Is There Really Any Difference Between A Street Tire and A Track Tire?
In a sport that measures achievement by the millisecond, tire rubber is usually the make or break factor to fast lap times.
Thinking about the fall track season, when it won’t be scorching hot at your local circuit? Still looking to make some improvements to your build before taking it out to the track again? Summer is known to be a slow period during track season. This is due to the fact that more wrenching is done than driving usually. The heat displayed in summer is usually both brutal for the car as it is for the driver. However, it is a good time to set up your car for those more ideal conditions.
We take you all the way to Canada, where the good folks at Speed Academy take no days off to bring us quality content on their YouTube channel. This time its all about the only thing that actually makes contact with the road on your car: tires. Many an enthusiast or frequent track driver will tell you that there is no bigger performance upgrade you can make to your car than tires. The way the car drives and feels is primarily demonstrated by the tire you decide to run. Obviously, some tires are faster than others, but how much so? Let’s find out.
Speed Academy is testing out Nitto’s line up of tires. Up for comparison is the NT01 R-compound semi-slick tire and the Summer UHP (Ultra High Performance) street tire, the NT555 G2. To begin, it is important to note that the NT01 is a 100 TW tire while the NT555 G2 is 320 TW tire, meaning that at the very least, the NT555 G2 should, in theory, last much longer on the road. The point of this test is to show the clear differences between a proper track tire and a proper street tire, not those which are intended for both (usually tires within the 200 TW range).
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The car they are using for testing is a stock power Nissan 350Z running a 275 squared setup on a 9.5 inch front, 10.5 inch rear wheel. The best lap that the NT555 G2 was able to pull off was a 1:25.57. They explain that after 3 laps or so, the street tire really starts to get greasy and lose grip, which is to be expected of a tire not dedicated for all-out lap times. With the NT01, they were able to run a fast lap of 1:23.34, a solid 2 seconds faster than the NT555 G2. Not mention, the NT01 lasts well over 5 laps without any loss of grip and the limiting factor in the car was brakes fading rather than the tires.
While it is obvious that the track tire is miles faster, the real selling point is the feeling of stability and overall grip the car retains with such a setup. Impressively, however, the street tire still manages to hold its own on track and put down recent lap times. What do you think of these tires and their performance? Let us know in the comments below.
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