Trouble hooking with Nitto 555r

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Walker434

Walker434

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I recently wore out my MT ET street 275/60/15s. I rolled the dice on Nitto 555 275/60/15s after reading mixed reviews hoping they would hook at the track but offer better traction in the rain since I put on a lot of street miles. I guess it was a bad gamble on my part. My previous best 60 ft with the Mickeys was 1.66. Last night at the track my best 60 ft with the Nittos was 1.86. That was letting tire pressure down to 16lbs. Anybody in the market to buy some Nittos? Guess I'm going back to Mickeys
 
Was your personal best at the same track? Union hill can get quite slippery and inconsistent especially as hot as it has been. It seems to get almost greasy. I've seen alot of cars pushing through the lights on really hot days.
 
clv22p said:
Was your personal best at the same track? Union hill can get quite slippery and inconsistent especially as hot as it has been. It seems to get almost greasy. I've seen alot of cars pushing through the lights on really hot days.
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Yes both of these were at Union Hill. I didn't notice other cars having traction problems. This was around 8:00 last night so the temp was down to 75. Maybe the track was still hot from it getting to 93 earlier in the day?
 
Interested in the responses to this. I have the Nittos as well. I just switched to Caltracs to try and alleviate my traction problems. I made three runs last weekend, I hooked on one and managed a 1.64 60 foot. The other two I spun and had a 1.86 and a 1.88.
 
M/T drag radials are all i run..low 1.40's with the 416..best so far of 1.62 with the 360:thumbsup::thumbsup::thumbsup:
 
Walker434 said:
I recently wore out my MT ET street 275/60/15s. I rolled the dice on Nitto 555 275/60/15s after reading mixed reviews hoping they would hook at the track but offer better traction in the rain since I put on a lot of street miles. I guess it was a bad gamble on my part. My previous best 60 ft with the Mickeys was 1.66. Last night at the track my best 60 ft with the Nittos was 1.86. That was letting tire pressure down to 16lbs. Anybody in the market to buy some Nittos? Guess I'm going back to Mickeys
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Nitto's are great street tires rain or shine, and one of the only 15" tires with a respectable speed rating of 186 mph. They hook very well once warmed slightly, but do get greasy if you melt them. They are not really a great track tire, but will work if you don't overheat them and are able to feel the difference just before they spin and keep them just below that threshold.

If you are going to run on a track most of the time, get dedicated slicks.
 
jbc426 said:
Nitto's are great street tires rain or shine, and one of the only 15" tires with a respectable speed rating of 186 mph. They hook very well once warmed slightly, but do get greasy if you melt them. They are not really a great track tire, but will work if you don't overheat them and are able to feel the difference just before they spin and keep them just below that threshold.

If you are going to run on a track most of the time, get dedicated slicks.
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So maybe I'm doing too long of burnout? I just hit them in first up to about 5,000 RPM shift to second, let off the brake and then ease off the throttle. It's what my Mickeys liked but maybe I should skip the water box with these and just slightly clean them off in 1st gear.
 
Aren't the nittos were talking about DRAG radials if their good on the street only why bother..I've been running m/t's for over 6 seasons in fact they're so good i sold my slicks my duster 60' BETTER with the drag radials..
 
You may have to change shock settings, launch RPM and tune what ever else you have that is tuneable to make them work.

You changed tires. What makes you think the new tire takes the exact same set up as the old ones. That is why you test.

At this point, you really have no idea if the tires work or don't. Personally I would never have bought them. BUT, it's not correct to bolt them on and call them crap without a thorough test protocol.

Try working with something other than tire pressure. Do you use a 2 step or foot brake?
 
yellow rose said:
You may have to change shock settings, launch RPM and tune what ever else you have that is tuneable to make them work.

You changed tires. What makes you think the new tire takes the exact same set up as the old ones. That is why you test.

At this point, you really have no idea if the tires work or don't. Personally I would never have bought them. BUT, it's not correct to bolt them on and call them crap without a thorough test protocol.

Try working with something other than tire pressure. Do you use a 2 step or foot brake?
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I'm on a footbrake. Never called them crap I just wish I would have bought the Mickeys since they worked well for my combo. I am running cheap O'reillys shocks so there is no adjustment there. Can't really afford adjustable shocks right now. I launched at 2,000 RpM but my converter flashes to about 4,000. I may have to play with my launch rpm to find out what they like.
 
