Nitto 555 or 555R?

[Victory]

I'm looking for tires for my new-to-me GTA wheels. My car is a weekend driven street car that will see the track once or twice a year at most.

I am planning to get 245 50's for the front and 255-50's for the rear.

I've searched and read most the the opinions on MT's vs BFG's vs Nitto's and I think for my application the Nitto's are my best bet (based on my priorities of tread longevity and relative safety in the rain).

Now I am looking for opinions on whether a step down to the 555 from the 555R for my application makes sense. I'm leaning towards the R but I'd love to hear from anyone running the 555 or has a comment on if I should even be considering these.

Thanks

 

[SS/GNX]

The 555R is the drag radial, run those on the rear, run the regular 555s on the front to match. Do not run the 555s on the rear, you wont get traction for cr@p.

The 555Rs will last a long time and get WAAAY better traction.
They are a little iffy in the rain though, so be careful there... but sounds like you have weekend warrior / track day car anyway...

 

[forcefed3.8's]

I am running the 555r's on the back of my daily driver Roadmaster. I have driven through some heavy rain, and never had a problem, I even tried to make it spin out. I got caught in the rain once with the BFG's, and had to pull over and wait for it to stop, the back of the car started to "float". The Nittos are an all around good tire for a street driven car. In a 12 sec car, you probably won't even notice a traction difference between the Nittos, BFG's, or M/T's on the street.

 

[Victory]

Thanks for the opinions. I'm thinking the R's in the rear at this point.

What's a good spot to pick them up online? I usually shop at Tire Rack or TireSavings.com and neither one of them carry Nitto.

 

[TheYak]

I've seen them at summit and discount tires direct.

 

[Ricketts]

The 555R is the drag radial, run those on the rear, run the regular 555s on the front to match. Do not run the 555s on the rear, you wont get traction for cr@p.

The 555Rs will last a long time and get WAAAY better traction.
They are a little iffy in the rain though, so be careful there... but sounds like you have weekend warrior / track day car anyway...

Couldn't agree more. I've had this combo on my fox notchback for like 2 years. The BFG's hook great but wear FAST, and are horrible in rain. My 555R's do as good as any other street tire in rain. Never owned a set of MT's, so can't really comment.

 

[incubus2432]

I just ordered a set from "Newstalgia Wheel"......

NewstalgiaWheel.com