[dbs1]

My round trip for these is going to be 350 miles, not going to trailer the car.

I have a dedicated set of tires and wheels for roadcourse work that will also serve as dd (gy3's 19/305/325) but with my rear Toyo r888r being basically treadless (2 months ago when car was purchased they had plenty-hmmm) I'm wondering what guys have used for straightline events that you drive the car to?

Probably not more then 3-4 per year so tread life is less important then traction.

Ideas? Thanks!


Yeah, I know...lots of posts on a Sunday morning before church. Ha!

[Zl1+911]

You can always get a spare set of wheels and tires and take the full set with you to the track and change trackside. The 4 OEM fit inside the car.

[dbs1]

That would be way more hassle then I’m looking for as well as the wonderful surprise of coming out and seeing the set you removed grew legs.

[JonDaddy82]

I looked at all of it.

- Driving to the track with a drag pack (not excited about that)
- Setting up a small track trailer (pain in my ass)
- Trying to stuff drag wheels In the car (the old lady comes with me, not gonna work)

I settled on just buying Nitto NT555RII's in the OEM size and calling it a day. They are quiet, ride very nicely, and are fine in the rain. Not to mention...reasonably priced. I'm sure I'm leaving some performance on the table compared to a dedicated drag pack, but the effort/cost vs reward isn't there for me at my current performance level.

[dbs1]

I've used those before on a car with less hp and wasn't very successful for traction, but decent longevity and everything else.

I spent some time roaming the 1/2 mile roll race folks and several said they'd tried different ones just for straightline racing and driving to/from track and circled back to what I've worn out, the Toyo r888r's.

They darn sure are not cheap, but I suppose for 3-5 trips a year maybe I'll get a few years use out of them? Supposed to be acceptable in the rain if not being too rambunctious so it looks like I'll be going back to them and be unkind to my wallet, again.

The gy3's with lightweight road race wheels are going on tomorrow and will be the everyday drivers and roadcourse tire, driving the 350 mile round trip. Sure hope they give me at least 10-15k miles and 8-10 20 minute sessions a year.

[JonDaddy82]

From what I understand the 888’s have no way to evacuate water, so damn near a slick in the rain. People with person experience might want to chime in on that one. I think you’ll get 8k OR a few track days out of the Goodyear’s...it’s unlikely you’ll get both.

[dbs1]

JD, you may be right.

I had some gy3r's I'd bought used that I sold knowing darn well they would not be the tire for dding and considered the mps4's but the cost discouraged me, so...

I'm going to see how these things work out.

It's been about 10 years since road coursing on a regular basis and trying to be the fastest guy there. I've reached the point of just going and having a little fun at all 3 venues and watching the wallet more as there isn't near the budget there used to be for this sort of thing.

Sold the bassboat to 3 grandsons dad so they could enjoy that and told myself I'll make do, at least until that itch comes calling next spring. Ha!

[grampa_ss]

My vote is for the Nitto 555RII or the original 555Rs. As long as you heat ‘em good at the track, they hook great. They’re my DD.

[Joshinator99]

Originally Posted by grampa_ss

My vote is for the Nitto 555RII or the original 555Rs. As long as you heat ‘em good at the track, they hook great. They’re my DD.

[dbs1]

I've got about 2 weeks before the next straightline event to decide.

Thanks all for the input!

[Z OH 6]

Nitto 555R2 is going to be the best dual purpose drag tire. Its not as sticky as a Mickey but you can drive them like a regular tire without even knowing its a drag radial. I have driven 40 miles to the track on a set of Mickey Thompson ET Street R's so you can do it but they definitely feel a little more spongy when changing directions compared to the Nitto's. Nothing hooks like the Mickey's though.

[Ls_Camaro]

Originally Posted by Z OH 6

Nitto 555R2 is going to be the best dual purpose drag tire. Its not as sticky as a Mickey but you can drive them like a regular tire without even knowing its a drag radial. I have driven 40 miles to the track on a set of Mickey Thompson ET Street R's so you can do it but they definitely feel a little more spongy when changing directions compared to the Nitto's. Nothing hooks like the Mickey's though.

How does the Nitto 555R2 compare to the MT ET s/s? Which tire hooks better from hard digs and slow speeds? Which lasts longer and holds better in the rain? Are they both stable at high speeds and corner decently?

[Z OH 6]

Originally Posted by Ls_Camaro

How does the Nitto 555R2 compare to the MT ET s/s? Which tire hooks better from hard digs and slow speeds? Which lasts longer and holds better in the rain? Are they both stable at high speeds and corner decently?

Never used the MT ET SS, but I've never heard anything good about them, especially driving them on the street. The Nitto 555R2 is a VERY good drag radial for the street and can work well for the track too if you heat them enough. They don't compare to the MT ET Street Rs but nothing does. The Nitto 555R2's feel just as good as any normal street tire on the street. It may not corner quite as well as Michelin Pilot Sport 4S but they corner very good as long they're not underinflated.

[Camaro1973]

I was going to get the nitto 555r2 but they didn’t have a 315/30 only 315/35 so went with the Michelin ps4s.