What size drag radials?

[bigdnno98]

Dammit, I thought i had found a set of 19" Nitto NT555r, but after Dr G asked "19 inch nitto nt555r?" I double checked and nitto doesn't make a 19" nt555r. So Im going to look into NT05, not sure if they make 19" in those, if not i'll be looking at 19" PSS the whole while trying to sell my 19" miros.

[lulz_m3]

Dammit, I thought i had found a set of 19" Nitto NT555r, but after Dr G asked "19 inch nitto nt555r?" I double checked and nitto doesn't make a 19" nt555r. So Im going to look into NT05, not sure if they make 19" in those, if not i'll be looking at 19" PSS the whole while trying to sell my 19" miros.

I would steer clear of the NT05 unless its the NT05R. I was chatting with a local guy who has a blown GTO, hes running the NT05 and says they are worthless. Check out the Toyo R888, ive heard good things about them and they look fanstastic. Michelin pss are terrific too, but i had nothing but wheel spin with them at the track (i honestly think its just a terrible track).

[lulz_m3]

the most common setup i've seen used seems to be the Kosei K-1 17x8.5 40mm offset with a 275/40-17 drag radial (Hoosier, BFG, etc). that's what i plan on going with shortly...

I would love to pick up a set of the K-1's, but they are discontinued in the size that fits the 3. Let me know if you run across any for sale.

[import36]

I would steer clear of the NT05 unless its the NT05R. I was chatting with a local guy who has a blown GTO, hes running the NT05 and says they are worthless. Check out the Toyo R888, ive heard good things about them and they look fanstastic. Michelin pss are terrific too, but i had nothing but wheel spin with them at the track (i honestly think its just a terrible track).

a buddy of mine has the Toyo R888's on his corvette (Z06)......and swears by them. it's going to be my next tire when these Hankraps wear out.

[import36]

I would love to pick up a set of the K-1's, but they are discontinued in the size that fits the 3. Let me know if you run across any for sale.

awww man are you serious? i was looking to pick up a set in the next few weeks. did you try TireRack? that's where i planned on purchasing them.

[bigdnno98]

Apex are very cheap and light. I'm looking into those.

[lulz_m3]

awww man are you serious? i was looking to pick up a set in the next few weeks. did you try TireRack? that's where i planned on purchasing them.

Apparently im wrong, just looked again on Tire Rack and they have them. I used an E46 vehicle to get them to show as a recommended wheel.

[import36]

Apex are very cheap and light. I'm looking into those.

that was going to be my next choice..

Apparently im wrong, just looked again on Tire Rack and they have them. I used an E46 vehicle to get them to show as a recommended wheel.

ok cool...i was gonna say i just added them to my cart yesterday to get a total price! lol

[lulz_m3]

Apex are very cheap and light. I'm looking into those.

Kosei K1 are cheaper, and i think lighter or about the same weight. 16.8 lbs. TR qoute is 370 shipped to my door for two, 17x8.5. For comparison the Apex ARC8 are 249 a peice plus shipping.

You can use a E90/E92 328 as the vehicle and they will show. They just arent recommended for a 335i.

[GeorgiaTech335Coupe]

I daily drive on Nitto NT555R 285/35-18 on a 18x9.5" rim with a +45 offset. NO rubbing. Might be able to get away with a 42 offset, but it would be very close to touching the outside (perhaps OK if fenders rolled). The 45 offset is about as close as you can get to not rubbing on the inside. I have an e92. They are great daily driving drag radials. You could definitely fit them on a 9" rim and even on an 8.5" rim, but there would be a lot of bulge. I wouldn't feel comfortable with them on an 8.5", but I know they'll fit because when mine were getting mounted, they accidentally mounted the first one on my front rim.

There was someone running a 16" rim on a 135 at the strip a long time ago, but they were custom made rims. I don't think most 16" rims will fit.

[GeorgiaTech335Coupe]

a buddy of mine has the Toyo R888's on his corvette (Z06)......and swears by them. it's going to be my next tire when these Hankraps wear out.

I had the R888s before I had my NT555R. They were a great tire, not a true drag radial, but R-compound. If you are choosing between them and the NT555R, I would pick NT555R all day. I would probably consider the Michelin PSS over the R888, but I've never had the PSS.

[Dr. G]

I've been messing around with tires quite a bit. As of right now I'm trying to find cheap used tires locally and then running them for a bit, getting some 60 foot times and then re-selling. There's a still a couple tires I REALLY want to test that I haven't come across (DWS).

I would steer clear of the NT05 unless its the NT05R. I was chatting with a local guy who has a blown GTO, hes running the NT05 and says they are worthless. Check out the Toyo R888, ive heard good things about them and they look fanstastic. Michelin pss are terrific too, but i had nothing but wheel spin with them at the track (i honestly think its just a terrible track).

Yeah I didn't find the nt05 too special for straight line purposes although they were pretty good for auto-x / $ value. A friend of mine went from the nt555r's to the r888's and he said he can't wait to burn off the r888's and go back. A lot of these tires need some heat before sticking properly though, an nt555r without a burnout didn't really give me the best street times, but with a burnout and a prepped track things change very fast.

There was someone running a 16" rim on a 135 at the strip a long time ago, but they were custom made rims. I don't think most 16" rims will fit.

