Hey guys, in reference to this thread:
Best Street Tire - 140+ Treadwear - evolutionm.net
There has been so much discussion this fall about what tire to run for next year in Street class, with so many options out there it's kinda hard to choose, especially if you don't have any experience on all the tires. I had mentioned before that I would be debuting a new Nitto tire at the 2008 Super Lap Battle Finale. The tire is the NT05, it's a 200 Treadwear tire that is being built for use in the Street class events.
First impressions - I thought the tire was VERY easy to drive on. I didn't do any special "break-in" on them, and coming on track fresh they warmed up very nice after 1/2 a lap. After the first session on them I was impressed for sure. I hadn't ran Street tires for a few events and the transition back to them was very easy using the NT-05's.
On Track impressions - After a warm up lap the tires are PERFECT. They start to get up to temp fast, and they seem to plateau (in a good way). After a single lap on Street tires I had always had to do a cool down lap before going again for a hot lap, but with the NT05's I was able to continue going on for a consecutive hot lap, which is awesome for Redline events where you are limited to only 3 hot laps. The turn in on them is good for a street tire, they are plenty responsive....they feel crisp. Mid corner these tires are a DREAM, for real. They have the smoothest break away of any Street tire (R-comps also) I have driven on this year. At Buttonwillow there are some long sweepers and the NT05 shined thru them, they weren't twitchy and even when I was on the edge they stayed nice and crisp while still breaking away nice and evenly. Under braking, they worked well. Lock-up was kept to a relative minimum, even though I was running on race pads. I could get on them very hard and they would take it pretty well. They are also easy to drive a little sideways (thanks to my new rear diff and FP Red hahaha).
Overall - The NT05 is a very good option for anyone running Street class next year. They last all session without losing their initial grip. I ran this whole year on AD07 Neova's, and to be honest the Nitto's were very similar in grip, with the edge going to the NT05. The thing that bothered me about the Neova's was that they would only last for the first lap and then they were really sloppy. The NT05's are great all session, all 20 mins at Super Lap. The grip on these is really reaching the level of R-comps, which is awesome! Gotta love new technology
The NT05's did everything I asked of them, it was me that was the problem. I ended up 2nd to Nils, who ran great! Both of us beat the previous Street class record! If you have any specific questions about the tire let me know. Here is a quick vid with the tires on the car, you can hear them under braking and thru the corner, very smooth.
YouTube - Gates311.com: Super Lap Teaser (Evo X)
You can see them on the car in these photos.
And a photo of the tread and info on them:
Nitto Tire - High Performance Tires for Car and Truck Enthusiasts
Ryan
Review: Nitto NT05 **Street Class Tire**
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