Guest Foxstang133617 Posted January 11, 2003 Report Share Posted January 11, 2003 Has anybody had the chance to run both the Nitto Drag radials and the BFGoodrich drag radials, which one worked best? tongue.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badmuthrfkr Posted January 11, 2003 Report Share Posted January 11, 2003 BF Goodrich works the best, but it won't last you long if you drive around daily on them. You can get a lot of mileage out of the Nittos, but they take longer to get tacky when doing burnouts. BFG>Nitto though if you are looking for a straight answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamZman Posted January 11, 2003 Report Share Posted January 11, 2003 I agree with Hua. I hooked much better with BFGs but they didn't last nearly as long as Nittos. The Nittos are also much better in the rain. It depends on what you are looking for as to which one you'd prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraKevin Posted January 11, 2003 Report Share Posted January 11, 2003 I'll agree with the above. If your looking for a drag racing DR, go with the BFG's. If your looking for a daily driver with some extra hooking ability, go with the Nitto's for the extra tread life. By the way, Sam. Since you've driven around in Nittos, how exactly are they in the rain? Their website said they are good, but i've heard from other people they suck in the rain...what's your opinion? I'm looking to slap a pair on this spring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 10secondMouse Posted January 11, 2003 Report Share Posted January 11, 2003 What they said above pretty much sums it up, Nitto's are drivers, Bf's are not. I have never used the Nitto tire, I have used a BF, my car pulled a 1.44 sixty ft. time on a 275/60/15 DR with stock suspension on a G-body that weighs about 3450 lbs., with ET streets it went 1.41. So if you drive the car alot stick with radials! Do not use the ET Streets, unless you drive it very little. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamZman Posted January 12, 2003 Report Share Posted January 12, 2003 Originally posted by No Longer N/A Cobra: By the way, Sam. Since you've driven around in Nittos, how exactly are they in the rain? Their website said they are good, but i've heard from other people they suck in the rain...what's your opinion? I'm looking to slap a pair on this spring. The Nittos are really good in the rain when they are new till about half or a little less than half left. Once they get below that they can be a little scary in the rain. I used them for about 2 years of driving w/ some dragging mixed in. They didn't get bad in the rain till the end of the 2nd year. They still had some tread on them when I picked up a screw, and just gave em to Anthony. But they'd gotten to the point I was scared for my life when riding in the rain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 13, 2003 Report Share Posted January 13, 2003 Originally posted by SamZman: The Nittos are really good in the rain when they are new till about half or a little less than half left. Once they get below that they can be a little scary in the rain. I used them for about 2 years of driving w/ some dragging mixed in. They didn't get bad in the rain till the end of the 2nd year. They still had some tread on them when I picked up a screw, and just gave em to Anthony. But they'd gotten to the point I was scared for my life when riding in the rain. Sam - you say 2 years on the Nitto's. How many miles is that for you? Anything near Nitto's claimed streetlife of 15k? I burned though a set of Toyo Proxy T1-S's (300 treadwear rating) in 8k miles and 10 trips down the strip (little to no burnout). Those were $255/tire tires, comparable to S03's. If I can make that same 8k miles out of a set of DR's for 1/2 the price per tire and have the benefits of additional DR traction I'm all over it. Of course there are very few 18" DR's so I'll be shopping for a set of 17x10's for the rear to replace the 18x9's I currently have... K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by 100% Rice: Sam - you say 2 years on the Nitto's. How many miles is that for you? Anything near Nitto's claimed streetlife of 15k? I ran my Nitto's for over a year of daily driver use and probably 30-40 passes (guestimation, I really have no idea how many) down the strip. I put 8,610 miles on mine (then I sold those rims). When I got rid of them, the belt was just starting to show in the center, with the outsides still having some tread left. Many people don't realize that these tires need to be ran at a lower pressure than your average street tire to get an even treadwear. 