Nitto or Sumitomo?

Which tire?

  • Nitto

    Votes: 39 81.3%
  • Sumitomo

    Votes: 9 18.8%

  • Total voters
    48
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I'm going to have to choose the Nitto INVO tire. My 555's sucked when I was autocrossing at Willow Springs (they slipped too much in my experience). I also still have my Nitto 555R drag radials though and those things GRIP LIKE #@&@.

The INVO tread looks so damn cool :drool:

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I'm going to have to choose the Nitto INVO tire. My 555's sucked when I was autocrossing at Willow Springs (they slipped too much in my experience). I also still have my Nitto 555R drag radials though and those things GRIP LIKE #@&@.

The INVO tread looks so damn cool :drool:

nithz0ang.jpg
:stupid:
I really wanted thoes, I even bought and paid for them. The company went under and it took a couple weeks to get the cash back. The I went to order them from another place and stumbled upon the Michelins :nice:
 

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I have Nitto 555 P275-35 R20 102W's on the back, and Nitto 555 P275-35 R20 93W's on the front. They seem to wear very well, and are good at high speed (at least up to 150 mph, that is as far as I've pushed it.)

Once in a blue moon they stick when they are hot. Most of the time when I floor it at anything under 30 mph, they just go up in smoke. I've played with the air pressure a bit, not much difference in results.

So my vote would be for something other than the Nittos, in less you are in to drifting. --- They just don't stick! ----


It's time to order some new rear tires, mine are 99.5% shot.

Currently I have Sumitumo HTR-Z's in a 315/35/17 size.

I am considering either going with them again or trying the Nitto 555's, NOT the 555R drag radials. They get a "300" score for their tread wear rating as compared to a "160" or "180" (can't remember) for the Sumitumo's.

Just wondering if anyone could post up their thoughts/experiences about the Nitto 555's as far as how they hook up and most importantly tread life.

My Sumitumo's have lasted me around 20k +/- abusive miles.

The Sumi's are about $100 cheaper per tire, so if they are close in comparison I will just go with the Sumitumo's again.
 
i say nitto ftw, i jus picked up a pair last week after finally getting the crappy Fierce tires (has anyone really heard of them???) off that the car came with and they are great street tires for the price, i dont know much about the sumi's, but another good tire to look into is the falken azenis 610 series, i have those on my 98 GT and they are some of the best tires to price anyone can ask for, only downside is, their thread wear is 200 :/

I have looked for other comparable tires and didn't see anything of a 315 size in my budget aside from the Sumi's and possibly Nittos...:(

I know Falkens are nice tires though.

I cant comment on the Sumis because I have never used them but if you can still get them/find them for around $100 for a 315 tire I would jump on them especially since its a DD with some autocross sprints, rain, etc.

Nitto 555's have been the longest lasting tire I have ever put on my car, at the very least was 2 years and 30Kish miles and still had tread on them when I switched from 17 to 18" wheels. I got my best 60' which was 1.90 with those tires in a 245/45 size (probably had a little bit of luck and tail wind to do it:p) but I would definitely buy them again.

Now that I have the 18" and pretty damn broke I gotta try to find good deals on used ebay tires:(. I wish I could find a new 315/18 tire for $100:mad:

Thats good to hear about them lasting that long. The Nitto's had a 300 treadwear compared to the 160 for the Sumitumo's... but really the Sumi's would have worn great if not for being over-inflated. They have survived some brutal abuse...

1.9 is great for a street tire at the track.


Cut and dry, lol.

I'm going to have to choose the Nitto INVO tire. My 555's sucked when I was autocrossing at Willow Springs (they slipped too much in my experience). I also still have my Nitto 555R drag radials though and those things GRIP LIKE #@&@.

The INVO tread looks so damn cool :drool:

nithz0ang.jpg

Invo's sound like good tires but I'm not looking to spend that much on something I know I will end up burning up one day, lol.

I had KDWS's and went to HRTZ-II's because the price was right at the time. Don't get HRTZ-II's.... my first gear is useless now.

