FireChicken
11 Secret Herbs & Spices
Member # 2067
posted
If you had tires that were beginning to wear down, what type of driving symptoms might you expect? increased fishtailing? increased braking distance?
Posts: 686 | From: Texas: Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck! | Registered: Aug 2003
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-------------------- 1968 Chevrolet Camaro Coupe RS/SS 350 - Quasar Blue, LOADED and just happens to be my pride and joy. 2002 BMW 540i 6-speed - Jet Black, nicely optioned (Daily Driver) 2000 BMW 323i 5-speed - Titanium Silver, nicely optioned (Wifes car)
posted
Drive on them till the belts show then wreck your car in a rainstorm and come on here begging for pity. Posts: 210 | From: Budd Lake, NJ | Registered: Apr 2003
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quote:Originally posted by 35th6spd: Hydroplaning on wet roads, loss of traction on hard exceleration, squealing on turns
the best answer by far so far
actually. lets disect this thing:
1. by "wear down"..do you mean the tread rubber only? if so, here's the answer: a. loss of wet traction. (and hyudroplanning) b. increased chance of flat tires due to foriegn objects puncturing the tread surface (the tread blocks help to keep objects from angles needed to enter the surface). c. dry traction will be better, UNLESS..your rear tires are worn down because of excessive spin..then the tread rubber compounds ShoreA number will be higher..(rubber hardness)..then you will lose traction. d. loss of air, road noise (is worse with more tread, not less), squirley handling.....will not be an issue.....
unless...
2. the tires have been run underinflated periodically...alowing "overflexing" of the cord body and excessive "river" movement of the belt package... then.. a. cornering stability will be less, the cord body and crown edge wedges wont hold the tread surface and belt package stable enough and you will get "tread shoulder roll over"..thats where the tread shoulder "tucks" under on hard corners and you lose cornering stabiltiy and traction. b. the tires inner linner will become more porus from being underinflated and cord body structure flex...you could "bleed" more air then. (inner liners are not totally non porus..even on new tires...all tires lose air over time...thats why air pressure should be checked at least once every 2 weeks..especially with temp. changes). c. the tires will track in a "river pattern" at higher speeds...directional changes at these speeds will not be as stable as the cord body is unable to stabilize the footprint of the belt package/tread surface.
hope this helps.......
-------------------- 1997 SLP Cars: Mine - Comp T/A #139 (sold and gone) Mine now - Firehawk #132 (For Sale - maybe, but maybe not......) 2003 Envoy - Loaded (hers) 2004 Envoy - Loaded (mine)
quote:Originally posted by KenC: road noise (is worse with more tread, not less
Hmmmmmmmm....strange, I've always noticed that the tires are quieter when new. I must be insane....
Posts: 700 | From: Fighting the Nazis of the world..... | Registered: Jul 2002
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quote:Originally posted by KenC: ever ride in a 4x4 with new mud tires?
Yup...noisy as hell. But I'm not making this up, I just put new tires on my wifes car and its quieter.
....and no, I've always known I was insane...
musta been all those nails and foriegn objects stuck in the tread making the racket then......
seriously, the tread blocks, traction grooves, siping, all that stuff, adds to road noise from the contact patch......the smoother the tread is..the less the noise...... but...i dunno what to tell ya
-------------------- 1997 SLP Cars: Mine - Comp T/A #139 (sold and gone) Mine now - Firehawk #132 (For Sale - maybe, but maybe not......) 2003 Envoy - Loaded (hers) 2004 Envoy - Loaded (mine)
quote:Originally posted by FireChicken: If you had tires that were beginning to wear down, what type of driving symptoms might you expect? increased fishtailing? increased braking distance?
Good question! If you are driving on Firehawk SZ50 EPs, the answer is, "there is no difference in the behavior characteristics of these tires as they wear down!" (believe it or not!) I am just finishing off my 2nd set of these shoes, and although I must truthfully admit that they are not the longest lasting tire in the world, they DO maintain their exceptional handling and wet weather traction right up until the tread is worn down PAST the wear indicator bars! I got 20,000 KM on my 1st set and I'm now past 30,000 KM on this set. (see - I'm becoming a smoother driver). I use them for lapping days on road courses as well as for autoX events and at the dragstrip. On the other hand, I have 35,000 KM on a set of H-rated, all-season tires that are on my supercharged '97 Bonneville. They are 3 yrs. old, and looking at them, you would think they are brand new, but I'm gonna pitch them very soon, because I am compromising everybody's safety by driving on them. These things have turned into hockey pucks and have noticeably diminished traction in the wet and snow since last winter (as evidenced in the last few days ). seems like every time I hit the brakes on these tires, the ABS kicks in because the tires have absolutely no traction anymore!!
quote:Originally posted by FireChicken: If you had tires that were beginning to wear down, what type of driving symptoms might you expect? increased fishtailing? increased braking distance?
Good question! If you are driving on Firehawk SZ50 EPs, the answer is, "there is no difference in the behavior characteristics of these tires as they wear down!" (believe it or not!) I am just finishing off my 2nd set of these shoes, and although I must truthfully admit that they are not the longest lasting tire in the world, they DO maintain their exceptional handling and wet weather traction right up until the tread is worn down PAST the wear indicator bars! I got 20,000 KM on my 1st set and I'm now past 30,000 KM on this set. (see - I'm becoming a smoother driver). I use them for lapping days on road courses as well as for autoX events and at the dragstrip. On the other hand, I have 35,000 KM on a set of H-rated, all-season tires that are on my supercharged '97 Bonneville. They are 3 yrs. old, and looking at them, you would think they are brand new, but I'm gonna pitch them very soon, because I am compromising everybody's safety by driving on them. These things have turned into hockey pucks and have noticeably diminished traction in the wet and snow since last winter (as evidenced in the last few days ). seems like every time I hit the brakes on these tires, the ABS kicks in because the tires have absolutely no traction anymore!!
