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For rubber we once again returned to Nitto for our Civic. We chose Nitto’s NT01 competition tire in 205/50-15. The NT01 is a competition tire that is DOT approved making it street legal. Although the NT01 is a soft compound tire meant for racing in classes that require a DOT tire, the NT01 is very durable and can endure many heat cycles without losing significant grip. This makes it a good tire for endurance racing and a good value for the racer without a huge tire budget. This also means it can last a surprisingly long time on the street, sometimes over 20,000 miles on a light car like our Civic.
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| The Nitto NT01 is a DOT approved race tire that is good at withstanding many heat cycles and has a reputation for lasting a long time. The DOT approval means that it is sreet legal. |
Although daily driving a race compound tire might seem extreme, we have been pleased with how long they have been lasting on the street on Project EVO IX. Also the OEM tires for the STi, EVO, GTR and others are also similar near race tires and typically last about 20,000 miles on these cars as well.
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| Recommended for competition use only. The NT01 has a tread wear rating of 100 which means it will probably last about half as long as a regular high performance tire when driven on the street. We have gotten about 20,000 miles out of these tires on street cars in the past. Many high performance cars like the EVO, STI and GTR come stock with soft tires that get about similar mileage. Several of our staff drive NT01's on a daily basis. |
The NT01 is nearly treadless so it is not so great at all weather performance but we have done pretty well racing it in the rain at full tread depth. Take note that this tire is not really practical for climates other than our sunny Southern California and other sunbelt locations. In the area of the outer shoulder the tread blocks are super large, nearly a slick and the inner shoulder has smaller blocks which work to evacuate some water.
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| Big outer tread blocks mean less squirm, cooler running and more rubber on the road. NT01's don't chunk when run at full tread depth unlike some other DOT race tires that must be shaved to avoid chunking due to heat build up. |
The tire can be shaved to 3/32’s of an inch for the best dry performance in which case it turns into nearly a slick with two grooves but we usually run this tire at full tread depth and it works fine with no chunking. It also lasts a really long time. We can usually get 3-4 events out of a set of NT01’s!
The NT01 also has a few features that differentiate it from other DOT race tires. The body plies of the tire are made of rayon instead of the usual polyester. Rayon is a lot more heat resistant than polyester but is perhaps a little less durable in long term use as it is sensitive to water infiltration. Long term use is usually not as important in a race tire.
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| When shaved to 3/32″ the lateral grooves disappear leaving just two circumferential grooves, turning the tire into a near slick. This gives best dry performance although we race these tires with full tread to get the most life out of them. The higher tread pitch on the inner block helps evacuate water from the tread. Although these are far from being rain tires we have raced the NT01's in the rain with OK results. If it rains Annie can driver her Titan to work! |
The NT01 has two steel belts for tread stability; their stiffness helps keep the tread flat on the road. An aramid cap ply is also used over the steel to control growth at high speeds helping to reduce heat buildup. The NT01 also has stiff sidewalls reinforced with steel to help response.
Overall we feel that our Enkei PF01’s shod with Nitto NT01’s will work for our combined street/track day use and if it rains, well Annie can drive her Titan to work!
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