Hi,
Newbie question so pardon the ignorance.
I am going to run in Laguna Seca for my first ever track day. My question is this. I have the S02's on right now. The rears look like they have about 4/32 left of tread so they should be ok. On the fronts, however, there is 4/32 left on the outside but completely worn down to the wear bars on the inside (No cords showing though).

I figure on a dry track, this shouldn't be of concern but I wanted to know if the grip characteristic of the SO2's will be changed (less grip) as the tires wear down.

I would hate to spend over 650 for a new set of S02's and have chunks ripped out of them when they're new. It looks like if I need to change tires before the event, i may as well go with the Toyo RA-1's, but i'd really like to eek out the last few miles on my S02's.

Would safety be an issue with worn down S02's on the track?
I will try to post some pics of the tires tonight.

Any help is greatly appreciated.
Thanks

 

IMO, the problem with old tires is not that the tread is worn down, but that the rubber has hardened due to excessive heat cycling. Hard rubber does not grip as well as soft rubber.

"Slicks" have no tread at all, but get tremendous grip because they put the most rubber in contact with the road. Grooves or treads cut into street tires are put there to deal with getting the water out from under the tire in wet conditions, not for grip on dry pavement.

Hope this helps!

Kind Regards, Chris

 

I agree with Chris. My main concern would be that the tires have been heat-cycled to the point where much of their grip is gone.

 

Thanks for the answers guys!
The hardened rubber was exactly my concern. I guess it wouldn't be too safe to use em on the track then.

Anybody have comments on a novice running RA-1s? Seems it's the tire of choice for someone doing a few track events a year with the S2k being driven mostly on the street.

If that's not something I should look into then I'd probably just get a set of Yoko ES100s (going the cheap route) so it wouldn't pain me so much to see chunks missing from the tires. Being that it's going to be my first time, I doubt I'll push it THAT hard. In the future, I'll get a second set of rims and put race tires on and swap when needed. I dont race or push it during street driving so I think the yokos will be ok.

Any comments on going this route? Or should I still get a new set of S03's instead of the Yoko ES100.
Thanks in advance

 

Can you afford a set of dinged-up stock wheels? Might be best to put some Toyos on extra wheels for this purpose. It'll save your street tires. Also, a new set of ANY tire at full tread depth may make the experience less than pleasurable - the tread squirm may cause problems...

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by amlin423
Thanks for the answers guys!
The hardened rubber was exactly my concern. I guess it wouldn't be too safe to use em on the track then.

 

If this is your first track event I'd say what you have is fine. You aren't going to be going that fast anyway (right?). I have some filthy but otherwise good condition stock rims with decent street tires on them I could let go. PM me if you are interested.

If you buy RA1s, get them shaved to 6/32nds.

 

Thanks to all for your replies, I went through tons and tons of thread and found all your posts very educational. As I've indicated, I will be getting another set of rims so that i can have an extra set for track. I've been scouring through the the buy/sell forum and ebay for OEM rims.

Cthree, I may just take up your offer. Will send you a PM.

thx
Andrew

 

As you know it is always nice to have an extra set of wheels so you can have just dedicated track tires. And as others have indicated Toyo RA-1s shaved are an extraordinary good tire. Good luck finding some wheels. If you do go the route of Toyos be sure to contact Vilven. Vilven Tire Inc.
101 W. Main St., Royal, IL 61871 . 800-251-0017 . 217-583-3277 . 217-583-3383 FAX . rjvilven@aol.com

On another note, as I can not really see you front S-02s here is something else to consider. Take the front tires off the wheels, flip them over and have them remounted and balanced. Put the inner edge that is worn so badly due to normal negative camber on the outer edge. You have to have the tire removed from the wheel to do this type of "rotation" but when done you will have the worn inner edge on the outside and the tread pattern will still be going in the same direction.

For my 2