SEMA 2018: Are Nitto NT555 G2

SEMA 2018: Are Nitto NT555 G2’s The Perfect Road Trip Tire?

When it comes to finding the perfect new tire for your next project vehicle, there are quite a few factors that you probably want to consider before making your purchase. Tread life, aspect ratio, and total cost all come into play. It can sometimes be a daunting task to find a tire that will not only match your build needs but will also perform as intended.

For our road trip to the 2018 SEMA Show, we set out to find a tire that would not only perform well on a long road trip but could also survive a fun weekend out at the track.

Nitto

Photo Credit: HRE Wheels

We chose to drive up to this year’s SEMA Show in our 2018 Mustang GT. We knew that the San Diego to Las Vegas road trip would easily be over 600+ miles of highway driving so we needed a high-performance tire that could meet or exceed these demands.

The Nitto Tire NT555 G2 Ultra High Performance (UHP) Summer Tires are specially engineered to improve traction and handling in both wet and dry driving conditions. Installing a high-performance tire that performs well in both wet and dry conditions was essential to us because, at the time, we had no idea what the weather conditions would be up in Las Vegas in November.

One area in particular that Nitto is most proud of with the NT555 G2 tire is the increase in performance in wet conditions… – Justin Dugan, AmericanMuscle

We also needed to find a tire that would match the aggressive fitment of the aftermarket wheel we were planning on running. Our wheel of choice was the HRE FF04. The FF04 is proving to be a very popular aftermarket upgrade for the 2018+ Mustang enthusiast due to its aggressive offset and unique styling. The FlowForm lightweight design allowed us to run a staggered 20-inch wheel on all four corners. Even though we were running a larger rim on our S550, the FF-04 monoblock design came in lighter than the stock 19-inch Performance Pack wheel that this car comes with from the factory.

After visiting the HRE Wheel facility here in SoCal, we decided on a 20 x 10.5-inch front, 20 x 11-inch rear. This would give our S550 a nice aggressive stance and allow us to run a much wider tire. We contacted Harry Kong, Brand Publishing Manager at Nitto Tire U.S.A., and found that we had plenty of options we could run in the NT555 G2 tire in a 20-inch configuration. And after reading some of the reviews from our friends at AmericanMuscle.com, we knew we had found a road trip tire that would meet the demands of our 2018 Mustang GT.

“One area in particular that Nitto is most proud of with the NT555 G2 tire is the increase in performance in wet conditions,” stated Justin Dugan from AmericanMuscle. “This includes both handling and braking performance.”

We were also presently surprised to find out that we could order these tires in a 285/35/20 front and 305/35/20 rear fitment. Because our car is equipped with the MagneRide suspension, at the time we were only able to lower the car 20mm using the Ford Racing lowering springs that are available for cars with the active MagneRide dampening system.

Nitto NT555 G2 Features and Benefits

  • Second generation of Nitto’s Ultra High-Performance Summer Tires
  • Available for 1979 – 2019 Ford Mustangs
  • Improve Wet & Dry Performance
  • Available in 30- to 37-inch tires with 17- to 20-inch wheel diameters
  • Twin center rib improves both drive traction and straight line stability
  • Reinforced Shoulder Treadblocks for improves dry and wet corning
  • Treadwear rating of 320 for a lifespan of up 40,000 miles

The Moment Of Truth

When it finally came time to install our wheel and tire combo, I will admit, I was a little nervous about how everything would fit on all four corners. But everything installed without a hitch and the end result was our S550 now had an aggressive muscle car stance that we were looking for.

After the install and new alignment, we took the car for a quick test drive through the canyons here in Southern California to see how the tires performed. I was immediately impressed with how the NT555 G2 performed both off the line and through the corners. The tread design has little to no road noise, and the car felt planted throughout our test drive.

As for our road trip to the 2018 SEMA Show, the Nitto NT555 G2 tires exceeded our expectations in every area. We were able to cruise at a comfortable speed without any noticeable road noise and our S550 was remained firmly planted during our “spirited” driving sessions throughout the entire week of the event.

Photo gallery

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If you are looking for an Ultra High Performance (UHP) Summer Tire for that next long road trip in your S550, we highly recommend looking into the NT555 G2 series tire. The state of the art tread compound, the wide variety of sizes, and overall improvements in wet and dry conditions made it an easy choice for our latest project vehicle.

For the complete line of Nitto Tires for your S550 Mustang, you can click on the companies official website here.

Article Sources

About the author

Kelly Getzelman

Kelly is a SoCal car enthusiast and skilled driver. His “get out and drive” obsession began after attending his first high-performance racing school while serving on active duty. Since then, he has attended numerous military and civilian driving schools across the country to help fuel that passion.
Read My Articles

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