Differences between Nitto 555 R2's & ET Street SS's

[Darth_Cat]

Just curious if anybody can share the kind of performance on the street they've noticed between the two. I currently run the R2's now, but getting some SS's in next week. I know the SS's are softer, but I've heard that the improvement in traction is quite noticeable. More curious about the street as I am not a track guy.... 305/35-20's on 10.5" wide rears. Cheers!

 

[coolblue]

Just curious if anybody can share the kind of performance on the street they've noticed between the two. I currently run the R2's now, but getting some SS's in next week. I know the SS's are softer, but I've heard that the improvement in traction is quite noticeable. More curious about the street as I am not a track guy.... 305/35-20's on 10.5" wide rears. Cheers!

Sub'd.

 

[vortecd]

The SS may hook somewhat better but not sure I would trust them in the rain. I run 555RII's on the street daily and use M/T R's at the track. I have had SS and R's and they both hooked at the track. If you only drive the car once in awhile the SS would not be a bad choice for the street but I have nearly a year on the 555RII's they work in the rain and they hook very well on the street and to me would be a better choice. I would say the 555RII's are twice as good as the 555R's that I had been running on different cars since they came out 20ish years ago

 

[ACMAVRO]

Sub’d

 

[Speedy!]

IMHO if you need more grip than the 555R2 on the street something's off. Maybe tire pressure. I run my 555R2 at 30psi and mine hooks up pretty good on the street. I don't go WOT from a dig (not sure why you'd need to on the street) but 2nd and 3rd gear rolls it hooks right up.

SS will prob be about the same but reports are about half the tread wear life. I got 10K miles outta my 555R tires I've run (2 or 3 sets) and expect the 555R2 to do as well or better.

 

[Darth_Cat]

Not really complaining about the R2's... just looking for a little more grip if possible so I don't think I necessarily have an issue. If mileage suffers a bit, fine, because it's not my daily driver, but I am getting thee 3.09 installed next week so every bit of additional traction is welcome!

 

[vortecd]

Not really complaining about the R2's... just looking for a little more grip if possible so I don't think I necessarily have an issue. If mileage suffers a bit, fine, because it's not my daily driver, but I am getting thee 3.09 installed next week so every bit of additional traction is welcome!

Your car stock? If not then it may be hard to find anything that will hook on the street. I put in 3.09's in mine and it hooks pretty good on the street with 305

 

[white1]

I ran the mickys on a drag pack on my scat pack, and running the 555R2 on my factory HC wheels, so its not apples to apples comparison, but the SS were decent on the track for the scat pack, but didnt work on the street so well for racing. They did fine driving.
I havent and doubt Ill ever try the 555s at the track or even a dig launch on the street, BUT, for street driving, I like the Nittos a good bit better. Getting caught in the rain on the SS can get sketchy depending on road conditions. I got caught in a rain storm heading home from the track, and for about 2 miles of interstate I had to slow down under 50 to keep the rear from sliding all over. Ive been caught in the rain on the nittos, and forgot they are a "drag radial"
Id be interested to hear opinions of the SS on a factory wheel to try and decide if sidewall difference might be the only difference, or if tread design is a big factor as well.

I can say from about 30-40 roll, the Nittos seem to do at least as well as the Mickys did, but they are still new. From past experiences with nitto tires, Im not sure how good they will do in a couple thousand miles on them

 

[Magnified]

Ran through 3 or 4 pairs of 555Rs (not the R2) and 2 or 3 pairs of ET Street SS, so can't comment on the R2. Compared to the R1, the SS was a better gripping tire, on average, for the crappy TexDOT asphalt high-heat asphalt composition used in west texas. That being said, the R1 actually gave me best hero time (under perfect conditions), and lasted longer. But the SS were more consistent in these conditions, at least for me. I had the last set of SS heat cycled but did not get a good opportunity to check the difference in performance (if any).

 

[coolblue]

IMHO if you need more grip than the 555R2 on the street something's off. Maybe tire pressure. I run my 555R2 at 30psi and mine hooks up pretty good on the street. I don't go WOT from a dig (not sure why you'd need to on the street) but 2nd and 3rd gear rolls it hooks right up.

SS will prob be about the same but reports are about half the tread wear life. I got 10K miles outta my 555R tires I've run (2 or 3 sets) and expect the 555R2 to do as well or better.

@Speedy! , are your street tires 20" or 17's or 18's? Thanks.

 

[Magnified]

Oh, and to cool's point, one set of R1s was 275, all the rest, and all the SS were 305s.

EDIT: on 20 x 11 HR5s

 

[16GoManGoHC2]

My tire tests showed the 555R2’s being the best from a dig tire on the street. NT05R’s being second best on hot asphalt. The 555R2’s performed well even down to 35F. Their what may I buy any more. 315/30R20 555R2’s fir the rear mated with 275/40-20 555G2’s up front.

 

[Speedy!]

@Speedy! , are your street tires 20" or 17's or 18's? Thanks.

Street setup are the FR Hellcat wheels in 20x10.5 with Nitto 305/45R20 555RII tires.

