I've had Falkens for a couple years. First 235/40/18s on OEMs, then 275/35/18s on Enki 17lb RFP-01 wheels. They're a great everyday tire plus track tire, but is there a more?

Falkens are all set up so I don't want to mess w/that. Lot'sof R-comps out there but they are the devil we know. Nitto NT-01s are getting awesome reviews, actually last a bit.... seem to be the buzz ... hummm should I put them on OEM wheels or get something cheap or something else expensive but light? As these are for occasional use only I go for 20lb Discount Tire 17x9s and 245/45/17s NT-01s, nearly an identical match the to the OEM wheel diameter. According tomy scales:

Total Nitto cheap wheel/tire weight is 46.4lbs 17"x9" 45mm offset 245 Nitto NT-01 R-comp
Total Enkei not cheap wheel/tire weight is 44.4lbs 17"x9.5" 45mm offset 275 Falken RT-615

So obviuosly the wheel is a bit heavier than the Enkei but not by as much as you would think. The width at 9" was to be at the outside range of the 245s to brace them well considering the sidewalls of the 275s are significantly lower.

So here's the plan. Put the Falkens on to drive to track days, with the 17" in the back seat in bags. If it rains, use the Falkens, they're not bad in the rain at all. If it's dry, use the NT-01s, as they're marketed with "shave them and you'll have a slick with 2 groves" mentality. So as time and opportunity allows I'll report back on the experiement. Regardless, neither of these tires will disapoint.

Sorry no outdoor pics until the snow goes away again. Updates as I am able to do performance comparisons - I can't wait!

 

awesome setups, can't wait to hear your review, been thinking about nt-01's myself

 

You do know you will have more rain grip in a worn down NT-01 than a brand new Rt-615 right? I have a set of V710 that I am using everyday (no tread on it), it has way more grip than the 615s new or used.

 

As long as you don't hit any standing water.........

 

I never had a problem driving bald 710s and RA1s around, they are much better than the 215s and 615s I have (they are on ebay now). I have as many FTDs in bald RA1s in downpours than my other tires anyway. The only other tire I like in the rain is the S-03

 

A follow up, now it's end of track season here, of how Nitto's latest track R-compound...the NT-01 held up. I have likely just finished my last track day at NHIS. I've done the mods I want this year - Cusco coilovers and R-comps and aggressive track alignment w/camber -1.6 f / -2.0 r

I participated in 6 track days this yr, 2 at NHIS (short technical - 12 turns), 2 at Calabogie (long technical - 20 turns), 2 at Mt Tremblant (long former F1 track 15 turns).

Tremblant and Calaogie were to-drive-for wonderful (other stories), but now sitting in my garage my tires are exactly 1/2 worn after yesterday at NHIS. The NT-01's big swipe groves are gone and I have only 2 circumfential groves now running around the tire.... where one would start if the tires were shaved.

Now I have race slicks and the fun is going to continue next year! So that's 6 days done, likely 6 days to go. Not bad for R-Comps costing a reasonable S150 each, and oh yea I drove twice to the track (180 miles total) in the mix.

The addition of coilovers/alignment aside for this discussion, coming from the 275/35/18 RT-615s last season to smaller 245/45/17s R-comps I am in awe what these narrower, but stickier tires can do for an already fun track car.

Numerically, from the tracks I had collected data using RT-615s, these R-Comps best times by ~3 seconds per lap on average. The more turns, the better the results. If that doesn't sound like much improvement, I have no faint praise for the Falkens. They do a good job and get within hitting distance of some really decent lap times but... but.... well... the faster you go, the harder it gets to shave seconds.... so... the Nitto simply make me slow down less and corner faster with less effort - increasing my straightaway speeds, lowering my lap times.

Another way to picture how much better these tires are, is at even 2 sec/lap, after 15 laps of a typical track session, I'm 30 sec ahead of my former self!! Think about it!

Plus - and it's a "BIG" little bit more; I have much much greater confidence knowing the limits of grip are still "out there" somewhere lol - but for now - the car just keeps turning....quite effortlessly...at grip levels that seem ridiculous. Where I was braking before, I'm feathering or accelerating slightly. Corner speeds are up all around, lateral control is forgiving and not abrupt.

Toward the end of the day on track the 8 and I were feeling really good. With perfect weather mid 70s, hot tires, a reset ECU, a Porsche, an Audi, a BMW and me hotlapping together and competitively, passing others like they were roadkill, I had a chance to give the NT-01s (and the 8) their head. It's such a glorius thing, I've got to tell you, driving this car on the track at (nearly) full tilt - it's the stuff of dreams.

Does the data support this? Traqmate dataloging gives lots of precise data. e.g., taking the best 20 laps of the day here's some data - lateral acceleration: left varied from {left} 1.59-2.01, 1.85 common [higher left Gs from a deep dish bowl turn drives you into the ground!] vs. ex. previous 1.78 best; {right} 1.43-1.85, 1.55 common G [this is representative] vs. ex. previous 1.45 best;. Braking Gs: .78-1.11, .9+ common. Plus it's that noteable too in reality.