Best regardSS,
Elie
Elie...your tread compound has hardend on the bonnie tires.. age+braking and acceleration. the Goodyear Gatorbacks had the worst rep for this. shave a few mills on hard driving and it was like driving on the flintstones car tires. if you know somebody with a Shore A durometer..have em check the tread compound hardness. i have one.....but you'd have to buy my plane ticket and motel......LOL
-------------------- 1997 SLP Cars: Mine - Comp T/A #139 (sold and gone) Mine now - Firehawk #132 (For Sale - maybe, but maybe not......) 2003 Envoy - Loaded (hers) 2004 Envoy - Loaded (mine)
posted
The EPs compound does stay constant all the way to the casing[like the S02 and S03] as compared to the non EPs that had 35/40% very sticky tread thickness but dropped off dramatically once past that compound.
There is a big drop off in rain handling once you get to less than 8/32s,if you know this you can adjust your driving to them.
I have been running SZ50s and SZ50EPs for the past 5 years for Firestone,they are pretty terrific tires.
Elie...your tread compound has hardend on the bonnie tires.. the Goodyear Gatorbacks had the worst rep for this. [/QB][/QUOTE]
They've hardened up bigtime, that's for sure! ... and I remember having to deal with the Gatorbacks on my '85 Mustang GT ragtop as well! One second's loss off focus (especially in the wet) and you be in the ditch somewhere! I once tried to drive that sucker in the snow with the Gatorbacks - I'm too embarassed to describe that fiasco!
posted
I've noticed increased traction on the rear tires of my S10 since the steel belts have started wearing thru the outside shoulder of the tire. I think the metal wires are getting better grip into the asphalt when the tires roll out onto the shoulder in turns. I can't wait until the wires are sticking through all the way across, it'll be just like having chains on all the time just in time for winter!! D&R from Ken
BTW, new tires are in the budget for the 1st paycheck in Dec. I only put about 4000 miles a year on the little S10 anymore.
Posts: 49 | From: Atlanta GA | Registered: Aug 2003
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posted
I know what your going through. I just bought a new set of kdw's and they are sitting down at the tire shop to be mounted on my rims as soon as I get them off my car. I knew the time was comming, and ouch, my pockets are empty now.
Good Luck.
-------------------- Brian
2001 red SS Convertible #5479 out of 6332 CME, Grill, Chrome 10 spoke, Dash plaque, Cover Absolute Speed 5.3L stg. 2 heads, comp 978 dual springs, ti retainers, AS ported ls6 intake, AS ported 78mm TB, TR224/.564 114lsa, TTS headers,gmmg exhaust,and more.... 409/382 rwhp/rwtq tuned Posts: 216 | From: Western NC | Registered: Apr 2002
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posted
oh, and to answer your question, you should experience tire smoking burnouts do the the slight remaing tread that remains so that you get every penny out of them. And while your at it, take some pics
-------------------- Brian
2001 red SS Convertible #5479 out of 6332 CME, Grill, Chrome 10 spoke, Dash plaque, Cover Absolute Speed 5.3L stg. 2 heads, comp 978 dual springs, ti retainers, AS ported ls6 intake, AS ported 78mm TB, TR224/.564 114lsa, TTS headers,gmmg exhaust,and more.... 409/382 rwhp/rwtq tuned Posts: 216 | From: Western NC | Registered: Apr 2002
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quote:Originally posted by mikerc: I've noticed increased traction on the rear tires of my S10 since the steel belts have started wearing thru the outside shoulder of the tire. I think the metal wires are getting better grip into the asphalt when the tires roll out onto the shoulder in turns. I can't wait until the wires are sticking through all the way across, it'll be just like having chains on all the time just in time for winter!! D&R from Ken
BTW, new tires are in the budget for the 1st paycheck in Dec. I only put about 4000 miles a year on the little S10 anymore.
get em off there!!!!!!!!!!!
-------------------- 1997 SLP Cars: Mine - Comp T/A #139 (sold and gone) Mine now - Firehawk #132 (For Sale - maybe, but maybe not......) 2003 Envoy - Loaded (hers) 2004 Envoy - Loaded (mine)
"Only the mountain has lived long enough to listen objectively to the howl of a wolf." Aldo Leopold
Posts: 3711 | From: Stafford, VA USA | Registered: Feb 2000
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FireChicken
11 Secret Herbs & Spices
Member # 2067
posted
I dont have any belts showing, but i have about 57K on my factory tires, so Im planning to change them out over christmas. I have been getting some slight loss of control in wet weather, and a few of the other things you guys mentioned, just wanted to be sure.
Id show a picture of my tiretread, but Im sure it would warrant a whuppin from our resident Lon Chaney, so..
Posts: 686 | From: Texas: Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck! | Registered: Aug 2003
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). seems like every time I hit the brakes on these tires, the ABS kicks in because the tires have absolutely no traction anymore!! ![[Frown]](frown.gif)
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