Nitto 555 vs Michelon Pilot Sport tires

[Pman1961]

Wow Rick very informative! I have a KC 445 sbf 600+hp and torque, TKO600 w/ .82 5th and factory rear 3:46 gears. My plan this winter are 17" wheels and swap the front ball joints to the Cobra Valley units. Possibly their sway bars as well. When the pieces are installed I intend to have the car corner balance and aligned but not the aggressive stage so I guess that would be the intermediate performance alignment. Did not take the shocks into consideration. I don't plan on road tracking the car as I do not have a vehicle or trailer at this time. I want a good handling car, safe at high speeds and mostly if I want to do a spirited run through the lower gears it would like to hook up!

[poisonsnake]

Hey neighbor Bill - Behind the rear tires will get blasted as well as underside of wheel well. We are restricted to 315's for any other performance tire besides ps2's...you may want to look at 18". I worked at the Toledo auto show selling tickets for the London SPF raffle car...18" rims with serious meat!!!! If I did not love my PSE rims I would upgrade to 18" in a second.

[poisonsnake]

Pman - My set-up is almost identical to yours. I will be exceeding 800hp on the bottle. I will be very interested in following your tire selection.

[Dana E.]

Pman,

I'm using the same size wheel and tire combination from Vintage Wheel on my SPF as the E-Bay auction. They fit good, look good and the tires don't rub. I bought the full polish set from Vintage Wheel.

I am running the Nitto NT05 tires which are a HUGE improvement over the 15" Goodyear tires that were originally installed. The 555's have a 300 treadwear rating, the NT05's have a 200 rating and the NT01's have a 100 rating. The NT05 tires hook very well, most of the time, depending on the road surface and temperature. I'm a little over 500 horsepower, TKO 600 and 3.46 gears.

Definitely a summer tire-they flat spot after sitting, do a pretty good job of throwing rocks onto the rear fenders and are not real happy when the temperature is in the 30's and 40's! You might want to check into the "R" compound Nitto tires for the rear of your SPF.

[Pman1961]

Dana I assume you're talking about the 555R's...

[Dana E.]

You can get the "R" compound in the 555, NT05 and NT01 tires.

[RICK LAKE]

Pman1961 I know you are looking for a street ride but adding this much grip and traction will cause these issues. I thought the same as you after swapping out from BFG to Pilots. Rip was hell of an improvement. Down side was driving and making turns. This was not just on the track but where I tested the car on my county roads. They are concrete. The steering feedback was poor. The tires where heat cycled before adding them on the car. This is important with new tires to drive easy until you have 5-10 cycles on them. The info I had learned before Run&gun and after, a 1 hour meeting with Morris did a basic suspension course for our cars. We learned that 98% of us had set them up wrong, me too. After learning what the car did we know where to change and fix the problem. A video is the best learning tool you will have. Once the car is re setup and balanced, you will not believe how good the car really handles without killing the ride. Would also recommend a road race seat for the driver. It's more comfortable and keeps your butt in place. it's alot better than the correct seat. 4 bolts and you have it swapped if you want to go to a show or gip up a canyon road. You already have the 5 point harness in the car? If not buy one. Hey good luck. looking forward to how the car drives after the new tires are on it. watch out for rubbing. Rick L.