sweet. im looking for tires to and i was thinking nittos 555's on a 2001 ws6. here in florida in rainy season i need something to grip. my bf's spin like crazy. thanks everyone im getting nitto 555's

 

555's or 555R's (and 555RII's)? Huge difference there with the R designation. The regular 555 is just a regular street tire, nothing special about it.

 

i have the htr's and they were great in the rain,and i love em,on my 3rd gen i use to to always lose traction on the freeway and have to drive under 40 i put a full set on there and went to 80mph with them,and on my ls1 i have them on my front and give them a a++++,but i also have the 555r on the rear

 

Once you have a better tire to compare to, you will start to realize how the HTR Z truly ranks.

Also remember that as they wear they will get much worse as the compound gets harder. When new they seem OK, but they wear quickly.

 

Do they wear quicker than the sumitumo's. I'm thinking about getting a different tire, but I don't want one that is too sticky, I don't want to break my rear-end again. I broke it on the sumitumo's shifting from 1-2. I'm trying to figure if the gs-d3's are worth the money compared to the nittos. Factor in longevity more than dry traction. I want a wide tire. These 315 sumitumo's are skinny compared to my old bfg drag radials. Prolly 2 sizes down. The actual contact path of the htrz is less than my khumo712 (275/40) tire

 

drop the extra 100. you WILL be so disappointed with sumitomo. hell you might even wreck your car with those on like a guy stated in a previous thread a while back

 

I actually think they HTR Z and the Nittos 555R wears about the same. With both tires I got about 6-7K miles out of the rear tires and maybe 10-12K out of the front. And keep in mind the the Nitto is shaved to 6/32, so the tread is not as deep.
The increased longevity will more than pay for the GSD-3's. They should last 3-4 times longer and that adds up to some serious cash.
I don't know what to tell you on breaking your rearend. The HTR-Z suck traction wise and the Nittos are much more grippy. The GSD-3 is supposed to be almost as grippy as the Nitto.
I always thought it was high RPM launches that killed the rears. I don't launch my car, I ease it off the line then hit it. This is when I'm driving on the street, I'm not into the drag racing stuff. If I want max acceleration I shift it hard from 1-2. I can't hear or feel any slip, but I did have the traction control come on breifly a few times.

Also, the GSD-3 is supposed to be pretty big for it's size.

 

Looks like that is what I'll be doing next time around. I can't see spending over $1000 on tires though.

 

You just have to keep telling yourself "They are worth it, they are high performance tires, they are worth it"

 

I just put the Nitto 555R on for my rears. When I go a step up to 17s, I'm putting the 555r in a 315 size in the back and the GSD3s in a 275 up front. I'm sure that I'll love that setup.

 

Swapping them around is also an option. I'm going to run the GSD-3 in 315 for the rear for longer life, but I might run the 275 Nitto 555RII up front for better braking. I don't know, I may try the GSD-3 up front first to see how I like it.

It's wierd how everyone wants the sticky tire in the rear, I prefer the sticky tire up front.

 

That's because we drive RWD cars not FWD. I'd rather have a sticky tire in the rear any day. Spinning is no good.

 

this might be a newb question, but are the HTRZs (the 315s) drag radials? If so what makes them a drag radial (like is there a certain size that determines whether they re or not?)

 

No, the HTR-Z is a regular street tire, a cheap one at that.

It's the Nitto 555 your probably thinking of.
555 (street tire) - harder compound, full tread depth, firmer sidwall
555R (drag radial) - soft compound, reduced tread depth, soft sidewall
555RII (autocross) - soft compound, reduced tread depth, firmer sidewall

 

Nitto's all the way!!!!

 

Nitto's are awesome tires. Excellent in wet/dry weather. Any tire once it is worn down too much cant channel enough water out from under the contact patch and it will hydroplane!!!! Just take it easy when its pouring down rain and you should be fine.