Given
76%
while driving a
BMW m2
(225/45 R17) on
track
for 5,000
spirited miles
Well, I can only speak of my personal track experience, but I've heard the same from fellow instructors and racers. I've had Sport Cup 2s, RE71Rs, and NT01s on my M2 for multiple track events at the same circuits. I was consistently putting in lap times that were 2 seconds faster around the 1.53 mile Lime Rock track (high 0:59 laps) with the NT01s or RE71Rs, as relative to the SC2s. I saw roughly the same wear rates between the SC2s and RE71Rs (about 4-5 days before the tires were heat cycled out), while the NT01s easily went for a minimum of 10 days and continued to get faster until the chords.
Aside from fastest single lap times and wear rates, a more interesting aspect to these tires is how they reacted to being pushed. Both the RE71Rs and SC2s were good for a fast lap or two before they overheated and started to get greasy, needing a few laps to cool down. The NT01s were consistent for a full 20 minute session of fast laps. Not as precise feeling as the RE71Rs, a bit of a blunt instrument, but extremely grippy and better break away characteristics than the RE71R. Given that I accomplished the same times with the NT01s as with the RE71Rs, while they cost the same but last twice as long, the NT01s are still the best track day tire I have driven to date.
With regards to wet driving, the NT01s are fine in light rain once warmed up. But they will hydroplane in any standing water.