Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

Went to the 1/8 mile last night to test out the new Nitto Drag radials, the NT05R's. Nitto came out with these to bridge the gap between the popular but mostly street oriented 555R's and the BFG/Mickey Thompson drag radials that are proving to be very fast tires.

I had the 555R's before and I liked them. 315/35/17 tire. Great tire for a street car that sees some track time but they just were not sticky enough to go full throttle off the line. I have 3200 stall and only 2.73 gears at the moment, with some mild bolt ons on my 99TA. I had to do a half to 3/4 throttle roll in and then mash it to keep it hooking up.
My best 60 foot so far I think was a 1.78 with some spin, but I cant find the slip so I cant be sure. On that pass I tried full brake stall and it hopped forward, broke loose, then i kinda pedaled it forward. Wouldnt hook again the rest of the night like that.
Best I do have from my best 1/8 mile is a 1.82 and i have a few 1.83-1.85's as my average. Seemed to work best around 28-30psi for me. Car only runs 8.2's with those 60's. 12.7's in the 1/4 with a 1.87 60

I just got these new NT05R's since i have NT05's on the front. Same 315/35/17 size. They are quite abit softer to the touch than the 555R and feature NO tread in the center, just a flat patch!




Ok, got 3 runs in....each run i varied the launch to see what these tires like and how the car would respond.

First pass was alittle heatsoaked since I just got there but the car doesnt seem to mind. Performance doesnt change all that much when engine is cooler, but its hot/humid out so it doesnt cool down fast anyway.

First pass I left at part brake stall, 2000-2200 rpm or so and floored it. Car dead hooked and actually felt like it bogged down...had the feeling of not enough stall and gear. Its 3200 stall and 2.73 gears still, which is low for a LS1 car and the effects were felt. Only did a 1.823 60 ft. Ran 8.21 at 85.2. This car runs consistant 8.22's last time out on similar 60's with the 555R's.

Next pass I went off idle and flashed it. On the street it felt like this would help me, the car picks up the nose well but again the car kinda felt lazy to me. Again, not enough stall/gear feeling. Felt like it left in second but it didnt. 1.815 60 foot. Dead hook again. 8.168 at 85.4.

Last I tried full brake stall. I NEVER had a engine/converter combo that didnt 60 ft best when full footbrake stalling the converter. I stomped on the brakes and brought the converter rpms up as high as I could, Not sure what I hit, but i think it was 2500-2600 rpms. I let go and it launched much harder this time and felt very strong.
Dead hooked again 1.763 60 foot this time. Thats more like it! It went 8.138 at 85.1 which ties my best cold air ET with a 8.131. So I was pleased with that although that pass i thought it would have been 8.0x since last run was 8.16 and that 60 felt alot stronger

THis was all with about 28 PSI in the tires. Medium burnout, but last one was a shorter burnout. I like them so far, I think this car with more gear and stall would REALLY shine. I think these tires will hold anything I'll throw at it. I didnt get down into the low 1.7's like I expected but i'll try it again and see if footbraking helps abit more. Mid 1.7's is not to shabby on a mostly stock suspension 2.73 geared pig.


RAIN!!!

Today it rained in HOuston. I drove the car. Let me tell you be careful on this tire. 40-45 mph seems ok but at 55 or so i could feel the rear skating around abit, being alittle picky with wet roads. Not alot of standing water, but alot of rain was coming down. Hit a standing puddle at speed and I wouldnt like the result. The 555R's with alot more tread blocks and patterns handled rain very well. I can cruise 65-70 in the rain on that tire no issues. These NT05R's i'd be very very nervous at that but will test them again if it ever rains again.

djfury05

iTrader: (30)

hmm.. seems like a lot of psi in them.. I'd try 18-20 for them next time your out.. I got the same tires except in 275/40/17 and could immediately tell a big difference from those and 555r.. first pass with them broke my driveshaft lol

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

If they dead hook with 28 psi, 15-20 wont make any difference. They actually would likely hold me back, especially at the top end with the increased rolling resistance. I've always used as much tire pressure as possible and still hook. Thats always given me the most mph on top end and feels most stable but I'm used to bias ply ET streets, not radials.

Z-28

Tires sound like they working, time to move up to some better gears.

Stippy17

iTrader: (5)

x2

I thought you bought gears off of JJs already??

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

I bought Sam's old gears and just NEVER got around to gettin them installed. I think my pinion seal is leaking alittle so its definately time to do it. Its just that I'll need to dyno tune it with the swap to correct for gear ratio on the speedo, but I think I have an exhaust leak and dont want to waste time on the dyno with a false reading at part throttle. I also will be changing my 3" catback to a single 4" I believe so I dont want to do the tune yet so many things I want to do with this car but I need to finish the other ride now that I started that build

Stippy17

iTrader: (5)

Now you see how it is when you have more than one project lol. You can only do so much on each one at a time!

