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Next up were the Nitto NT05s on Work Wheels. The Emotion Kai wheels look good and perhaps more importantly hold the 245/45ZR18 NT05s with an ultra wide grip. We wanted the look of a staggered fit, but the feel of a square stance, thus we opted for having the same size tire front and back. In order to achieve the aggressive look we wanted we went with an 8.5J wide wheel up front and a 9.5J wide wheel in the rear. This wide wheel gives the rears a somewhat stretched look. Both front and rear wheels have a 38 offset. To achieve the stretched look the rear tires had to be mounted via the bicycle tire method, a trick I learned on YouTube. But this isn’t the stupid kind of stretch fitment you often see within the Stance Nation or on some hipster car thread. A 9.5-inch wide wheel is actually within the upper range of what’s considered safe for our 245 tread width.
So you're probably wondering by now what kind of times the car turned. After the addition of the tires a best lap time of 1:31.861 was recorded. Aaron reported back that the difference between the stock tires and the Nittos was phenomenal. He also mentioned that the car was suffering from some understeer. We think that between Ricky Kwan’s 1:33.421, and the number above, the 2.4 second gap is mostly due to the tires, with perhaps .5 – .7 seconds of the gap being attributed to the KW suspension.
We then installed some WinaX W4 pads. One thing I should make you aware of is the stock pads were smoking at the end of each run. Even if your stopping distances aren't improved, at the very least what a high quality pad should do for you is consistently allow you to stop at every corner in similar fashion. The W4’s are a medium grade track pad/aggressive street pad. It should be noted that these pads are probably not intended for street use, as they will stop poorly without a prior build-up of temperature. A lap time of 1:31.467 proves that the upgraded brakes not only inspired greater driver confidence but also allowed Bitterman to brake deeper into the corners; the result being the .4 second improved lap time.
It was interesting to note that Aaron came back from each run with the new pads with less of a smile and more of a frown. It was almost as if he was disappointed in the lap. He went out for two more runs, the best being the above mentioned time. I think what happened was after the six second difference between Kwan’s car and Curry’s (post-Nitto install) car, that Aaron found it difficult to feel the .4 seconds. Thus Aaron kept wanting to represent the WinmaX product better. But in reality .4 seconds is actually pretty significant. Considering the average mph of 70/mph that time savings amounts to approximately 3/4s of a car length every lap.
