Pitbull329

Im really liking mine so far. Haven't taken the car to the track yet but Im hoping to go soon.

m05fastbackGT

I'd like to know how the G2's compare with the BFG g-force comp 2 A/S ? Although the G2's are a summer tire and not an A/S like the A/S comp 2's are, the comps have a 400 treadware rating and 45k mileage warranty..

The G2's on the other hand have a 320 treadware rating and no mileage warranty..
At any rate, I'd like to find out how the G2's stack up in comparison with some of their competitors such as the BFG g-force comp 2 A/S especially that the BFG's are offered at a lower price with a higher treadware rating and also include a 45k mile treadware warranty..

Joeywhat

Unless the all season version of the comp 2 is VERY close to the summer version in terms of grip, there will be a noticeable difference in grip. The Nitto is fairly close to the comp-2 summer in terms of overall performance, and both are much better than any all season I've ever driven on in terms of wet and dry performance.

I also got good life out of my comp-2 tires (summer, not all season) , about 25k miles drive HARD (on a focus, not Mustang). I got more out of them than I did the stock continental all seasons.

Joeywhat

Also remember that wear ratings are relative and not a standard to be used across all manufacturers. A 400 rating with a Michelin can wear much quicker than a 300 rating from continental (for example).

m05fastbackGT

Unfortunately I don't know if the g-force comp 2 A/S handle or grip any better over their summer tires or not Joey.. As all tire manufactures claim how well their tires handle in both dry and wet conditions, but don't actually provide much info beyond that in order to make an actual comparison..

So I just took for granted that if a tire offers a higher treadware rating, that it's treadware is going to last longer.. However after reading over your post in which you've described through your own experiences with running Continentals vs the g-force comp 2 summer tire, that your comp 2's gripped and handled better in addition to lasting longer over the Continentals despite having the higher treadware rating..

Therefore I now know through your own experiences that a tire with a higher treadware rating doesn't necessarily mean that it's a better quality tire nor that it will last any longer over a tire which has a lower rating..

At any rate, I was also considering the BFG g-force comp 2 summer tire along with the comp 2 A/S, Nitto Invos and Nitto NT555 G2 as my choices..

In the end, I decided on the Nitto NT555 G2 due to the favorable reviews I've read about them concerning how well they handle in both wet and dry conditions and also how well they grip as well..

In the meantime, I'm hopeful that I won't be disappointed with them..




-Rocky

dmichaels

G2's hit Limerock on Thursday at 1pm. I'll have videos with data that night. Also will have laps done on BFG R1's Thursday afternoon for apples to apples comparison, even tho the two tires are quite different.

I believe my best times there were 1.04.5 on Sumi htr ZIIIs so I'm hoping I can get into 1.03's on the Nittos and 1.00's (finally) on R1's.

But lots more to come in a couple days! Including subjective feedback in a track environment and wear characteristics too!

kcoTiger

First set of aftermarket tired I got were the 555's up front (275) and 555r's out back (305). I drive a Shelby and it pushes a bit more than the GT does, but I could never get the 555's to give me any kind of decent traction through turns. The 555r's in the rear were a waste of money, as no amount of cajoling the pressure, camber, heat, etc., ever got them to hook up past 30% throttle. Anything more and the back end just let go. Switched to r888's (285 front, 315 rear) and it was night-and-day different. Get them warmed up and they turned my two-ton, 800hp car around anything with confidence. The rears hooked up when heated and stanced properly, giving me better than 75% throttle from a standing start and allowing me to use 95% of the power in straights. The most effective difference however, was acceleration through corners. Because I could turn, I could push more power to the rear and the 315's held tight unless I deliberately broke them loose.

The 888's are not rain tires; they flat suck on wet pavement. But for dry conditions there was no contest between them and the nitto's. I'm curious to see if the new ones provide any better performance.