You are in a bit of a pickle then. As a FB car, about all you can do is brake it up as far as your brakes will hold and take away hit. If you had a 2 step, you could chip it up and take away hit.

So you don't have some kind of adjustable shock up front either? Even a 90/10 three way adjustable would be helpful. And if you could find some 50/50's for the rear that would help and not kill your bank account.

No slapped bars, pinion snubber...anything????
 
yellow rose said:
You are in a bit of a pickle then. As a FB car, about all you can do is brake it up as far as your brakes will hold and take away hit. If you had a 2 step, you could chip it up and take away hit.

So you don't have some kind of adjustable shock up front either? Even a 90/10 three way adjustable would be helpful. And if you could find some 50/50's for the rear that would help and not kill your bank account.

No slapped bars, pinion snubber...anything????
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I have CE 90/10 shocks up front and the front has 5 inches of travel. 002/003 SS springs in the back with lowering blocks. I have un clamped the rear segments and added clamps to the front segments. I believe my pinion angle is 4 or 5 degrees. Like you, I think the car would benefit from a good adjustable shock in the rear. I'll be saving my pennies
 
Ever thought of trying the 80/20 up fron? May even like the 70/30 setting. Maybe you are hitting them too hard. It's just something else to try.

PITA to test and sort this crap out. In hind sight, you probably would have been better off with the MT's but until you try something different you'll never know for sure.
 
with the nittos stay away from the water box if you must burn them 1 or 2 turns on the dry part of the track .
 
Makes some sense now, my best run was on a messed up burnout, second gear only.
 
I have never heard anything good about the Nitto's. I was running the M/T Street Radial with a best 60 of 1.33. I just bought some M/T Radial Pro's and have not had a chance to try them yet. I am also foot braking.
 
famous bob said:
same here .
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The 245 /40/17's worked well , on my prepped four link 5.0 liter..(less torque,less h.p.,drop on a lazy clutch,shorter wheelbase ,less weight...) That wheelbase, that torque /h.p. amount,that converter, likes some sidewall flex. I suggest,go back...
 
Thanks for everyone's replies. My Dad might buy these Nittos from me. He is building a 67 Olds Cutlass with a mild 330. I think his Cutlass would hook with these so if he buys them I'm going back to the Mickey Thompsons. If not, I'll try to figure out how to make these hook. Still haven't moved my battery to the trunk so that might help a little. Waiting to hear back from Nitto on what tire pressure they like at the track.
 
Nittos sold on Craigslist. Mickeys should be here tomorrow. I'm on a budget and I feal like this is cheaper than buying new shocks to try to get the Nittos to hook. I learned my lesson hopefully this thread will help others in the future. Thanks FABO.
 
Hmmmm...I haven't priced shocks lately but I think you can get a Viking double adjustable for about $190.00 each or so. Don't know what the tires cost, but I suspect it would be a push.

Hope this gets you back to where you were
 
Had Nittos for awhile too. Never worked well for me. The ET Streets were OK, but still didn't give me the consistency of the bias slick.

As a side, you probably shouldn't be doing burn outs in 1st. I hear that's a good way to scatter a TF. I start in 2nd and hit 3rd for a second then keep the tires spinning until I know I passed the spot my front tires were sitting to be sure any water is burned off.
 
gumper said:
Had Nittos for awhile too. Never worked well for me. The ET Streets were OK, but still didn't give me the consistency of the bias slick.

As a side, you probably shouldn't be doing burn outs in 1st. I hear that's a good way to scatter a TF. I start in 2nd and hit 3rd for a second then keep the tires spinning until I know I passed the spot my front tires were sitting to be sure any water is burned off.
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Yeah I know you are supposed to start the burnout in second but I don't have a full manual valvebody. There is no way to start the burnout in 2 with an auto valvebody is there?
 
Walker434 said:
Yeah I know you are supposed to start the burnout in second but I don't have a full manual valvebody. There is no way to start the burnout in 2 with an auto valvebody is there?
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Auto valve body. Start in 1st, shift to 2nd, let off and roll out. Do not stop in 1st gear. I'm sure you have figured out a light burnout is all that is needed with the MT ET Street.
 
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