Nitto NT05 Tire Review    
Ultra High Performance Summer Tire

This tire is designed for dry and wet traction, and not meant to be driven in snow / ice road conditions.

UTQG Ratings     Treadwear: 200     Traction: AA    Temperature: A

This tire is W speed rated which means it is good up to 168 mph. If you take a look at the tire to left, you can see that it was specifically designed for maximum dry road traction - you get a lot of rubber to road contact with this wide directional. The continuous center rib is designed to grip the road, while the circumferential grooves prevent hydroplaning and increase wet traction. 

Steel belts in the interior of the tire help the tire keep its shape at high speeds and spirally wrapped nylon also help the tire keep form when cornering. Available rim diameters for this tire range from 17 inches to 20 inches. 

Tested:
Alright now for the fun part- how do the Nitto NT05's handle? When taken for a ride in our 2011 Audi S4, these tires gripped the road superbly. We took them for a gentle ride for about 5 minutes to warm them up a bit, and then pushed them hard to see what they were made of. 

When accelerating from a standstill, the tires did spin when we put the pedal to the metal. Our car does have quite a bit of a punch though. When cornering and driving hard through some back roads over here in Southern California, the tires provided an excellent driving experience. They were nice and responsive, and a lot of fun to drive. The tires really provided great all around traction and crisp steering response.

Something to note here is that these tires are quite a bit less expensive than many similar high end tires from Michelin, Pirelli, and others. That being said they are fantastic value when compared to Michelin Pilot Super Sports which cost about twice as much.

Update: Now that we have had the opportunity to test these out in the rain, we can add a little bit more information here. The large amount of rubber to road contact, which gives the tires such great dry traction, does slightly hinder wet road performance. The tires are not able to channel out water as well as some other tires tested, but when we drove normally in the rain, the tires were fine and provided good traction. These tires are summer tires meant to give the best traction possible when pushed to the limit in dry conditions. They are not meant to be driven in snow or icy conditions. 

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Pros:

• Provides amazing dry traction and steering response
• Handling / cornering is precise and tight
• Tires are pretty comfortable for a low profile tire such as this

Cons:

• Could use a boost in wet traction for aggressive drivers
• Not for snow / ice conditions, but you already knew that

Conclusion:
The Nitto NT05 is a great tire in dry conditions, even when pushed to the limit. This tire is a lot of fun to drive, and provides crisp steering response for those who like drive hard, but maintain precise control. If you are looking for a high performance summer tire the NT05 is a great bargain. Price ranges from about $135 to $360 depending on size and vendor. 

Similar High Performance Summer Tires
Bridgestone Potenza RE760 Sport
Continental ExtremeContact DW
Michelin Pilot Sport 3

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