GS-D3 or Nittos?

[JR_Cobra]

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I am in the market for new tires. My Cobra is a daily driver. It sees a little rain in Dallas and will never be driven in snow. Never go to the track, but would like to improve my 0-60 times. Since mine is an anniversary edition, I want to keep the stock rims.

I am either going to get the following:

GoodYear GS-D3 285/17 on the rear
GoodYear GS-D3 275/17 on the front

0r

Nitto 555R 315/17 on the rear
GoodYear GS-D3 275/17 on the front

Here are my questions:
- I've heard the ride on the Nittos is rough. If the launch traction of the Nittos and the GYs are similiar, I'd prefer a smoother ride.

- How are the Nittos in the rain?

- Which will last longer? (no burn outs, mostly highway driving)

- How much more milage would I get if I used 275/17 all around and rotated?

Thanks for your help?

Jeff

 

[DaleM]

For what you've described, go with the Good Years. I have the GS on the front and Nittos on the back. The Nittos are definitely softer and wear fast. Never did a mileage check. Just watching the tread wear and while they Nittos are impressive for what they are, I'm assuming you mean the Drag Radials, they are a good balance between slicks and regular radials.
I think are trying to improve your launch on the street, just takes practice. Tracks are good for technique but the traction is much greater than any road I've been on...here in NC anyway.
Check out the tread depth on the GS's!!!! They hold well in corners and look good while doing it.

 

[03gobluecobra]

You can go with the 255's in the front. I have 275s and they are a little wide. They track the road quite a bit.

The GS-D3s are amazing in the rain. I would say twice as good as the F1s. They will also last much longer than the nittos. I've got 11,000 miles on mine, including trips to the track, and I can get at least another 5000 out of them.

Nittos will give you much more traction as I understand it.

 

[SublimeRT]

I had 315 Nitto DRs on the rear of my old Mach 1. They weren't so bad in the rain and I had 4.30s, Detroit Locker and the suspension was set up for drags. Just be more cautious obviously, especially of large puddles. And be more careful on the highway. At highway speeds in the rain they can hydroplane real easy, especially when they start wearing out. I've heard stories from Mach 1 guys that have lost control on the highway in the rain when accellerating a bit to pass a car or the like. I wouldn't go over 70 with the Nittos in the rain.

My Cobra will break the stock Good Years loose from a 50 roll in the rain and all I have is Stingers and the K&N FIPK, so I can imagine the Nittos could be broken loose at even higher speeds, especially if you have a pulley.

The GS-D3s will without question last longer. The Nittos are a really soft compound so they wear fast. I've heard about 6k miles is average for a set of Nitto DRs. I'm sure you could squeeze a bit more out of em if you babied them.

 

[dtd01svt]

Good question..... I had both on my car. I loved the GS-D3's. The tread pattern is sweet and the traction was awesome. If you look at the traction rating on them it says their rating is a AA. Thats about the best you can get on the street.
As for the Nitto's, they are very soft and get great traction but they wear FAST. It all depends on what you want.
You either get GREAT dry traction and NO wet traction but replace them more often with the Nittos. Or you get the GS-D3's and get good dry traction and good wet traction and probably never have to replace them. If it were me, I LOVE the Nittos and dont drive the car very much so Id go with them. If my car were a daily driver Id stick with the GS-D3's.

 

[JR_Cobra]

Thanks for your help. I'm going to go with the GYs.

Any idea how many miles you can pick up on tires by rotating them?

 

[mj8]

What are the widest GS-D3's you can fit on stock wheels?

 

[ModsAway]

If I were you I would either go with the 275's on all four corners so you can rotate. How much extra mileage? depends how you drive but it is worth it.

If you decide to go with two different sizes (destroying your option of rotation) then you COULD do as above suggested and put like 255's on the front. Personally I don't mind the 275's on the front, they still look nice and mean and tracking from time to time doesn't bother me, after all these cars have power steering.

 

[MTI LS1]

GSD3's ALL THE WAY. I will never buy another street tire as long as they make them.

 

[JR_Cobra]

Can someone define "tracking".

Thanks!

 

[larryc7777]

I just finished the install of 275s on the front & 285s on the rear. Since I drove in on the F1s & drove out an hour later on the D3s, I really had a good comparison of the characteristics of both. The D3s DEFINITELY ride quieter & smoother. The dry traction is better also, however, the slightly wider tire on the back might have something to do with that. I haven't had a chance to rain test the D3s yet but I'm sure that they will performs better than the F1s cause F1s aren't that great in the rain .
I would not put any wider than the 285s on the stock rim. I know that a lot of guys are putting 315 Nitto DRs on the stock rim, but the Nittos run narrower than most 315s, so I bet that they aren't much wider than the 285 D3s. Unmounted, the D3s measured 11" from bead to bead. That means that mounting them on a 9" rim was a PITA. That sidewall is VERY stiff & doesn't like to flex. A real bitch to get onto the rim.
I carefully checked the IRS bolt clearance while the tire was on the car but suspended off of the ground. I had approximately 1/4 to 3/8 inch of clearance on both sides.
I concur with the above opinions that the D3s are the way to go.:thumbsup:

 

[JR_Cobra]

This is the combination I would like to do.

Do you have any picture of these tires on your car?

Thanks!

 

[03phil]

since its a daily driver don't get the Nittos unless you want to buy another set every 4500miles ;-) Well then again why not get the Nittos lol

 

[vtechthis03]

gs-d3 all the way my dad has 275's and 285's out back. they are huge!!!! he has almost 20,000 miles on them. one bad thing the 275's deffinetly track the road up front i would go with 265-255's

 

[mj8]

As far as hooking on the street goes. Are Nitto DR's far superior to the GS-D3's? I will have around 470rwhp and would definitely like to be able to use most of it.

 

[BlackMachWon]

Something else about using Nitto DRs for daily driving...

Since they are so soft, they pick up every rock and blast your lower quarters.

 

[mj8]

470rwhp daily driver but want to be able to hook? Which will it be...

 

[Ryan00TJ]

The GSD3 tires run larger than normal and a guy on LS1Tech that works for Discount Tire said that he tells every customer that before buying them. I run the 285 D3's on all 4 corners with no problems. My 285's were compared to a Nitto 555R 315 and the Nitto was only slightly wider. The 315D3's are simply huge. For a daily driver get the GSD3 no doubt. On the street the Nitto's might give you slightly better traction as after all they are a softer drag compound but they wear faster, handle worse, more noise, pick up every little pebble and catapult it towards your lower fenders etc.

 

[mj8]

Man yall have me leaning towards the goodyears. Very nice write up Thanks!! Can a Nitto owner sway me the other way?

 

[King03Cobra]

I run the 285 D3's on all 4 corners with no problems

Ryan02ss,

Do you have any pictures of the 285's on your car? Does it drive the same as with the 275's? Just curious with the wider tire if it tends to wander on the road surface.