Introducing Nitto's New Drag Radial Tire: The NT555RII
When it comes to drag racing, all the horsepower and torque in the world doesn’t matter if you can’t transfer that power into traction and therefore, forward movement. There are a variety of different ways to get more traction. Drag race style suspension helps shift front-end weight towards the rear to plant the rear tires, and that helps. This is the reason old “gasser” type drag machines of yesteryear had their noses pointed towards the sky — for more traction. This set up was ideal back in the day because tires at the time were so terrible. But getting traction wasn’t as bad as it sounds because the top of the line, high-output vehicles of the era generally only made about 300 to 400hp.
A Great Time to be a Muscle Car Fan
Drag racing and tire technology have come a long way since the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. Today, most “sporty” cars make about 300hp off the showroom floor, and the current crop of muscle cars all make well into the 300hp range at the base model level, and the higher-end are making considerably more power than that. Take Dodge’s Challenger Hellcat Redeye—it makes 797hp, Chevy’s Camaro ZL1 makes 650hp, and Ford’s Mustang Shelby GT500 makes 760hp, all directly from their respective manufacturer. These numbers would have been unbelievable just 20 years ago, but muscle car technology has continued to progress in every muscle car fan’s favor. So, how does one get these incredibly powerful street machines to hook-up at the drag strip? Part of the answer to that question is: a great drag radial tire.
The New NT555RII Drag Radial Tire
Tire technology has come a long way since the ‘60s and ‘70s, too, especially tires for the everyday drag racing enthusiast. Take Nitto’s new NT555RII competition drag radial tire for instance, it’s a D.O.T. compliant tire designed with additional flexibility, meaning it’s designed to be soft enough for a hard launch off the line, but still rigid enough to handle the rigors of daily driving.
