Tire Options for Force Induction

[NY98M3]

Posted this in the Tire Forum but thought Id post it here.

Im looking to upgrade my stock sizes tires to something with more traction.

Im on 17x7.5 LTW wheels up front and 17x8.5 LTW wheels out back.

Im currently on the factory tire (yes, original to model year 1998, lol) putting down 850whp/700wtq. The car is not a daily driver nor does it ever see the track. Its more of a once every 3 weeks take it out for ride and hammer down on it. I can have all the power but Im having a hard time landing it to the ground. Im looking for something with more traction but I dont want to have to replace the tires every year. Can I increase the size of the rear tire width to 255?

Some suggestions from guys in the FI forum were:

Toyo Proxes R888
Nitto NT-01
Nitto NT-05

Im open to suggestions on what you would recommend.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Jim@tirerack is suggesting the new Bridgestone RE71R for street tires.

You guys that are running stock rims on the back, what are you running for traction? Looking at the sizes of drag radials, there isnt much for a 17" rim.

[Butters Stoch]

R888 275/40/17 they should fit on 8.5

I plan on running 275/40/17 Hoosier Drag radials for the track on 8.5 contours. John from CES uses this setup.

[pbonsalb]

RE71 is not going to hold 850/700 whether in 245 or 255 width. If you have a RaceLogic, it will take care of traction for you. If you want the best possible traction, use the R compound tires like the R888, NT01 or NT05 or a drag radial like the BFG, MT, Toyo, Nitto, Hoosier, etc. The drag radial will hook better and be less likely to break your drivetrain because of the softer sidewalls, but this also means it won't handle as well. None of these are good in the cold or rain.

[Rob43]

All of these suggestions are compromises, having said that I too believe that your Only choice should be an R compound tire. I have successfully run the Toyo RA1 on my Bimmer & felt that it was an Excellent compromise for my situation. On a side note, the RA1 works very well in the rain.


Rob43

[dburt86]

I can only comment on the limited time i had the R888, it was the best all around tire ive ever had. With just a little bit of heat, the tire would basically full hook 2nd at the 450whp mark. And they did surprisingly well in the rain.

Get some TC in there and its all good.

Of course this is on a much different power range then ur talking about, but figured id offer my experience.

[cj.surr]

Yeah, if you want to stick with stock size wheels, get a 255 r-compound for the street. I had NT01s and the traction was great. Fine in the rain too, as is any DOT tire if you're careful.

[e30kid89]

A local 1kwhp e46 uses R888's, if I was making more power that's what I would go with.

[Harvington]

I was pushed away from nt01 and to the r888. I'm mounting the r888 tomorrow, I'll keep you posted. I'm excited! 245/40/17 square

I was using direzza star specs prior.

[chikinhed]

NT-01's are great. They are good in the rain up to 50 mph then they float.

Sent from my GTX3582R

[beeasy]

I was pushed away from nt01 and to the r888. I'm mounting the r888 tomorrow, I'll keep you posted. I'm excited!

I was using direzza star specs prior.

What pushed you away from the nt01?

That's the tire that's going to replace my star specs.

Anthony are you looking for a tire that's gonna hold all that power from a roll or dig or a tire that can handle turns and such at speeds.

[chikinhed]

Starspecs spin in 3rd, NT-01's mostly hook in 2nd with my meezly 620 whp.

Sent from my GTX3582R

[Harvington]

What pushed you away from the nt01?

That's the tire that's going to replace my star specs.

Anthony are you looking for a tire that's gonna hold all that power from a roll or dig or a tire that can handle turns and such at speeds.

Recommendations personal friends who have run both. I was pretty much dead set on nt01 from Internet reviews. I had two people say the breakaway characteristics were very sketchy, which is a particularly important tidbit of advice... From what I understand, the nt01 and r888 are extremely similar and from the same parent company(?).

[cj.surr]

Yeah, when the NT-01s break loose, they do so quickly and harshly. Also they don't make much noise to warn you beforehand. But that's what you get with a very sticky tire. The traction is excellent as a tire that can do straight line as well as corners.

[beeasy]

From what I've read they are very similar compound. But the nt01 don't heat cycle out as quickly. That's what had me leaning towards them.

[chikinhed]

I never found the break away at the limit to be bad at all. Not much different than the Starspecs IMHO.

Sent from my GTX3582R

[tofunin]

Nt-01 and R888s are pretty much the same compound/formula since Nitto is owned by Toyo.

[Def]

NT-01's are great. They are good in the rain up to 50 mph then they float.

Sent from my GTX3582R

I've hit 125 mph (max front straight speed with current dinky power) in the wet with my nearly bald NT01s. They're not bad at all in the wet, so I wouldn't fret over driving them on the street at sane speeds in the wet, ever.


As for the tire choice, just go with 255/40-17 NT01s in the rear and be done with it. R888 are kinda crappy tires. They're marginally faster ON A TRACK for ~5-8 heat cycles, then fall off. Using them as a street tire is not a good idea. The compound will heat cycle out in no time. NT01s are much more tolerant of a high number of heat cycles.

On the street I imagine you'll get at least 5-8k miles out of them.

- - - Updated - - -

Nt-01 and R888s are pretty much the same compound/formula since Nitto is owned by Toyo.

Negative. Not the same compound at all. NT01s are close to Toyo RA-1s, but I don't think they're the same after driving on both.

[whitecord]

the r888 is a stiff tire and dose not stretch very well. they also run a bit wide. i have a 255/35/18 on a 9 inch wheel and they are slightly ballooned. so keep that in mind when you order them for a 8.5 rim.

[pbonsalb]

What about a drag radial like Toyo TQ?

[flyfishvt]

I hate you guys lol. Everyone dislikes the other guys tires. How am I supposed to decide? This thread is starting to look like one of those..."what's the best oil?"

I need to drive almost 3 hours to the track. I need tires with soft sidewall, drag radials, safe to drive in rain on the interstate. Probably going with 16" rims but I'd like to look at 17" options too. I'll only be using these for the track.

Second option would be a set that I swap onto the car when I get to the track. Either way I'm hoping to get 2 seasons (3-5 track days per season)

Someone give me 2,options for tires to drive to the track and 2 options for tires to swap onto the car when I get there. Max 450hp

[iRodD]

Star Specs are still a great all around street/track tire just sayin.

[cdmbmw]

Over the years of me creeping FI, it seems the verdict is always the nt01. I know there was some excitement over the federal r compound tire. Not sure how they ended up performing.. Was it Frank using them?

[dburt86]

I just bought a set of star specs for my car. Figured with boost by gear and traction control, it will do fine. Alot of people swear by them.

Anyone else have any input on the star specs for 5-600WHP cars?

[beeasy]

On my car at around 500-550whp the star specs have traction in 3rd depending temperature.

As always alignment and suspension set up play a large roll

[Butters Stoch]

I hate you guys lol. Everyone dislikes the other guys tires. How am I supposed to decide? This thread is starting to look like one of those..."what's the best oil?"

I need to drive almost 3 hours to the track. I need tires with soft sidewall, drag radials, safe to drive in rain on the interstate. Probably going with 16" rims but I'd like to look at 17" options too. I'll only be using these for the track.

Second option would be a set that I swap onto the car when I get to the track. Either way I'm hoping to get 2 seasons (3-5 track days per season)

Someone give me 2,options for tires to drive to the track and 2 options for tires to swap onto the car when I get there. Max 450hp

Your simple. Grind your rear calipers and buy my drag radial setup. This will give you maximum sidewall, and you have physically seen them in action. Pop them on at the track like we do. We will always have jacks, and impact guns. You just need to show up.