After a recomendation from another forum member I bought a set of Nitto 555 drag radials to run on my C4. I've had a lot of traction problems ever since getting my new engine in the car (360rwhp). I got the Nitto's put on yesterday and they stick like glue. I can hook up in first gear now which wasn't possible before and can even accelerate aggressively while cornering without putting on a smoke show. I haven't driven them in the rain yet but they have a functional tread pattern which is supposed to make them drivable in the wet ... I bought these to be my daily driver tires so we'll see what happens, I'm pretty hard on tires but I'd like to see at least 10k
these are only the 275's I can only imagine what the 315's must be like total shipped was right around $300 for both rear tires.
thanks to Admiral Blue for letting me know about these
I autocrossed on these Saturday and they're awesome! I didn't put my race tires on the car because I thought it was going to rain... who would think that a drag radial would make a good autocross tire? no excessive roll over and no oversteer, good stability and predictability and this is on a 275 rear No apparant wear after twelve 50 sec runs with hard launches either, wow talk about leaving the line fast I'll have to try the Nitto 555 R competition tires now to see if they're as good as the DR
We've been using 315 Nitto drag radials for a couple of seasons now on all four corners of our autocross car with really good results. The so-called soft sidewalls haven't seemed to be a problem at all, but we haven't had a comparison with the stiffer sidewall Nittos. If you try the 555RII and experience a significant difference please let us know.
I use 315's on the rear and 275 on the front 1994.
They have been on for 2 years and race once a mth friday and sat.
I use them in the rain all the time and never had a problem.
Just so you know I run 11.21 at 121.00 mph and 1.63 60 ft times.
125 shot of nitrous.
RII's are about the same as the drags. They dont hook up as well off the line, but still move pretty good. I can let the clutch go on mine at about 3500 on clean asphault and it just hooks and goes. Turnin is still a little soft compared to better racing tires such as the kumhos, but they are still fun. They seem to work best w/ a little less tread on them and a lot of heat. I normally run mine at 33/28 for pressure and have had the best results with them.
Hope you guys are right about the autoX capabilities of these tires. Would be great to have a tire that can function well in both racing venues.
Am popping for a set of 555 ZR's in stock C5 size 245 front and 275 rears. Wanted to go wider at 315 or at least 295's on rear .... but, tire mounters said it would necessitate going to a shorter tire height ... and also might throw off the tire sensors and ABS electronics, etc.
The regular nitto 555's are a completly different tire than the R and RII's. And I would not bother plus sizing them because the sidewalls are really not that stiff unlike a victoracer or hoosier.
I ran the RII in 275/40-17 at all corners last year on my92 coupe. I thought they were great. When brand new you have to scuff a little bit of the top off. It gets rid of the molding junk. After 1 event on hard concrete they were scuffed enough. The grip was very strong. Turn in may not be as good as Victoracers but they last longer. Mine worked very well almost down to the cords...
I've now moved on to a Z06 and have been running the factory GY F1s. Lateral grip is pretty good. But straight line they spin easily on an autox course too easily. I don't think the RII will help enough with the straight line traction. So I had this idea of running the RII in the front and the R in the back. An attempt at the best of both worlds. Race tires in the front for turn in and braking. Drag tires in the back for acceleration. I'm not awfully worried about the sidewall. If the R is anything like the RII they should be plenty stiff.
Just a thought I'm still toying with.
Toyc4, I'd be surprised if you get 10K out of either R or RII on the street unless you only drive on the street and go easy. Which kinda defeats the whole point of having r-comps on the car
The regular nitto 555's are a completly different tire than the R and RII's. And I would not bother plus sizing them because the sidewalls are really not that stiff unlike a victoracer or hoosier.
When to Tires Plus for some Nitto's. Wanted the DR's. But, they wish to sell me what they have in stock.... some 555 ZR's (extreme performance). They claim it is a great Street Tire ... with good drag and autoX capabilities ... also should be good for 20K miles.
Are they right? I'll probably do more AutoX than drag .... but, want a tire that will hook well when its called upon to do so in 1/4 runs. Have a 3.90 gear ... and getting way to much spin with current sukflats.
[quote=bernrex]Hope you guys are right about the autoX capabilities of these tires. Would be great to have a tire that can function well in both racing venues.
Am popping for a set of 555 ZR's in stock C5 size 245 front and 275 rears. Wanted to go wider at 315 or at least 295's on rear .... but, tire mounters said it would necessitate going to a shorter tire height ... and also might throw off the tire sensors and ABS electronics, etc.[/QU E] We just autocrossed in an NCCC SW Region event this weekend with 2 cars/3 drivers (family). Both cars had 315/17 555R's on all 4 corners. One car was 1st in class in all 6 events and the 2-driver car was 1st and 2nd in a 5-car class in all events. Each car was overall FTD in one event of the 6. Classes were IIE and IIIE. I think you'll be happy with the Nittos. By the way, for autocrossing we run pressure at 40psi.
Corvette Store
Awesome hook up with Nitto 555 DR's
I bought these to be my daily driver tires so we'll see what happens, I'm pretty hard on tires but I'd like to see at least 10k
total shipped was right around $300 for both rear tires. 
