Nitto NT05 vs Falken Azenis RT615

[Lloyd Xmas]

Looking to get some tires for the rear and have read multiple threads on both. I know Jefe has had both so maybe he will chime in. Jroc has ran the Falken's also and had good success with them according to some past threads.

I believe both have a tread rating of 200. The price of the Falkens are $306 shipped and the Nt05's are $335 shipped.

I never drive in the rain but my DD is 20 years old and there is always the chance of it breaking down, thus leaving the Cobra for DD use. I thought about the NT05R's but they will wear down faster than the above two, and I dont not want to buy tires every year.

I'll appreciate some opinions here. Thanks. :beer:

 

[JoeLee]

I am in the same boat, I just got the AFS 18x10.5 today and need to find the best tires for them...

 

[03 Indy Cobra]

Yeah I would like to know also. I am thinking about going with 18's and would have to get new tires. Read some good reviews on the Falken. I wish Goodyear made the gs-d3 in a 315-35-18

 

[Jimmysidecarr]

I've got the 615s and I really like them.

Have not tried the new Nitto NT 05s.

Nor have I tried another comparable tire........ the new Kumho Ecsta XS.
Kumho Ecsta XS

Any of these three will give relatively good hook, excellent wet driving, they have robust street worthy sidewalls, excellent dry handling, and should wear reasonably well.

 

[04sleeper]

I would go with the NT05's if I had to chose between the two. Skaarew04SVT has them on his 700+ RWHP Cobra and they seem to do very well for street tire.

 

[Teej281]

If i would have to pick from those two, I would be going with the nitto's hands down. I've read some not so hot things about the falkens and ive heard nothing but good things about the nittos.

 

[03 Indy Cobra]

Thanks Jimmy. Glad do see you doing well. I have read nothing but good things about the Falkens. Now I have to do a little research on the Nitto NTO5's and mabey I will be close to making up my mind.

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

So far the Nittos are ahead...unless Jefe or Jroc have something to say...?

 

[03 Indy Cobra]

The only thing keeping me from the NT05's is they don't come in a 315-30-18.

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

Im really surprised there is not that many opinions on these..I still have the stock rims so it works out for me..

 

[forcefedcobra]

havent tried the nitto's yet but my buddy has them on his gen 2 L and likes them. I had the 315/30/18 falkens on my cobra for a while. They were okay on the street but no hook with 600+ rhwp. They got pretty noisy after a while and didnt last me much longer than most DR's have. I would say most of that was due to not holding up to the rwhp and a full on track weekend on them finally did them in.

 

[Jroc]

The only thing keeping me from the NT05's is they don't come in a 315-30-18.

x2.

The Falken are a good street tire that handle well, but like someone already said they don't hook alot of power, but when you really think about it what street tires really do? 555R's are the best streetable tire at hooking up a decent amount of HP. The Falkens hooked ok in warm weather, and I dead hooked 2nd at 40 mph going straight WOT on my way to straight laying pipe in a TBSS's ass that would leave me alone one time. I got over 17K out of them. When they got over 11K or 12K on them they didn't hook too well even though they were still plenty streetable unless you were accelerating hard.

They weren't as bad as BFG G-Force KD's at going bad quickly though. I ran several sets of those on my old Roush and they would work great at first, but would quickly quit working well after just a few thousand miles.

One thing about them is them Mofo's got some stiff ass sidewalls! They have some good looking sidewalls also though! Their sidewalls are very attractive.

If you are liking for a good 315/30/18(like most Japanese tire they run a little bit small) then I recommend them for sure. Still if you are making alot of power, and wanting to hook in your lower gears I would probably go with the Nitto 555R/regular 555 combo running the 335's on the back if you looking for a tire to fit a 18x10.5. They will just hook up power alot better. If you seldonly drive the car on the street and only do it in fair weather I would go with some MT ET Streets or BFG DR's. The Falkens are more geared towards handling than planting alot of HP and torque.

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

^^Good info thanks JRoc!

 

[Jefe]

Im hoping I get more mileage out of the Falkens but they just arent as sticky as the NT05's were. Might be because its still fairly cold outside but I can spin in 2nd gear with the Falkens and I almost never did that with the NT05s. Wet traction is good on both, NT05s might edge the Azenis out. Tread design is a toss up. The Falkens look pretty cool.

