NT01 Camber and Pressure Recommendation

[Dubbedown]

Looking to pick up NT01's for the new season. What's optimal camber for this tire and what pressures do you run? For reference car with driver is 3250lbs (#becauseNOTracecar) and currently running AD08R's on -3.3 up front and 35psi hot. At those settings my Yokos seem to wear evenly. FWIW the Nitto's would be used in TT so each session won't last more than 10-15min.

[SPhilly28]

Those settings would not negatively affect the Nitto's IMO. They are a very resilient tire, takes a beating and communicates well. It also bounces back much quicker when you light them up or slide a bit too aggressively. We've run Hoosiers in the past and while I love the outright pace, the nitto is a better tire for racing in our close to spec class. My pref only is around 33-34 hot, anything more and I find I lose feel.

[aeronaut]

Tread temperature pyrometer is your friend. The $150 cost for the gauge will pay for itself. I found the Nitto's liked 3.5 or even more neg camber on my 3000# E36.
But I'd expect 3.3 will get you close. After that, really depends on driving style, spring rates, track, etc.

[Bobkid]

running -3 on mine and get even wear at 35# front and 33# rear. I will swap tires side to side after each day just to even out the wear also.

[Stuntman]

Tread temperature pyrometer is your friend. The $150 cost for the gauge will pay for itself. I found the Nitto's liked 3.5 or even more neg camber on my 3000# E36.
But I'd expect 3.3 will get you close. After that, really depends on driving style, spring rates, track, etc.

+1

PROBE-type pyrometer will tell you what pressures and camber is needed for your setup.

[TXBDan]

I think NT01s are the greatest all round tire ever made. Within reason, they just don't give a shit and always work.

They're not particularly fast in a time trial sense, though. Modern "super street" tires like RE71Rs are faster for a few laps.

[aeronaut]

I think NT01s are the greatest all round tire ever made. Within reason, they just don't give a shit and always work.

That not particularly fast in a time trial sense, though. Modern "super street" tires like RE71Rs are faster for a few laps.

I'm trying out a set of Proxie RR's, and damn if they aren't very similar to the NT01s, except 1.5 sec faster at my ~1:30 track. They are not especially picky on air pressure (I'm a check it once-a-day kind of guy), they are consistent over a 20 min session, and are wearing nice and evenly. I've got about 20, 20min sessions on them, and they still have a good amount of wear-hole left (admittedly some of those sessions are at 90% when giving a student a ride). I'll wear them down to cord before I come to a final conclusion, but I'm liking them. I hope I'm right, and I hope no body else figures it out.

[arctic745]

I got this from a Porsche Cayman/Boxster board, a number of years ago and have kept it in my prep list:

"I called Nitto a few weeks ago and asked for their recommendations for camber, pressure, etc., with NT-01's. The "sales" guy I spoke to didn't want to comment on anything for fear of liability. He said they offer no recommendations in writing. I pushed him a little, claiming this tire is primarily being used for track purposes and surely they must want their customers to be able to get the most out of their tires. He called me back a little later, after talking to one of their engineers, and this is what he told me:

Camber: -2.5 to -5.0
Hot inflation pressures: high 30's to low 40's
Operating temperatures: 140F - 220F
Optimum tire temperature: 200F
Caster: as much positive as possible"

[Dubbedown]

Those settings would not negatively affect the Nitto's IMO. They are a very resilient tire, takes a beating and communicates well. It also bounces back much quicker when you light them up or slide a bit too aggressively. We've run Hoosiers in the past and while I love the outright pace, the nitto is a better tire for racing in our close to spec class. My pref only is around 33-34 hot, anything more and I find I lose feel.

Curious how heavy is your car? Do you think it's worth having them professionally heat cycled beforehand or not necessary?

+1

PROBE-type pyrometer will tell you what pressures and camber is needed for your setup.

Didnt even know about that. I was going to use one of those $20 temp guns off Amazon .

I think NT01s are the greatest all round tire ever made. Within reason, they just don't give a shit and always work.

They're not particularly fast in a time trial sense, though. Modern "super street" tires like RE71Rs are faster for a few laps.

I was actually leaning towards the RE71R's initially but finding a tire that would last the entire season was more important for me. Now I just have to hope DTD has another sale on eBay around Memorial Day weekend

[SPhilly28]

E36 M3 race car ( not the one in my sig) goes 2630# dry. I don't think the heat cycle is all that important on this tire. They seem to be quick right away and then plateau right to the cords for us. Def see the benefits of heat cycling on other tires, although a proper break in seems to work just as well. With nittos I would slap them on and get on it right away.

[Def]

They need A LOT of camber when you drive them hard. On my S13 I ran -4 deg front, and probably should have kept them around -2.5 deg rear (camber gain is steep in the rear). Lots of caster to add more camber on the outer front.

I ran 38-39 psi hot front, 36-37 psi hot in the rear. Interesting that you guys are running them in the low 30's. They were about 0.5-1 s/lap slower if I was lazy and didn't air them up going from a hot afternoon session to a cool morning session (which would yield about 35-36 front/33-34 psi rear). This was on a 2450 lb car, so I'd think for a full weight street car you'd need right at about 40 psi front for peak grip.

- - - Updated - - -

And I also never found them that sensitive to heat cycles. Although I have had a set get a bit slower that saw some hooning on the street, so probably a bunch more heat cycles than a pure track tire.

[JBasham]

FWIW, on an E92 M3, I ran them one HPDE season at about -3 front, -1.5 rear, because that was about all I could get the suspension to accommodate. That was enough to keep them from cording the outside edges before the rest of the tread wore out. They didn't heat cycle out. They seemed to be happy at 34-38 and I targeted 36 psi hot pressure. I use aftermarket valve stem wireless temp gauges for this purpose so accuracy is relative, not absolute. I found on a heavy car like the M3, they gave up a lot of grip below and above their happy temp range, but I'm only comparing them against other "extreme performance summer" tires. Also, for about the first dozen sessions or so, they were actually fine in heavy wet conditions, but after that, not something that I would expect to have any traction at all in a streaming section of the track.