Nitto NT01 feedback??
245/40/18 Front
315/30/18 Rear
With a rolling radius delta of -1.08%, well within tolerance. With a narrow body car, 275 rear is the best you can do with Nitto NT-01.
during normal summer days(90+ degrees, hot desert wind and very intense sun) I was getting 1 warm up lap, 2 hot laps and the tires were done. the rest of the session is spent working on a few sectors, then at least half a lap trying to cool the tires before speeding up again.
late september I was at the track when the temp only got up to 80 with a very light north wind and the tires were great. sticky and consistent for an entire session and only had to adjust the psi once after lunch.
this last weekend was cold, leaving my house the temp was 31 degrees, first session was about 40 degrees, and the tires are amazing. I ended up running 37 to 42 hot, takes about half a lap to get the tires warm and then they stay fast and consistent until the end of the session, no feeling greasy or sloppy.
seems to be a great tire for under 80 degrees even down to a very cold track.
On Sunday AM's practice, I saw a 1:46.449. I could hardly wait for the qualifying session......ran the qualifier, I was back in the 1:47s again...damn. And in the process, the tail stepped out on me in Turn 10...I did catch it, but it unnerved me a bit. Go off there and you are in some deep doo doo.
My pit buddy suggested I put on a fresh set of Nittos that were lounging in the trailer. Why not....so off came the old Nittos and on to the new...in the process, I noticed the right rear outside was down to the cord. Getting the 1:46.449 supports the legend that the Nittos are good right up until the time you see cord. 20+ heat cycles....pretty damn good longevity....BUT, you will be about 2 seconds a lap slower than if you were running Hoosiers or Hankook Z 214 tires. If the 2 seconds is of no concern to you, then the Nitto NT-01 tires are the best bargain on the planet.
I did the race on the fresh Nittos with 2 heat cycles on them...night and day. They really hooked up, damned near felt like Hoosier R6 or Hankook Z 214 tires. Went through Laguna Seca's tricky and fast turns as if on rails....but still at the 1:46 mark
I want to get to 1:44....Conclusion: Hoosier R6 and Hankook Z 214 are generally about 2 seconds a lap faster on the typical 2 minute a lap track. On the down side, in my experience, both are effective for about 9 heat cycles, then they start going off. Whereas, the NT-01 tires are good right down to the cord. So the question is, how bad do you want, or should I say, how much are you willing to spend for the extra 2 seconds per lap? Also note, the Hankook Z 214 C51 compound tires are priced about the same as Nitto NT-01 tires, but provide about 1/2 the effective life, so in effect they cost 2X as much. Also, when you buy the Nittos, get them dealer heat cycled...with Discount Tire Direct they do it for $15 a tire.
My revised strategy. Use Nittos for practice, and Hoosier R6 or Hankook Z 214 for qualifying and race. Hankook Z 214 have had availability problems lately.
Last edited by Martin S.; Oct 9, 2013 at 01:06 AM.

Great tire in terms of grip, heat cycles, treadware and price.
I am done with sport cups and toyo 888.
My 993s get hand me down tires from my 997 track wheels as the 993s are street only duty.
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Thanks.
Thanks.
(Benchmark is still years ago when Cervelli rolled out a STOCK class 993 and ran sub-1:40. And my stock class RSA used to be good for ~1:43 there on the old Kumhos I used to run.)
I bought front and back separate and used the coupon twice for $200 off.
ordering 4 new NT01's cost me only $806.
as a caveat, rubber has been in a bear market since 2011 with many other commodities and could easily lose another 40% in the next 6 months.
and as a caveat to that statement, many of the ag and soft markets look to have bottomed.
Thanks.
even though I really like 235 / 295 or 245 / 295 setups for street tyres, my car feels more lively / fun / "tail happy"......... with 235 / 275.
never used 245 / 275, but it could be fun!
lotta opportunity for oversteer.
In my 3,250 993, stock motor with Crawford wing, MCS suspension, I knocked out a 1:33.352 in a December POC Race Qualifier on NT-01, 245 front, 275 rear. In February of this year, saw some more 1:33 times, once again on NT-01, still a far cry from Jack's 1:28s...but I am getting there.
It would be real tough to get away from NT-01. Perhaps they are noisy on the street...with little to no noise abatement on my car, I can barely hear the tires.
They are the best value for the money.



