275/40/r17 555r nittos are great!

[truckracer]

Took the goat for a drive today with the nittos- No rubbing, smooth ride-just like stock, I now have traction in 2nd gear from a roll.

Have not tried any hard launches since there was too much traffic today.

This weekend I will go out on some back roads and try some launches.

My stock BFG's used to go up in smoke from a second gear roll.

Not the nitto's they just hook and go:bubbrub :bubbrub :bubbrub :bubbrub

[GTO4now]

Cool. I may have to get some of those.

[05 red tomcat]

they squeel bad ,as in dukes of hazzard ,my goat doesnt need the extra attention lol

[Don B]

Stock wheels? No drag bags? Cool...

[Wm Holden]

275/40/r17 555r nittos are great!

on stock rims???

[Chevypowered]

Yeah i threw my 245/45/17's on this week since i didn't want to burn up my all seasons, never had them on the road just at the track. I'm going to get some 275's come spring. But damn do these nittos hook up so nicely.

[Lorider680]

275's and you didn't roll your fender right??
Face!

[axles of evil]

yeah ive heard good things about the nitto 555s. post up some pics.

[walterd]

275/40 nittos worked fine on my car even before the bags and with no fender changes.

[gtOMFG]

i have the same on my goat and i love em'

[truckracer]

I forgot to post in the beginning that those nittos are on stock 17" gto wheels and I have NO suspension mods or rolled fenders.

all I did was have them mounted on an extra set of stock 17" gto wheels that I bought from flea-bay. I kept my stock bfg's on the original wheels that came with my car for long road trips.

I think a set of drag bags would be nice to help with wheelhop when the nittos do break loose.

[TitanMS]

can u post some pics of em from the rear and from the side for me pwease ?!?!

[kingkong401]

Thoose are very good tires went through 3 sets with my 04 GTO. I now have 18" Thruxtons and they dont make a 275...they make a 285, but it is too wide even with cut and rolled fenders.

So with that, about a week ago i emailed them asking about makeing a 275 in a R18, i left them a link to this place. They said no plans at this time but my think about it basically......oh well..

[sloloco]

Those are great tires (please don't delete, thank you).

[HRJ]

Those are great tires (please don't delete, thank you).

No problem. You don't break the rules and I won't. Nice "drama queen" action, though. I especially love your avatar.

[Wm Holden]

My stock BFG's used to go up in smoke from a second gear roll.



mine still go up in smoke...anyone gonna post a price for these tires?

[porterusaf]

I've been looking for some nice tires that fit on stock 17's w/o cutting fenders or drag bags... How is the wear life on these tires? For our average assorted monthly races on the streets and then casual daily driving (for a Daily Driver)? Any mileage estimates (30,000 miles?)?

Also how are they in water / weather? Thanks guys! Huge help!

[avc8130]

They are NOT the tire for you! Pretty simple. They are a drag radial. They are NOT meant for "water/weather". They are meant for trips to the strip and the ride there!
ac

[porterusaf]

Cool, thanks... Yea I've already had a set of drag radials, looking for something for the daily driver but with traction. (if thats possible)

[kbtitan]

They are NOT the tire for you! Pretty simple. They are a drag radial. They are NOT meant for "water/weather". They are meant for trips to the strip and the ride there!
ac

Does this mean they simply won't work as a DD tire period? Does the wear suck on regular roads, or is there just terrible grip in "bad" weather (or both)? If I want a tire with max grip, would the regular 555s be satisfactory?

[BLACK05GTO]

Does this mean they simply won't work as a DD tire period? Does the wear suck on regular roads, or is there just terrible grip in "bad" weather (or both)? If I want a tire with max grip, would the regular 555s be satisfactory?

I had a couple sets of 275s Nitto DRs on my 05 M6 GTO (415 rwhp).
They don't work all that well in the rain. But you can use them as a daily driver. Many of the members of this forum use them as daily driver tires. I did. I live in S. Florida and we get a ton of rain in the summer. When they were new they actually worked pretty good in the rain. But as they got worn down, they got real slippery in the rain. But on dry pavement they always worked great.
Just give them a little tire spin when you first take the car out, and they will stick real nice to the road.
So , yes they work fine as a daily driver tire, just be careful in the rain.


As far as tire wear they're not that bad. It all depends on your driving style. If you go to the track frequently and do big smokey burnouts, they're not going to last too long. But with normal daily driving and a couple track days, they can last for quite a while. Mine lastest longer than expected on my 05 M6 GTO.

