My rears are almost on the wear bars and I am attending a 1 day performance driving course.

I fully expect the day to be dry and warm so I'm not worried about wet traction.

Will I benefit from new rear tires before the course ???

thanx

tim

 

You'll have more grip on a dry track with the worn tyres. They'll also dissipate heat better. I once went to a track day with new S02s and came back with half the tread gone. They will literally melt. Production car racers buff their tyres down to minimum tread depth before using them.

 

Actually, I have experienced something slightly different. I find that new - 2/3 worn SO2s felt sticky, and at the end of their life they became a little more prone to letting go. That said, I think you're better off using the worn tires for the DE event. As naishou mentioned, the large tread depth on new tires will allow the rubber to migrate more under hard cornering and braking increasing wear and leaving little rubber "boogers" all around the remaining tread. Just watch the lift-throttle oversteer ... and the full throttle oversteer . Have fun at the event!

 

From my expereince you wil definitely get much better grip with new tyres at the track. Unlike other tyres the S02s actually lose traction when worn even though one would think the opposite - I know I did.

What is unique about the S02s is that they are a multi compound tyre and once they wear beyond a certain point - i.e. 2/3rds to 3/4 wear then the harder less grippy compound is what is touching the tarmac.

The reason for the multi compound, as I was told by Bridgestone, is that the harder compound is required for the carcass of the tyre. You'll find that the softer compound literally melts on the track (when you pull in after a few laps you'll find you can scrape off chunks of rubber with your fingernail!!) and is obviously unsuitable for the structural components of the tyre. The hard carcass also provides the high sidewall structural rigidity which is another unique feature of the tyre.

With worn S02s the grip is much worse than an average tyre and it can be a lot of fun on the track if you are into a drift driving style - I found I could 4 wheel drift with amazing ease but the car wouldn't turn in for the life of me. However, if you want to be competitive then you'll definitely need new rubber.

 

Your car should undergo a technical inspection prior to the event. The usual minimum tread requirement is 3/32". If you have this much tread, you can use your worn tires, but nothing is going to stick like new tires. If this is your first performance driving school, new tires will give you more confidence and it should be an easier ride. However, there may be a problem replacing the rears if Tire Rack is still backordered on OEM SO-2's. If they are, probably have to go with the worn tires and gut it out.

 

Yep, definitely AFTER.

The hard running will definitely give your tires a hard time. I practically wore mine out durring our track day...and I only covered about 70 miles in total...

The stock tires are very soft...

 

I was also a driving school/track virgin with the same questions 1 month ago.

I recommend you replace them after the track event. Driving on new S02's will probably tear them up quite a bit, while the used ones will be better for the track (as long as it doesn't rain).
Ask yourself this... why do race cars use slicks? The Ferraris and Corvette's at the school I went to all had shaved slicks... no tread. From what I was told at the driving school, more rubber on the road is better. The only purpose of tread is to remove water.

JMHO.

Good luck. You are in for the time of your life!

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by Tim S2K
[B]I was also a driving school/track virgin with the same questions 1 month ago.

 

I think the most reliable answer to this can be found by watching a Formula 1 race where the weather varies between dry and wet.

When it stops raining and the track dries, the cars on wet-tyres distroy their tyres within a lap or two. They really get chewed up very fast...

 

I agree w/ Cdelena...the additional tread area/lower squirm of worn tires is more than offset by the deterioration induced by excessive heat cycling. I know that my rears aren't nearly as sticky as they used to be.

I plan on getting new tires before my upcoming track day. The last time I economized on tires at a track event, I lowsided my Yamaha R6, which scratched it up and scuffing my new leathers pretty good. I wasn't hurt, but learned that scrimping on tires at the track can be a false economy.