Tire questions?

[black_em2]

So ill be getting some new tires for my bday soon, ive decided on the kumho xs, over the re11 and the new advan ad08 coming out, after a lot reading and price evaluation.

anyways, i know they are not r comps but i was wondering if it was recommended to heat cycle a sticky street tire or if its just unnecessary?

my other question is, is there a local tire recycling company in fresno county? just thought id see if I could save a few bucks!

thanks
Daniel

[MrFroge]

Check the Kumho site for their recommendations as to breaking in the tires. Being street tires you can heat treat them by carefully driving on the street and then let them cool down while lying flat on the ground. No money out of pocket.

I think it is more important to have them shaved if you want to use them for autox, but, of course there goes your street ware. :rolleyes:

[black_em2]

will do! thanks for the advice

[rob.ok]

Its not necessary for street tires. Shaving the new breed of high performance street tires will not benefit you either...unless your looking for .001 of a second over a 2 mile course (this simply has to do with tread block squarm/flex under high Gs). All that needs to be done is a simple scrub in.

Most new R-Comps are fast right out of the box and do not require heat cycling (Toyo R888 & Nitto NT01 for example don't need to be shaved or heat cycled and are usually faster in their new form compared to the older generation tires that have been cycled and shaved...namely RA1. Hoosiers and BFG R1s still need to be cycled to restructure the molecular components of the tires compound but, these tires are at a different level).

[2159ClassicRed]

Daniel,

Great selection! I've been tempted to try them out as well. For $89 a pop for 15's, really can't beat that price. Comparing little things like the weight of the tire vs. the competition, it'll probably not only stick better than your current rubber, but probably make it more lively with less weight having to be carried around. Just the true beauty of unsprung weight! Just to put my 2 cents in on new "street" tire prep, just go on the highway, and drive around for like 30 minutes or so, preferrably at night, and then head home, jack the car up on all four stands, then let the rubber molecules do their magic overnight. Does it make difference? I can't tell, but it's good/cheap insurance, and peace of mind.

[needforspeed]

I was going to get the Kumho XS, but I need 195/50/15 and 205/50/15, but they don't offer it in the 195 width:(

So for now, I'm leaning towards the Yokohama S.Drive. Has anybody tried those out yet?

[2159ClassicRed]

John,

Do you really need the staggered setup? Could go with the RE11s for that though :)

[black_em2]

Ok thanks guys. i didnt see anything on kumhos site.

I've heard good things about the s.drive as far as street tires for DD, but never about autox capabilities.

I just read an article in GRM about the XS, RE11, and AD08. The XS were slightly faster than all of them! For the price I couldn't help but pick them!

Thanks kurt all i need are some light rims... maybe like your rpf1s! my last setup included falken 912s and some discount tire brand wheels, which weighed in @ 45lbs per corner

[needforspeed]

John,

Do you really need the staggered setup? Could go with the RE11s for that though :)

Well I suppose I don't need it, but doesn't it help with turn in for my MR2?

And the RE-11's are too expensive. I cant afford more than the the Kumho's at $89 per tire.

[2159ClassicRed]

You need to compromise the photography side John :D.................should probably look into the kumho spt as well, or just go with a square setup all around.

[miatacrosser]

Well I suppose I don't need it, but doesn't it help with turn in for my MR2?

And the RE-11's are too expensive. I cant afford more than the the Kumho's at $89 per tire.

The 195 should turn in quicker than the 205 because of the smaller diameter and thus shorter sidewall. The 205 will have more traction due to the wider contact patch. It's your choice there.

It depends on how many tires you want to buy in the course of a season. The Toyos will be gone after 50 runs. So their cost per run is way up there. The Bridgestones on the other hand will last 200+ runs. So even though the initial cost is higher, the cost per run is way less than the Toyo. I don't know how the Kumho is wearing but I've read that people are having issues with them. Check out SCCA forums to find out what these are. I've also heard that the new Yokohama AD08 is very good. Actually all of the new ST tires are good. Like Andy Hollis says, you can't go wrong with any choice.

As far as tire shaving goes. There is definately a benefit to shaving. Not only do you reduce the overall diameter of the tire you will also reduce the weight of it as well at the most crucial point, the extreme outside. Another benefit is that you will be able to use the tire throughout all of it's heat cycle life. Ideally, when the tire is bald you will have reached the end of it's heat cycle life. Remember, a tire can only be heat cycled so many times. After that it's performance starts to fall off. Very fast. Also, by shaving the tire to 4/32nds you remove a lot of the shallow grooves that the manufactor put in for quietness and water dispersal. Which increases the amount of rubber of the contact patch. If not shaving tires were the fast way, believe me, everyone would be running full tread tires.

Now, after having said all this, If you are going to be driving on the street with these tires than keep them full tread. Otherwise, unless you go with a proven tire that wears like iron(Bridgestone), you will wear them out on the road or track day before you ever get to the end of their heat cycle. But for autocrossing only, shaving is the way to go.