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Nitto 305-35 20


2011 P8J

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Guys,

 

I have a 2011 w/SVTPP. The tires that I had paid for back in October finally arrived! I choose the NT555Rs because they are more streetable/forgiving than the NT05Rs with a much stifer sidewall that handle very well. I dont drive the car in the rain so that is not an issue for me either way. I had then mounted on the stock 20 wheels. Before any of you say they need to be mounted on 10 inch wheels and these are 9.5 inch let me stop you first. THEY FIT PERFECTLY! The tire looks like it was made to fit on these rims. Eventualy I will get another set of rims but as for now I have the F1 G2s bagged up in the garage. As for as the performance, all I can say is wow! Before the car would not hook in second gear but it does now. From a stop you can of course lite them up but it is so much easier to drive the car out of the hole. This was on the street and I have not been to the track yet but Im positive these tries are capable of 1.6-1.8 60ft times. Bottom line for me is that these tries are $280 each which is much less than the F1 G2s. Most of my driving is around town on weekends and in good weather. Why not have a tire under the car capable of handling the HP and cheaper? With all the talk of widening rims etc. this solution is much simpler and it WORKS. I would recomend these tires to anyone who wants to walk the fine line of traction/handling.

Dan

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Of course they fit but it's not safe. The manufacturer has reccs based on safety data. If they could safely work every manufacturer would say so... So they could sell more tires. When you have a tire de-bead after you hit a bump or corner too hard your insurance will not even cover you if they find out you have tires and rims that specifically do not work together.

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Of course they fit but it's not safe. The manufacturer has reccs based on safety data. If they could safely work every manufacturer would say so... So they could sell more tires. When you have a tire de-bead after you hit a bump or corner too hard your insurance will not even cover you if they find out you have tires and rims that specifically do not work together.

 

 

Sorry OP but I agree with stevedm. The first thing I thought of was 'this is a bad idea'. I am sure you are not the first person to do this here but I just do not feel like this is smart. Nitto has rim width recommendations for each of their tires for a reason and that reason is saftey and the optimal working conditions of the tire itself. if that tire was meant to fit on rims smaller than 10inches they would say such so they could expand the useful range of the tire and sell more.

 

Am I crazy here?

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... With all the talk of widening rims etc. this solution is much simpler and it WORKS. I would recomend these tires to anyone who wants to walk the fine line of traction/handling.

Dan

 

Can we see pics of the Nittos on the 20" SVPP wheels?

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All I can say is you guys need to look at the tires to see what I am talking about. They look no different on the rim than the 285s. If your mind is made up then fine do what you think is best. I am a very safe person who would error on the side of what is safe. I am telling you it is not an issue.

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All I can say is you guys need to look at the tires to see what I am talking about. They look no different on the rim than the 285s. If your mind is made up then fine do what you think is best. I am a very safe person who would error on the side of what is safe. I am telling you it is not an issue.

 

 

The part you cannot see is that the internal structure of the tire requires a specific width wheel because when you move the bead in or out in relation to the tread it can change the shape of the contact patch of the tire. We can't usually see the change but it does happen. Angularity of the sidewall in relation to thet contact patch also changes the handling charachteristc of the sidewall structure. Ideally the sidewall needs to be at a right angle to the tread contact patch at rest. Under load the contact patch moves sideways in both directions . Changing the angle of the sidewall by putting it on a smaller rim changes that designed realtionship. can you drive it sure. Will the tire perform at its best is questionable. my 2cents.....

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The part you cannot see is that the internal structure of the tire requires a specific width wheel because when you move the bead in or out in relation to the tread it can change the shape of the contact patch of the tire. We can't usually see the change but it does happen. Angularity of the sidewall in relation to thet contact patch also changes the handling charachteristc of the sidewall structure. Ideally the sidewall needs to be at a right angle to the tread contact patch at rest. Under load the contact patch moves sideways in both directions . Changing the angle of the sidewall by putting it on a smaller rim changes that designed realtionship. can you drive it sure. Will the tire perform at its best is questionable. my 2cents.....

 

 

 

I cant agree more. A 3800lb car with 550hp brings the tires into a very important role. We are not driving a prius here. The tires are under tremendous stress if you do any spirited driving at all. There is a reason why you are breaking new ground here....

 

I e-mailed Nitto today with what I have pasted below. I will post the results.

 

'I am interested in a 305 width tire but I see the minimum recc rim width is 10inches. My car has 9.5 inch rims. Can you give me some direction? Is this close enough or what are the risks?

