Nitto or Sumitomo?

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

It's time to order some new rear tires, mine are 99.5% shot.

Currently I have Sumitumo HTR-Z's in a 315/35/17 size.

I am considering either going with them again or trying the Nitto 555's, NOT the 555R drag radials. They get a "300" score for their tread wear rating as compared to a "160" or "180" (can't remember) for the Sumitumo's.

Just wondering if anyone could post up their thoughts/experiences about the Nitto 555's as far as how they hook up and most importantly tread life.

My Sumitumo's have lasted me around 20k +/- abusive miles.

The Sumi's are about $100 cheaper per tire, so if they are close in comparison I will just go with the Sumitumo's again.

tag4car · Jan 13, 2009

i started out on sumi's with my car and i am on nitto nt555's now, Nittos are hooking really good for me and keeping very good grip in rain. I did get the sumi's to hook nice on occasion though. do what your wallet wants, both good products IMO

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

tag4car said:
i started out on sumi's with my car and i am on nitto nt555's now, Nittos are hooking really good for me and keeping very good grip in rain. I did get the sumi's to hook nice on occasion though. do what your wallet wants, both good products IMO

Thanks man. I have heard the 555's hook well for a street tire. The ONLY time my Sumi's have hooked was in HOT weather with stock gears. After that is has been a crap shoot... lol.

timeless2 · Jan 13, 2009

I ran Sumitomos on my 1995 Cobra when I autocrossed. I hated every minute of driving on those tires. Never again. I could have gotten a bad run in their series, but I'll be damned to ever use that brand again.

Nitto is my vote...by the way, where's the poll?

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

timeless2 said:
I ran Sumitomos on my 1995 Cobra when I autocrossed. I hated every minute of driving on those tires. Never again. I could have gotten a bad run in their series, but I'll be damned to ever use that brand again.

Nitto is my vote...by the way, where's the poll?

Uhhh, ooops... I forgot the poll.

So far they have been good to me for DD and autocross action, but at the strip I could only pull a high 2.1 60' on them.

I do know of a freind of mine that did get a bad set of the Sumi's and they SUCKED!!! They ended up knotting for no reason and had horrid tread wear. So it's possible you got a bad set of tires.

timeless2 · Jan 13, 2009

BurningRubber said:
Uhhh, ooops... I forgot the poll.

Poll added.

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

timeless2 said:
Poll added.

Thank you sir...

squeak93 · Jan 13, 2009

Sumitomos all the way for me. Pulled 1.9 60's with a 4.30 geared car. I love them and u can't beat the price. I got 10k out of my last set.. A LOT of burn outs with them.

For the money, 88 a tire plus shipping for 275/40's (what size I need, 315's can be too much higher) u can't beat this tire. If u want true traction, get drag radials.

96SCstang · Jan 13, 2009

correct me if i'm wrong but i have been doing alot of reading on tires lately and the nitto drag radials are giving lots of guys 14,000 miles of hard driving. why not get the drag radial if it can give you just about as many miles and will definatly solve your hooking up problem.

scupking · Jan 13, 2009

I have sumis (255-45-17) and for the price I also don't think they can be beat. I will get them again when mine wear out and I still have lots of tread left after a year with them.

LaserSVT · Jan 13, 2009

96SCstang said:
correct me if i'm wrong but i have been doing alot of reading on tires lately and the nitto drag radials are giving lots of guys 14,000 miles of hard driving. why not get the drag radial if it can give you just about as many miles and will definatly solve your hooking up problem.

Because they suck in the rain and the cars rear gets a little more sloppy in the corners.

The Nitto 555 is the better choice. I had them on my 96 Cobra and my 94 Formula. They worked great, lasted long and were quiet.
I have also had all the Sumitomos. The HTRZ was a decient tire for the price. The HTRZII sucked ass all day long. The HTRZIII are pretty sweet though. They are softer then the previous versions and hook great. They have a lower tread wear rating now to reflect that softer compound though.

Now I just got the Michelin Pilot Sports for $397 a pair for the fronts (275/40/18), shipped. The rears were $510 shipped (295/35/18) IMO that is the best performance street tire you can get and I have had Goodyear (F1, GS-C, GS-D, VR&ZR Gatorback, ST, GT+4) Nitto (555, 555 DR, 455) Perilli (PZero in three flavors, P9000, P7000) Kumaho (ASX, ESX, AST) BFG (Comp T/A, TAKD, TAKDW) Falken (502, 512, 712, 912) Bridgestone (S-02, Pole Position) Sumitomo (HTRZ I,II,III) Yokohama (AVS, Axxess) Toyo (T-1, R-1, Proxy, T1S) just to name a few and the Michelins have always been the best

Go on eBay and look for your tire size and you will find a deal!

LaserSVT · Jan 13, 2009

Just did a quick search and found BFG G-Force KD in 315/35/17 for $200 each shipped
Nitto 555 DR for $335 a pair shipped and regular 555's for 385 a pair shipped
Also found the Sumitomos in HTRZI for $270 a pair shipped

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

squeak93 said:
Sumitomos all the way for me. Pulled 1.9 60's with a 4.30 geared car. I love them and u can't beat the price. I got 10k out of my last set.. A LOT of burn outs with them.

