Nittos vs BFG's

[RPM427]

If there was a "shoot-out" between the Nitto 555R and the BFG drag radial, both 275/40/17, which would be an all around better tire at the track and on the street? NOT including cost or wet traction. Also, do either of these give up handling ability?

The reason I am asking is my friend had the BFG's 255/50/16's on his 375 horsepower stock suspension stang and they work REALLY well. I want to get the Nittos, but if the BFG's hook much better I might change my mind.

I run the same size BFG drag radials as your friend, 255/50/R16. And yes, they hook great. I still use slicks at the track, but for street driving the BFGs have my vote!

[sn95gt19]

i have never seen a nitto hook, i have seen bfg's hook time and time again though. bfg's all the way

[bigred90gt]

I've never seen the nitto's hook, but, if you have ever felt the tread compound on them it might change your mind. Those are some sticky tires. The only downfall to them is the treadwear really sucks.

Caymon

[lx5091]

I've never used the BFG's but, my car had the nitto's on it when I bought it and I wasn't impressed. I'm not a 1/4 mi person, now I use Toyo T1-S's for ultimate wet traction(very impressed).

[Dark_5.0]

My 245/50/16 Nitto DR's never came even close to hooking on my 5.0..........

Best 60ft of 2.07 on Nitto's
Best 60ft 0f 1.77 on slicks.

[Eric4Nitrous]

BFG's all the way. Look at the NMRA Drag radial class and tell me if the BFG's don't hook.

[1BAD89]

Latest magazine(forget which one) I read did have a BFG vs. Nitto, and they said the better tire overall was the Nitto. The BFG hooks a little better, but the Nitto's run a better mph. I run 16/245 nittos on my SS, and they hook great and mph awesome. The BFG's don't last very long at all, you can get 15,000 out of Nittos. Nitto's get my vote. If they are going to be your everyday tires I'd get Nitto's, if they are just track tires I'd get BFG's, but they won't last long, even at the track. There are some LS1 guys running 1.5's on nittos, so they do/can hook. Nitto is a better tire.

[LX XLR8R]

i voted for BFG but you can get nittos to hook..just takes alot bigger burnout..BFG's are like allways ready

[fiveohpatrol]

I got about 8k miles at the very most out of my 275/50 15" nitto's, and my best ever 60ft with them was a 1.9x, mostly in the 2.0 range.

Theres no way in hell I would ever buy another set. over $300 for a pair of tires that lasted me less than 9months and only about 3-4 track days.

I'd suggest the BFG's for you.

I'll stick to the slicks for the track, theres nothing like dumping the clutch at 5000rpm, hooking up, and trying to hold on

[1BAD89]

Theres no way in hell I would ever buy another set. over $300 for a pair of tires that lasted me less than 9months and only about 3-4 track days.

Man if your bitching about the life of Nitto's, surely your not even trying to hint that BFG's have nearly the same amount of life span? For track only tires, slicks are the only way to go. But if your looking for a drag radial that'll hook ALOT better than a regular street tire, Nittos are the best in that category. They need to be heated up to hook though. Mine will hook on the street great, and my car puts down 335+rwhp.(and they are 245's!) 9 months is great for a street driven drag radial. Heck thats good for my regular street tires.....

[fiveohpatrol]

I know that Nitto's win in the mileage category, not to mention their great wet road handling (when fairly new). But I just don't see how anyone can get 15k miles outta a set of them, unless they never go to the track.

I won't buy another set of drag radials period. I WILL buy ET streets for limited street use, but never will I spend that much money on a set of daily driven tires that last much less than 1 year.

My nitto's didnt really hook up that much better on the street than my $65 futura's that I have now.

