Nitto 555 vs Michelon Pilot Sport tires
 

Looking at purchasing some 17" rims with Nitto 555 tires that are one year old. I prefer the 15" look but was very impressed riding in a local Cobra with a 427 Roush powered and Michelon Pilots. The Pilots hooked very well. Much, much better than my Yokohama Avids! Anyone experienced the use of each of these tires and could tell me if they are apples to apples or ?? Also, should the deal fall through, which Pilot Sports would you recommend? Super Sport, PS2, Sport 3? Tired of spinning my tires!! Thanks!!

What tires do you have now?

I am doing a tire search right now. I have read all the expert internet opinions. If you do that eventually you come full circle. If you are not to concerned with the life of the tires I would give Nitto NT05's a look. I don't think they will last as long as PS but I believe they will give you better performance. If you really want to go nuts you can get Nitto NT01's.

I think I am going to go Nitto NT05's. I have Pirelli Pzeros on my Porsche which I believe are comparable to PS and they are great handling tires but spin under power.
The Porsche is 400hp at the crank and heavier than a Cobra.

Good luck!

7K miles and 200+ Autocross runs on NT01s, plus some track time. Still street legal, but wouldn't drive in rain at this point. Great tire.

I have read all kinds of things about them including:

Heat cycling out and becoming hard
They have to heat up to grip
Throwing/picking up everything on the road

How does that work on the street? I am looking for something that hold the power as much as possible.

I actually am set up to get the NT01's but I have a couple weeks to make up my mind.

also check out Hankook Ventus R-S3. Grippy with good treadwear, and when they get hot and loose they are still very controllable. I have the Falken Azenis RT615K tires on my backdraft and while this is the first go around with this tire, I have been impressed with it. My only complaint is that for as light as these cars are, when the ground temp is cool the tires have a really challenging time warming up and things can get dicey pretty quickly... but I'm still learning the finer points of driving a cobra.

Lastly, I am a fan of Michelin tires. I have Latitude Diamaris tires on my wife's supercharged Range Rover and even under a 3 ton vehicle with 500 hp and just as much torque, they never leave you anything less than confident and I was really surprised to see how many miles they racked up. Dollar for dollar I think you can get a better value in competitive products (Michelins' labor costs are higher than competitors) but you can't go wrong with the Pilots.

There's a little drop off in grip after many cycles, but not noticeable for street use. Compound is road race, gets real grippy around 160F, but traction when cold is still excellent. As a comparison, from cold to hot they will drop less than a second on Autocross runs. Yes, they will sling small stones on street. Get em real hot and you will clean the road. They're fine in rain when new, just don't plow thru standing water. Once you wear the tread off and only the two circumferential grooves are left, advoid the rain. These aren't drag tires (stiff sidewall) so hard launches can produce wheelhop if you're on a grippy surface. They corner unbelievably....

I believe the tire choice is going to make my head explode. This car will not see the rain, at least by choice anyway. I want something with big grip to handle the power I am planning on (as much as it can be handled). And I want it to handle well and predictably. I am not so concerned with wear I just want the car to be stuck to the road.

I am somewhere between the Nitto NT01, NT05 and Michelin PS2's. There's a wide spread.

The NT01 and NT05 are a considerably better comparison to the PSS/PS2, certainly NOT the 555.

I believe the tire choice is going to make my head explode. This car will not see the rain, at least by choice anyway. I want something with big grip to handle the power I am planning on (as much as it can be handled). And I want it to handle well and predictably. I am not so concerned with wear I just want the car to be stuck to the road.

I am somewhere between the Nitto NT01, NT05 and Michelin PS2's. There's a wide spread.



You and me both!! I posted the thread in a hurry this morning prior to leaving for work. So I'll clarify just what I'm seeking. As stated I have the Yokohama Avids that came originally on the car 2006. I have a motor making 600+hp and ft lbs or torque. First gear is just useless even trying to ease into her. Second gear you still have to drive like eggs are under the pedal. Every now and then I find some concrete pavement that will grip better than the asphalt and holy crap the pull feels good!! Just a shame to have all that motor and don't get to experience its potential whenever I choose to put the hammer down. So, it all boils down to if I purchased the rims with the Nitto 555's would I be happy or still spinning my wheels madly? Shall I start from scratch and get new rims with a tire that has some grip? If I choose to get new rims, I would like to run 275's up front and 335's in the rear. I know I may get some suggestions about calling Bob at Vintage wheel. Anyone have experience or are happy with their rim widths and back spacing that prevents tire rub with the exception of some rear wheel tub modifications? If so please share. I can tell you I prefer the wheel tucked under the fender well lip. Not flush or sticking out beyond the fender lip even at the sacrifice of a narrower rim and tire.