 

Thank you'

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Guys,

 

I have a 2011 w/SVTPP. The tires that I had paid for back in October finally arrived! I choose the NT555Rs because they are more streetable/forgiving than the NT05Rs with a much stifer sidewall that handle very well. I dont drive the car in the rain so that is not an issue for me either way. I had then mounted on the stock 20 wheels. Before any of you say they need to be mounted on 10 inch wheels and these are 9.5 inch let me stop you first. THEY FIT PERFECTLY! The tire looks like it was made to fit on these rims. Eventualy I will get another set of rims but as for now I have the F1 G2s bagged up in the garage. As for as the performance, all I can say is wow! Before the car would not hook in second gear but it does now. From a stop you can of course lite them up but it is so much easier to drive the car out of the hole. This was on the street and I have not been to the track yet but Im positive these tries are capable of 1.6-1.8 60ft times. Bottom line for me is that these tries are $280 each which is much less than the F1 G2s. Most of my driving is around town on weekends and in good weather. Why not have a tire under the car capable of handling the HP and cheaper? With all the talk of widening rims etc. this solution is much simpler and it WORKS. I would recomend these tires to anyone who wants to walk the fine line of traction/handling.

Dan

 

 

 

NM just noticed the specs are the title of the thread.

 

305 is pretty crazy for a 9.5 inch rim,

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Most tire manufactures have recommended rim sizes, in this case 10". However, the tolerance is probably +/- .5 ". I would check with Nitto. A strict 10" doesn't seem right, the F1 G2's fitment calls for a 10" as well but the overall fitment is 9.5 to 11". Just seems tooooo strict to me to say 10" only....

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Reply from Nitto-

"Please use the size selector on the nitto website to verify approved wheel widths

 

We can only safely recommend what is approved on our website

Thank you"

 

 

Did anybody really expect them to say "Aw heck, that's close enough"?

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How much did you pay for the NT555Rs? I'm looking at around $315 a tire. and if my fronts ever wear out I was going to put on the NT555 for about $280 a tire.

 

$280 a tire from Discount Tire. You guys do what you think is best. All I can say is I found my launch control! I wlll have pics soon.

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Most tire manufactures have recommended rim sizes, in this case 10". However, the tolerance is probably +/- .5 ". I would check with Nitto. A strict 10" doesn't seem right, the F1 G2's fitment calls for a 10" as well but the overall fitment is 9.5 to 11". Just seems tooooo strict to me to say 10" only....

 

This is my exact thought and reason for feeling comfortable using these tires.

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Guys relax, it is very common knowledge (do a google search) that Nitto 555R's run on the narrow side. It is very common to see the 305's on a 9.5" wheel. I remember back in the day the 03-04 cobra guys put them on the stockers all the time. There was a comparison somewhere that showed the 305 555R's were atually about the same width as a Goodyears F1 275/45/17. I know I am comparing apples to oranges with different diamaters. But I can say I have the 305/35/20's on my Shelby, granted they are on a 10.5" wheel but the tires look narrow to me on it.

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305s on a 10" wheel is tight, but on a 9.5" - it's not enough. Back when sidewalls were 3-4" tall, you could easy stuff and flex the tire to fit on your wheels, but with shorter and stiffer sidewalls these days- it's not safe.

 

 

Normally you are right, but the Nitto's are not your "average" 305, they are in fact narrow and not a true 305. And the 35% aspect ratio gives you more of a sidewall than you would think.

 

For comparison sake. I have 325/50/15 Nitto 555R's on a 10" Weld RTS wheel on my Trans Am. A combo that is perfectly recomended by both tire and rim manufacturer. This particular combo is way more extreme and has way more buldge than putting a Nitto 555R 305/35 on a 9.5" wheel. All I am saying is from my experience and many others the Nitto 555R's run consciderably narrower than the other brands of tires. I challange anyone to find one single safety related issue from someone who was using a Nitto 555R 305 on a 9.5" wheel

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Normally you are right, but the Nitto's are not your "average" 305, they are in fact narrow and not a true 305. And the 35% aspect ratio gives you more of a sidewall than you would think.

 

I challange anyone to find one single safety related issue from someone who was using a Nitto 555R 305 on a 9.5" wheel

 

 

 

This is a very odd comment. Nobody recommends this and therefore no one (or next to no one) does it so where do you expect to find a laundry list of good vs bad issues?

 

Back in the day the cars didn't come with a conservative 550 HP, 3800lbs and suspension that rivals some of the best cars made. I was one of those people that put big tires on small rims on my 96 svt and would never do it with these cars....I run 325/50-15 nitro dr's on 15 inch racestars.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I sell tires and the Nittos "run" smaller than other tire makes. I have "many" customers that run this "305" nitto 20" 555r drag radial on stock 2010 Camaro SS rear rims. ( Stock size tire from GM is 275 / 40 / 20". ) I have not seen or heard problems from any of them. The only problem with these tires is the wholesale tire warehouses keeping them in stock. Just my 2 cents.............

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