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Photo by Stever Turner of Ford Muscle[/caption]
Nitto Tire has experienced wild success with the Nitto NT555 tire for over two decades. Released in 1996, the NT555, simply referred to as the Triple Five, served as the perfect intersection of performance, durability, and cost. It became a staple in the Mustang world. However, as with many great products, they must adapt to change and the NT555 is no exception.
As longtime partners, Nitto turned to Steeda to test the newest iteration of the Triple Five. Luckily, Steve Turner, of FordMuscle.com, was there to report on the collaboration. Turner writes,
"While the original Triple Five had a great run, it really wasn't designed for today's power levels. Back in the day 400 horsepower was big news. Now that's where the power starts."
Former Nitto Tire Staff Engineer Andy W. Frank told Turner,
" 'Obviously the muscle car market, and cars in general, are significantly different than they were 20 years ago. Back then, 400 horsepower was a big deal, and now the new benchmark is 700 or 800 horsepower, so it's really easy to overpower the 555... We simply wanted to tweak that formula to make the NT555 G2 more relevant to the modern day muscle car. ...I personally like to think of the NT555 G2 as the NT555 given a heavy dose of steroids... it's stronger, meaner, and much more aggressive.' "
In the development phase of the original Triple Five, Nitto Tire tested its prototypes on Steeda Mustangs. This ensured that the tires were being tested thoroughly on performance vehicles, which is their intended use. Turner adds,
"With the idea of creating a tire capable of harnessing modern muscle cars, the company wanted to test its tires on the cars they were meant for rather than following industry norms to test on the cars favored by mainstream media outlets. With that in mind, it was a no-brainer to test the prototype G2 tires on a pair of Steeda S197s. Testing tires on Steeda Mustangs was what helped deliver the wildly popular NT555, so it was only fitting that these cars were the test ponies for the next-gen tire."
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Photo by Steve Turner of Ford Muscle[/caption]
Steeda's Vice President, Glen Vitale, was on-hand along with Turner at Sebring International Raceway to test the performance of the Triple 5 and the Gen 2 on Steeda's own 2001 "Red Rocket" New Edge Mustang. We are certainly proud to work with Nitto Tire in the development of premium products for all the Mustang fanatics out there!
If you want the full run-down on how the 555G2 performed against the 555, you can read Turner's full write-up here.
About Turner:
A seasoned veteran in the Mustang world, Steve Turner labors as Executive Editor of FordNXT and Ford Muscle. He brings decades of passion and knowledge to Power Automedia, with Ford performance coverage for over 20 years. From the swan song of the Fox Mustang to the birth of the Coyote, Steve had a front-row seat. While Fox Mustangs were his first love, Steve's current stable includes a 1998 Mustang LX, a 2008 Shelby GT500 and a 2013 Focus ST.