[bigdnno98]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTech335coupe

I've seen 1.7s on RFTs in Autos so I don't really apply their 60' to my situation.

The Direzza are ok when its sunny out, I think I've done a few 1.9s here and there. I need a tire that I can take to the strip at night and not spin through all the gears. I drag race A LOT. Easily have close to 300 passes in the 335.

I'm in FL so it doesn't get too cold here. Also, the dragstrip closest to my house is notorious for being one of the worst for traction. 2 other tracks that are about 2 hours away are infinitely better for traction.

I'm too lazy to swap the tires off/on everytime I want to go to the track, so I want something that is relatively acceptable for DD.

I thought about DD DRs too but I went ahead and got summer tires for my new wheels and I'm putting DRs on my stock 17"s. I'll just change the wheels out before I head to the track. I didn't want to DR on 19" wheels anyways. Cosmetics only.

[hotrod182]

Originally Posted by GeorgiaTech335coupe

Are the 275s close to rubbing at all? What width rims are you running?

Haven't had clearance problems...but I an running the K1s which are really narrower than recommended for the tire. I had more tire rubbing issues on new 275/30/19s than the DRs. The NT05Rs are "0" treadwear rating so may not be as practical as the NT555Rs. Not to mention the NT555Rs are lighter and good enough for my 11.11 sec pass. And driven the hundreds of miles to/from the track in absolute comfort. They definitely aren't noisy tires. I think they are probably quieter than average.

I was in the 335d M-Sport this morning and got on it from a stop light...almost went sideways into the car next to me. Can't wait to get some new NT555Rs on the rear...much safer.

[themyst]

K1s with MT ET Streets 275/40/17 cleared perfectly on my LCI E90 with stock sport suspension. On the 135i they will rub.

[hotrod182]

Originally Posted by themyst

K1s with MT ET Streets 275/40/17 cleared perfectly on my LCI E90 with stock sport suspension. On the 135i they will rub.

Yup..that's the size I run. After daily driving on DRs, you really won't want to put regular street tires on your car again. Try it out..you will see.

Two different schools of thought. For those interested in bling and looks...the 17" DRs aren't for you. But if you have higher HP ...and drive fast most of the time and need to put it to the ground...you will love DRs.

[tscdennab]

Whoever said that daily driving Nitto 555R is a nightmare doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm using Nitto 555R as daily drivers (275/40/17 on BMW 194M wheels - they are an 8.5ET38 rim) and they are 99% like using summer tires, you can even drive in the wet with like 60-70mph very safely. The soft sidewall is not overly soft to cause problems.

The wear rate is very good, after using them like 5000 miles and 4-5 drag racing contests with 6-8 passes each, they are 25-30% worn. They will still hold for another 2 seasons easily.

This year I am planning to use Continental DWS all-seasons in the front (soft sidewall and very light), and only exchange the 555Rs with another pair of DWS in the winter. Perfect convenience !

If you want to use Nitto 235/35/18 tires, you need 18x9 or 18x9.5 wheels (although 18x9 is not recommended, I have seen cars with the combo and there is almost no bulge - Nitto 555R run narrow). 18x8.5 (stock wheels) can be used at a stretch, but I don't think they will behave well on the road.

As for the clearance (no rubbing whatsoever, no fender rolling), I measured very well because I want to step up to 18" from my current 17" setup:

For 18x9.5 rims you need at least ET37 offset for non-LCI e90, ET45 offset for LCI e90.
For 18x9 rims, you need at least ET31 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET39 offset for LCI.
For 18x8.5 rims, you need at least ET25 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET33 offset for LCI e90.

[hotrod182]

Originally Posted by tscdennab

Whoever said that daily driving Nitto 555R is a nightmare doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm using Nitto 555R as daily drivers (275/40/17 on BMW 194M wheels - they are an 8.5ET38 rim) and they are 99% like using summer tires, you can even drive in the wet with like 60-70mph very safely. The soft sidewall is not overly soft to cause problems.

The wear rate is very good, after using them like 5000 miles and 4-5 drag racing contests with 6-8 passes each, they are 25-30% worn. They will still hold for another 2 seasons easily.

This year I am planning to use Continental DWS all-seasons in the front (soft sidewall and very light), and only exchange the 555Rs with another pair of DWS in the winter. Perfect convenience !

