Nitto NT05 vs. Bridgestone RE-11

[agamble]

Looks like its about $500.00 more for the RE-11's. Are they worth it? Does anyone have any experience with either or both? How do the Nittos hold up? I use my car mainly for auto-x, open track events and around town fun. Thoughts? Insights? Seems like sometimes you get what you pay for, other times you pay more for a name brand and it isn't any better. I have the Dunlop star spec tires now and like them a lot but they don't come in the bigger size I want, 275-40-18. Thanks!

 

[GrnBullitt08]

No run the NT05s... They are a good tire. The RE-11s are not worth the extra $500

 

[MELLOWYELLOW06]

I love my NT05's. I think they are priced reasonably low as well.

 

[Sam Strano]

I can't speak to the NT-05's specifically. I can speak to how well RE-11's work on a high powered RWD. I drove them on a C6 Z51 Corvette and was suitably impressed.

Nitto is part of Toyo. Toyo's R1R is the tire they produce to go head to head with the RE-11's. Knowing that, I don't think the NT-05 is on the same level.

 

[Chris B.]

Based on the experiences of other people I know, the RE-11's will be a better overall performaing tire. The NT-05's are more of a good performing street tire and not a street tire class AutoX tire and streetable track tire.

One 'vette owner I know went from NT-05's to RE-11's for autoX and his times and PAX score improved signifigantly. I heard the same thing from a 335i owner i know.

 

[GrnBullitt08]

Based on what Strano said it might be in your best interest to pay the extra $500... He knows more than any of us..

 

[Kaldar142]

i personally love the NT05 (went through 3 sets), have not tried the RE-11 but i'm done using street tires... going way toooo fast for them now.

Time for some competition tires

 

[SoundGuyDave]

I've found a pretty happy combination with Hoosier R6 for my track tires, and Dunlop *specs for "street" tires. I'm consistently a couple of seconds faster on the Hoosiers (1.7-2.0 mile tracks), but honestly, if you think about it, two seconds really isn't that much! I drive to/from the events on the Dunlops, run them in the rain, and on "fun" sessions, where the fast time isn't up for grabs... Otherwise, the Hoosiers go on. A set of R6 tires will last me around twelve heat cycles, but from what I can tell, the Dunlops look to be good for (perhaps) a full season. And yes, before you ask, I do drive them pretty hard...

 

[Cookiemonster]

for some one coming off nt555s what would be the next step in tires? is going from 300 to 200 tread wear really that much of a diff?

 

[SoundGuyDave]

Night and day! I went from the 555s to the *Spec, and for our purposes, there's no going back. Think of it this way: 300 to 200 treadwear is pretty much the same change as going from 400 to 300.... like from the stock P-Zero Nero to the 555. You can expect essentially the same increase in grip. If you dip much below 200, you're going to be looking at "race rubber," and they will wear a lot more quickly than you're used to. Think Nitto NT-01, Toyo RA-1 or R-888, and that will give you an idea of what the entry-level race rubber will be like. Make no mistake, a 200 treadwear tire will NOT wear like a standard 40,000 mile tire, but it should give you a lot more wear than the race rubber will.

GRM just did a tire comparo between the Kumho XS, Dunlop Star Spec, Falken RT-615K, and Hankook R-S3, and between them, the road-course laps had less than a 1.6 second spread, which really isn't bad.

For what we do, though, it's not a matter of treadwear, it's a matter of heat-cycles. When I swapped my Nittos for the *Specs, I still had boatloads of tread left, but the tires were cycled out. They just didn't grip any more, and got greasy after maybe 5 minutes of pushing them on track. When new, the Dunlops would last through a 30 minute session with no problems whatsoever, and I'll know that it's time to swap them out when they start getting greasy after 20 minutes. With the Hoosiers, you can tell that they're done when they just don't grip anymore, and as I mentioned, that happens for me after about twelve 15-20 minute sessions. Not days, sessions. I'm doing something like 25 track days this season, and I'm anticipating wearing out three sets of Hoosiers, but I'm betting on only one set of *Specs for the whole year. Because they're only a second or two slower than the Hoosiers, I run the *Specs to and from the track, run them for the warmup session, and sometimes for the first timed session (NASA TT), just to see where I am in the field. If I need the extra speed, I'll slap on the Hoosiers, but every time I do, it's like lighting a $100 bill on fire... Otherwise, I run the *Spec, and just have fun.

 

[Vapour Trails]

I was at the same crossroads and went with the NT05. After a break-in period, they are impressive. I've used them for road racing and auto X and have been pleasantly surprised. Are they as good as the RE-11, can't say for sure, but even if they are a little behind, you can get 6 NT05 tires for the price of 4 RE-11s.

 

[Kaldar142]

Yeah, the price on NT05s is awesome. Only downside IMO is the wet performance is kind of lacking, ESPECIALLY once they start to get worn down a bit.

I run 285 / 335 on the Vette and get them for around $1050, even cheaper on the Stang with 285s all around.

 

[Kobie]

+++ Night and day difference between the 555's and the 05's. The 555's wore like iron, unfortunately the also stuck like iron.