If I want to track my car about 10 days a year, but also put 5-10k miles on the street, which tire would you suggest and why? The Nittos seem to be slightly less expensive, but have less than half the durability rating. What differences can I expect to notice from the Nittos, as I have the supercars on my car now.
The Nittos are considerably faster, but will wear much faster like you say. I got anywhere from three to six events on a set of DRII's, depending on how hard I drove. You can probably count on about four to eight hours of track time with the Nittos. They don't wear much on the street. Put plenty of camber on both the front and rear to get more life on the track. You'll get a lot more wear on the track with a street alignment.
I've only used the supercars a few times on the track, but I bet if you drive them as hard they will also wear pretty fast. The Nittos are a nice compromise for street and track.
Supercars bite, Nittos are great on track and can be used on street. You'll prob want better seats and harness by the time you're using the nittos to their limit though. Hell, you can have my supercars if you want. I'll never put them on the car again after using the nittos.
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2004 LeMans Blue Z06
Focal/Audison Show Car
USACi - http://www.soundoff.org/usaci.htm
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The drawbacks of the Nittos are that since they are softer they are more likely to pick up stuff including rocks and nails. Also, they have a tendency to fling those rocks onto your finish. That's why most people tape off the areas behind the wheels when they track their cars. That's fine at the track, but do you want to do that on the street too? I just thought that I'd mention it in case you were anal about the finish on your street car.
Supercars bite, Nittos are great on track and can be used on street. You'll prob want better seats and harness by the time you're using the nittos to their limit though. Hell, you can have my supercars if you want. I'll never put them on the car again after using the nittos.
If you are giving Supercars away....send them to me.
-Nittos
271 track miles
11300 street miles
3 autocrosses
12 drag strip runs
-F1 SC's
252 track miles
13000 street miles
4 autocrosses
10 drag strip runs
In the end, the Nittos were bald (loud and noisy on the street) with the Goodyears still more wear to be had-maybe 5000 miles on the street.
I have very little issue with Nittos picking stuff up-they aren't as soft as the Kumho's, but yes when I came off the track or autocross with them warm...they would pick up debris.
Bottomline, one is essentially a streetable track tire while the other is just a street radial.
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1996 LT4
404 WHP 381 CI
12.447 and 116 MPH
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I put 'em up for grabs in my town's local forum....gone in 3 min. Gotta be a record or something.
WTF Rodie!?!?! Why in the world did you give them to Benton!!? WHY!?!? Next time you have tires left over, give them to someone who will actually use them, namely me.
I ran the 555RII's for a bit...great tire for the track, but scary as $#@% if you are driving on the street when it rains!!! Compared to the C5 z06 f1's, the nitto's are way better...
Now, the new tires on the c6 z51 and c6 z06 are awesome. I am not sure what GY did, but even being run flats, the tires offer up TONS of grip, do not get greasy, and appear to have great wear. Granted they are $$$, but worth it. I have driven both a c6 z51 and c6 z06 at VIR so I am not pulling this one out of my a$$ Of course slicks or R6's/v710s are better, but those are not dual purpose tires.
Also, look into the michelin pilot cup tires - from what i have read, they sound great.
I ran the 555RII's for a bit...great tire for the track, but scary as $#@% if you are driving on the street when it rains!!! Compared to the C5 z06 f1's, the nitto's are way better...
Now, the new tires on the c6 z51 and c6 z06 are awesome. I am not sure what GY did, but even being run flats, the tires offer up TONS of grip, do not get greasy, and appear to have great wear. Granted they are $$$, but worth it. I have driven both a c6 z51 and c6 z06 at VIR so I am not pulling this one out of my a$$ Of course slicks or R6's/v710s are better, but those are not dual purpose tires.
Also, look into the michelin pilot cup tires - from what i have read, they sound great.
yeah! New F1's look a lot like Michelin pilot sport 2's huh?
-F1 SC's
252 track miles
13000 street miles
4 autocrosses
10 drag strip runs
I'm at about 10,500mi total, 4 track days (~550 track miles), and 3 five run autocrosses on my '06 Z51 F1 SCs. I haven't checked since returning home last night from Thunderhill, but I bet I could do another track day on them. The SCs scream the entire time on track -- take earplugs. They seem to hit a sweet spot for only a few laps a session, too... they tend to go off towards the end of the session.
Personally, the new Toyo R888s look very interesting...
Last edited by gkmccready; 08-18-2007 at 03:47 PM.
Reason: Add "'06 Z51"
Corvette Store
Goodyear f1 supercars vs. Nitto NT 555 RII
. 
Of course slicks or R6's/v710s are better, but those are not dual purpose tires.