I run the NT01 and consider it the best 17" tire I have ever tried. Very,very grippy!

If this makes a difference, I am a straight line guy. Traction out of the hole is more important to me than cornering capabilities. Tire life not an issue as its been driven around 4000 miles since September of 2008. If I got a few years out of the tires fine. Car is not driven in the rain either. However, I want a tire that can be safely driven on the highway and prefer to run the same tire on all four corners. I do have some concern of tires flinging rocks but I realize that may come with good traction......

I have had Michelin PS2s on for 3 years now, and I am very happy with the street manners and the track grip. They are a world's above the Goodyear F1s that they replaced.

I think if you want to go straight fast I would consider Nitto NT05R in the back a drag radial and the NT05 in the front a max performance radial. Should grip better out of the hole than PS

NT05R D.O.T.-Compliant Competition Drag Radial Tire

Stephen, can you describe your car and how you drive it? How do they handle power in a straight line? 1st, second, third gear?

I experience with both 17 inch Michelin Pilot Sport and Nitto 555 tires on my car. In my opinion both tires perform great on a Cobra and considerably better than any 15 inch tire that is currently available. I think your choice really depends on what you want to do with the car. Both Michelin and the Nitto 555 have a tread wear rating of at least 300 versus the 100 rating of the the NT01, NT05 and the Toyo Proxes. If I was auto crossing or drag racing I would be looking at the softer compound tires as they do have incredible grip. However, they do wear quickly and are not what you want to be on if it does decide to rain. Plus, when they are hot I swear they pick up everything you run over and throw it into the inner fender. I have my inner fenders coated to protect against any back side stone damage. If you do go with the soft compound tire I think this is something you may want to consider. Nobody like little star shaped spider cracks in their paint. Good idea to give Bob Lacey at Vintage Wheel a call and discuss what you want to do with him. He is great to work with and can set you up with the right wheel offset for the look you want to achieve.

How did the 555 and PS handle full power could you floor it in second?

In response to your question about traction in second gear. I'm running 315/35/17 Nitto 555 on the rear and if I'm on a good surface and the tires are warmed up I can mat the throttle and the car hooks up like a rocket. I'm running a 500HP FE backed up with a Tremec 5 speed and a Auburn Gear limited slip read end. If I'm on greasy asphalt or the tires are cold you definitely need to pay attention under hard acceleration as it will break traction. I have run both tires and I would buy the Nitto 555 again over the Michelin. From my experience I think the two tires are very similar in performance and the Nitto is about half of the price. Plus, Michelin has stopped producing a 315/35/17 in some of the Pilot Sport line and I can't go to a 335 due to clearance issues. There is a real nice set of 17 pin drive Shelby endorsed American Racing wheels and Nitto 555 tires up on Ebay. According to the listing they came from Bob Lacey at Vintage Wheel and were set up for a Superformance car so they should be a perfect fit for Pmans ride. I'm running this wheel and tire setup and they are a great wheel.here is the link to the EBay listing 17" Halibrand Wheels and Tires for AC Cobra Superformance Factory Five | eBay

I went through the same thing 6 mos ago. I went with Nitto 555. Very pleased with them, especially since I had old Kumho's on before. I've never had the Michelin's and I'm not sure the additional $$$ would equate to that much better performance

Bill:
My ride is a Superformance with a Roush 427 stroker under the hood. I dyno at 546hp +/-. The straight line traction in the first three gears (TKO600) is very good, eliminating skip and tire spin. I am not usually a "straight line" guy, prefering road race tracks. There the cornering from the tire grip and shortened side wall of the 17" wheel is extraordinary. Best of luck in your search.

Stephen

I am bidding the auction on Ebay. That is why I started this thread to get opinions. Thanks for all who have chimed in!!