Beyond the numbers, having cars to chase down and being chased down by some of your HPDE friends, comparing notes afterwards with no bias towards each other is one hellofa rush.

Just like the ad says - get that new rubber on and just do it! Cheers, spin

 

Nice review.

 

Now that these suckers are off the car for the season, here's what the 6 track days did to them. the big swipes are just about wiped away. The circular ring groves are (towards the inside of the tire) are now prominent and so you can see that there is just a tad more wear on the outside edge, but overall the wear is pretty even.

The tire starts at 6/32 and can be shaved to 4/32 to remove the swipes and simply start with the slick (with the two cirular groves on it) that I have now. Essentially I'm half done with these having used 2/32 of tire! Boy was that fun working at wearing them down!

I think the alignment I have has helped even the wear & esp with using the inside section of the tire more (-1.6 deg fnt / -2.0 deg r). of course I rotated them front to back regularly too.

 

Are the Falken RT615 really that good that they can be compaired with a Nito NT-01? Also what would've the Falkens looked like after 6 track days? I'm thinking about getting the RT615 for daily use tires on my 8.

Thanks!!!!!!

 

RT615's are not even close to the NT01/RA1/R888. One is a street tire, one is a R compound, you can't compare them.

 

The Falkens are good, but they don't really stand a chance against the Nittos. The Falkens are a street tire with a split personality...get them hot on a track, and the compound turns sticky and they'll do damn good...certainly the equal if not better compared to most Ultra-hi-perf summer tires. They'll last 10K-15k on the street and are relatively quiet and even comfortable. I use them for my street rubber and rainy day track rubber.

The Nittos are a track tire that you can drive on the street for a bit, like if the track is close 20-50 miles away, but it's written in big letters on the side of the tire "Recommended for Competition Events Only" and they'd wear to nothing in a few thousand street miles...their sticky compound picks up sand and rocks on the street and the noise it makes is much like a snow tire....ummmmmm and not what you'd want for cruising around on a regular basis. But take the Nitto to the track and it's already gummy compound it turns to sticky bubblegum as it heats up to a working temp spec of 160-200 degrees under track use and provides amazing grip that you really need to work at exploring the limits, because the limits are very very high it almost seems it can't possibly continue to grip, but it does!

 

About like before you went started doing track days, but worn a bit, nothing outrageous. I think my 1st set lasted about 13K miles including 10-12 track days thrown in. After track days events I've done with them, the tires get noisy because the surface gets roughed up quite a bit, but it goes back to normal sounding after a couple hundred miles of street use.

 

I know that, BUT the thread does state "Nitto NT-01 vs Falken RT-615"

 

Thanks i think I'll give them a try!

 

They are in no way comparable to nt-01s.
The best choices for street tires i would say is between 615s and potenza re01r. Re01r are slightly better than rt's from what i have heard, but for best bang for the buck rt's are GREAT!!! i lvoe mine, just don't go in standing water... i had a few close encounters already..

 

There is one way the RT-615s and NT-01s are comparable They're both excellent track tires!! Yea I know one is an R-Compound and the other a street/track compound but...

Compared to the NT-01s;

....up to the point the RT-615s begin loss of adhesion (when they start squealing for mercy - and they do!) the RT-615s "feel" just about like the R-Comps. They are controllable at the limit if you don't jerk them around, give decent feeback, and don't overheat too bad if you're a bit careful to backoff when you overdo it and they feel squirmy.

....although the limits are absolutely higher for the NT-01s (they don't make much noise even then), and the NT-01s are much easier to recover once you've crossed the adhesion limit (the RT-615s tend to let go if overdriven), plus getting hot it what makes these R-Comp puppies REALLY come in to their own - I'd have no reservations about a good romp on the track with the Falkens.

IOW, love the ones your with!! It's all good!

 

My friend ran the NT-01's yesterday at Sebring and was really impressed. He also used 245/45/17's.
On a side note, I was lapping equal times with a 350z driver who was running RT-615's. At the 20 minute mark, I went from running right behind him no the course to easily passing him. We spoke afterwards and he said his RT-615's pretty much give up at the 20 minute mark.

 

Don't forget the Neova AD07s. Pricey, but in my opinion the best ST compound out there.

 

Thanks, I agree it is most helpful when mod results are offered up. Otherwise it's a private crap shoot w/all this stuff. Did tires/coilovers together so no independent results yet as I didn't have any rainy track days last season (good last minute planning )to pair up the Falkens w/the coilovers.... maybe next year...

Calabogie and Tremblant will be either w/NER (Porsche) or BMW clubs. Hoping they both choose either early or late season dates. Hot+helmet is not so fun. Keep in touch as the schedules get out there.