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

thats why I cant afford more than 1 project, and wonder how the hell you manage

blk/slvr02ss

iTrader: (21)

I dont know if i like these tires yet i tryed them on my 08 Vette w/ out a Stall converter and cut 1.86 60ft but the 555R's cut 1.61 60ft w/ a 3600 stall in my 02 SS i had .

jtsta02

iTrader: (1)

i switched from the 555r's to the nto5r and i love them. the best 60ft so far is a 1.65 with a completely stock drive train. minus the 4.10 gears.

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

My car is bone stock suspension, minus the strano springs and bilstein SLP shocks. I do expect LCA reloc brackets and LCA's to help alittle since I did lower the car. The main thing is 3.73 gears, that will pick up abit more but since I do 95% highway style driving, I'm not looking forward to the gears and mileage losses but shouldnt be that bad. This setup needs tuned again anyway, as it doesnt seem to be getting the mileage i thought it would get.

Thats apples to canalopes man. Two different suspension styles and one with stock converter vs 3600 stall? With a stall on that vette I bet you see a huge improvement. But 1.61 is a great time with the 555R's. I'm sure if I played alot more with tire pressures and launch styles, i could get those nittos to hold a full stall launch but I think it would have been tricky

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

Tried again last night... ran 3 times all full stall launches and lowered to 25 psi or so. Best was 1.78 60 foot and the air quality was alot better last night. I felt that run chirp the tires so it didnt quite dead hook.

The other was a slight spin to 1.80 and the last run I think there was water on the track I spun abit hooked and spun then hooked to a 1.87 60 foot.

I may look into some LCA relocation brackets now since my car is lowered abit and it could use them. Then comes the 3.73 gears,

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

Update:

With negative DA, I was able to get down to 1.71 60 foots with the 2.73 gears.

Just swapped to 3.73's and only made one good pass so far and it was 1.67 60 foot. Felt like it hooked good. Maybe a tad bit of slip. Only picked up from 12.31 to 12.26 in the 1/4 mile. MPH went 109.8 to 110.4. Disappointed in the gear swap gain so far. DA was about the same. -400 to -550ft as the night went on and temps continued to drop.

24psi in the tires, so far so good. Drive in, drive out. Hooks well. Very happy with these so far and I have minimal suspension work. Just shocks/springs.

Tan327

iTrader: (15)

I've read quite a few times about little to no gains when switching from 2.73's, makes me want to keep mine.

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

Doesnt make much sense to me why there wouldnt be a gain, but if thats the case, I definately wished I wouldnt have changed gears. Used to cruise at 80mph at 2k rpm, now its like 60mph at 2K rpm...mileage is gonna drop and no performance gains. I will test it more at the track in the next couple of weeks but not sure there is anything left to gain.

Does feel better on the street with part throttle driving and such but doesnt show at the track.

My other car showed gains each time when I went from 2.77's to 3.27's to 3.42's with my 89 Irocz. Same transmission, back when it was a bolt on only car.

SiezeTheMoment

iTrader: (2)

keep us posted on the gear gains......did it help tighten up the converter at normal driving? Would you see gains from a roll race?

Orr89rocz

iTrader: (13)

Converter kinda feels the same but car just feels alot more peppy with part throttle so its definately an improvement.

I got to do a 75 roll with a 5th gen SS and he walked me. I took the jump and stayed nose ahead til about 90 when he started creeping by when I shut down at 100-105 or so. Car felt ok at 75 roll but i think that was a better spot for my 2.73's. I think from 70 I was still in top of 2nd vs bottom 3rd now with 3.73s. I'd have to verify that but I know I used to shift just into 3rd before the 1/8 mile and I trap 85 most summer nights, 87-88 last few cold air runs. Doing the mph/rpm calcs, it would appear I was still in 3rd from 75.

Villain281H

iTrader: (5)

Good information on the 05 tires. I wonder why they feel loose? I've driven my Nova with M/T ET Street radials at 65 mph in the rain with no issues (although you do need to be aware of the tire versus a regular street tire). Don't think I'd go highway speeds with them, but it only sees a couple thousand miles a year anyways...

Derek

Black97maroSS

I know this is a old thread but there is a ton of good info in it. Im thinking about getting these tires and was wondering if anyone had any updates? How did this car do with LCA's relo brackets? How many miles are these tires lasting? Any update on rain performace God forbid you hit rain? How are these for extended use at highway speed (say you were going to a car show etc)?

Stippy17

iTrader: (5)

I'll text him, and let him know you have questions.