Coyote5-0

Too bad those R888's don't fit any stock GT wheels besides 265/35/19's which are about a 3% speedometer difference

kcoTiger

They're definitely a departure from a stock setup.

m05fastbackGT

I'm actually surprised that you have no clearance/rubbing issues running 285-35-20's in the front.. And here I was worried that 275-35-20's on 20x9.5's up front would end up not clearing the caliper/struts and outer fender edge


Just out of curiosity, what's the offset/backspacing of your front 20x9.5 wheels ?

kcoTiger

There was very slight rubbing at steering lock on the liner inside the front, so I trimmed it back. There's enough space in there without the liner to keep from rubbing, but I also have the KW springs/shocks in there instead of the stock bilstein dampers. There is a lot more clearance on the inside now as a result. I'll need it because I'm going to a 19x10 square setup for the Hoosier R7 slicks I'm going to be using this summer and fall. I know the 10" wheels and the 295 tires will fit because I mounted a set that belongs to a fellow racer and was able to turn the wheel to the lock both ways without clearance issues. They also clear a compressed front suspension as well. I'll get the offset for you, I've got them written it down here somewhere.

m05fastbackGT

The offset and backspacing will most definitely help out..
In fact, I've already placed my order for the Steeda Spyder 20x9.5 wheels that have a 45mm offset and backspacing is approx between 6.8 - 6.9 inches..


I plan on running them as a square setup with Nitto NT555 G2 275-35-20's in all 4 corners.. My first choice however was actually the Mickey Thompson street comp SC-5 20x9" wheel, but was concerned that a 32mm offset with 6.2 inches of backspacing was a bit too aggressive and would end up being pushed out closer to the edge of the fender lip in which I'm not very comfortable with being that my Eibach pro springs lowered my front end by approx 1.3 - 1.4 inches..


I was actually looking for a 20x9.5" wheel that has a 40mm offset, but the closest I was able to come across was the Steeda Spyders at 45mm..


So I made my decision to go with the Steedas after Gabe posted pics of his buddy's 2013 GT that also has the Spyders as well.. I also considered going with the same setup as Gabe has with his Niche Milan 20x10's which do have a 40mm offset, but being that my Mustang is an older 2006 (S197) GT, I was concerned that a 20x10 wheel may end up hitting the strut and sway bar sections in the front, so rather than take the risk, I thought it would be best to go with the Steeda 20x9.5's just to be on the safe side..

dmichaels

More to come later, but i got in 2 sessions yesterday on the G2's. I have video footage with data to review and post later

Short summary: not a track tire at my level. Grip was decent, but the feel was not confidence inspiring. Significant flex in the sidewall under hard cornering and it got very floaty going into corners. The best times I could pull were low 1.05's, which is about 0.5 seconds off the best I saw with the Sumitomos. I'm gonna run them again this morning since my R1's are toast after an hour long session yesterday evening.

Wear was good though. And I'm gonna play with pressures more today to see if I can eek out a few more tenths

Much more to come once I get on my computer later with a keyboard!

kcoTiger

My 20x9.5" wheels have a 45mm offset, btw. I don't think a 40mm offset on a 9.5" wheel would have allowed me to get the 285 R888's under the fender without some rubbing. With the 10" wheel I sized on the front, the offset was higher than 50, I want to say. It's got to be pretty deep to get a tire the width of a 295 tucked under the front fender.

dmichaels

Friday update from the track. Tires are better today. Nearly a second quicker today than yesterday. Thinking they got heat cycled yesterday and today are a little more grippy. The feel is better today too. I did play with tire pressures as well and I think I found the happy place.

More to come!

FromZto5

^ nice! Do I see a curb'ing on your front driver wheel! :O

Glad you're enjoying the tires. I had a question earlier in your thread - are these the same kind of G2's/tread pattern as the new NT555 Drag Radials (the one that Gabe has)?

m05fastbackGT

What brand are your 20x9.5 wheels ? And I most definitely agree that with a 40mm offset there wouldn't be quite enough space to clear the wheel well with a 285-35-20 in the front.. So yes, your right that to fit a 295-20, your wheel well is going to have to be pretty deep as you mentioned in order to have enough room for clearance under the front fender..

m05fastbackGT

That's very encouraging news indeed In the meantime, keep us posted..

kcoTiger

They're TrueForged three-piece special order. 20x9.5" front, 20x11" rear.

m05fastbackGT

From the pics you just posted, it looks like you still have plenty of space under the fender with your 285-35-20's on 20x9.5" TrueForge's..

So I don't know why I was so worried that a 275-35-20 might end up rubbing the edge of the outer fender lip..

But then again, it also depends on how much the car has been lowered as well..
For my particular application, my front is lowered approx between 1.3 -1.4 inches, so running a 285-35-20" up front might not have enough clearance under the fender as you do with your GT500..

I just hope for your sake that running a 19x10 up front with a 50+offset isn't going to pull both your wheels and tires too close to the struts and sway bar links which may also cause clearance issues as well