[stangsrule]

A while back one of the Mustang mags did a shoot out between the two (BFG and Nitto) using several differant cars with differant setups. Their conclusion was that both tires were pretty darn good for non-slick (or cheater slick) tires and were much better handling at speed (especially better than a mix of bias on the rear and radial on the front) not to mention in the wet. They said the type of suspension setup was what made the biggest differance between the two. I don't remember now which was which but one liked a "softer" suspension and the other a "firmer" setup. Big Daddy runs in the low, low 9's and may even be into the 8's now on small tire BFG. I hae the Nitto's my self and really like them. I have hit 1.7 60 ft's on a car weighing around 3660 with driver and a road race suspension which really sucks for drag racing... Anyway, no, they aren't as good as slicks or cheater slicks but for the street and occasional track use they can do pretty good.

[LX XLR8R]

1.7 60 ft good?? o yea on dunlop 8000sp...followed by many 1.8 and 1.9's..o yea bone stock suspension with just no front sway..

[stangsrule]

I didn't say it was great, but fiveohpatrol says his best was 1.9 and you have to keep in mind that I am new to drag racing and with a postive displacement blower I have full boost and there fore a whole bunch of torque at 2000 rpm so I was having to launch at extremley low rpm to keep from toasting the tires, (and yes, slicks would take care of that problem but I was wanting to run it in full street trim) cause once I get them spinning I can keep them spinning through third. Postive displacement blowers hit hard at low rpms and that tends to shock the tires and break them loose really easy. Also like I said eariler I have a full handling suspension meaning it is lowered and has high spring rates and stiff shocks and struts. You can jump up and down on the car and it barley moves, so there is NO weight transfer, no lifting of the front and all that. So no, I know 1.7 isn't great my point was with everything else wrong with my setup it still managed decent 60 ft times. Also as I mentioned earlier Big Daddy Dwayne Gutridge and others in the BFGoodrich Drag Radial class are hitting high 8's at around 164 mph and though I don't know their 60 ft times I am sure they are better than mine. But once again I wasn't saying my times were great, I was saying they were better than Fiveohpatrol's and I think it is pretty decent considering my setup or should I say lack of...
And I know Fiveohpatrol knows I am not slamming him, just letting him know I had a little better luck with them then he did.

[sn95gt19]

i got consistant 2.0 60fts with my sumitomo htrz2's so i dont think that says much for the drag radials. i personally know about 8 guys that went from nittos to bfg's for the reason that they hook better.

[Stang_Crazy]

This past year I made about 25 passes or so at the strip...My best 60' was 2.01. Needless to say, I'm going to try the BFG's this year and hope for lower times.

BTW, the Nitto's require a monster burnout to heat them up enough.

[89mustanglx]

Nitto DR's 275 r15 + heavy burnouts = 1.7x 60 ft. times for me. Rarely get over 1.8. They're not so bad on the street either. these get my vote.

Smiff

[Fox Body]

Well, I'm running Nittos right now. Next time I'm getting BFGs just to compare the 2. Haven't used BFGs b4, so I can't vote...

I can tell you that the Nittos last long, with moderate trips to the drag strip and road driving. Also, VERY good wet traction for a drag radial (very impressed). Terrible cold weather traction..... just terrible. Somehow, though, I haven't been able to get it to hook as well as I thought I should.... I keep thinking it's the track. One thing's for sure though, when I went from the street tires to Nittos, I felt a HUGE difference in traction on the street and the track, my ETs dropped almost half a second also...

I couldn't get better than a 1.97 on a mid 13s run on those tires, but I haven't had much time to practice so maybe I could do better, I don't know...

[Coupe50h]

Guys i have 275/50/15 bfg d'r on a weld rim, let me tell ya, they bite! not like an e.t. street, but pretty dang good, i havent been to the track yet, but i'll post e.t., but i might just be on a faster combo next time out anyway, with heads/cam.

in the wet weather they could be better, but they are MUCH safer than e.t. streets, no matter what conditions.
I drove on e.t. streets for a while, but after going to bfg's im much happier, even racing on the street, at the track i think a 1.88-1.9 60' is possible.
isnt the dr class stangs going 1.4's? like on a 325/60/15?