I have been working with Kaltire and Nitto on a program for Canadian Motorsports enthusiasts for about 4 months and I finally have some news that may be of help to all of you. For Canadian Members of the RX7 Forum, I have worked out an enthusiast deal with Nitto. This will allow you to realize some very solid savings on performance Nitto tires, effective immediately. They are only being sold through the Whitby Kaltire store and you need to speak with Larry Abrams. Nitto has pushed the envelop with this program and is offering a racers net kind of pricing for the first time in Canada.

PROGRAM DATES: MAY 25, 2010 to AUGUST 31, 2010

NT05 = 15% discount (all sizes)
INVO = 20% discount (all sizes)
NT01 = 25% discount (all sizes)
All “R” Compound (NT05R, NT555R, NT555RII) = 25% discount (all sizes)

Kaltire Whitby,

1260 Hopkins Street
Whitby, ON L1N 6A9
(905) 668-1420

If you need tires, the Nitto R Compound line is very durable and very quick with a broad range of sizes. The INVO line has the coolest tread pattern I have seen in years. I am not selling the tires and I have worked to exend this program to all motorsports enthusiasts.

The Nitto NT05 is a great street/ track tire with good performance. The NT01 is a very good track only tire that is comparable to most R-Compound tires. The NT555R is a great drag tire that is still street legal. I also know that the tires they have are all new manufacture, so they will have great grip. If you may need tires soon, I would suggest giving Larry a call. You wont beat the pricing.

If his works better in the for sale section, cool, but I am not selling anything its more like a group buy program.

Regards,

Eric

 

Thanks for going out of you way to do this. Maybe this should be stickied?

 

0.o I wish i could get a set lol but i have no rims to put them on to anyways.. Damn I hate this impulse buying thing im a sucker everytime

 

I have about two and a half sets of race tires to burn through before I am going to go out and buy anything else. Is this something that will be an ongoing deal?

Thanks for hooking us up!

 

I wish they made tires in a 13.

 

Not having looked at Nitto's in quite some time (since I bought two 555R's I think they were about 8 years ago --- didn't really like them), what would be a good choice for 1/4 mile tires? I have about 300 HP now, looking at going up to 400 HP in the future.

Thanks,
Greg

 

It depends on the application and size. If you are driving around Terrace Bay any R Compound may not be the best choice. An R Compound tire needs heat (actually a lot of heat, over 160 degrees F) before it starts to work well. You can't really generate that heat on the street, even with really hard driving. All you do is scrape rubber off the tires, like a file over cheese.

For a really good street tire with decent levels of grip, I would recommend the NT05 tire, but the smallest size available is a 235x40x17. For a decent all around tire Nitto has the NT 450. Its an all-season tire so don't expect a hot R-Compound level of grip.

If you were looking for a decent drag radial in a 15" size the best choice would be the new compound 555R. The only issues I see are that it require a minimum of a 15x8" wheel and it is 25.75" tall, about an inch taller than a 225x50x15. Its a great drag tire and used all over North America. Of course it needs to be brought up to temps before it works its best.

If you were looking for a decent Solo tire, take a hard look at the NT01. The price is great, its pretty durable and does a decent job when warm. Its really not the fastest Solo 2 tire, but it will last a whole season. Its yor choice.

Eric

 

Hmm... these would just be for drag racing, not for everyday driving. I have another set of rims (16 x 8 I believe) that I mount the tires on. Unfortunately, no autocross around here, so the tires that I have on right now do me just fine.

Is there a difference with the 555R compound between 10 years ago and today? I still have my 555R's but I never liked them, because they didn't seem to give me any more traction than my old street tires. Maybe I wasn't warming them up enough?

Thanks for the info!

 

Were the 555R's Drag Radials or the road race tires? as well how many heat cycles did you have on them?

The main thing to remember is that a tires grip is controlled by the contact patch and the rubber compound. The contact patch is controlled by the tire size and ply construction. For drag racing you want a really tall tire so that you can drop the pressures and get a long patch. To maximize the length of the patch, the tire construction (specifically the orientation of the plies) allows the patch to be long without cupping in the center of the patch.

The compound needs to be soft enough to wrap itself around the surface irregularities of the track surface and not soo soft that it shears under load. That is why its important to understand the operating temperatures of your tires and do what you need to to get them into that range. This is especially true in drag racing as you only get one chance.

No matter what tires you buy, get the operating temperature of the compound, get yourself an infrared temp gun and do some burnouts. Have a crew guy quickly measure surface temps to make sure you are in the proper range and adjust your burnouts to get the tires into the range.

Pretty simple, right, LOL.

Anyways, over the last 10 years compounds have changed and so has carcass construction.

Eric

 

Thanks for the information Eric!

The 555R's were drag radials. I bought them used, so not sure how many heat cycles they had on them. Actually, IIRC, when I was using them, I wasn't even giving them much of a heat up. More along the lines of spinning them, just to get the dirt off. One of them has a tear along the side now, so if I air down, it leaks. With proper air pressure, it seems to hold fine.

I think I will take a look and pick up some new ones.

Thanks,
Greg

 

Nice deal man that is awesome. I think I am going to buy some NT01's to replace the worn out Yokohama's on the back end of the FD I just bought.

 

Eric, that's excellent. I've been contemplating pick up a set of NT01's as lapping tires.
Before I get a chance to contact them, any idea on Kaltire's ability/willingness to ship?

 

I don't know. Call Larry and ask him. He's a very reasonable guy.

Eric

 

Great info. Thanks for the info.

When's the next track day?