Nitto 555R's

I've got a set of narrow 245-45-17 nittos on my 88. They hook amazingly well on the street, in pretty much any gear. My best 60' is 1.79 and they didn't spin a bit. I'm sure they had a better 60' in them, but my 4cyl didn't have the power to make it happen. The tread wear is great so far and the rain traction is very good, but be careful with standing water.

The nitto is the ideal tire for something you still want to drive on the street. The other drag radials do hook better, but give a much shorter life and will be a lot more scary in the rain or damp conditions.

Again, traction is good, my 2.3 got a 1.79 60' on a 245 tire with an otherwise stock suspension and didn't spin a bit.

The nitto doesn't work as well on manual transmission cars as automatics, but they'll still be a huge improvement on any other non-drag radial street tire.

i got abou 15k out of mine and pulled a 1.65 with them too. they hook good but you have to learn how to launch on them. but like everyone says with your mods its really not necessary.

millhouse said:

I hear ya, but I too make GOBB'S of torque down low too and never experienced tread-wear like you. I always laid into it when I got a chance. I could see how concrete can be detrimental in comparison to asphalt, but unless you are driving on nothing else but concrete and spinning everywhere you go…..I just can see a 10k mile tread decrease! Unless of course you are one of those who pitch’s the tires before you get to the tread-wear indicators?

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not sure what to say? just my experience so far. I bought these brand new at discount tire back in late october '08 (ironically, right after pulley install - lol).....been on for 5K miles. Maybe i can get another 1K miles, not sure. I DD this car, so it sees rain on occasion, and I really don't want to put a mystichrome vert into a wall - lol. I'll probably change them very soon

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penny on top of wear marker for reference

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JBVobra said:

not sure what to say? just my experience so far. I bought these brand new at discount tire back in late october '08 (ironically, right after pulley install - lol).....been on for 5K miles. Maybe i can get another 1K miles, not sure. I DD this car, so it sees rain on occasion, and I really don't want to put a mystichrome vert into a wall - lol. I'll probably change them very soon

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penny on top of wear marker for reference

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That looks to me like a typical case of running with too much pressure and wearing out the center patch of the wheel. Most every drag radial will wear similarly unless you run 20-25lbs of pressure on the street. I'd say you have another 2-3k on that set (at your current psi) before they start to become questionable in the rain. They will still run fine past that wear bar in the rain if you had more tread in the center patch....but at your current rate, it will likely be gone in about 4k miles. There still should be enough outer tread to keep things OK in the wet....but a heavy downpour will require some reduced speed to keep straight.

There is no way I'm going to get 3-4K more, that would be way unnecessary risk for a few miles extra use. Hell, I'm spooked running through a rain shower already. These tires are worse than the photos suggest then. Discount tire has 275/40s right now for 159. I pay close attention to tire pressure, but I had no idea you should run on the street at 20 psi I usually run 28-30 on the street, 17-19 track.

JBVobra said:

There is no way I'm going to get 3-4K more, that would be way unnecessary risk for a few miles extra use. Hell, I'm spooked running through a rain shower already. These tires are worse than the photos suggest then. Discount tire has 275/40s right now for 159. I pay close attention to tire pressure, but I had no idea you should run on the street at 20 psi I usually run 28-30 on the street, 17-19 track.

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Yep, most DR's will require a lower tire pressure in order to get an even treadwear pattern. It's the same reason you lower the pressure at the track...to get the largest contact patch you possibly can.

yea those dont look like they would be good in rain.. too little tread depth


the only crash ive been in was caused by low tread tires in the rain.. was just like ice and i slid into a guy after sliding for like 50 feet or more with 0 traction