If your looking for a street tire with maximum grip (non drag radial), I would stay away from Nittos.

[sunnyday]

I have had experience with the three major name brands of DRs.
The Nittos are the most weather friendly and last the longest. They also hook great on the street.
I get 18,000 out of my Nittos but I rarely drive hard except when racing or at the track.
I run them from April to October and have even driven them on 400 mile one way trips on the interstate.
I have never had an issue driving normally with them in the rain. Once during a torrential down pour I took off hard going up an on ramp and they started to spin so I backed off.
This was my only negative experience with them since 2003.

[redgoat6.0]

nittos are awesome.... they are easy to drive in the rain and hook amazing in the dry.

[BoostedGTO]

It amazes me that you had those on your car without rubbing. I say that because I just tryed it and thought I was going to blow the tire up it rubbed so bad. 1st gear hard launches and 1st to 2nd was terrible. Have to get fenders rolled now...:(

[bvbull200]

I don't have my fenders rolled either, though I do have drag bags with a little air in them (~7psi). I use 275/40/17's on stock rims as a daily driver. You can't be as "aggressive" in the rain as you can on other tires, but I don't want to be aggressive at all anyways. I've said it alot, if you stay concious of the fact that you have DR's on when driving in the rain, then you shouldn't have a problem.

[avc8130]

It amazes me that you had those on your car without rubbing. I say that because I just tryed it and thought I was going to blow the tire up it rubbed so bad. 1st gear hard launches and 1st to 2nd was terrible. Have to get fenders rolled now...:(

Oh No! Up until this point this was the solution! It seemed the Nitto DR was THE 275 for our cars! Is this just a fluke?
ac

[Wm Holden]

do tell...

[bvbull200]

It seems as though these tires are right on the borderline of what will fit without rubbing on stock wheels. The slight differences in everyone's setup seems to tilt the balance either towards or away from rubbing. The nice thing is that for those with rubbing, it is a pretty easy and cheap fix, roll the fenders or stiffen up the rear with springs or a $100 set of drag bags. Hope that helps.

[Lone]

So all you guys running these Nittos in the back, what the hell do you run in the front?

275's wont fit up there from what I've read/seen.. or am I wrong?

-Lone

[Summerwolf]

run stock size in the front

the reason some people rub and some don't is the same reason some rims fit some cars and others they don't...rear cradle alignment and shoddy variances from the factory.

[04LS1GTO]

Nitto 275's on stock wheels with drag bags. No rubbing after I put the drag bags in. Before the bags they would rub when I had a trunk load of beer comming back from NH.

[lilgto]

Just put a set of Nitto 555R 275/40/17's on stock wheels. Amazing grip on the street. With 495 RWHP and 478 RWTQ 1st and 2nd gear was breakin the back end loose severely at just over half throttle. I can now throttle control to almost full out in 1st and get 2nd immediately to full throttle. These tires just grab hard and the car leaps like a jack rabbit.

I don't have the fenders rolled or any suspension mods. I can see how they don't rub because the tire shoulders are rounded instead of squared off. This allows a little more body drop before the fender will hit the tire. However, if I had a couple 300 pounders in the back seat and floored it, I could see it would probably rub like crazy. The tires do stick out enough to where even with rolled fenders, enough body drop and it would eventually hit and rub.

I'm very happy with the performance of these tires and after my thrashing on the car, even through some twisties and hard bumps to try to get tire rub, I couldn't get it to noticeably rub. The only time I might be apprehensive is if someone gets in the back seat. My next mod will probably be either drag bags or stiffer rear springs just for peace of mind. Well, if my clutch or rear doesn't go first. Since I removed the tires as the weak link I imagine the clutch and or rear is probably on borrowed time.

[05gto6speed]

i love mine and would suggest them to any one that is in need of new tires

[RiverCitySlim]

With regards to the daily driver tire question, I have a suggestion. A buddy of mine runs a 275/40/17 Sumitomo HTR Z on his daily car (not a GTO, but as he's got one, I'm sure that will change!). He loves the crap outta those! They have a 160 traction rating, sticky as all get out, with enough of a tread pattern to handle some inclement weather. And they are CHEAP! $85 a piece through Tire Rack. I would have thought they were junk just to look at them. He is running a 9" wide rear, tho... From what I've seen, that's the narrowest rim you'd want to run with a 275. No cornering issues on an 8" rim then? If that's the case...

