S.A.S.C.
Solo => Technical Talk => Topic started by: NickST on April 29, 2015, 04:14:01 PM
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So I was trying to work out how long my tires would last before I need new ones.
They have 8/32" of tread to start, which is about 6.35mm. In measuring my rear tires after the first event, I found them to be at a little bit over 6mm... so not much.
The front tires on the other hand, were already down to around 3.50mm
I worked out that the total number of runs between all drivers, which was 28 for the weekend. Which means that they probably only have about ~60 runs in them on the front. So if I rotate them back to front each event, and account for a little bit of wear on the rears each time, I figure that I will probably get around ~100 out of the set before they need to be replaced. So for single driver it should be good enough for 6 to 7 events.
I am thinking I can probably pick up 2 more tires mid season, and that way I will have enough to complete the year.
I guess some other factors to consider is that me and Murray found they were getting excessively hot, so keeping them cool might prolong the life. They kind of felt like they were smearing off onto the track near the end of the sets with how hot they were getting. Also I've heard Fort McLeod is more abrasive than other venues, so I might have less wear at Westerner.
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You will *definitely* have less wear at Westerner. Fort Macleod is really bad for tire wear.
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How many runs do you normally do with the Race School program?
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28 runs and you've used up more than half of the useable tread on a street tire :-\ that seems excessive to me. My slicks don't even wear that fast.
But as Murray said Fort MacLeod likes to chew up tires faster than normal asphalt.
At the school you can expect to do quite a few runs. If I remember correctly there is 4 separate "sessions" per day with 6 runs each (4 driven by you, 2 by instructor) for a total of 24. If you do both intro & comp schools expect ~50 runs over the weekend. Though the courses are shorter than our typical competition courses (I think around 30-40 seconds).
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Were the fronts worn evenly across the tread or would flipping them provide even more life? being a camber limited FWD I would expect a lot more outside edge wear but I have been known to be wrong in the past.
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I measured from the tread in the center. The outside wear was much more aggressive actually, but the tire kind of looks like it was designed for that.
These are not cheap either. It looks like two more mounted and balanced up is going to be around ~625$
So.... How much do slicks cost, haha
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Wow. That also seems like a lot of wear to me. Maybe I'll hold off on ordering myself a set. :o
Times look impressive though.
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^^ I know a lot of people were considering them, that is one of the main reasons I shared the info
Also, I tend to be very hard on tires
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200LBFT equipped FWD car isn't going to be easy on tires though either... or at least front ones. I'm unaware... what size are you running?
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FWD tends to be harder on front tires and may not be a good indicator of life for other cars.
From Jonathan Lugod (LA) on FB on his Z06:
"Jonathan Lugod 100+ still has a flip to do"
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And further down Jonathan's FB article from Steve (LA also):
Steve Ekstrand Now on 99 runs plus practice starts... four trophies in three national events. I might mount thsee tires in memory boxes and hang them on the garage wall.
Notably Steve is seldom in the trophies ... might be saying something that after many years he is all of a sudden not just in the trophies but also winning against some very tough competition down there ... many of the top National cars in that class are in SoCal..
R
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They are 205/45R16
I am just trying to decide if I should pick up a different tire when they are done that might be more suitable
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Another interesting quote from Steve:
Steve Ekstrand We took Lugod's advice to up tire pressures over what we ran the pixie dust tires at and the wear issues stopped. Thanks Jon!
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Thanks for that Reijo
So Higher pressures + cooling water!
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More width would help too... although looks like the only way for you to add width is to add diameter as well.
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I was just reading up a bit on some of the Fiesta forums to see what others are running. What I've been reading is that this 205 Bridgestone runs just as wide as a 225 Direzza when measured.
Interestingly the 205/50R16 is a hell of a lot cheaper than a 205/45R16... and it might actually help my 2nd gear ratio a bit, along with my wallet
The OEM tire is a 205/45R17, which is somewhere in between those for overall diameter
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I've been talking with a fellow who runs an ST down in the US on the same tires. He is running the 205/50R16 on his car, and surprisingly he runs them at 38psi on the front with no roll over issues at all.
I didn't expect to see such a huge difference between a 205/45 and 205/50... kind of crazy
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Fort Macleod's huge grip will cause huge rollover -- it really is surface dependent. At 49 PSI, your tires were definitely eating into the sidewalls and needed more pressure.
Re-adjust at Westerner as needed.
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^^ Roughly how PSI do you run at each site for your car?
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I run 37F/36R at Fort Macleod, and 36F/35R at Westerner.
You can't compare different vehicles, since the weight, balance, and camber curves are completely different.
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Tires did much better this time around
I did however order up some new ones with a pair of new rims in case I cord these in the future, lol
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So the 205/50's arrived today
They are noticeably wider than the 205/45's.. when I measured them they were a solid half inch wider. Kind of weird given they are both 205's.
Mathematically the diameter should have been about 0.81" larger, however they seemed really close to me so I physically measured them. The 205/45's came out to be 23.25"... which is basically spot on for the mathematical output of 23.26". The 205/50's however came out to be 23.56"... which is basically a half inch shorter than the mathematical output of 24.07".
There is also a big price difference on Tirerack:
205/45's are $159.41 (USD)
205/50's are $123.72 (USD)
That is like a 4 for 3 deal!
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Here's photos and info on the RE-71R's. I know lots of people are concerned about tire life. I am running 255/35-18 & 275/35-18. These photos are after 36 runs. 32 of them on a surface that is very abrasive and known to use up tires fast (Ft. Macleod). Also about 1200km street/highway driving. The rears have 6.5-7 /32 in. depth left at the center grooves and the fronts have 7-7.5 32 in. I did not measure the depth when new, TR data says 8/32.
(http://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0427_1__b78d8967024f2d23c2668a840765c1f799aa9293.jpg)
(http://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0428_1__bb176b2cbda31a78543eaccd3b698bb460580c90.jpg)
(http://cimg5.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0430_1__762fcca743b9345a56a49af52c132e5a2fe0996c.jpg)
(http://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0429_1__273a9efad28b0d358893dcbc9bfab1427ad61c21.jpg)
(http://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0425_1__5c359b121895e33749b84a60257e038ccabe46b2.jpg)
(http://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/rennlist.com-vbulletin/2000x1504/80-img_0424_1__a230a4a696d2b8c9c15721ce8c14e51e5b97b76c.jpg)
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I've been thinking if I just stop overdriving my tires they might last longer too ;D