Both the contenders are specially designed for the summer season. Nitto NT05 is designed to be used for high-performance vehicles for sports category and luxury vehicles, while on other hand NT555 G2 is used for high-performance passenger vehicles.
The large-sized shoulder lugs of NT05 make its steering response and grip facility better than its competitor on dry pavements. Its framed tread compound and strengthened internal design are engineered to emphasize dry road response and durability. Besides being a high-speed tire, it also ensures less noise production and a comfortable ride.
Water drainage and wet handling of NT555 are facilitated by central and shoulder grooves. Its high stiffness and silica compound allow it to bear comparatively more load while maintaining the same speed. It’s more fuel-efficient than its opponent because of its less rolling resistance. It also offers a great void ratio permitting good hydroplaning resistivity
Compared to NT555, NT05 performs well when we talk about dry traction but on the other hand, NT555 takes the lead when it comes to wet traction and hydroplaning resistance. NT05 takes the lead in the durability section, but it’s the NT555 that is more fuel-efficient.
Table of Contents
Side By Side Comparison
Nitto NT555 G2
Nitto NT05
| Specifications | NT555 | Nitto NT05 |
| Tire Season | Summer | Summer |
| Tire Type | Performance Tire | Performance Tire |
| Tread Type | Directional | Directional |
| Available Sizes, Inches | 19, 20, 22. 17, 18 | 18, 19, 20, 15, 17 |
| Application | SUVs, Passenger Cars | Racing Vehicles i.e., Street and Track Racing |
| UTQG Rating | 320 AA | 200 AA |
| Cost (275/40R17) | 182 $ | 206.9 $ |
Tread Design
The tread design of NT05 is assembled having a directional tread design with a single wide rib running circumferentially in the center portion of the tire and has large shoulders at the margin. It has two longitudinal grooves around the central rib and comparatively small lateral grooves on the shoulders. Its tread blocks lack any siping pattern and contain fewer voids only these specs make its contact patch very large. Its tread depth is also less than its opponent.
NT555 has also a directional tread design with two larger tread block columns, two central twin ribs, and 5 circumferential grooves. Adjacent to the central twin rib, there are larger tapered blocks that enhance the grip and better cornering ability than its competitor. Its central twin ribs doesn’t have any notches or sipes on them but its neighboring tread block columns do have sipes of reasonable depth and thinner lateral grooves. There are small notches on shoulder blocks as well. NT555 has a relatively less contact patch due to having additional circumferential grooves which enhances its overall void ratio.
Road Grip
NT05 offers a good grip on dry surfaces because of its large tread block design. The central portion formed by a single wide rib makes a contact patch of tread with the surface enhancing dry grip. While coming over to the grip its wet grip over the wet surface is reduced because of lacking sipes which oppose it to provide biting on a wet surface so, its grip over wet conditions is low.
Coming over to the NT555, it also offers a great deal of dry grip performance due to its continuous central twin ribs and large adjacent tread block columns. But it would still be inferior to its competitor due to having relatively less contact patch. Its moderate density siping on tread block columns and tapered lateral grooves in the center would provide superior biting edges and hence enhances NT555’s wet traction.
| Parameter | NT555 | Nitto NT05 |
| Dry Grip | Moderate | High |
| Wet Grip | Moderate | Low |
Road handling
The enhanced biting ability of NT05’s large-sized shoulder lugs make its steering response better on dry track it offers a directed stable road handling. However, it goes down in case of wet handling efficiency on a wet path. Due to the absence of sipes and its shallow lateral grooves, its shoulders have less ability for aqua planning so, the steering response on wet surfaces becomes less precise.
NT555 contains smaller shoulder lugs as compared to its competitor, making its dry handling less efficient than its competitor. The center grooves and shoulder grooves help in providing wet handling making it work better than its competitor in wet handling. It would give good handling capability on wet pavements because it has small notches and broader lateral grooves on its shoulder blocks.
| Parameter | NT555 | NT05 |
| Handling on Dry Roads | Moderate | High |
| Handling on Wet Roads | High | Low |
Hydroplaning resistivity
NT555 has a relatively higher void ratio and that’s why it offers more volume for water encapsulation, the water is thrown backward and the tire can easily move forward without slipping. NT555 has large circumferential grooves i.e., the central and shoulder grooves make way for water to evacuate and ensure a reliable connection between the tread and roadway even in standing water conditions these facts make its hydroplaning resistivity far better than its opponent.
NT05 maintains a less void ratio which reduces its water holding capacity. It lags behind its competitor in this regard so it offers less hydroplaning resistivity than its opponent
Durability and Treadwear
Both contenders bear different tread depths, subsequently, the table shows that NT05 would take relatively longer to completely wear off due to friction. Its composition is comprised of silica compounds with a special blend of polymer additives to enhance its durability by reinforcing its tread structure.
| Contenders | Tread Depth |
| NT05 (275/40R17) | 11/32’’ |
| NT555 (275/40R17) | 10.2/32’’ |
Comfort & Noise
NT05 comes with a comparatively more tread depth than NT555, providing more cushion between the vehicle and the road, thus enhancing the comfort of passengers.
NT05 has a comparatively lesser void ratio which means less volume for circulation of air particles inside the grooves. The air particles find it difficult to accumulate over the tire surface to collide with tread walls and produce noise. So NT05 would be producing less noise compared to its competitor.
In this contest of comfort and noise, NT05 takes lead.
Rolling resistance
The greater the rolling resistance the lesser will be the fuel efficiency. NT05 is less fuel-efficient because of its more rolling resistance because of its larger contact patch when more surface area of tread touches the track produces more friction thus requiring more energy to roll on and to continue its motion. As a result, fuel consumption is increased and fuel efficiency is decreased.
NT555 is a highly fuel-efficient because of its lesser contact patch requires less energy to roll on and to produce friction which costs it less fuel consumption making it more fuel-efficient.
Load & Speed
If we look at the contender’s speed ratings and load indexes, we can conclude that both of them can provide equal speed but NT555 can bear more amount of load in comparison to its competitor at the same speed.
| Contenders | Speed | Load | ||
| Rating | Value | Rating | Value | |
| Nitto NT05 (275/40R17) | W | 168 mph | 98 | 1653 lbs |
| Nitto NT555(275/40R17) | W | 168 mph | 102 | 1874 lbs |
Price
The cost of both contenders varies, NT05 is a bit expensive while NT555 is economical as compared to its competitor. The increased cost of NT05 is justified since it offers enhanced dry grip & handling, better durability, and a quiet & comfortable journey.
The costs of Nitto NT05 (275/40R17) and Nitto NT555 (275/40R17) are $206 and $182 respectively.
Summary
Nitto NT05;
- Provides efficient dry grip and highly responsive dry handling.
- Produces less noise.
- Offers a more comfortable ride.
- Is a more durable tire.
Nitto NT555 G2;
- Is cheaper than its competitor.
- Effective and reliable in wet handling.
- Good hydroplaning resistivity as compared to its competitor.
- Can bear maximum load capacity.
Provides superior fuel efficiency.