Yeah I have the old HTR-Z's and 1st and 2nd are useless.

I have Nitto 555 P275-35 R20 102W's on the back, and Nitto 555 P275-35 R20 93W's on the front. They seem to wear very well, and are good at high speed (at least up to 150 mph, that is as far as I've pushed it.)

Once in a blue moon they stick when they are hot. Most of the time when I floor it at anything under 30 mph, they just go up in smoke. I've played with the air pressure a bit, not much difference in results.

So my vote would be for something other than the Nittos, in less you are in to drifting. --- They just don't stick! ----

If they don't hook MUCH better than the current tires I will probaly just get the Sumi's again... that $200 difference is going to go a long way for other stuff I need to fix on my car.


I should know for sure later today (technically), but I'm going to sleep on it.

Thanks for all the posts so far.
 

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Heres the thing. Tires are the most important thing on the car! Dont matter how much HP you have if you cant apply it. Dosent matter how much suspension mods you have if the tires cant hold the road. Dont matter how safe you drive in the rain cause a crappy tire will hydroplane.

Tires are so important to how a car rides, handles, accelerates and such. When people cheap out on tires I just shake my head. Yes they are wear items and need to be replaced every couple years but that is our contact to the ground and needs to be the best it can IMO.

[/rant]
 
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I still say for the money and what ur looking to get out of the tires, the sumi's with correct inflation will do u the best. The 200 buck difference isn't going to net u enough performance IMHO.

Yeah that is what I am thinking also.

Well i know that at Discounttire.com where i buy all my tires you can get 2 - 315/35/17 NittoNT555R's for $352 no shipping charges. That where i bought mine same size and all. Thats a pretty good price if you ask me

Yeah that is definatly a good price, but I would blow through the drag radials too fast. I drive alot and sometimes am very abusive on my tires and I can't afford changing them every 15k, and I doubt I would even see that out of them...:(

Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels. 315/35/17 sumi's hrtz 1. 105 each plus shipping.


You can't beat that steal. Here is a link for comparison. :D

Compare Tire Search Results

Yeah that size tire isn't very cheap aside from the two in question, lol.
 
Heres the thing. Tires are the most important thing on the car! Dont matter how much HP you have if you cant apply it. Dosent matter how much suspension mods you have if the tires cant hold the road. Dont matter how safe you drive in the rain cause a crappy tire will hydroplane.

Tires are so important to how a car rides, handles, accelerates and such. When people cheap out on tires I just shake my head. Yes they are wear items and need to be replaced every couple years but that is our contact to the ground and needs to be the best it can IMO.

[/rant]

I hear you, and agree.

The Sumi's aren't a bad tire at all. They have been quiet, don't ever seep air out, even with being over inflated I got almost two years out of them with at least two autocross events, 3 hard laps around an oval track, and 5-6 passes at the drag strip on top of the almost daily abuse I put on them.

The only thing I would change about them is how they hook off the line.
 
ive had two sets of sumi's : the htr+ all season tire and the htrz summer performance tire, which is currently still on the car. price wise, sumitomo can't be beat. IMO, both sets i had were great. pretty quiet, decent grip, cost effective and seems to last a good while.

nitto makes great stuff im sure. sumitomo has my vote
 
Don't be fooled by the price, sure they are cheap and made in japan..... But I ran them for two years dd and never had any rain issues and such that you wouldn't normally expect in a 4.30 geared car with a lead foot driver. They responded way better than the factory good years, cornering was good, not great but I didn't expect them to be for that price range.

Are there better tires out there, hell yes..... But for my money and what I want out them, they work perfect. But then again, I'm a straight line guy and believe in slicks or drag radials.

My 351 car ran d/r's the whole time b/c traction was an issue no matter what condition. :D That car NEVER saw the rain and did minimal highway travel. For my 98, its not a daily, but a weekend toy, it will see some track time but mainly meet and greet events.

For the money spent and what the op is looking for, the sumi is the better choice for them.