R Compounds or NT05?
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Joined: Jul 2006
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From: North Dallas
R Compounds or NT05? I was planning to get a set of road racing tires(probably 555rII) this year for HPDEs. I have aftermarket wheels and these would go on my original 10-spokes. I am also going to need new street tires this year. Now I am looking at the new NT05 and thinking I could use these for both. I know there are some sacrifices here, as in less mileage(10,000 maybe?) and less traction at the track, but that would be cheaper than 2 sets of tires. What do you guys think? The car is not a daily driver.
are you driving or towing the car. if all youre doing is an HPDE or track day, you really dont need r-comps for it. youre not racing, there is no timing invovled. youre there to learn and have fun. if you were autoxing and wanted to be competitive, id say get Rs. otherwise, stick with good street rubber or a comprimise.
you said these are going on original wheels, so i assume these will be track only tires? are you going to drive to the track on these said track tires? if so, then definetely no r-comps, unless you live VERY close to a track. although the highest performance track tire that you can drive on for a short while is NT01s. though you might get 10-15K miles out of them, if that. less if you drive and race. but, they are quite expensive. the 555rII, NT05, or falken 615 would all make excellent track tires, with 615s being probably the cheapest.
you said these are going on original wheels, so i assume these will be track only tires? are you going to drive to the track on these said track tires? if so, then definetely no r-comps, unless you live VERY close to a track. although the highest performance track tire that you can drive on for a short while is NT01s. though you might get 10-15K miles out of them, if that. less if you drive and race. but, they are quite expensive. the 555rII, NT05, or falken 615 would all make excellent track tires, with 615s being probably the cheapest.
Thread Starter
TECH Resident
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 828
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From: North Dallas
I will be driving the car to the track. I don't want to trailer it or carry another set of tires. One track is an hour from home and the other is 3 hours away. If I go with a more race-ready tire, I will swap wheels/tires, drive to the track, run the weekend, and drive home. The 555rII seems great for that and I was planning to get a set. I have done several HPDEs, which I enjoy and will stay with for now, but now want something more aggressive than normal street tires. I was killing my GSD3s last time out. These NT05s seem to be a compromise between the 2 and might possibly change my plans. With those I could have the traction all the time. A 10,000 mile life would be acceptable given that the alternative is 2 sets of tires. I am trying to decide on the 2 routes now.
if youre driving to the track, the 555rII, NT05, and 615 are all fine. id be happy with any of them. however, if you keep it strictly to/from the track, and if its mostly highway driving, the NT01 will be the best track tire. but like i said, its not a competition, go for what fits your budget best.
I like the NT05s pretty good. For open track in my heavy caddy, they gained too much pressure by the 7th or so lap and it got really slippery. I havent tried them at autox yet, but I can say they are 100x's grippier than my GS2 GYs that I put on it when I first got it in November.
275/40/18s here. HP+ fronts and NT05s otherwise stock...
275/40/18s here. HP+ fronts and NT05s otherwise stock...
