Re: Tire advice needed

[Ramana Lagemann <elmool@tiac.net>]

> 
> In theory, this car should use 215/40-17s since the overall diameter with
> this size is closer to that with the OEM 215/50-15s than it is with 215/45s
> ... however, I see that Nitto makes a 225/40-17, which works out pretty well
> size-wise.  Does anyone have any experience with the Nitto NT501 EXIT GT
> (what a name ... they have to be good, right?) or Nitto tires in general?
> 
> Please respond ASAP since I'll need to take care of this tomorrow morning so
> as not to screw up the plans for my weekend outing...
>    

I have 235/40zr-17 Nitto NT-501 Exit GT *phew* tires on my Coupe Q. The
main reason I bought them was because of their sheer affordability,
(read: they were cheap). Probably not the best motivation, but I needed
something to offset the cost of powdercoating my wheels black. I was
originally looking at Michelin Pilot SX tires, but at ~$270/tire, they
were a *bit* too expensive. The Nittos were quite a bit more friendly to
my wallet at ~$155/tire. Before I bought them, I used European Car's
"Contact Patch" column (late '96 or early '97 issue) as a referance. ec
loved the tires, and the price was right, so I gave them a go. Also,
their sister mag, Sport Compact Car loves them as well.
But do I like them? Actually, I love them. Truth be told, though, this
my first set of 17" tires on the car, so I have nothing to compare them
to. They have a UTQG of 160AA, so tread-wear is pretty good. I have
almost 6000 miles on them, and they look to have quite abit of tread
left (over 3/4), and while I don't _always_ blatently abuse them, I get
them to start squeeling around pretty much every off/on ramp I can ;^) 
BTW- they are soooo much better in the wet than the old 205/60-15hr
Bridgestone RE91s, but like I said, I have no experience with tires of
the same size on the same car.

Conclusion: Bearing in mind all of the factors involved; price,
performance, price, durability and price, I would venture to say that
they are probably the best value in an "Ultra High Performance" tire
available.
HTH

-Ramana
1990 Coupe Q
"Look at those skinny tires on that car..."  

PS> Did I forget to mention ride quality? Well, compared to the 60
series Bridgestone's, they are bad, not terrible, just bad. But I guess
you can't expect too much from any 40 series tire, no matter who makes
it. BTW- you can check out the nitto web site at:
http://www.nittotire.com/