Nitto 555 Tire Review

[sxcpotatoes]

I never reviewed these, and I've had them for about 4 years now. Someone PM'ed me asking for my opinion, and so I'll repost here.

I got these Nitto 555s from Pantera77 with some 17" Cragar D-Window steel rims & beauty rings for about $750. http://www.grandmarq.net/vb/showthre...ighlight=Nitto (I don't know if they're the G-2s or if they're an older version, but pretty sure they were made in either Japan or Germany) and they are the best tires I have ever had in my life. He was getting rid of them because he blew up his wagon rear end (something sploded out the pumpkin IIRC) or because he had some other rims.

They make the car feel like it's GLUED to the road. I don't burn rubber a lot (or much at all) but the rear can also break loose with the 4.30 rear end I have from the 1-2 shift (it grabs again right away).

The wear is really good for summer only tires, I'm probably approaching the 4th season with them, and the one thing I noticed on my way out to Scottfest a couple years ago was that they are flipping AMAZING in the wet. On the 7+ hour drive I ended up driving through thunderstorm after thunderstorm. I don't normally drive the car above 62 or so on the highway because the rear end gets really noisy. All the other cars on the road would pass me between the thunderstorms, and I would pass a ton of them when they got scared and slowed down in the rain. Most of the speed limits were 65-70, and it never felt dangerous in the least. There was reduced visibility, but I had Rain-Xed the windows, and everybody ran their headlights so I could see traffic just fine.

I honestly wouldn't buy anything else in a summer tire unless I couldn't afford them or they quit selling them.

[Mr Bean]

555s are next best thing to slicks. Stickiest tires I've ever had but not the greatest in the rain. Tire wear is ok but I wouldn't call it spectacular.

[knucklehead0202]

Pretty sure you have the exact same size i do; 255/50/17, which puts them right around 27" diameter like stock. Mine are on 17x8 wheels with 4.5" backspace and only had minor rub issues in front with addco sway bar and a little contact with the fenders before some rolling work. My 555's are now about 5 years old or so, having first been on my previous '90 before it's untimely demise. Alignment/suspension on the new '90 isn't as good as the first, and since the tires are getting a bit older, they tend to grab grooves in the road, although this IS california, where we pay extra for the shittiest roads in the country, so take that for what it's worth.

In dry weather, these are sticky motherfuckers. With the 3.55 trac-loc, this pile will rarely even chirp the tires on a WOT launch. I'd need oil to do a burnout but i will say that they kinda suck in the wet. Mine are now starting to show some weather-checking and starting to get shallow grooves. There are not many tires available in this size but there is now a nitto 450 that appears to have a better all-weather tread pattern i may consider trying out. Only other tire is Riken Raptor, which has super shitty reviews so i dunno. Prices are all fairly close so....

[sxcpotatoes]

Okay, I may be totally wrong about wet performance. You guys are likely talking about handling and grip on wet pavement, I was talking about regular straight line/highway/standing water/not hydroplaning. So yeah, sorry about that, they probably are fair to middling for grip in the wet, but cut through water really well as long as you stay out of any terrible deep grooves (I try to drive on the crowns on the road when possible, even if that makes me hug the yellow or dashed lines).

Summer tires are going to wear faster than no seasons, then again, I've only put about 24k on the car on both summer and winter tires in 5 years.

[packman]

This is good info. Thanks I will be getting new wheels for both my MGM and the CV next year and have been shopping around for good tires. I am definitely going to give these consideration.

[knucklehead0202]

Yeah tater, i meant with regarding to handling/grip in the wet, these tires feel very, "uncertain" i guess you'd say. You go around a turn and it seems to hold the line but you feel like it's just gonna wash out any second i guess is the best way to describe it. Touchy brakes also add to the weird feeling, although i'm starting to get where i understand how the brakes work on this goddamn car. Otherwise, i may try out the NT450's when time comes to replace these tires but i plan to run them out to the bitter end if i can. These things ain't cheap.

[jaywish]

I like the Cooper performance tires.

[sick88tbird]

I’ve run a bunch of different brand tires in my tire destroying days. I’m now hooked on Falken tires. I ran their Ziex ZE912 w-rated tires on my 85 coupe years ago in 235/55R17 and they were amazing...they only lasted about 12,000 miles with a tread wear rating of 320, BUT, I abused them. Stock suspension, worn out shocks and I used to OWN imports on the mountain roads of SC/NC on a nearly daily basis. Now the ZE912 has been replaced with a new model, the Ziex ZE950 A/S.

My ‘01 has just started on its second set of the 950’s and I can’t say enough good. They’re available in H,V and W ratings...I went with the W of course. The first set were 245/45R17’s on cobra wheels and I got over 25,000 miles out of them...again, very hard driving...some e-brake 180’s, plenty of burnouts and barking the tires in second gear 5-10 times a day. In Sept. ‘18, I replaced the first set with 245/50R17’s. I gained a little over a half inch of tread width and ended up having to run my Eibach spacers from my coupe. Great stance, fills the wheel wells nicely and I have a hell of a time trying to power brake a burnout now. Wet traction is phenomenal all the way around. They also haven’t left me stranded in snow.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uobjGGIjV-Y&time_continue=147