Rears at 11k, The tires are waiting for me to get back into town to have them installed...

 

No one really answered my question from the other thread... so I'm reposting it here...

How do you determine the tires are worn out?

Do you:

A) Feel the wear bars to see if they are flush with the tread

B) Wait for the tires to be bald (i.e., wear bars are gone or going)

Cause if some one says "Hey I got 20K miles out of mine" and they meant B that is a heck of a lot different from 20K miles using A.

I've been using the A method... but wondering if I should use some other method... anyone?

 

One other question... Will tracks and auto-xs let you drive if your wear bars are flush with the tread?

-- Robert

 

I am fairly lazy, so I noticed that A) occurred, but didn't bother to buy new tires until I also noticed a real loss of grip. At that point, all of the horror stories about spinning in intersections, hitting a puddle on the highway then hydroplaning into walls, etc., came to mind and I called Tirerack.

I now believe all of those posts about old S02's being flaky.
Tanq

 

They're definitely ready to be replaced when you get to the wear bars. But what's worse than the loss of tread is the "greasy" feeling. After 17k miles mine were just getting to the wear bars, but it had become too easy to make 'em slide around.
Because of the gradual reduction in traction over time, you won't notice how bad they are until you get some new ones. I recommend only the OEM S-02s for the street. If you're going to be racing a lot, Kumhos on another set of wheels is a cheaper solution than S-02s, in the long run.

I imagine they'll let you race as long as there's no cord showing, and it doesn't look like they'll come apart after a few laps. Race tires don't have much tread anyway.

 

The rears went at 8,800 and they were bald, still have the stock fronts at 13,500, and there in good shape.

 

Have just a little over 14K. Fronts will need to be replaced soon but the rears are fine

 

I have 8500 miles on the car and the rears are about 50% used. The fronts still have plenty of life left in them. No track time, but pretty hard the tires.

-Greg

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by mns2k
[B]Have just a little over 14K.

 

Must be a close encounter with the mythical "understeer" beast