24psi is actually a good pressure to run on the street with these. I made the mistake of running 28-30psi, and they wore out in the centers first. Of course no snow use (I'm not suicidal), but I never had a problem in the rain with them, even when they were worn down....car was my daily driver at the time. Dunno, driving in incliment weather never really bothered me, though. I also abused the piss out of these tires. Had I used the proper tire pressure, I woulda got 10k out of them before the belts shown I'm sure, maybe a bit more. Had I not used them at the track, w/ the proper tire pressure, 15-20k is possible (remember, you drive these PAST the wear bar....they are sticky even when they are bald). Actually, my next set of tires will be similar, though I'll be getting the 555 Road Race tires (it is a Nitto DR w/ a stiff sidewall). Kyle, you may actually want to consider these instead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by Nitrousbird: </font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by 100% Rice: Sam - you say 2 years on the Nitto's. How many miles is that for you? Anything near Nitto's claimed streetlife of 15k? I ran my Nitto's for over a year of daily driver use and probably 30-40 passes (guestimation, I really have no idea how many) down the strip. I put 8,610 miles on mine (then I sold those rims). When I got rid of them, the belt was just starting to show in the center, with the outsides still having some tread left. Many people don't realize that these tires need to be ran at a lower pressure than your average street tire to get an even treadwear. 24psi is actually a good pressure to run on the street with these. I made the mistake of running 28-30psi, and they wore out in the centers first. Of course no snow use (I'm not suicidal), but I never had a problem in the rain with them, even when they were worn down....car was my daily driver at the time. Dunno, driving in incliment weather never really bothered me, though. I also abused the piss out of these tires. Had I used the proper tire pressure, I woulda got 10k out of them before the belts shown I'm sure, maybe a bit more. Had I not used them at the track, w/ the proper tire pressure, 15-20k is possible (remember, you drive these PAST the wear bar....they are sticky even when they are bald). Actually, my next set of tires will be similar, though I'll be getting the 555 Road Race tires (it is a Nitto DR w/ a stiff sidewall). Kyle, you may actually want to consider these instead. </font>Joe, thanks for sharing your Nitto experience. I've been looking at the "Nitto NT-555R Extreme Drag Radial" as listed here: http://www.nittotire.com/tire_nt555r_overview.asp Is the Nitto DR w/ stiff sidewall something else? I see no mention of it on their site, any information would be enlightening. Thanks! K [ 14. January 2003, 03:52 PM: Message edited by: 100% Rice ] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Thanks again for the info on the Nitto's but this review sold me on the BFG's. ------------------------------------ Vehicle: 1992 Saturn SL Location: Houston, TX Driving Style: Fast and Aggressive Driving Condition: Mostly Highway Reviewer's Overall Ratings: insufficient data out of 10 Review Submitted 2000-05-01 I race my Saturn SL (75hp NOS) about once every 2 months. I bought my Drag Radials for the Strip only and use my regular street tires for every day driving. The traction once heated up is unbelivable. My burn outs last maybe 3-6 seconds before the Drag Radials start pulling into the staging area even with the emergency brake all the way up. When going up to the 100hp shot of NOS it was my clutch (maker not specified / dual friction) that lost contact before the tires. I will keep using these tires until I get closer to the 12's and feel the need to go to all out slicks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by 100% Rice: I will keep using these tires until I get closer to the 12's and feel the need to go to all out slicks. What does "closer to the 12's" coming from a Saturn driver mean? 15's instead of 16's? K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 I have used all kinds of tires in the buick when I used to race it. I never ran a regular street tire on the car, as punching the gas and going sideways at 65 scared me. If you are a "roll" racer, go with the nittos. The stiffer sidewall will be more stable at 120+ mph. There are people on BFGs going 9's. with 1.4X 60' times. These are the best "dig" tires, IMHO. Stay away from et streets, M&H racemasters, hoosier QTs, as these might be a "dot" tire, they dont like turns. The BFGs are a synthetic compound from Chile. They are very sticky, and therefore dont last long when doing burnouts, ect. I usually got about 3k miles out of a set of 275/50/15s, and the T-type was the weekend car. Ok, sure, the weekends it spend its time at charter st, and NTR. But I usually got 1.5, 1.6 60' times. The nittos best 60' I ever got was a 1.74. They never hooked as well as the bfgs. They required a John Force burnout to get sticky. And still didnt compare to the BFGs. I race at alot of NMRA races, when they have a drag radials class. 