time. Just since the begining of the year I might have put on 150 miles? So, tire longevity from highway use is not much the tire is more likely to age than wear out from use...
heat cycles will kill you more than a person doing lots of mileage.Quote:
Originally Posted by *JC*
remember this... everytime the car is driven, you removed 1 heat cycle out of the tire... those tires have limited heat cycles.
once ran out of them... traction is limited even if almost full thread of rubber left.
also, the rubber dries, loses cycles with time as well... but slowly.
Thank you, your very informative :)Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugenio_SS
there is wear by material (obvious visual one) and wear by heat cycles... a heat cycle is defined by bringing the tire to temperature and cooling phase. ie as long as you keep the tire @ operating temperatures, it's the same heat cycle.
basically, it's a chemical reaction that happens every time the tire cools. Also note that the 1st heat cycle is the most important for good grip throughout the tires life.
I'll find some links on heat cycling and post for information.
some info on heat cycling: http://insideracingtechnology.com/tirebkexerpt3.htm
The best I 've found so far is:
A set of 4
Nitto Nt-01 = $836
Nitto 555RII = $672
call www.discounttiredirect.com...
info on this thread: http://www.ls1.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42936
they'll give you a better deal on the phone. ;)
You know all this tire talk got me to thinking? It would be nice to see a break down of how (in theory) certain tires perform...
Based upon an average stock suspension at 300 hp (highway use only)
Tire-----------Dry----Wet------Tread depth------60' times-----Mileage
Normal tire----good---good-------11/32-----------2.8-----------40,000
g-force KD----GREAT---poor---------9/32----------2.2-----------20,000
g-force Drag--Great---BAD---------6/32-----------1.7-----------10,000
F1 GS-D3-----Good---Good--------10/32-----------2.2-----------20,000
555---------- Good---Good---------9/32-----------2.2-----------20,000
555R---------GREAT---poor---------6/32-----------1.8------------15,000
555RII--------GREAT---BAD---------6/32-----------1.8------------15,000
NT-01--------GREAT---BAD---------6/32-----------1.8------------15,000
ET Street Rad-SUPER--BAD---------4/32------------1.5------------5,000
Of course this isn't very scentific and there are lots of varibles. However something like this would be very helpful to others. It's far better information than you would get from the tire companies because it's the end users that would be really contributing to this information, from their own world experience...
Thanks for everybodys input.
http://www.discounttiredirect.com/di...09&rd=17&ar=40
check these out....one of the tires im HIGHLY considering for my next set of rubber...the reviews sound awsome and the price is obviosly right
I second that :)Quote:
Originally Posted by SS-Power