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Tires: Nitto NT05s versus .....

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39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
I found some legit Hinodex Cobra R's from a friend here in Tennessee, at a sweet sweet hell of a deal too, so I'll be going with a square set-up of 275's on 17x9's.

My last two events I ran the Nitto NT05R's (Not NT05). I did not realize the "R" stood for "drag radial". Not sure how I missed that, moving forward I would be getting the "non-R" NT05's. I would say the fronts are good for 2 full track weekends. So if I'm doing the math right and I can rotate them as a part of a square set up, I should be able to get 3-4 weekends out of them. By that point I imagine they would be heat cycled out anyways.

So, that being said my other options are....

- Conti's Extreme Contact Sport - TW 340 - I had these on my Golf R and GTI's, these were amazing tires and kept up pretty closely to my RE71's that I had before these. I was able to put a ton of miles on them and get at least 3 full track weekends. The dynamics of a Golf are much different than an SN95 though, so not sure how similarly they would hold up.
- Nitto NT555 G2 - TW 320 - No experience with
- Firestone Indy Firehawk Indy500 - TW 340 - No experience with
- Falken Azenis RT615K+ - TW 200 - No experience with, but have one person who has there doubts.

Any and all feed back welcome, just waiting to pull the trigger. If there is something I haven't listed that is in a similar price range, let me know.
 
118
155
MD
Of the ones you selected, Conti for a street tire that will see some track time and Falken for a track tire that will see some street time.

FYI the Falken in 255 is $166/each vs $221/each in 275.
 
39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
Whats the goal, what kind of driving? Much Much better tires out there.

For a nitto, NT01 is what the track guys use and you should get much more life out of them. I have seen 8-10 track days from the s550 crowd.

The goal is multi-purpose. Daily commute if I want to, spirited back-roads driving when time allows, 3-5 HPDE's a year. I have 2 so far this year and likely 2 more for the year (maybe 3 if my wife lets me, haha!)

I wouldn't consider my car a "daily driver" but I want it to be able to be driven daily if I wanted to. I have a 90 mile round trip commute to work, so I do need something with tread just in case. My commute isn't spirited driving, it's 80 miles of highway driving, so it's just interstate cruising really.

If it was a trailer'd car that I occasionally drove on the street I would probably go with the NT01's, but I need some tread.

Of the ones you selected, Conti for a street tire that will see some track time and Falken for a track tire that will see some street time.

FYI the Falken in 255 is $166/each vs $221/each in 275.

Oh man, that's a great way of putting it. I feel like your description of the Conti is the best. Totally matches the driving I did with my Golf R. Although it was a true daily driver, I even went cross country on those tires (Nashville to Seattle), did two track events and came back and did 2 more track events on the same tire. Haha! I was thoroughly impressed with it.
 
39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
Of the ones you selected, Conti for a street tire that will see some track time and Falken for a track tire that will see some street time.

FYI the Falken in 255 is $166/each vs $221/each in 275.
I forgot to ask, will a 255/40 hold up on track on a 9 inch rim? How much grip would I be sacrificing going from 275 to 255?

Forgive my ignorance, these decisions always make me nervous.
 

PatientZero

@restless_performance
825
865
Exp. Type
Autocross
Exp. Level
10-20 Years
Kansas City, Missouri
I forgot to ask, will a 255/40 hold up on track on a 9 inch rim? How much grip would I be sacrificing going from 275 to 255?

Forgive my ignorance, these decisions always make me nervous.
Alot, these cars need all the help they can get. Even a 275 is really too narrow.
 
39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
Alot, these cars need all the help they can get. Even a 275 is really too narrow.

Sad face.

Unfortunately I wouldn’t use anything bigger than a 275 as it is. Since I wouldn’t be modifying the front anyways.

The plethora of options for 255’s really has me considering it. I can get Ventus RS4’s in 255 for only $180.

Those tires are incredible.
 

Bill Pemberton

0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
8,425
8,354
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
20+ Years
Blair, Nebraska
Listen to the folks, since putting tiny little 255s on your car is analogous to running Tour de France racing tubes on your Mountain bike --- you be just slip sliding away. Get 275 as the cars are always under tired and check out the RT660 Falken in a 275. Not a bad price , a great autocross tire, good on the street and since you are relatively new to track events, a solid tire that will give you confidence.
 
539
687
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
SoCal
Can't echo the necessity for wide tires on these cars enough.
I don't know SN95's as well so I'll use the S550 as an example...

