I decided to offer some feedback on the Nitto NT05's that I have been running for the past three months, which include 3000 miles of daily driving and 4 autocross events.

Front: 18x10 + 22 Enkei RP03 w/ 275/35/18 tires at -1.6 camber, 1/16 toe-out
Rear: 18x10 +22 Enkei RP03 W/ 275/40/18 tires at -2.1 camber, 1/16 toe-in
Mods: 350Evo Front Camber Arms & Quaife Differential
(Cliff's at bottom)

Background:
I have about 1.5 years of autocross experience on 3 different cars. I autocrossed 6 months with a 2006 full bolt-on Acura RSX Type S on Kumho SPT Tires, then 6 months with a 2005 Subaru WRX STI on Dunlop Star Specs and springs, then 6 months with the 350Z I picked up just this year. I consider myself to be a capable driver, but not very consistent.

Driving Impressions:
Right when I got the tires mounted, I notice the steering was a lot heavier due to the wider front tires. The tires are also quiet like the Bridgestone RE050A at first, but get louder after 1000 miles. One passenger even commented that the tires roared like an airplane when I was taking a road trip through Texas.

Dry traction for these tires are a huge improvement over the stock Bridgestones. I can floor 1st and 2nd without any wheel spin. However, in the wet it's a different story. When the ground is wet after a downpour, I can't floor 1st because I get nothing but wheels spin. I also tried flooring the car in the wet from a 20 mph roll in second gear, and once I got passed 5,000 RPM I get wheel spin and I would have to back off the throttle. Also, when I'm driving on the highway in the rain, the tires do hydroplane when I'm going past 50 mph. So don't expect the tires to be awesome in the wet.

Autocross Impressions:
I first took these tires to autocross a day after I had them mounted with only 50 miles on them. First thing I noticed was that the tires have very stiff sidewalls compared to the Bridgestone RE050A. Other than the stiff sidewalls, I couldn't offer anymore feedback because they weren't broken in yet (they were just too slick at the time). Just for reference my times were:
1) 71.290 2) 69.660 3) 67.647* 4) 68.401

Compared to a 04 STI Driver w/ Dunlop Star Specs in Street Mod
1) 65.841 2) 67.033 3) 67.270 4) 65.753*

The second time I autocrossed was after I put over 700 miles on the tires. Only competition in my class was a Mazda RX-8 on Hoosier A6 tires. The weather was a cool 65 degrees, and the course was short and cone infested. Right after the first run, I noticed that these tires hooked up a lot better than the last event. I can floor 1st and 2nd w/o slipping, and the tires heated up as quickly as my Dunlop Direzza Star Specs did on my STI. After each run, the tires just seemed to get stickier and stickier and I got faster times. Unfortunately, I kept on picking up cones on the way. Times were:
1) 51.308 2) 51.137 (2.000) 3) 52.778 (4.000) 4) 49.299* (2.000)
5) 50.634 (4.000)

2005 Mazda RX-8 on wheels & Hoosier A6:
1) 50.818 ( 2.000) 2) 47.315* 3) 49.507 ( 2.000) 4) 47.353
5) 48.190 ( 2.000)

The third time the temperature was 95 degrees outside, sunny, and humid. This was actually one of the hardest autocross course I have ever driven on because I just couldn't get into rhythm on this one. Couldn't quite get on the gas, and kept picking up a cone. I also notice that I was overdriving the car a little because I was sliding more than usual. Times were:
1) DNF 2) 55.372 ( 2.000) 3) 55.408 ( 2.000) 4) 54.856 ( 2.000)
5) 54.117 6) 53.147*

2007 Subaru WRX STI on Bridgestone RE-01R
1) 59.467 ( 2.000) 2) 58.460 ( 4.000) 3) 54.871 4) 54.928
5) 53.540* 6) 53.853


The fourth autocross event was just yesterday. Weather was 101 degrees, partly cloudy, and humid. Course was interesting that day because it had a "Pin Turn" section where you're supposed to do a 180 around a set of cones before you move on to the next corner (course map will be posted later tonight). First run was a little choppy because I had to work the first heat, and then run the third heat so my memory of the course was vague. Tires felt great though and hooked up from the get go. Second run, I cleaned up my steering inputs and got on the gas more, but I picked up a cone on the slalom. Third run, I felt the front tires starting to slip, so I started giving the car more steering input and picked up another cone.

Starting the fourth run, my tires were way too hot. I didn't water the tires or bleed the tires pressures in between runs because I was doing ride alongs with another 350Z driver. I ended up overdriving the car in the fourth run by giving the car too much steering input. Fifth run was the same, I ended up sliding too much throughout most of the course. I'm pretty sure I would have knocked off 2 seconds off my 3rd run if I didn't overheat the tires.
Times were:
1) 62.125 2) 62.802 ( 2.000) 3) 61.886 (2.000) 4) 60.493*
5) 60.964

Same 04 STI w/ Dunlop Star Specs from the 1st Event:
1) 57.466 2) 57.964 3) 57.709 4) 57.279*
5) 58.880

Cliff Notes
Driving Impressions:
-Excellent dry traction
-Not so excellent wet traction
-Road noise is loud like an airplane
-Stiff sidewalls

Autocross Impressions:
-Awesome grip from the get go
-Tires have a smooth breakaway
-On par with Dunlop Direzza Star Specs based on my experience
-Runs slightly narrower than other 275's
-They do get greasy when it's 100 degrees outside (mainly driver error on my part)
-I seem to be the only one in my region running on Nitto NT05's

 

Good review, thanks for sharing!