I am in the market for some new tires. I am considering the following,

Nitto 555RII extremes P275/40ZR-17 $299cdn per tire
Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP's same size $289cdn per tire
BFG Gforce KD same size $324cdn per tire

Out of the above 3 tires, which one has the best grip, I'm thinking it would be the nittos. Also, do the 555RII's handle well? Lastly, which one would you buy. Keep in mind, I don't drive much in the rain and these would be used for the street, basically no racing though I do like to pull hard corners.

Thanks

 

I have used the Yoko/Advan AO32R, Kumho Victoracer 700 and Nitto 555RII extremes on the track as well as the street with good success in 275mm and 315mm sizes. I went with cheaper "R" compound tires on the street:

- as my suspension has been extensively modified for very hard cornering,
- I like to corner hard in my personal roller coaster and still have lots of safety margin on the street and
- BFG is just too proud of the KDs at $272 to $284 per tire from the Tire Rack (Also, out of 3 sets of BFG tires in 12 years, I never had a set that were "round" and don't want to risk another "square" set at that price).

For the ultimate dry performance, a BFG KD just can't compete with an R-Compound tire and Nitto is nearly 1/2 the price of the BFG KD!

The Nitto 555RII extremes P275/40ZR-17 stick better than the more expensive Advan A032R tires in the dry and last about 8000 miles in about 90%/10% combination street/track use, before the rain grooves are gone. To my knowledge they still don't make the 315mm size in RII configuration (stiffer sidewalls), but the Nitto drag radial may work nearly was well with the 35 series profile in the 315mm size, due to less sidewall to flex relative to the tread patch.

My only question is why would you have to pay $299cdn/tire for Nitto 555RII extremes P275/40ZR-17 vs. $324cdn/tire for
BFG Gforce KDs? Last I looked the Tire Rack charged $272 (US) for the BFG KD and Discount Tire Direct charged $161 (US) including free shipping!

Between the 3 tires that I have tried, here are my observations:

- Advan A032R is best rain condition tire. It has the least dry stick of the 3 tires. It is more expensive (fluctuates around $200 for 275mm size). The tire has good turn-in, but is pretty grabby on uneven roads. The tire is extremely noisy (sounds like 4x4 mudder tires at 45mph), and annoying on the street. FYI they are coming out with a "S" softer compound AO32 tire that will cost even more. I will not buy this tire again.
- Nitto Extreme 555RII sticks very well on dry roads (almost as good as the Kumho Victoracer 700s suprisingly). It is priced very well for its performance (well over 1.0gs lateral) and relative longevity (8000 hard miles). The tire turns in very well, is balanced and modulate-able. It is very driveable on wet roads at first, but a little caution is needed after 4000 miles. After 8000 miles they are still somewhat driveable, but you need to be very careful in heavy rains and standing water. I will buy this tire again at the bargain price of around $161.
- Kumho Victoracer 700s are the best streetable autocross/road race tires available (The Hoosiers stick better, but are just too soft and thin for the street). At about 5000 miles the secondary shallow lateral rain grooves are gone. At this point be careful in the rain, but is still legal for street use. At about 8000 miles, the primary circumferential rain grooves are gone. At this point, the tire slick is clearly illegal for street use, but still has about 1000 miles of good track use left. The Tire Rack price of the Kumhos in 275mm size was $151 and $171 for 315mm size. This tire is a blast on the street. I will continue to buy this tire for track and street use.

I don't know about the Firestone Firehawk SZ50 EP's.

With the Nittos, you can probably cut 1 to 2 seconds off of a 60 second lap compared to the BFG KDs at 60% of the cost. Even if the BFG tires last twice as long, as the Nittos, it is still worth it. Also note that even the BFG KDs compromise wet road performance.

Good luck in Canada.

 

I special-ordered two sets of the Nittos because they didn't have any dealers in my area. One of the tires was severely out of round and it took Nitto the better part of five months before they sent me a replacement I'm going with Kumhos next time.