Kumho Ecsta MX vs Nitto NT01 for daily and occasional road course use?
 

So I figured some of you guys might have these tires, and I'd like to know how they work in daily driving (especially in wet conditions as I do have to travel in the rain here and there) as well as on the road course.
I'm aware the NT-01s are R-compound and the MXs are not, this is kinda the reason I'm asking the question, I'm curious about the trade-offs between longer wear, R-compound, wet-performance etc.
How do they wear? How many miles did you get out of either? How many track days (if any)? Would you purchase again or reccomend them?
Thanks

*edit* - Also I'll stress they will probably see 1-2 road course days a year and maybe 2-3 auto-x days. So nothing super super major.

you do not want the NT01's for daily driving. they're horrible in the wet, even on AWD cars. I don't know much about the MX's but have you considered the 555RII's. I have those on my Z and while its not a daily driver they do make excellent street/track tires. I've even driven a good bit with them in the rain with no issues.

I've used one set of NT01 so have a little experience with them. I used them mostly on the track, a little autocross and maybe a 1000 or so miles on the street. For street use I found them to be noisy (not terrible) and to kick up all kinds of dirt and stones onto the sides of the car. In damp conditions they seemed fine but if there is any standing water they can not effectively evacuate it. For strictly steet use you could probably get 10K out of them, maybe more. Personally, if I was looking for a street only tire or even a dual purpose tire I'd look elsewhere. But for a mostly track tire that occasionally sees street use, I like them alot.

Oh hey Mark. How ya been? :)
Thanks for the advice. I'm not sure they make the 555RIIs in my size but I'll look into it.
Got ya, anything else you've used you liked?

Do we know each other??? screen name doesn't ring a bell...

what sizes are you looking for?

I believe I know you or you have the same username on vortex and a couple other forums.
Yeah back in your VW days. My nickname is Seven if you remember me, I assume youre the right guy cuz you didn't correct me on your name.
Might have spelled it wrong tho.

Looking for OEM C5 coupe sizes...
245/45/17 and 275/40/18

Thanks again

No, you don't want the Nitto NT-01 for street use--it's too noisy and probably won't last past 5K miles--but why not the Nitto NT-05? This tire seems to suit a variety of needs, including track and dailky driving use.

Kumho is replacing the MX, by the way.

NT-05s were my first choice but they don't make them in the size I need. :(

*edit* read on below...

My stock tire size on the front wheels of my Vette are 245-45-17 (rears are 275-40-18 but that isn't really necessary to know).

The tires I want are Nitto NT-05s as they seem to suit my needs best. However they don't make them in the right tires size for the front wheels (they do for the rear) they do however make a 255-40-17 so I was wondering how much driveability would be effected if I went with that size for the front wheels instead.

Thanks

Really? Any idea what the replacement tire will be? The Ecsta XS has been out for over 8 months and it's advertised differently then the MX.

I'm using the 555R2 right now, I like them quite a bit, little soft for daily use though. The Falken RT-615 was pretty good, but again a bit soft for daily use. My favorite street tire thus far is the BFG KDWs. Tried the Sumitomo HTZII, wear like iron but overall a lousy tire.

I am in agreement with the others on the Nitto NT-01's being both noisy and not good at all in the rain. Great for (dry) track days!

I've run MXs, XSs and NT-01s, and used DAQ to measure the differences between each tire.

XSs are better than MXs under almost all conditions. The MXs area probably better in standing water, and aren't beat by the XSs that badly once the later get really hot. Other than those conditions, XSs are considerably quicker.

The NT-01 is the stickiest but comes with the trade-offs others have mentioned. Its a R-compound. The others aren't.

I can't tell you what to run, since I don't know what you want out of your car. I can tell you that having to do 45 MPH on the interstate with your hazards on while the rear end is sliding all over the place on 3/32" NT-01s during mild rain is annoying, at the least.

I'm not sure about the noise difference between the three, since that isn't the sort of thing I care about or pay attention to. However, I'm told the NT-01 and MX are noisy.

nitto 555 r2's ! :thumbs:

street drove Nt01s on the street for about 3 months few years back (not really by choice). it's doable and they handle occasional damp day OK. not something i would do again though - they do not do well in the standing water at highway speeds

I have used both of these.

NT-01's are good tires to drive to and from the track. That's about all the street use I'd give them. I got stuck in rain once and had issues with hydroplaning pretty badly.

MX's are great DD tires and about 3-4 years ago they were top tier street tires for HPDE. I'd expect there are better options now. They are still excellent street tires that handle rain well at a good price. They are not competitive vs the NT-01's on the track.

any super hi pro tire will be useless in the cold weather.

what about nitto invo???

I went with slightly different from OEM sizing and bought Nitto NT-05s.
Seems like theyre a great compromise between NT-01s and MXs.

Yeah, I know who you are, from what I remember you had a different car every couple months. :lol: Last one I remember was a 350z track edition.

now you;ve got a C5 huh, good choice, these are AWESOME dual duty cars :cheers:
You def. should make it out to some AX and HPDE events... hit me up when you are going to one.