For the money, 88 a tire plus shipping for 275/40's (what size I need, 315's can be too much higher) u can't beat this tire. If u want true traction, get drag radials.

1.9 is pretty damn good out of those tires. The 315's are $104/tire so they are still real reasonable.

96SCstang said:
correct me if i'm wrong but i have been doing alot of reading on tires lately and the nitto drag radials are giving lots of guys 14,000 miles of hard driving. why not get the drag radial if it can give you just about as many miles and will definatly solve your hooking up problem.

Yeah the 555R drag radials do last a decent amount for a drag radial. I would definatly love the traction, but the first year I had my car I put 19k on it. I would hate to change tires after every 5th oil change...

Plus I also autocross and DR's aren't what you want to use for that, lol.

I do have a set in storage but they are a 15" DR, perfect for the track but not good for daily use.

scupking said:
I have sumis (255-45-17) and for the price I also don't think they can be beat. I will get them again when mine wear out and I still have lots of tread left after a year with them.

I feel that way too for the most part.

Unfortunatley I ran mine over-inflated for a while and it wore the centers alot quicker than the outer tread. The outer tread still has between 5-8k left on it, and if it would have worn evenly the centers would too.

LaserSVT said:
Because they suck in the rain and the cars rear gets a little more sloppy in the corners.

The Nitto 555 is the better choice. I had them on my 96 Cobra and my 94 Formula. They worked great, lasted long and were quiet.
I have also had all the Sumitomos. The HTRZ was a decient tire for the price. The HTRZII sucked ass all day long. The HTRZIII are pretty sweet though. They are softer then the previous versions and hook great. They have a lower tread wear rating now to reflect that softer compound though.

Now I just got the Michelin Pilot Sports for $397 a pair for the fronts (275/40/18), shipped. The rears were $510 shipped (295/35/18) IMO that is the best performance street tire you can get and I have had Goodyear (F1, GS-C, GS-D, VR&ZR Gatorback, ST, GT+4) Nitto (555, 555 DR, 455) Perilli (PZero in three flavors, P9000, P7000) Kumaho (ASX, ESX, AST) BFG (Comp T/A, TAKD, TAKDW) Falken (502, 512, 712, 912) Bridgestone (S-02, Pole Position) Sumitomo (HTRZ I,II,III) Yokohama (AVS, Axxess) Toyo (T-1, R-1, Proxy, T1S) just to name a few and the Michelins have always been the best

Go on eBay and look for your tire size and you will find a deal!

Thanks Bill. The Sumi's I have are the old HTR-Z's.

I was going to check E-bay and see if I could find anything better than Discount Tire Direct...

Keep it coming guys...

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

LaserSVT said:
Just did a quick search and found BFG G-Force KD in 315/35/17 for $200 each shipped
Nitto 555 DR for $335 a pair shipped and regular 555's for 385 a pair shipped
Also found the Sumitomos in HTRZI for $270 a pair shipped

Damn dude, thank you!!!

Those are all better than what I have found, gonna go take a look...

SaleenGT2001 · Jan 13, 2009

the choice is easy

Nitto b/c Sumi discontinued the 315's!!!

trust me i've tried all my warehouses to get a pair. it'snot gonna happen

BurningRubber · Jan 13, 2009

SaleenGT2001 said:
the choice is easy

Nitto b/c Sumi discontinued the 315's!!!

trust me i've tried all my warehouses to get a pair. it'snot gonna happen

I've heard that too, but they went away from and came back to Tire Rack's website... they are on there now listed as "in stock"..

LaserSVT · Jan 13, 2009

SaleenGT2001 said:
the choice is easy

Nitto b/c Sumi discontinued the 315's!!!

trust me i've tried all my warehouses to get a pair. it'snot gonna happen

10 places on eBay have several in stock at $105-$125 each

SaleenGT2001 · Jan 13, 2009

wow, i cant get them anywhere!!!

mazen189 · Jan 13, 2009

i say nitto ftw, i jus picked up a pair last week after finally getting the crappy Fierce tires (has anyone really heard of them???) off that the car came with and they are great street tires for the price, i dont know much about the sumi's, but another good tire to look into is the falken azenis 610 series, i have those on my 98 GT and they are some of the best tires to price anyone can ask for, only downside is, their thread wear is 200 :/

crzyhrse99 · Jan 13, 2009

I cant comment on the Sumis because I have never used them but if you can still get them/find them for around $100 for a 315 tire I would jump on them especially since its a DD with some autocross sprints, rain, etc.

Nitto 555's have been the longest lasting tire I have ever put on my car, at the very least was 2 years and 30Kish miles and still had tread on them when I switched from 17 to 18" wheels. I got my best 60' which was 1.90 with those tires in a 245/45 size (probably had a little bit of luck and tail wind to do it) but I would definitely buy them again.

Now that I have the 18" and pretty damn broke I gotta try to find good deals on used ebay tires. I wish I could find a new 315/18 tire for $100

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