If you want to use Nitto 235/35/18 tires, you need 18x9 or 18x9.5 wheels (although 18x9 is not recommended, I have seen cars with the combo and there is almost no bulge - Nitto 555R run narrow). 18x8.5 (stock wheels) can be used at a stretch, but I don't think they will behave well on the road.

As for the clearance (no rubbing whatsoever, no fender rolling), I measured very well because I want to step up to 18" from my current 17" setup:

For 18x9.5 rims you need at least ET37 offset for non-LCI e90, ET45 offset for LCI e90.
For 18x9 rims, you need at least ET31 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET39 offset for LCI.
For 18x8.5 rims, you need at least ET25 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET33 offset for LCI e90.

Exactly

[rismo]

Originally Posted by tscdennab

Whoever said that daily driving Nitto 555R is a nightmare doesn't know what he's talking about. I'm using Nitto 555R as daily drivers (275/40/17 on BMW 194M wheels - they are an 8.5ET38 rim) and they are 99% like using summer tires, you can even drive in the wet with like 60-70mph very safely. The soft sidewall is not overly soft to cause problems.

The wear rate is very good, after using them like 5000 miles and 4-5 drag racing contests with 6-8 passes each, they are 25-30% worn. They will still hold for another 2 seasons easily.

This year I am planning to use Continental DWS all-seasons in the front (soft sidewall and very light), and only exchange the 555Rs with another pair of DWS in the winter. Perfect convenience !

If you want to use Nitto 235/35/18 tires, you need 18x9 or 18x9.5 wheels (although 18x9 is not recommended, I have seen cars with the combo and there is almost no bulge - Nitto 555R run narrow). 18x8.5 (stock wheels) can be used at a stretch, but I don't think they will behave well on the road.

As for the clearance (no rubbing whatsoever, no fender rolling), I measured very well because I want to step up to 18" from my current 17" setup:

For 18x9.5 rims you need at least ET37 offset for non-LCI e90, ET45 offset for LCI e90.
For 18x9 rims, you need at least ET31 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET39 offset for LCI.
For 18x8.5 rims, you need at least ET25 offset for e90 non-LCI, ET33 offset for LCI e90.

I have to admit to have no experience with DR... so could you maybe tell us more about how those tyres behave on a normal road? Corners, braking... bumps... comfort.. sound... wear... compound .... maybe in comparison to summer tyres?

Would be great to get better informed about the charateristics of such tyres... I'm more of the race track and not so much about the 1/4 miles races... so in general i'm looking into other aspects of a tyre...

Would be great to gain some better knowledge ;-)

[jippii ensio]

Originally Posted by rismo123

I have to admit to have no experience with DR... so could you maybe tell us more about how those tyres behave on a normal road? Corners, braking... bumps... comfort.. sound... wear... compound .... maybe in comparison to summer tyres?

Would be great to get better informed about the charateristics of such tyres... I'm more of the race track and not so much about the 1/4 miles races... so in general i'm looking into other aspects of a tyre...

Would be great to gain some better knowledge ;-)

Many DR's don't have as stiff sidewalls that as you would want for twisties to keep the tire leveled to the road and to sustain large enough contact patch area.

[tscdennab]

Originally Posted by rismo123

I have to admit to have no experience with DR... so could you maybe tell us more about how those tyres behave on a normal road? Corners, braking... bumps... comfort.. sound... wear... compound .... maybe in comparison to summer tyres?

I only have experience with Nitto 555R. This is a special kind of tire. It is not an all-out drag radial, it has a wear rating of 100 as opposed to 0 on all other drag radials. It lasts like 15000 miles. It may not be as good as a Mickey Thompson or a Hoosier, but it is designed to be streetable and when it's heated, it hooks up very good. When it's not heated it still hooks up quite good, much better than any summer tire. Rarely do you get wheel spin in these.

On normal roads the tires are very confortable due to the soft sidewall, the noise levels are unobtrusive (I mean, I didn't hear unusual levels of noise but I don't care and don't pay attention to the noise levels in tires). In corners, the tires are behaving predictably, almost like an average soft sidewall summer tire (let's say Hankook V12). I got very good grip in corners from them, no problems. It's clear that you can't autocross in them though.

In the wet I drive carefully and don't go past 70-75mph but I tried braking from 60mph on a very wet road to test the tires and the car brakes straight with no drama. I didn't try to take fast corners in the wet, and I don't plan to. The Nitto 555R tire pattern helps in this area because it is not a bald pattern but very similar to the Nitto 555 regular tire pattern, so it is designed to somewhat prevent aquaplaning.