 

[coolblue]

My tire tests showed the 555R2’s being the best from a dig tire on the street. NT05R’s being second best on hot asphalt. The 555R2’s performed well even down to 35F. Their what may I buy any more. 315/30R20 555R2’s fir the rear mated with 275/40-20 555G2’s up front.

I have the NT05's right now. Would you say they like smokey burnouts?, whereas the 555's just grab'n go? Performing down to 35F is impressive for any tire but doubly so on a street drag radial! I heard some of these tires (soft compound SHP summer tires) in general can crack below @40F.

 

[white1]

I have the NT05's right now. Would you say they like smokey burnouts?, whereas the 555's just grab'n go? Performing down to 35F is impressive for any tire but doubly so on a street drag radial! I heard some of these tires (soft compound SHP summer tires) in general can crack below @40F.

My experiences with the NT05R was that they like a BIG smoky burnout. Didnt work worth a darn otherwise

 

[16GoManGoHC2]

I have the NT05's right now. Would you say they like smokey burnouts?, whereas the 555's just grab'n go? Performing down to 35F is impressive for any tire but doubly so on a street drag radial! I heard some of these tires (soft compound SHP summer tires) in general can crack below @40F.

I ran NT05R’s for a few years, they were my go to tire. Then I tried a pair of the 555R2’s when they can out and did a same day trial of 3 different tires in a street setting, ie no burn out just launch like from a red light. Was about an 80F day mid afternoon, same pavement same about sunshine, 3 1/4 pulls each pair of brand new 315/30-20 NT05R, 315/30-20 555R2, and 315/50-17 MT Street R’s, all done in a 2 hour time window. Both Nitto’s at 26 psi hot and the MT’s at 22, remember this is on the street 80F no burnout. The NT05R‘a produced the quickest 1/4’s, the 555’s 2nd and believe it or not the MT’s last. Without a burnout the MT’s would not hook for crap on the street. (At the track was a different story, managed a 1.39 60 Ft and 9.998 133 pass with them M6) Then came Fall in Pa, my NT05R’s where getting bald and I put the 555’s on and was then impressed with how they gripped ona colder road that the NT05R didn’t like. So now I have 3 pairs for the back, 555R2’s for spring and Fall and NT05R for dead if summer, and the MT Street R’s for the track. There’s a longer thread on this I posted on one of the sites when I was doing the testing with 69 ft times and all using a highly accurate Gtech timer that uses a 50hz military grade GPS unit and a auxiliary antenna which gets about 14 satellites of reception netting very very accurate timing, Draggy and others only use a 10 Hz GPS unit. I like the 555R2’s in both looks and performance.
PS, I don’t do big Smokey burnouts with my Street Drag radials, their too expensive lol 😂

 

[Darth_Cat]

Yes, my car is stock. Couple minor bolt-ons, but stock boost. Will be getting an engine/trans tune soon, but still OEM when the gear is installed in the next week or so. Rear wheels are 10.5's. I have pretty much heard that SS's were a tick more sticky 555RII's and provide a little more traction.... all surfaces being equal of course. We'll see. I have about 6500 miles on my RII's with still a healthy amount of rubber left.... no track visits.... just random street races here and there.

Your car stock? If not then it may be hard to find anything that will hook on the street. I put in 3.09's in mine and it hooks pretty good on the street with 305

 

[Magnified]

Agree. No smoke burnout on the street for me. So as that to the info I posted above.

The one YouTube and GIF burnout with 210'1" of rubber was an exception to that. Those tires were nearing EOL

 

[white1]

Yes, my car is stock. Couple minor bolt-ons, but stock boost. Will be getting an engine/trans tune soon, but still OEM when the gear is installed in the next week or so. Rear wheels are 10.5's. I have pretty much heard that SS's were a tick more sticky 555RII's and provide a little more traction.... all surfaces being equal of course. We'll see. I have about 6500 miles on my RII's with still a healthy amount of rubber left.... no track visits.... just random street races here and there.

Im happy to read about your mileage. My stock pirellis lasted right at 7500 and werent touching the wear bars but were right there. I dont do burnouts on a normal basis on my street tires. (I think they had 3 or 4, one for some kids, one for an old man that we do to each other every now and then) but if they spun during somewhat normal driving I didnt care too much.
I was hoping to get at least that out the Nittos, and even being a much softer compound they dont spin all the time like the pirellis so I was hopeful they might actually last longer. Now Im optimistic

 

[Darth_Cat]

Agreed, considering the kind of tire the RII is I am happy with the mileage. FWIW, I tend to run about 25-26 cold pressure as it grows to about 27-28. Wear has been even/consistent at that pressure it seems. Granted, I am in South Texas and summer is now in full swing so 3 lbs. of grow is easy....

Im happy to read about your mileage. My stock pirellis lasted right at 7500 and werent touching the wear bars but were right there. I dont do burnouts on a normal basis on my street tires. (I think they had 3 or 4, one for some kids, one for an old man that we do to each other every now and then) but if they spun during somewhat normal driving I didnt care too much.
I was hoping to get at least that out the Nittos, and even being a much softer compound they dont spin all the time like the pirellis so I was hopeful they might actually last longer. Now Im optimistic