Toyo and Nitto: same company, same green tires
 

I am shopping for some tires and talked to a tire shop owner with a good reputation (also races.) I was a bit surprised when he said that Nitto and Toyo are one and the same. Nitto is actually a niche brand of toyo. Further, he mentioned that the toyo R1Rs are the same tire as the NT05s prior to being pressed with a tread. I was able to confirm that the companies are one and the same, but cannot confirm the that the tires are the same compound.

Anyone with experience care to share? Also, how would this alter your buying strategy?

Anyone?

Looks like they partnered up in 1979, but they are separate corporations.

http://www.toyo-rubber.co.jp/english...ny/enkaku.html

But they appear to be the same company I guess.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyo_Ti...Rubber_Company

But they also have partnerships with General tire, Continental, etc. So I doubt they actually make Nitto's it look like they just use different manufacturing plants and partner with different brands.

My ex wifes uncle owns a tire shop and over the years I always thought it was crazy how tires like Mud King, etc. are so much cheaper and they are delivered from the same plants as way more expensive tires and they basically look the same. I often wonder if you really get what you pay for when it comes to tires. I just had a set of Hercules Raptis WR-1's last a good solid 2 years without issue, they handled great in the canyons, on the street, and in the wet. not bad for $400.00 for four 245/40-18's.

I have had expensive Bridgstones' and BFGoodrich tires and I really never saw a difference in them that justified the extra cost. Some may be a bit stickier but they also wear very fast. I just picked up a set of Yokohama AVS ES100's and they actually seem like they have less grip than my Hercules' did but they still need to be broken in I guess.

I am not familar with the toyo R1R or the nt05 but I dont think they are the same compound. The NT05 is a 200 UTqg and the r1r is a 140.

Even if the tire compounds are the same, the better question is which tire is better. However before that question can be answered, you need to state what the tires will be used for.

I have used the Nitto NT01 and loved it, good/even tire wear and great grip for a DOT R-Comp tire. Many people believe that the R888 and the NT01 have the same compound, however most people believe the NT01 is a supperior track day tire, more grip and much more even tire wear. My point in mentioning the above is that there is more to a tire then the tire compound. The molding and tread pattern greatly effect wear and grip, both dry and wet.

These are the tires that came on my car when I bought it and I have to disagree, I felt like I was sliding in the rain. Switched to the some Pole positions and noticed a major difference.

Funny. I guess we all "feel" differently. I have Yokohama's on now and they are not very impressive. My buddy just dumped a set of very expensive pilot sports because they felt greasy on a canyon run we did in hot weather. It's funny because many bash the stock Bridgestones and Dunlops and aside from the Bridgestones wearing fast, I never really had any complaints about the handling of them. Were you running stock sized WR-1's? I was running 245/40-18's.

Check this out, similar designs?

Hercules Raptis WR-1

http://www.tiremedia.com/images/tire...raptis-wr1.jpg


ZIEX ZE-912

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/pr...falhv6.ang.jpg

IIRC they were stock size, I only had them on for a week, besides the wet road issue, the previous owner decied to relplace 3 tires :wallbash: and leave one OEM tire on it which had 40000 miles on it :SHOCKED: that it had made it that long. Needless to say I had a Bridgestone slick at that point.

Back to the R1R & NT05 comparison, most tire tests that have compared these two tires state that the R1R heats up quicker and is better for autocross, while the NT05 needs more heat before it performs well, and is therefore the better choice for track days.

I'm not a tire engineer but it sounds like different compounds to me.

I have run Toyo R888 back to back with Nitto NT-1.
They are the same compound on a different carcass.
They do very similar things, but are priced miles apart.
The NT-01 performed better on my car.

MM bringing in the knowledge.

good to know things havent changed.