One disadvantage of these tires is that they have a tall sidewall and look a bit "different" on your car compared to regular tires. The 18" version (285/35/18) has a sidewall width to rim width ratio much better than the 17" version that I'm using, and if using them with a 245 or 235 front tire (which are taller than the original 225) they look quite normal.

PS: I do know that Mickey Thompson ET Streets are not behaving well at high speeds like 200kmh when changing lanes fast...I have a friend who runs on them and he lived a scary moment. They have a much softer sidewall.

[jippii ensio]

I have huge problems to get traction in the rain and cold. So, any hint of tires that would be great especially in slippery conditions are welcome.

I just looked at some results from Hangover Nationals 2012, and was amazed seeing that the tires matter especially on wet. There can be like 10 seconds difference (based on tires) in wet, whereas there is typically no more than 1 second difference (based on tires) in the dry.

[Sniz]

just did some research on tires for 18" wheels and it looks like Nitto makes nothing for me. I want to run nt555r but unfortunately my size does not exist.

I need a 265 or 255 / 35/18, any other ideas?



EDIT: just saw that they make the nt05 in 265/35/18, not a DR but should still be plenty sticky. any feedback on these?


Here is what my 2nd gear looks like currently, its terrible yet fun lol. Same thing would happen if I went WOT or half throttle even at 3k rpms.

[turb0mik3]

I was just having the same question. Can anyone elaborate of Toyo Proxes R888? I'm looking at a set of 275/315 for my car and just wonder about tread wear and what not. I probably will use them just for the track and maybe once a month on a weekend for a show or what not but just curious. Thanks.

[SlowerThanU]

Originally Posted by Mflowt5

I was just having the same question. Can anyone elaborate of Toyo Proxes R888? I'm looking at a set of 275/315 for my car and just wonder about tread wear and what not. I probably will use them just for the track and maybe once a month on a weekend for a show or what not but just curious. Thanks.

I have been running Toyo R1R for a while. I like them on the street. They are very close to the R888 but have softer sidewalls and thicker tread.

[GeorgiaTech335coupe]

Originally Posted by Mflowt5

I was just having the same question. Can anyone elaborate of Toyo Proxes R888? I'm looking at a set of 275/315 for my car and just wonder about tread wear and what not. I probably will use them just for the track and maybe once a month on a weekend for a show or what not but just curious. Thanks.

I use to run 255 R888. I got about 5000 miles out of them. They handled well dry and wet, but weren't that much better for drag racing. I wouldn't get them again, but that's solely on the fact that I didn't think they were great for drag racing.

[tscdennab]

Any other Nitto tires besides the 555R and NT05R (and 555R2 and NT01 but those are for other purposes) are like usual summer tires. They are not stellar and they won't be any better than a summer tire.

Toyo R888 wears fast, and has a stiff sidewall. It is used for drag racing by some people I know and the impressions are pretty good, but they are not like true drag radials with soft sidewall.

Nitto NT05R wears very fast and it's not good in the rain. But it's better than the 555R for drag racing purposes. Not even close for daily driving, from what I read.

One thing I learned is you want drag radials in daily driving, you need to build your rims (sizes, offsets) around the tires and not search for tires for your rims because you will not find any. You need 17" or 18" rims with plenty of width and conservative offsets.

APEX ARC-8 and Sportline CS.16 come to mind as good looking and lightweight rims with conservative offsets.

[Sniz]

Originally Posted by tscdennab

Any other Nitto tires besides the 555R and NT05R (and 555R2 and NT01 but those are for other purposes) are like usual summer tires. They are not stellar and they won't be any better than a summer tire.

Toyo R888 wears fast, and has a stiff sidewall. It is used for drag racing by some people I know and the impressions are pretty good, but they are not like true drag radials with soft sidewall.

Nitto NT05R wears very fast and it's not good in the rain. But it's better than the 555R for drag racing purposes. Not even close for daily driving, from what I read.

One thing I learned is you want drag radials in daily driving, you need to build your rims (sizes, offsets) around the tires and not search for tires for your rims because you will not find any. You need 17" or 18" rims with plenty of width and conservative offsets.

