Nitto NT01 Tires

I have no experience with them but Nitto tires in general are pretty good performers and usually, quite a good value. I'll watch here for input but will look forward to you posting some info if you do use them please!

Chris

Well, they are on order and should be here tomorrow. I plan to run them in an auto-x on Saturday if all goes well with the delivery.

They aren't as well known as some other brands and I have not seen anyone running them. I did find an article that stated that they are made by Toyo and might have the R888 compound that has been used in Europe for awhile now. They certainly will not be as "sticky" as Hoosiers but might last longer. At my stage that is an important benefit.

I will indeed keep the group advised of the success. Hopefully, I will be elated!!

Don

If you're changing from street tires, ya, you're going to love it I'm sure!

Later, Chris

Well, they are on order and should be here tomorrow. I plan to run them in an auto-x on Saturday if all goes well with the delivery.

They aren't as well known as some other brands and I have not seen anyone running them. I did find an article that stated that they are made by Toyo and might have the R888 compound that has been used in Europe for awhile now. They certainly will not be as "sticky" as Hoosiers but might last longer. At my stage that is an important benefit.

I will indeed keep the group advised of the success. Hopefully, I will be elated!!

Don

I did indeed try the NT01 Nitto tires and found that the first run was quite an adventure. These tires seem to need some heat to stick. We had 6 or 7 runs or about 48 seconds each and by the end I had dropped

These are basically road race tires and there for might not be quite right for auto-x. I will give them another shot in a couple of weeks and let the group know what is going on with them.

Don.

I did indeed try the NT01 Nitto tires and found that the first run was quite an adventure. These tires seem to need some heat to stick. We had 6 or 7 runs or about 48 seconds each and by the end I had dropped

These are basically road race tires and there for might not be quite right for auto-x. I will give them another shot in a couple of weeks and let the group know what is going on with them.

Don. \

Don, ya, that makes very good sense if, as you say, they are track tires. Do you do track day events where you could keep these aside just for those? If not, you may want to sell them while you can still get something out of them rather than be disappointed over and over at Auto-x. Also, they will likely last what seems like forever simply 45 ~ 65 seconds at a shot.

One other consideration would be to try to find out if there is some heat cycling routine that you are supposed to put the tires thru. This is true of many r-compound tires and could be a way of getting them to behave more like you need, not sure. Contact the tech dept of the mfr if you can't find enough tech knowledge about that particular tire online. Individual brands of tires are very different.

Lastly, if you're stuck with them (for auto-x only), you might investigate shaving them. This might get them to heat quicker (not sure about that) and they would still probably last a long time.

Do keep us posted, Chris

Chris,

I have been doing some track days and I think these tires will do well there. I had read reviews posted by some users with heavier cars like BMW's and they thought they were great for auto-x. The heavy cars might build up heat faster than my light Miata though, and that could be the difference.

I plan to run them again at a longer auto-x next weekend and will see if I can play around with pressures and get a bit more grip. Getting new tires is a real adventure!!

Don

Update.

The Nittos did well yesterday at a local auto-x. They do need some heat but it is fairly warm here now so the ambient temperature helps. These tires are not auto-x exclusive tires so for my use they will be a good compromise.

I ran 34 psi in the front and about 36 psi in the rear and on one run I actually got the rear to hang out a bit. This is unusual for the Miata. I am working on an understeer problem but have finally come to realize that the problem is the driver, not the car. You can't turn as fast as you want!! Imagine that.

I am going to tape a message to the dash that says "Learn to Drive The Car!!"

So far the verdict for the Nittos is: O.K. I would like to do a track day and see how they do there.

Don