I found a pair of Nitto 555R drag radials for sale locally, but they're 205/45/15 vs. the 205/50/15 I'm used to seeing.

Is this a good size to buy? They are almost brand new, and he's asking $150 for the pair, mounted and balanced on a set of escort GT wheels. Here's the pics...







Good buy?

 

I wouldn't, but it's up to you. Here, take a look at how the outer diameter of various sizes compare to your stock size:

185/65-14 (stock)
195/55-15 -0.1 percent
205/50-15 -1.7 percent
205/45-15 -5.1 percent

As you can see, the 205/45 size is really really really TINY compared with the stock size. The outer diameter is 1.2 inches smaller, and that's a pretty big difference.

Can you use them on your car? Yeah. Will they do any serious damage in any way? No. But they'll throw off your speedometer and odometer quite a bit, and they will be visibly smaller. Maybe that's okay; it's your choice, of course.

Oh, and I'm wondering how it is that he has 205/45-15 Nitto 555R tires, because I looked up the available sizes of the 555R on Nitto's website and 205/45-15 is nowhere to be found.

It sounds like you're looking for 15" tires for the dragstrip...? If so, you might want to consider getting the Dunlop SP Sport Inferno in 205/50-15. See this previous topic for more information.

 

The 205/45-15 size has been discontinued for some time now. It's an odd size, I don't know why Nitto decided on producing that size instead of the traditional 205/50 one.

For that price, it sounds like a good deal.

 

bump!

The asking price is now down to $120 for the pair, so I think I have to jump on them!

Also, would I have any problems mounting these tires on a pair of 15x6.5" Rota Grids? Are they too small?

I don't plan on daily driving these tires at all, I have a set of 16" Rota Grids with 205/45/16 Hankook RS2-Z212 tires I roll on in the summer.

In fact, I only want these for drag racing events (which is only 4-5 events this summer).

 

bump

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by boostincoupe &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

In fact, I only want these for drag racing events (which is only 4-5 events this summer). </TD></TR></TABLE>

Good, cause running two vastly different kind of tires like that on the street will lead to trouble. I don't see a problem with tearing these up on a strip.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by old man neri &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Good, cause running two vastly different kind of tires like that on the street will lead to trouble. I don't see a problem with tearing these up on a strip.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, but I still plan on buying a 15" pair of bronze Rota Grids up front, with some 205/50/15 BFG's.

 

bump