New Nitto NT05R Review

[Pro Stock John]

Best of luck, that's great you are getting close to running 10's.

My dad is 71 and the only racing he does is probably to get the last piece of pie.

[jbrown13]

Originally Posted by Pro Stock John

Best of luck, that's great you are getting close to running 10's.

My dad is 71 and the only racing he does is probably to get the last piece of pie.

Thanks John. I won't turn down a good piece of pie either.

[jbrown13]

Originally Posted by 12 ZL1 #1725

Lol! So essentially.... BLAH BLAH BLAH BLAH... Just like the teacher in Charlie Brown flicks... Lol!

I questioned Nitto again on the camber numbers they had given me in their first response, and after a couple of days I got the following:

"We appreciate your interest in Nitto Tire products.

The ideal setting for “pure” drag racing would be +0. 25 degrees, this will give a wide contact patch that will be the best for launching in drag events, however, street performance will be adversely affected and would not be recommended if the car is driven to and from the track or sees daily use. If the car does see daily driving and/or driving to and from events, then a good recommendation is camber settings for the rear -0.5 – 0.0 degrees. This setting may yield some excessive negative camber on squat but has been helpful for many Camaro owners on NT05R’s who drive their vehicle to and from the track. As for the negative camber settings of -1.0 - -3.0 degrees, this is becoming popular for many of our NT05R users who run their drag radials in auto-x or track day events.

Please keep in mind these are general guidelines for setting up your vehicle. The right setup for you would ultimately depend on what you feel most comfortable with."


More Blah, Blah but sure makes more sense than the -1.0 to -3.0 degrees of camber did. When I had my alignment checked yesterday I had them set the rear camber at +0.20 degrees, even though I drive to/from the track. Not a DD though, I reserve DD for my raggedy old Silverado.

[Mr. Nasty]

jbrown you know to much pie will slow you down LOL.

Good luck with your tire don't wont to see you slowing down. All I can say stick with what works for you.

[jbrown13]

Originally Posted by Mr. Nasty

jbrown you know to much pie will slow you down LOL.

Good luck with your tire don't wont to see you slowing down. All I can say stick with what works for you.

I hear you W. Got cheap and tried to save a few $ and gamble, but will probably regret it in the end.

Looks like it's going to be wet this weekend for Pony Wars. I saw where they might do it Sunday if it rains Sat, but with these tires I have on I will only embarrass myself. Have fun.

[Mr. Nasty]

Yeah was at the track this pass Friday night car was running high IAT in the 170 range.
So I had in the shop all week and now it running fine beat the hell out of it and never got above 125. Also ran 2 back to back hard pulls on the dyno and it still stayed below 130. I don't know what was going on with it but its running fine now.

[GraysonPeace]

After reading this thread I went and bought 2 Mickey Thompson ET Streets 2. Had been running the Nitto's for about a year. Never could get them to hook. The M/T,s dead hooked all day!! I run the 20' 305's with 27 psi.. I know everyone said to let more air out but I don't like it squirrely at the big end. I didn't have to, it hooked great. I roll into it strong off idle (we have the L99). I had my best 60' ever at 1.7 and ran a new personal best 11.5. It was at SGMP IN Valdosta. The event is Pony Wars one of my favorite events of the year so I was very happy! When the tires came in you can literally feel a difference in the softness. I drive the car to the track so they probably won't last long but we are happy right now.

[jbrown13]

Originally Posted by GraysonPeace

After reading this thread I went and bought 2 Mickey Thompson ET Streets 2. Had been running the Nitto's for about a year. Never could get them to hook. The M/T,s dead hooked all day!! I run the 20' 305's with 27 psi.. I know everyone said to let more air out but I don't like it squirrely at the big end. I didn't have to, it hooked great. I roll into it strong off idle (we have the L99). I had my best 60' ever at 1.7 and ran a new personal best 11.5. It was at SGMP IN Valdosta. The event is Pony Wars one of my favorite events of the year so I was very happy! When the tires came in you can literally feel a difference in the softness. I drive the car to the track so they probably won't last long but we are happy right now.

If you feel like I do, I'll gladly take less life to hook. I don't like the feel that the car is getting out from under me. Haven't had a chance to make more runs on the Nittos yet.

[Jchaluja]

I was at Valdosta today running the 18" NT05R's and I was not able to hook regardless of what I tried, these tires suck IMO, I am going with mt's as soon as I can....

[jbrown13]

Follow up to my previous info. Went out tonight and tried a bunch of different air pressures, but still found 17.0 PSIG to be the best for me. The last run of the night was the best (but best DA too) and I did manage a 1.673 60', with a little spin/hop. I noticed on the last two runs (two best) that the tires were picking up more debris on the drive back to my my parking spot, which meant to me that they were getting stickier. Not very consistent throughout the night though. I even tried some 2nd gear launches to see if they would dead hook from 2nd (less torque multiplication), and I still got wheel spin. I'll give them one more try and if I can't get some consistency out of them I'm back to the MT ET Streets and will never look back again.

[jbrown13]

Had all I could take, patience ran out. Nittos off and relegated to the pile of parts in my shed. MT ET Streets on 4/14/14.

[Bad70supreme]

Send them to me, they dead hook on my car. 1.7s 60ft. My car don't run 10s but pretty sure ill be good to low 11s.

[carfansince73]

Great thread. I am considering some drag radials and a couple 18" Corvette rims to go with. I was considering these two brands too. When I was at Discount Tire Direct I noticed this about the Nitto's regarding heat cycling and how important it was for the very first one. They offer to do this for $15/tire.

Was wondering if anyone knew what they did and if it's worth it?

Heat Cycling
Competition tires are built with a highly sophisticated tread compound. This compound is capable of sustaining traction throughout a much wider temperature range, but is also extremely sensitive to the first heat cycle of its use. During this cycle the tread compound stretches as it heats.

Our heat cycling system ensures consistent results by maintaining key conditions during the heat cycle process. The system generates uniform heating and progressive temperature build up throughout the tread. The benefit of this process is a tread compound that lasts longer and provides better traction. All competition tire manufacturers recommend a heat cycling service. Have your competition tires heat cycled today and be race ready!

Heat Cycling is available for $15 per tire.

[Jchaluja]

Never heard of this ^^^^ interesting....