Even the tried-and-true 305 square setup is rather "under-tired" compared to other cars. Not exactly scientific but if you look at weight vs front tire width of various cars, you begin to see just how much tire these cars need. A BRZ with 245's is 5.8 lbs:tire width. A spec Miata = 5.5.....C6 Z06 = 5.6..... an S550 with 305 front = 7
(the GT500 is 7.7....fat pig of a car)

If you want the car to turn corners well, you really do need to stuff the widest tire you can fit in there.
 
39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
Thanks for the input everyone. Gonna stick with the 275's. Probably go with the Conti's first, gonna try them out and see how they are. Not completely opposed to the RT660's but given that I'm gonna be spending a good amount of time commuting I want them to last a tad longer if at all possible.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
IMO, you need two sets of wheels & tires. Daily driving and HPDE don’t go together. The tires you need for HPDE just don’t last or work on wet and in cold. And as far as square setups go…don’t sweat it. What is worse: replacing all 4 tires? Or replacing the fronts twice as often and the rears half as often? I’m not trying to start a street fight, just working the calculator.

Regarding sizes: I can break the rears loose easily with 300tw tires (305s) and I don’t have much power. GT with the Ford CAI, 87mm TB, and tune. 275s in back are very small for track.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
It has nothing to do with replacing tires. It's about understeer.
But if the choice is going 275 square, or going 275 front and 295 or 305 rear, why not pick up some rear traction? I could be wrong though. I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm learning like everyone.
I knew I would start something! :)
 
539
687
Exp. Type
Time Attack
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
SoCal
But if the choice is going 275 square, or going 275 front and 295 or 305 rear, why not pick up some rear traction? I could be wrong though. I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm learning like everyone.
I knew I would start something! :)
I understand the logic in your thinking but unfortunately it's not that simple.
It's about the overall balance. So if he does 275 front and 305 rear, the rears will break loose much later than the fronts > understeer. Yes he will be adding more total grip but you have to consider front grip vs rear grip, not necessarily the sum.
With 275 square, the car will still be able to rotate, though the limit will be lower than if he was 305 square but the balance is still there.

Hope this helps
 
39
52
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
5-10 Years
Clarksville, TN
But if the choice is going 275 square, or going 275 front and 295 or 305 rear, why not pick up some rear traction? I could be wrong though. I wouldn't call myself an expert. I'm learning like everyone.
I knew I would start something! :)
When I started out on this venture I was thinking the exact same way you are. I’m in the process of setting up my suspension with maximum motorsports right now, and I explained my reasoning for wanting a staggered set up using the same theory you are.

They explained to me that it would hurt cornering performance by inducing understeer. The way they explained it, was that extra grip in the rear would “push” the front of the car when you’re turning. The extra rear grip overpowers the front tires, Causing understeer.
 
301
360
Exp. Type
HPDE
Exp. Level
3-5 Years
Raleigh, NC
I understand the logic in your thinking but unfortunately it's not that simple.
It's about the overall balance. So if he does 275 front and 305 rear, the rears will break loose much later than the fronts > understeer. Yes he will be adding more total grip but you have to consider front grip vs rear grip, not necessarily the sum.
With 275 square, the car will still be able to rotate, though the limit will be lower than if he was 305 square but the balance is still there.

Hope this helps
This makes sense! Thanks!
 
348
181
US
Im here to disagree. My nt01s i put on new. 315-30 -18 square.
2 weekends on them. mid ohio and road america last week. I cant rotate tires front to rear because of the back spacing on vorshlag wheels.
I can tell you this solid axle car cooks the rears faster then the fronts. no doubt about it. there isnt enough mechanical grip in the rear when you push the car to 9/10 or 10/10. I am an advanced driver, MCS double adj, coil overs, sway bars, a-arms etc etc. I have it all set up well. It laps fast. The rears slide/ scrub at the limit. As a result they wear out faster than the fronts. This assumes proper camber for the track you are on and suspension is set up well etc. And-- the car does not under steer due to rear grip. its because of weight distribution of front engine car. If you ran staggered, it would actually balance this car out better.

My new APEX wheels I will be able to rotate and I wont really care which wear out faster. I'll just rotate them. But for your REAL WORLD data, the fronts dont wear out faster if you know how to drive the car well (trail braking, proper corner entry, balancing the load front to rear with throttle/ brake etc)
independent rear suspension- whole different conversation.
 

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