So I'm making my triumphant return to R compounds after a few years on street rubber and I'm a bit out of date on the latest R comps. My question to you guys is, do the newer R compounds like NT01's require heat cycling nowadays or is it not as big a deal anymore?

Is there a noticeable difference in longevity?

~3250lbs, 400awhp, Ohlins, track day/daily driven, r comps will be for track only.

The NT01's is one of the few 100 treadwear's that you don't have to cycle or shave. Excellent mid tier R compound.

Ah thank you sir that simplifies things very nicely

Just out of curiosity, how would you say the NT01 stacks up against the rest of the current generation of R comps? I understand such tires will always have a balanced tradeoff between grip/turn-in/life/cost, but what other r comps have you tried and how the did the NT01's stack up?

For each set of new NT01's, I try to take out for a cruising session the day before full use. Or in worst case scenario, I'll take a warm up session the day of before going full on. Working with Alan from Nitto at the track, this is what he recommended. While I don't think it's absolutely necessary for longevity of the tires, for fastest laps on the NT01's this process has proven to be faster than stickers out of the box.

As for comparing to other tires - I've ran NT01's, A048's, Hankook C71, Hankook C91, Toyo RA1, and Toyo R888. Besides the Hankooks (which aren't really comparable here...) the NT01's have been by far my favorite. I ran the A048's and immediately was turned off. Granted it wasn't the soft Japanese A048's, but what is offered here in the US doesn't compare to the NT01's in terms of grip, compliance, feel and usability. The A048's last longer, but that's mainly because they are much harder. RA1's are fine, but the NT01's are better.

This info is straight from my experience with the tires, all on one car over the course of a few years. I stayed with the NT01's for one reason - they were the best for what I needed and what was allowed in my class. If there was something better in the 100 tread wear game, I'd be on them for sure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gates311/4408263124/http://www.flickr.com/photos/gates311/4408263124/ by http://www.flickr.com/people/gates311/, on Flickr

ah yes, first hand experience from the man himself. Thanks Ryan, I appreciate your feedback.

It sounds like I bought the right tires. When you say a quick cruise around on the tires, do you mean at street speeds/temps? Should I put them on and drive 100miles to the track or just putz around town and try to hit 1.1+G on the cloverleaf?

I'm looking forward to trying them out!

Thanks,

Chamal


Also you still running that crazy *** 700+whp AMS engine or have you changed it up?

I too like the NT01s, they lasted about 10-12 track days for me, which is a bout a years worth of tracking my car. I never heat cycled them, just took it easy on them during the first session. For the price, they can't be beat!

You did, I thoroughly love NT01's for the track...or the street haha. They are grippy, but you can still play with them. You can slide them easily and they don't bite back like a real slick. They are very progressive.

I wouldn't try to heat them up on the street...haha no chance. The 100+ mile drive to the track wouldn't be ideal either, unless that's you're only set. What I meant by cruise around was take a session in the AM to get them up to temp on track. Over the course of 3-4 laps, work your way from a 50% lap to a 90% lap, working them out not only in the corners but also while braking. Follow those laps with a cool down lap or two and you should be set.

My Evo is alive and well...it had some down time over the past year, but now things appear to be fully sorted. Things take time, I'm finding that out, but in my latest track test at Infineon I was thoroughly surprised at the pace of the car. Not only in a straight line...but the gearing and cornering as well. I never had a chance to really show what the car has in it last year, so I'm anxiously looking forward to getting out to an event soon. A few more test days first, it needs to be perfect

Enjoy your NT01's. Aim for 38psi hot all around (usually start with a cold pressure of 31psi front and 33psi rear).

I've been driving on NT01's all last year and this year so far. They last a long time even on a daily driven car, but you can really be stranded in the rain. I absolutely love this tire for this reason, i can tear up the track and drive home on them no problem. They aren't the best for driving around, but a lot of people don't have 2 sets of (nice) wheels. I got a full year out of my last set.

Like Ryan said, they're great in the high 30 PSI range.

Thanks for all the great info guys. Now I'm even more fired up to try these tires out on the track!

Interesting to hear that you were able to get decent usage out of them on a daily! I've been daily/tracking on Dunlop Star Spec Z1's for the past 2+ seasons, and have found them to be incredible value in terms of all around usability dry/wet/grip/wear.

Funny story, somebody stole my winter wheels and tires out of my garage last November. Wasn't able to source new winter wheels/tires in time and ended up throwing on a track worn set of old Star Specs 255/35 18's on 18x9.5 gram lights. I'd heard all the horror stories about instant death on summer tires on the snow/ice but I had no choice.

Ended up having a TON of fun that winter sliding around on Star Specs . I grew up in Canada driving crap cars with bald tires on ice for months so lack of traction was nothing new or scary. The Evo did just fine with track worn star specs in the snow/ice no chunking, no issues at all. Had to make an adjustment to my braking distances but other than that I got by just fine until springtime when I could pick up another used set of winters on the cheap!

To all you guys who run Blizzaks on your winter cars, u need to try track worn star specs and 400whp on the way to work. Bigger smiles than blizzaks lol

You will like them. I just made the jump from Star-Specs to NT01's and they are a solid improvement in all areas.

But as some have noted, they were a little loose fresh on the track and seemed to come around nicely after a couple of sessions.

After this procedure are they okay to run at speed immediately afterwards or do you need a 24 hour "rest period" like you sometimes here people talk about?

I ran em ***** out from the get go, still have and use that pair as my backups.

In my experience, the first session of each track weekend required that they be warmed up, after that, it is game on for the remainder of the weekend. You will be able to feel them heat up as the tire becomes MUCH more sticky after a couple of laps.

I'll echo the positive comments on the NT01's.

We've found that they get better as they wear, and they feel much sharper once you get down to 2 grooves (no more "tread" blocks). 38 psi hot is spot on.

They don't seem to need a heat cycle/wait period/break in. I would take it easy and bring the heat in slowly on the first session, and probably pull into the hot pits once halfway through to reset pressures, then check again at the end of the session when they are fully hot. Then leave them alone for the rest of the day unless the temp drastically changes. They are awesome between 35 and 40 psi, but if you go over 42 psi you'll know it because they start to slide around more and aren't as confidence inspiring. Be wary of overdriving them - if you hear them grumbling loudly, you might be past their limits. They still feel pretty good but will wear faster if overdriven (as with most tires.) The NT01s don't make much noise at and past the limit, so rely on your hands as opposed to your ears for feedback.

Here in Oregon we get rain and when combined with stud-rutted roads you get troughs of standing water. Try 400WHP and worn star specs then and you'll be changing your skivvies often. I got tired of running out of adrenaline just driving a few miles to work. Ok it was fun once in a while.
Now if there was a open lot like say Packwood lumber yard, now we're talking

+1 on the NT01 bump up from Star specs.
i use the ACD switch to help keep the car in control while the tires are warming up. I have the GruppeS ACD mod which makes cold tires extra twitchy especially when there is some moisture on the track.

Rain tires are a reality here in Portland and I have had great results with either Yokohama Advan AD08 or the Star Specs. For light rain and no standing water, the NT01s are fine as long as you back off a bit. I wouldn't call them a rain tire though