What size Nitto's to use?

[OUTLAW94SHO]

I want to get Nitto Drag Radials (555R) for my SHO. I got the 16" slicers. What size Nittos could I use with the slicers? The size I have on now are 215 60 R16. On the Nitto site I saw the 555R's with the size of 225/50R16 92V. Would these work on the slicers? Anyone have experience with these tires? Are they any good? Any input is appreciated. thanks, johnny

 

[SHOMurph]

These are great tires for drag racing. However don't expect too much from the twisties compared to other tires.

Unless you are running high hp the nitto drags are really overkill for semi stock SHOs. You won't see too much of a gain by using them...but its your money.

 

[OUTLAW94SHO]

would those size tires fit on the slicers?

 

[SHOZ123]

Yes

 

[olympic]

The 225/50R16 size was discontinued over a year ago, so finding a new set will be tough. The only 16" size left is 245/50R16 which might not work on a 6.5" slicer.

Anyways, I have a set of 225's and here's my take on them. They are an excellent tire at the drag strip. Especially if the track is well prepped with traction compound. Even with a 75 shot of nitrous I was hard pressed to break them loose in first gear. Once you do your burnout, the tread turns into a sticky goo and the tires grip like crazy. But without the burnout, it acts like a regular tire. So using these on the street is kinda pointless. Plus the treadwear is only rated for about 15000 miles of normal driving.

One word of caution though, these tires can actually be too good! I only made about6 passes before snapping an axle in half. So they really put alot of stress on your driveline. I'd recommend carrying a set of spare axles or get a set of stage 5 axles from SHOnut($800). A quaife diff is also a must, I can't imaging the stocker taking too much of this kind of abuse. Motor mounts and your clutch should also be a concern.

So Nitto drag radials work very good, but the rest of your car has to be up to the task of racing with them.

 

[K-Dawg]

Nitto DRs used to be made in a 225/50/16, but that size has been discontinued. If you can get ahold of a pair, they will fit on the 6" wide Slicers. They do make a 245/50/16 size that would work good on a 7" or so rim width.

 

[OUTLAW94SHO]

i saw that size on the nitto site 2 days ago. i dont have a quaife yet, using these tires will put more stress on the stock diff? i am going to get the southbend/fidanza combo, what else should i modify besides the diff? are axles really necessary with the nittos?

 

[drivinhard]

225/50 works ok on a SHO. 245/45 16 on a 7.5" rim would be better.

I found them to *barely* be able to hold up under a 70 hp jetting on my 3.2L. (in terms of pulling through 1st gear without giving up).

pretty good tire though

 

[olympic]

OUTLAW94SHO:
i saw that size on the nitto site 2 days ago. i dont have a quaife yet, using these tires will put more stress on the stock diff? i am going to get the southbend/fidanza combo, what else should i modify besides the diff? are axles really necessary with the nittos?

Nitto just hasn't updated their site in a long time. www.discounttiredirect.com doesn't list that size anymore and no one else has any 225's left.

Using sticky tires puts more stress on everything: motor mounts, clutch, tranny, diff, axles, suspension, etc. The stock diff is weak to begin with so be careful there.

Unless you enjoy walking home from the track or bumming a ride, take spare axles with you along with the tools needed to change them.(or invest in racing axles) The axles will give you no warning when they break. You just hear a loud "pop" when you launch and suddenly, you're not accelerating anymore. Then a teenager on an ATV towes your car off the track.