APEX ARC-8 and Sportline CS.16 come to mind as good looking and lightweight rims with conservative offsets.

good post.


i'm going with R888's in the rear soon to be followed by R888's in the front i'm sure. Once i'm running R comps in the rear the understeer will surely force me to go R comps in the front. My car sees 2-3k miles a year at most so I'm hoping a set of R888's that see mainly street driving will last at least a year. If I see the track a few times that will scrub off a lot.

Can't wait to feel the soft compound. My other option was Nt01's but they dont make a size thats perfect for my rear and nothing for the front.

R comps on the street here I come!!

I'll report back with my impressions.


EDIT: looks like i'm buying a very lightly used set of MT et street II locally.....R comps will have to wait. Was made an offer I couldnt refuse.

[iFRANChISe]

Anyone have experience with the Nitto NT 555?

[V-Viper]

Having come from a drag radial + 5.0 mustang with 3.73 gears the last thing I want on my BMW is something that takes away from the fun of actually being able to turn.

I got a set of Michelin Pilot Super Sports, they are pricey but the grip is amazing. Haven't gone to the track yet to see 60' times yet.

[jetblack07]

Need more information for what size on the rear 162's. I'm thinking of a 265/40/18 mt et street. What you guys think?

[happy4nk8er]

Originally Posted by Jeff@topgearsolutions

Yea now that the weather is colder anything under 50 degrees and I'm literally spinning from 3rd gear 50 and 60 MPH rolls. No BS. I'm talking about traction control fully off, spinning tire sideways down a highway shredding tire.

I'm on 19's with 265 hancrap evo 12.

I'm looking to switch to the Nitto Nt05 next round and likely go to 275.

Drag radials is just not an option but I have no problem splurging on an expensive tire if its actually going to hook in a straight line.

Had the exact same experience on Hankook v12s, when it gets to 50 degree F or below those tires were scary. As you said no traction in 3rd. Just switched to PSS at twice the price but it feels like I am getting twice the traction, no more 3rd gear spinning and 2nd gear hooks up very nicely. I should not have waited so long to try them. But going from $180 a tire to $350 took me awhile to choke down.

[ChuckD05]

I have driven about 8k miles on NT05Rs on 17 inch z4 wheel on my 135i.... They ride just fine at all speeds in temps down to 50 where I took them off, not because it got dangerous, just because the "winter" came here in NY and i had snow tires to put on the car. Snow tires are 1000000x more dangerous feeling than the nt05rs... I think I will get just over 10k out of these tires and I can honestly say I hook in first gear on the street when i limit the boost to 12-14psi... If I'm racing I will heat them up and they are fn awesome... I will not run a summer tire in the summer for the entire time I own this car. Handling is not compromised much at all.. I run them on the street at 35 psi and the sidewalls are just fine for high speed lane changing/turning etc.

I purchased hotrods MT ET streets on koseis and they rubbed too much on my 135 but the ET streets def sacrificed more handling characteristics than the nt05r's did by a good amount.

I highly recommendmend the NT05rs and also agree with others who said people saying they are not DD'able are not talking from experience!

My car trapped 120 mph and i was only able to get one pass at the track because i went late in the season and the track closed down due to weather... I only pulled a 1.98 as I had more grip than I thought i would and bogged... another trip I am confident ill cut 1.8x and get into the 11s with my car... i went 12.1 at 120 with a 1.97 60 and in this trim my car pretty much hooks from first gear. I CAN absolutely do 5 rolls without bouncing off rev limiter like i would with my winter rubber (dunlop winter sport 3d)

I also bought my car with DWS' on the car, and they were def way above average for straight line grip, compared to all my friends n54s traction issues I would honeslty say they hooked better than any tire with similar price tag.

[tscdennab]

Originally Posted by ChuckD05

I have driven about 8k miles on NT05Rs on 17 inch z4 wheel on my 135i....
I also bought my car with DWS' on the car, and they were def way above average for straight line grip

I just received my Nitto 555R 285/35/18 for the rear, and Continental DWS for the fronts (245/40/18), along with SportLine CS.16 18" lightweight wheels (18x8.5ET35 front, 18x9.5ET45 rear).

Together with the Bilstein B12 Pro-Kit that I have on the way which add a bit of lowering over the M-Sport, I think I will have the best looking daily driveable drag racing setup on this forum I will post some pictures here once I have them on, but it will be at least 2 weeks, there is still heavy snow here.