I'm not sure if there was something specific about his custom wheels shape, but what he did was grind the top corner of his rear calipers down a bit and this allowed for the barrel to just barely clear the caliper and fit.

I had the R888s before I had my NT555R. They were a great tire, not a true drag radial, but R-compound. If you are choosing between them and the NT555R, I would pick NT555R all day. I would probably consider the Michelin PSS over the R888, but I've never had the PSS.

This seems to fall in line with exactly what I just finished typing above so I guess that makes two of you haha. I would take the Re-11's over the PSS hands down. The re-11's are my tire of choice.

[Dr. G]

On a side note, I noticed themyst mention the conti DWS a couple times on here so I have been trying to pickup a used set to test out for quite some time.

When mentioning this to a friend of mine (450whp vehicle) he said that the DWS gave him the same 60' times (street) as his nt555r's did without a burnout.

[ChuckD05]

ContiDWS and I'd assume DW are very solid tires.

I currently have m3 size (265/35/18 235/35(40?)18) pilot super sports and they are a smidge to tall for my liking.

But I must say I am very unimpressed with rthese tires outside of wet weather traction/performance.

I may be being hard on these as the ttemps have dropped to 55-70 at night and so it's no surprise I have no traction what so ever with my 400ish whp but last year in mmy 135i I DD NT05r's untill three days before first snow storm And they dead hooked. :-). The 135 was my bitch. Abused that poor thing lol.

Pss also have soft sidewalls that I dont care for.

I mean they're better than rft's and hankooks and other entry level but , id take toyo r888 over PSS even iif theY wore away 2x faster.

As far as PSS on the track, maybe they need to up? Or road race they will sstay consistent? But I am not impressed. Don't get me wrong they are GOOD but theyre not great.

If I had to pick one tire for 365 days a year it wwould be toyor888
at the strip et street 2's
winter - Dunlop winter sport 3d (doesn't feel unsafe at speeds)
All season - conti dws

End oof rant lol

[ChuckD05]

F'n iPhone and typing with no editing.

Murdered that post.

Short version - PSS too soft of a sidewall. Gets a wiggly on acceleration and they don't hook nearly as good as everyone seems to say they do. But you can certainly do worse.

[Sticky]

PSS too soft of a sidewall. Gets a wiggly on acceleration and they don't hook nearly as good as everyone seems to say they do. But you can certainly do worse.

Interesting, first person I have seen say this.

[LostMarine]

LMs koseis I bought rubbed with 275s an that was before I rolled my fenders on my 135 so I sold them a e92 guy who DD them with no issues

is it white?

[ChuckD05]

Sticky I don't know but after three weeks I simply don't like the PSS anywhere near what I expected to.

In the last few years I have owned nitto nt05, Nt05r, toyo r888, kuhmo ecsta xs, conti dws', hankook v12s, stock bridgestone rft's, re-11s, and now PSS ... But that was on a few diff cars. 370z, 135i, 335i.

PSS have a soft sidewall that almost feels "wiggly" or "bouncy" idk how to explain in. Googling I found complaints from Mercedes guys on a Mercedes board.

I tried various tire pressures ... I guess they do have equal/better traction than most above outside of the radials and the r888s but the way people described them had ny expectations higher. Wet pavement is handled best of any listed but bumps on winding bends at higher speeds just feels awkward. It was instantaneously noticed upon mounting them.

Tomorrow I'm taking my fiances wheels off her e90 that have my rft with 2k miles on them that I ditched and gave to her and throwing them on my car to confirm my beliefs. That will rule out any alignment issues.




And LM is he from NJ? I never saw his car.

[bigdnno98]

Well I'm in need for tires now and I just can't decide what I want to do. I would like to dump these 19" miro 111s and pick up some Apex Arc-8s for DD or maybe a pair of Koesis for the rear. If both of those ideas fail because I wasn't able to sell the Miros I'm kind of stumped on what tire I want to try next on my 19"s. I was leaning toward nitto INVOS or conti DW. Has anyone tried the Nitto INVOS yet? I'd like to DD on a drag radial but I just can't find any 19" that will fit my car.

[ChuckD05]

I am a tire whore, had almost every tire listed in here..

currently i have pilot super sports - they are decent, and still not impressed at all outside of tread wear and wet performance.... straight line grip is above average but not worth the money for them imo

R888s are expensive but better than PSS in all regards outside of wet weather and tread wear, they provide highest level of dry grip on any street tire I have ever had...

nt05 and invo street tires are gimmic tires and both will disapoint

continentals are above average in many regards but nothing special with dry grip but above average... r888 have way more dry grip

nt555r and nt05r are both DD'able drag radials... that hook great and last much longer than youd think... i got 15k out of my latest nt05r in 275/45/17 that I DD on my 135 and used on my e92 to the tune of a 1.75 on my first pass ever... (11.9@118) with almost no tread left on the inside...

get nt05r's if you care about straight line grip only or r888s if you want best all around tire... they both wear the same... i have only had dws contis and dw are prob more summer oriented but they were good too...

goodluck, IMO go 18s as well dont think they make any DR in 19s unless they were released really recently

[bigdnno98]

Thanks Chuck. I def need to go down to 18"s. I wanted to try the new R1Rs but they don't make those in 19" either..... I'm about to put my 19" for trade, I'm sure someone will want to trade for 18"s