[Don B]

So with the 555's in the rear you guys are running 555's in stock size in front???

[lilgto]

So with the 555's in the rear you guys are running 555's in stock size in front???

Yes,

I am running the 275/40/17 Nitto 555R drag radials in the rear on stock rims without rolling the fenders and without any suspension mods.

I will probably be getting rear springs soon, not because I am rubbing but because the rear is showing signs of rear spring failure. I am dropped about 3/8" lower on the driver side than on the passenger side rear.

In the front I am currently running the stock 245/45/17 BFG KDWS tires that came on the car. I would stick with the stock sizes in the front.

[lilgto]

With regards to the daily driver tire question, I have a suggestion. A buddy of mine runs a 275/40/17 Sumitomo HTR Z on his daily car (not a GTO, but as he's got one, I'm sure that will change!). He loves the crap outta those! They have a 160 traction rating, sticky as all get out, with enough of a tread pattern to handle some inclement weather. And they are CHEAP! $85 a piece through Tire Rack. I would have thought they were junk just to look at them. He is running a 9" wide rear, tho... From what I've seen, that's the narrowest rim you'd want to run with a 275. No cornering issues on an 8" rim then? If that's the case...

Sounds like a plan for a less expensive tire on a daily driver. I am not sure if anyone else has had any cornering issues. However, I do have the 8 inch rim with the 275 Nitto DR. You would think both combinations would = problems with cornering.

Well, I was really hitting corners pretty hard when I first got them put on. I hit corners hard enough to lose traction. I also nailed it through some corners to try and make the back end break loose. I was doing this to see if there would be any rubbing. This way I could turn around and go back to discount tires the same day and have them put a 245 Nitto DR on instead. To my suprise, no rubbing. Also to my suprise, the DR tire seems to grab fairly well in the corners with less roll over than I expected, especially on an 8 inch rim.

[pimpinchuck]

Im still Trying to decide between the 275/40/r17 and the Mickey Thompsons in the same size. Im not looking for DD duties though

[lilgto]

Im still Trying to decide between the 275/40/r17 and the Mickey Thompsons in the same size. Im not looking for DD duties though

I guess it depends on what you want out of the tire. The Nitto DR fits in the niche that I want. My GTO is just a weekend warrior, I don't drive her everyday. I also don't go to the track that often. So, the Nitto DR will give me excellent traction on the street, treadwear will last longer than other DR tires and suffice for my 1-2 track days a year.

If I had a daily driver I would have gotten a street tire not a DR. If I was going to the track every weekend or other weekend, I probably would have gotten a spare set of rims and put BFG or MT drag radials on them. They don't last as long as the Nitto but are a better traction drag radial from what I hear.

[Junior1459]

Question... How did you tires smoke so much from a second gear roll...does the gearing make that much of a difference.. I have the stock rims 18" and stock tires 235 and I can roll 1st gear at 5-10mph and punch it without spinning (6 spd manual)..... I don't get it..lol ?

[TCNJEngineer]

Add another goat to the list running the 275 Nitto DR's on stock rims with no rubbing with stock suspension and fender lips untouched.

[Billy_Goat]

Well i dont have DR's on the car, but i did just get some BFG g-force Sports. In the same size you guys are talking about 275/40/17, they are on the stock 17in rim. i do have drag bags but they are not inflated and i have not rubbing issues to report. Dang it makes it look mean as all heck too!!!

[Brazen06]

Add another goat to the list running the 275 Nitto DR's on stock rims with no rubbing with stock suspension and fender lips untouched.

Same here! I love them! Just put a new set of 275/40/17 on the car this past week and broke them in at the track on Saturday! I drive on them 24/7/365! :gears:

[ODE]

well guys I will be joining the list of guys with Nitto DRs as daily drivers at least for a short period of time til i burn them up. I just got a great deal on some custom made Budnik wheels that have the street nittos up front but have 285 Nitto DRs in the back. the guy had them on his car and they worked with a little fender rolling. I had a good 1/4 of an inch cut off my fenders. I also have the Full Track II suspension, big bore rear shocks, with the 3/8drop in the front so I have just about zero squat. So i think between the custom offsets custom backspacing the big bore rear shocks and the drop in the front I should be just fine with no rubbing. If I do rub there is plenty more lip to be chopped off haha. What do you guys think? Im super excited and with the 285s I should get the good track times Im dying for.