Nitto and Toyo are affiliates. Basically the same company. Hence the same compound on the tires.

The Nitto's were out long before the R888's, but that could have been the case between the NT-01 and the RA1 which preceded the R888, and also has the similar if not the same compound.

 

I don't know about the Nittos being out long before R888s. I was using 888s back in 2006 which was well before I'd heard of NT01s?? For some reason 888s were held back from the US for a few years. Not sure why. Perhaps they had a huge backlog of RA1s or something?
I'm also not so sure that the NT01s, RA1s and 888s are all from the identical compound. Can't quite put my finger on it but I think one of them is different.

 

Yeah you may be right, in the US the R888's must have been held back because the RA1 were so popular. I think I remember Toyo extended the run of the RA1 in the US because so many people liked them.

As for the compound, I'm pretty sure they are very similar if not the same, the construction of them is different though.

 

RA 1 is back in full production. NT01 and RA1 are indeed the same compound. BMW CCA, POC here in So Cal is now predominately NT01. Nearly all entered at the 25 Hours of Thunderhill were NT01. The team I was working for only used two sets the entire race.

 

Unfortunately the RA1 didn't come in enough larger sizes.

 

That's a great point Dave.

I am just a cheap Dutchy and want my tires at the lowest possible cost. I use Pro-Technik at the track for (re)mounting. They do a fabulous job with their track support at TWS and I think they deserve our business.

BTW: I got my tires yesterday, no issues and very happy with the smell of new rubber in my garage.

JP

 

I got my tires today. One week from ordering to delivery. Great price.

Ken

 

Not in my experience

Repeat customers get coupons for $100 off and more depending on how much you spend

 

I just priced out the 273/35/18 from discount and even with their free shipping, I saved 25 bucks. Now if they offer free mount and balance from a local discount tire shop, they win by 5 bucks.

 

Did you get yours on time and in good shape?, is the store reputable.

 

Got 'em. Seems like a good business.

 

Cool! thanks. They are definitely a lot cheaper than the other store. I'll wait for my mechanic to give me a price quote and then order it tomorrow.

 

I bought some from Onlinetire.com and had them sent Downunder. Had them send 2 and then another 2. They were meant to be out of stock and they eventually sent the 2nd pair with one of them being 2010 production and the other looked like it had been hanging around some warehouse gathering dust and who knows what else. 2007 production. I emailed them my displeasure and haven't received a reply. Guess that's what you get when you're way down here.

 

After seeing this thread I bought a set of nt01s from onlinetires. I did some web searches and found a lot of other forums where people were not happy with the customer service. So I made sure to stay on top of this order. After 24 hours and no word back from them, I emailed customer service and they promptly replied that the tires were on backorder and they would have them in stock in four days.

On the day they said they would have them, they shipped out. Received them 5 days later in Florida.. Worth the little extra effort to stay on top of the order considering they were cheaper than any other site by a good margin.


50/09 production on all of the ones I received.

 

The Discount Tire that I do business with will match any on line offer that is out there. The nice thing about going through them is that they will remount them for free.