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

Stickiness is important to me but so is the longevity. I cant believe that its $100 more dollars for the pair to step up to the 315's..Thanks for info Jefe.

 

[03 Indy Cobra]

x2.

The Falken are a good street tire that handle well, but like someone already said they don't hook alot of power, but when you really think about it what street tires really do? 555R's are the best streetable tire at hooking up a decent amount of HP. The Falkens hooked ok in warm weather, and I dead hooked 2nd at 40 mph going straight WOT on my way to straight laying pipe in a TBSS's ass that would leave me alone one time. I got over 17K out of them. When they got over 11K or 12K on them they didn't hook too well even though they were still plenty streetable unless you were accelerating hard.

They weren't as bad as BFG G-Force KD's at going bad quickly though. I ran several sets of those on my old Roush and they would work great at first, but would quickly quit working well after just a few thousand miles.

One thing about them is them Mofo's got some stiff ass sidewalls! They have some good looking sidewalls also though! Their sidewalls are very attractive.

If you are liking for a good 315/30/18(like most Japanese tire they run a little bit small) then I recommend them for sure. Still if you are making alot of power, and wanting to hook in your lower gears I would probably go with the Nitto 555R/regular 555 combo running the 335's on the back if you looking for a tire to fit a 18x10.5. They will just hook up power alot better. If you seldonly drive the car on the street and only do it in fair weather I would go with some MT ET Streets or BFG DR's. The Falkens are more geared towards handling than planting alot of HP and torque.

Thanks Jroc I would like to get some 18in CCW's 18x9 and 18x11 and need to find tires in the new size. I have 10.5x17 in the rear with Goodyear gs-d3's. I really like these tires even with the whipple. I wish Goodyear made this tire in a 315-30-18 but they don't. I would like to find a tire thats equal to the gs-d3's. Any suggestions.

 

[Jroc]

Thanks Jroc I would like to get some 18in CCW's 18x9 and 18x11 and need to find tires in the new size. I have 10.5x17 in the rear with Goodyear gs-d3's. I really like these tires even with the whipple. I wish Goodyear made this tire in a 315-30-18 but they don't. I would like to find a tire thats equal to the gs-d3's. Any suggestions.

I wish GY made the GS-D3's in a 315/30/18 also.

To be honest you may want to run a little wider of a tire on a 18x11. They'll fit just fine on it, but it will look kind of importish like soming run on a Supra with not much sidewall I would think. Hell it might look fine.

Here is "Murse's" Redfire Cobra with CCW Classic's running the Azenis RT-615's, but I'm not sure if his wheels are 18x10.5's or 18x11's.
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxbY892RUAU"]YouTube- 03 cobra dyno[/ame]

Here they are on my car and I run 18x10.5" replica's.

If you have the money some Michelin PS2's in a 315 or 335 would look good, and they are a good street tire, but they are not cheap. If you want a great performance tire, and can deal with a 100 tread wear rating, and a tire not ideal for bad weather then Toyo R888's in a 315 or 335 would be a great choice. Another good choice for a DD would be a Nitto 555R in a 335 on the back with a regular Nitto 555 on the front. 555R's are a very good hooking street tire that should give you 10K+ miles,(depending on how you drive) they handle fine, they're alright in the rain(you just need to drive carefully) and they are priced extremely well. Oh yeah and they look good also.

 

[03 Indy Cobra]

Jroc thanks for all those options. I did look up all those tires and read alot of reviews. I thought there would be more options in tires when stepping up to 18in wheels. Seems like these tire companies need to step it up with everyone wanting bigger wheels these days. Even the new cars are cominging with bigger wheels.

 

[Lloyd Xmas]

The Falkens do look good on Jroc's Cobra..its still a toss up though.

<-------Does more researching to pass time.

 

[c6zhombre]

what kind of mileage have nt05 users been getting? i think i have maybe 5000 on these 315s below and they're not looking so good...was hoping for a lot more mileage than the 100 tread rated 555r's they replaced, not sure there's going to be a significant difference. performance wise the tire is fantastic. great straightline dry traction and very good in rain. handles awesome.