90% of them use BFGs. In conclusion, The BFGs age the better tire for drag racing. As for roll racing, the buick wasnt very successful at it. Well, from what I hear it did beat Kyles RX-7 before I guess it depends how you drive. If you want a short lived sticky drag tire, buy a BFG. If you want a "better-than-a-regular-radial-tire", buy a nitto. It will handle better than a BFG on turns and in aggressve driving. OK, I'm done. Nick I'm really a BFG spokesperson in disguise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Originally posted by Turbo Prick: Well, from what I hear it did beat Kyles RX-7 before You are correct, Kenny did pull on me once before, but that was over 200rwhp ago... You Buick guys need to stop fantasizing about history that won't repeat itself... K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kenny Posted January 14, 2003 Report Share Posted January 14, 2003 Buick guys don't care about roll racing. It's all about the dig. ... add me to the list of BFG supporters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Originally posted by 100% Rice: Joe, thanks for sharing your Nitto experience. I've been looking at the "Nitto NT-555R Extreme Drag Radial" as listed here: http://www.nittotire.com/tire_nt555r_overview.asp Is the Nitto DR w/ stiff sidewall something else? I see no mention of it on their site, any information would be enlightening. Thanks! Hmmm, it isn't listed on the Nitto Website. The stiff sidewall tire I'm refering to is NOT the Nitto DR (though it looks almost identical to it, same tread and all). It is called the Nitto 555 Extreme RII. They have been out for probably a year now. Nitto first released them in a 275/40/17 only, and GMHTP magazine was one of the first to test them out a while back. I know they also offer them in a 315/35/17, as I've seen that size also featured on another magazine car featured a few months ago. I've heard of a few road-racers on CZ28 running them. Looking on the net, there isn't a whole lot I could find about them doing a quick search. This place carries them, but doesn't list any sizes or links to them, just lists the 555-RII Scanned ad from a Discount Tire ad, even though they aren't listed on their website. This is the ad from when they FIRST came out, so of course only the one size is listed. I can look for my GMHTP article covering these tires. They actually did a full track testing on them, and did some comparisons to the Kumho Victo Racer (though the Victo isn't a tire you'd want to use as a regular street tire). I've found a few cars on the net, mostly F-body's, running on these tires. They are still just too new, and may not come in a size you can use. I suggest visiting a Discount Tire, talking to someone knowledgable there, and asking about the sizes offered in the 555 RII (making SURE they realize you are talking about the ROAD RACE tires and NOT the Drag Radials). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraKevin Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Well, I'm set on the Nitto's, but now this RII thing your talkin about Joe has got me interested. So your saying it's supposed to perform just as good as the Nitto's, just with a stifer sidewall? And forgive me for being naive when it comes to mechanics, but what does having a stifer sidewall accomplish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 A 315/35/17 has been fitted on the 3rd gen RX7, a small modification to the trailing arm to provide rear clearance and rolling of the fender is required, but damn do they look mean. A 275/40/17 is a near perfect match for my application. Thanks for the info! I'll do some digging and see what other info I can find, will post for all. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Originally posted by No Longer N/A Cobra: Well, I'm set on the Nitto's, but now this RII thing your talkin about Joe has got me interested. So your saying it's supposed to perform just as good as the Nitto's, just with a stifer sidewall? And forgive me for being naive when it comes to mechanics, but what does having a stifer sidewall accomplish? The RII's stiffer sidewall is for handleing, nothing more. Basically, when the car is cornering hard, the sidewall stays stiff, less tire distortion and less lean around corners (sure, it isn't by much, since the Nitto DR sidewall isn't THAT soft), but still makes a difference. Otherwise, the tread compound and tread patterns are the same. One of Nitto's biggest reason for offering the RII was that people were using their DR's in auto-x/road racing. Though their sticky nature allowed them to be a little better than a regular street tire, they were not designed to be doing this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 