I conversed with Hustler about this and it seems that hands down the NT01 is better for the street because of grip. We never discussed the price vs performance point.

Hustler: chime in since you have run both.

Prices below are for four tires shipped

RS3 225-45-15: 510
NT01 225-45-15: 526
XS: 205-50-15: 385

Assume this is solely a DD car.

What would you pick and why?

Feel free to add a tire that is not on the list.

 

I would think that the NT01 is a little extreme for a solely daily driver. I would opt for the rs3, t1-r, rt-615, or xs on a daily.

I only have experience on the rt-615 and personally don't favor them because they get greasy fast. They are still very predictable but the fact that they get greasy is not good.

I will replace mine when worn with rs3's until I can have track wheels. Then I would use nt01.

 

I've had the NT-01 and the XS. The NT-01s are livable in the rain when new, but not great when worn, and they will wear quickly when you are putting on the miles. They are also not very grippy when cold, late Oct-early Nov here in upstate NY, I could do rolling burnouts in second gear just by getting into boost.

That XS is fine to great for a n/a car, but with the power you want to run, probably not enough tire. The way I see it, we are kind of stuck with the RS-3 in the 225 to put enough rubber on the road.

To the guys with less power, in the 205s we have lots more choices, and an XS or Direzza are both great choices.

 

No experience with neither one, but RS3s seem to be the street tire of choice.

 

lately i have been running toyo R888 and love em
perfect on the road and just as good on the track if you do a track day now and then

 

'Kook RS3
Toyo R1R
225 45 15

Jerry has 225 45 15 NT01s on as "streets". I'm not sure I agree with doing that, but they look awesome.

 

I like my R1R's....havn't driven much on them but they've already surprised me with the added grip. Granted I was coming from 205/50 bfg gforces

 

OK, so the XS is out because i want a 225 tire. Has anyone run their RS3s long enough to see how many miles they can get out of them?

Do the R888 come in 225 size? What price are we talking about for the R888?

Star spec is supposed to be an excellent tire in the wet, but gives up a little in the dry. I'm not sure about size or prices on this tire.

 

One more thing I almost forgot about the NT-01s. They are frigging loud, you will notice on the street. Others can confirm, but I'd bet the R888s are similar. I JUST DROVE the other car with the 205/50-15 Ecsta XS on it today. A great tire, lots of bite, lots of feedback, great steering feel, not at all noisy on the street. Again, probably not enough rubber for high horsepower, but I wouldn't totally discount them on an 8. Fitment with a totally stock fender, even with soft springs would be on the money.

Ben, thanks for the heads-up on the R1R. To me, this or the RS-3 in the 225/45-15 would be the choice. OP, be aware that the 225/45-15 NT-01 on my ATS Superlights, 8 inch +30s would rub with lightish (350/250#) springs in fairly extreme circumstances, like autocross turnarounds and 1.1+G track loading. They will rub really bad on front plastic liners (remove them along with the hardware), and rub some on the lips front and rear if you don't do a roll. Just one more thing to consider.

W

 

I've DDed NT-01s, they are extreme. Loud, they tramline like no other, but they grip like no other too. I did get ~6k out of them, mostly highway miles but lots of canyon runs, track days, and autox as well. Got about 10k out of my RS2s with similar use. I think RS3s would be a bit better in the rain, though.

For a true DD that sees use in the rain, I'd do RS3s.

 

How many miles a year? 5K, NT01's for grip, 10k or more RS3, wanna make your 260ish hp feel like 400 XS.

Jake

 

It's looking more and more like the RS3 is going to be the best compromise between bite, tread wear, and price. I wish the XS came in a 225-15.

 

Always an advocate for proxxes 4. Cheap, come in a 225 (only 225-50 though), amazing rain performance, great dry performance, and amazing tread life (20,000+ miles including 5 track days). I have many fond memories of my proxxes 4s, I still can't believe there is a faster tire than them. I'm probably going to **** my pants when I actually use my r-comps.

 

On the street I'm riding on the Dunlop DZ101s's. They're CHEAP. If I to push these things crazily on the street to where I need more grip then I'm doing something illegal. Tracked them before, definitely not a dual purpose tire. Good for broke people like me.

 

I only have 3K miles on mine and one auto x. That said, they still have the lightly molded in flames and logos in the tread. They can't be more than 1/32" worn.

 

Don't overlook the R1R (not 888). I picked up a set 2 weeks ago. They're great.

 

Well no one has mentioned the Yokohama Advan AD08s
I believe they come in 205/50/15. they aren't prohibitively expensive and Tirerack has a $75 rebate on them.

 

I think the R1R will be a candidate. They seemed to be priced right. onlinetire.com does have the NT01 on sale for $114/tire. What makes a tire "extreme" for the street? A noisy tire is definitely less appealing.

RS3
R1R
NT01 still a contender never mind, not willing to risk rubbing fender issues.

 

I don't think my rubbing was entirely because I am running an NT01, more it's the overall size of the tire, width and height. Also, it has something to do with the offset, as well. +36mm 6UL will be 6mm less likely to contact fender lips than my +30mm ATS Superlights, in the 8s.

Extreme for the street: not full treaded, or like the NT01, circumferential grooves deeper than radial grooves, quick wear (treadwear rating will give you at least a relative IDEA here), tread not suited to "pumping" water from the sipes, noise, which is big if you are putting in lots of dd miles. Then, not considerations for the street, but still considerations, are things like breakaway characteristics and feedback. An r-comp will not telegraph before breakaway as much as a true street tire. IMO, the Azenis 615 is unparalleled for feedback in the UHPs, but it's not the tire that the more modern designs are as far as ultimate grip.

 

Indeed....saved my hiney today.