Does anyone have any experience with either of these tires? I did a search and didn't find anything useful. I wanted to know if the cornering with either was better, and if you had more traction off the line with either of these tires. Any feedback would be appreciated.

 

I think most of the people will tell you Nitto will not perform as well as S-03.

 

really. why is that? is the tread wear worse on the Nitto?

 

The comparison is ridiculous. It's like comparing a Honda Civic to an FD Rx7...it's just no contest.

Bridgestone S-03 Pole Positions are loaded with technological advances--multilayer tread compounds that exposes the soft rubber layer to maintain rain stick as the tire wears, etc.

Nitto know its market--the import performance crowd...these folks aren't necessaerily interested in tire performance, but they are interested in looks and tread wear (read cool tread pattern and very hard, but not very sticky rubber compounds). So Nitto makes what you want for a cheap price!

Just don't expect Nittos to perform like Bridgestone S-03s just because the Nittos look cool, or has similar treadwear ratings as the S-03s!!!

 

I C. thanxs for the info. I'm not trying to rice out my car or anything; I'm just asking around to see which one performs better on the road. I was looking to use these tires mostly for street use, and I also wanted something that could give me good traction off the line when I'm racing.

 

BTW, you near chicago? Did you join the rotary club in Chicago? We have meeting every month in summer and fall. Go to Midwest forum and check the meeting day and clun events. We would like to meet you and your car.

 

Sure, yeah I live near Chicago. So does TomaszJC7. Thanks for the invitation.

 

So, do the drag radials that Nitto makes suck as well ? Someone at Nitto sure knows marketing VERY well... Are the drag radial 555Rs still any good?

 

the S03 is a cornering performance tyre while the 555R is a launching performance tyre -- is it not???

 

555R is mainly for drag racing, S-03 for road racing, if that helps. I have the 555Rs on my FD, and they *suck* in the rain, or anything other than clear and dry conditions.

 

The SO-3's of course.WTF.They are one of the best if not the best Z tires around.I have 2's now and will shorty upgrade to 3's.

 

they also make the S-03's in a Y rating. But I doubt that a lot of people are gonna be going 186 mph. If only we had autobahns in the US....

 

FavBandDMB

The Nitto 555 uses a construction differently from other performance tires. Nitto 555 tries maintaining maximum tire patch contact during cornering by increasing the stiffness of the tread and softening the sidewalls. The advantage of this construction is a more comfortable overall ride well maintaining a level of corning performance.

The typical high performance tires have stiff sidewalls to maintain maximum tire patch during cornering.

The problem with the Nitto 555 is the soft sidewalls. I've heard from a few people that if you hit a pothole there's a good chance of pinching the sidewall and blowing it out.

 

I've got S-03s and they stick quite well in braking, acceleration, cornering, and in the wet. The sidewalls aren't very stiff, which takes a little getting used to if you are used to stiff tires. But I like them a lot now in cornering (higher maximum grip than the stiffer AVS Sports that I had before), and they have always been killer in braking and acceleration. They will not slip in second gear in 265/40-17 on my 367 RWHP car. And they stick so good under breaking that I sometimes stab the brakes just to feel it.

They are the best tires in the rain that I have ever experienced -- even better than touring tires on sedans I have driven in the rain. They are so good it kind of freaked me out when I got stuck in a downpour once.

I haven't used Nittos, but my impression is much like what has been said here already. They might make some decent tires, but I don't think any of them would compare to the S-03 for a sports car application.

-Max

 

They didn't last long and you had to warm them up to get them sticky. They handled very well but this was on my Honda (205/45-15). The pole positions are rated high on Tire rack. I like the Yokohama drags better than the Nitto drags though.

 

There are 3 types of 555's.
the standard 555 with a treadwear of 300, they really suck don't get them if you value handling.
then there's the 555r which is used for drag, this has a treadwear of 120 if i remember correctly, this tire is very good for drag racing, as it is a semi slick, plus nitto boasts that it has the highest contact patch of any other tire
finally there's the 555r2 which is used for road racing, I don't know anything about this tire, as it has just came out or is coming out, but if anyone wants to give it a try and then tell us about it i'm sure everyone on the forum would appreciate it.

Nitto tires are generally inexpensive, and as mentioned before are popular with the rice-boy import crowd who don't value good tires.

The S03's are one of the best street tires on the market today (although very expensive) and you can't go wrong with them. However, keep in mind, just because a tire is more superior than another tire is not reason to get it on your car. If you are going to commute to work o drive like a grandma then there's no point in getting such an awesome tire and you'd be better off getting RE730's or even the Nitto's.

just my .02