Does anyone have experience with NITTO's NT 555 Extreme Performance Tires? I've got plus size wheels. I'm shopping for replacements. Looking @ SO-3's too.

I searched past threads about the SO-3's which got pretty good reviews from you guys, however; the NITTO prices are attractive for sure. Opinions Anyone?

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Gary Gilpin
[B]I searched past threads about the SO-3's which got pretty good reviews from you guys, however; the NITTO prices are attractive for sure.

 

Yep...I'm also thinking that the S03's would be better than the 555's.

 

Yeah, The SO-3's combination of excellent dry performance (maybe 2nd to SO-2's) combined with longer wear sounds good to me. The SO-3's wet performance is a plus, but I try not to drive mine in the rain (got caught once already though).

I've heard good things about the 555's and the pricing can hardly be beat.

BTW, Yoko doesn't have my rear size (255/35/18) at least according to Tire Rack.

 

Hey Phantom,

I've read several of your posts, and you seem to be one of the wheel/tire experts.

You can see in my set-up in my sig. below. My rear wheel offset has my 255's at the edge of the fender lip (a bit over-agressive). I was thinking about downsizing the rear width to 245's or even 235's to tuck them in a little bit.

The 245/35/18's are hard to come by, however; I've priced Toyo's locally but the local dealer ain't cheap. In combination witht a similar overall diameter/smaller width 17" fronts (I forget the actual front size right now), they wanted $1000 (mounted & Balanced). This is not much cheaper than the SO-2's sized per my sig below.

So, I looked @ SO-3's (235/40/18's rear) and (205/50/17's front). The overall dia. would be 25.4" rear, and 25.1" front. Any thoughts about this combination (Phantom or anyone out there)?

 

The Nitto 555 Extreme is a drag radial. I have these tires on my Trans Am and they are excellent for drag racing type launches. There is no better street legal tire out there when it comes to dry pavement, off-the-line traction but since it is intended as a drag racing tire it has very little tread and WILL break loose if you hit a puddle in the wet. They also have soft sidewalls which is not good for handling.

 

Nitto tires in Ultra High Perf, like the s2000, suck. There really is no cheap tire in this category. You get what you pay for. Try looking at the Toyo tires (spec. R1), or Michelins, if you are done with Bridgestone tires.

Andy

 

Agree with Silver S2K Guy, the 555R are good for grip and dry but not what you want when it is wet out (sounds like the S02) but the price makes them very attractive. I have the regular 555s on my Eclipse GSX 245/40/ZR18 and since that is 4WD it really doesn't matter much to me. But I know guys that have used 555Rs on their cars that love the grip. The regular 555 should be fine in the wet.
But, if I had a choice I would go with the TOYOs between the two.

 

My 95 Talon TSI-AWD is on its second set of 555's. They are worth the money, but they don't stick nearly as good as the OEM S02's. However, they do have better wet traction than the OEM S02's.

 

The 555's are a very good tire, not a great tire like the stock S02's. The 555's don't last as long or grip as good as the S02's. The AVS Intermediates are decent when it's dry (still nowhere near the S02's) but suck when it's wet out. The only tire close to the performance of the S02 for less money that I've found is the Continental ContiSport Contact 2 (I think that's the name). They are also a 'W' rated tire and offer excellent dry weather and very good wet weather grip.