http://discounttiredirect.com has them. The guy I spoke to seemed to know what he was talking about and said a friend of his just put a set of these on his Vette and loves them. The only two sizes he said they offered were: 275/40-17 and 305/35/18 He said he thought they used to make a 315/30/17 but no longer do. Adam the guy from Discount Tire Direct refered to the tire as the "Nitto 555R Extreme II" and knew the different between that tire and the standard Nitto DR, the 555R. He also recommended anyone purchasing these tires (or the Nitto DR) to have them Heat Cycled, I believe he said it was $15/tire, even though Nitto says it isn't necessary. Shipping is free, they have the 275/40-17 in stock in a warehouse in Columbus, so there are taxes on the tires. That's all I've got for now. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nitrousbird Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 I know the HPS Project Car is running 315/35/17 RII's mounted on 17x11 Fiske FM/5's for the rear street tires. You may want to contact them and ask about where/how they got their rear tires. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CobraKevin Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Originally posted by 100% Rice: http://discounttiredirect.com has them. The guy I spoke to seemed to know what he was talking about and said a friend of his just put a set of these on his Vette and loves them. The only two sizes he said they offered were: 275/40-17 and 305/35/18 He said he thought they used to make a 315/30/17 but no longer do. Adam the guy from Discount Tire Direct refered to the tire as the "Nitto 555R Extreme II" and knew the different between that tire and the standard Nitto DR, the 555R. He also recommended anyone purchasing these tires (or the Nitto DR) to have them Heat Cycled, I believe he said it was $15/tire, even though Nitto says it isn't necessary. Shipping is free, they have the 275/40-17 in stock in a warehouse in Columbus, so there are taxes on the tires. That's all I've got for now. K This Discount Tire on Brice Rd? Keep the info comin, Kyle. The 275/40/17's are my exact tire size, so I'm waiting to see how the RII's compare in price to the $150 555R's. And what's the "Heat Cycling"? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badmuthrfkr Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Luckily my friend's parents own a wholesale tire company, and my other friend is the A.M. at the Easton Discount Tire location. smile.gif Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest badmuthrfkr Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Originally posted by No Longer N/A Cobra: And what's the "Heat Cycling"? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/competition/heatcycletech.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nocab72 Posted January 15, 2003 Report Share Posted January 15, 2003 Originally posted by No Longer N/A Cobra: This Discount Tire on Brice Rd? Keep the info comin, Kyle. The 275/40/17's are my exact tire size, so I'm waiting to see how the RII's compare in price to the $150 555R's. And what's the "Heat Cycling"? I called the number on their site. When they said "in stock in town" I assume they mean a local Discount Tire, ya. I was quoted about $160/tire, plus $15/tire to heat cycle. So $175 - 180/each. That is pretty cheap if you ask me. Hua covered the heat cycling question pretty well. K Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest stevil Posted January 16, 2003 Report Share Posted January 16, 2003 Heat cycling for $15 each tire?!!? Are they crazy!?!?? You guys can do that yourself!!! I did it with my BFGs (which I fully reccomend for a great drag tire btw). It's called a "burnout". tongue.gif You break in your tires, thats it. You can do it ahead of time, or at the track. I also accidentally heat cycled my street tires, which made them slick as hell, not good. If you feel that a professional can do it better, go ahead and spend your $30 for heat cycling. But you're dealing with a company that makes money from uneccesary options, like car salesman selling you EcoGuard or other useless shit. Last time I bought tires at Discount Tire, they offered to make tiny slices in my tread, for a small fee, supposed to help somehow. I turned that down. This heat cycling thing does not have to be an exact science with measured temps, trust me. How about this. I'm an amateur, but I'll heat cycle anybody's tires for $5 each, as soon as they're put on your car. I'll get behind the wheel, and you just stand outside and watch... let me know when you see smoke. Then the process is done! Ask anyone with drag radials and other soft tires if they'd pay for heat cycling. Don't do it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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