docwyte

I've heard conflicting advice on shaving these tires. Some say you don't have to since their tread design is molded to 4/32". Others say you do have to shave them to make them as fast as shaved Toyo RA1's.

What say the net wisdom?

Larry Herman

Don't have a data point for you, but unlike RA-1s, the Nittos are great right out of the box. IMHO the tread blocks are so large that I can't see where shaving a 32nd or so off of them would really make much difference. If you are racing them, they probably would be as good as they get after about 4 sessions.

4porsh

I never have shaved them. Yes at first they squirm a little, but each session they just get better and better. When the horizontal tread lines are gone is when they are at the best for me. Then I just run them to the cords.

If you are running a race where money or ego is on the line then maybe shave them. For me it's unshaved for longevity and value.

va122

I ALWAYS shave them down to slicks. No block squirm.

rlm328

I have never shaved them, they are a good tire. If you feel you need to shave them you might as well just go to hoosiers or bfg r1s. You have taken the longevity out of the tire to give you better grip, might as well go with tires known for grip.

333pg333

I never bothered either. Found them pretty much good to go and they last for a long time. I left them on the car and drove on the street albeit not any great amount of miles.

I wondered when they are meant to be at their best though? Once you wear away the horizontals, you're left with an R6 type '2-liner'. What about after that when they're pretty much a slick, is this when they're meant to be at their best?

va122

They're best IMHO as a slick.

Potomac-Greg

Given that the NT01 seems to have a long shelf life and don't seem to cycle out, chances are they will wear out before they cycle out. So if you shave them, you will likely be giving up many track sessions.

I have to assume they'll be somewhat faster. For DE usage, I'd leave them as is. You might be giving up a few podium DE finishes until they get to their sweet spot!

wanna911

This.

TheOtherEric

They're not like the R888, which really suck out of the box. The NT01 is much better, but yeah will take a few sessions to be really good (as compared to about 6 sessions for the R888). They have minimal tread (if you can even call it that). I see no need for shaving.

docwyte

Here's the skinny.

Toyo RA1's come with 8/32" of tread and generally get shaved to 4/32".
Nitto NT01's come with 6/32" of tread, so they don't really need to get shaved, but won't be quite as quick as the RA1's until they have a few sessions on them.

For my purposes (Time Trials, DE) I'm not going to shave them. I have my RA1's from last season to mount if I need to get a few more seconds. If we can get enough people in my class to qualify for Hoosier bucks, I'll switch over to the R6's.