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More tyres!

Makes me cry reading this thread at my wastage. I used to buy new tyres every season for the 7, and then pay Demon Tweeks handsomely to ""buff" them. In other words they stuck them on a giant "tyre lathe" and scrubbed them down to 4mm :D
 
James said:
Is that the depth of rubber before the getting to the steel belts or depth of the cut tread? Most new tyres have only 7 or 8mm of the latter.
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Tread depth, on a daily driver changing before 3mm would be just wasteful but below 3mm and braking in wet conditions becomes compromised.

My reason for stating 4-5mm on a sports car was based on owning a TVR Griff 500HC in the past, that cat was very, very tail happy so I never scrimped on rubber.

I never had my 996 or my Z4 long enough to wear the tyres down to 4-5mm to see how they behaved but on 4mm my Griff wanted new tyres because it was loosing grip.
 
I had a 4.3 Chim pre cat a couple of years back Linn so know the ferocity at the rear end if provoked. However I reckon tread depth is only an issue for shifting water when it's wet. A soft compound tyre in the dry is happy with little tread.

Look at some modern performance tyres now, Avon in particular, also Yoko and Toyo, some of the offerings are what would have been deemed as "hand cut slicks" a few years back..........not the best in the wet though.
 
kennyh said:
I had a 4.3 Chim pre cat a couple of years back Linn so know the ferocity at the rear end if provoked. However I reckon tread depth is only an issue for shifting water when it's wet. A soft compound tyre in the dry is happy with little tread.

Look at some modern performance tyres now, Avon in particular, also Yoko and Toyo, some of the offerings are what would have been deemed as "hand cut slicks" a few years back..........not the best in the wet though.
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You may be right, it may have been the age of the tyre and the compound hardening as opposed to the tread depth causing it to get overly tail happy.

TVRs are never good in the wet regardless of what tyres they have on, I got caught out on the way back from a weekend at Santa pod once, the heavens opened. Twas a nervous drive, I had to be careful :D
 
kennyh said:
Don't mention that on the Griff forum in Pistonheads mate :D
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Lol, I wouldn't. It's harder then you think to get traction though. I had it for actual driving on hot summer days rather than setting drag and lap times, I doubt I ever took it near its true potential.
 
kennyh said:
I had a 4.3 Chim pre cat a couple of years back Linn so know the ferocity at the rear end if provoked. However I reckon tread depth is only an issue for shifting water when it's wet. A soft compound tyre in the dry is happy with little tread.

Look at some modern performance tyres now, Avon in particular, also Yoko and Toyo, some of the offerings are what would have been deemed as "hand cut slicks" a few years back..........not the best in the wet though.
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I've noticed on the Pirellis that when you get to around minimum legal tread depth there is a less grippy sub compound that can cause some excitement on a dry road. Take off the tyre and it shows as a lighter colour.
Not sure if all makes are the same.
 
Does anyone have an idea of what the best, softest rubber, high performance, tyres are these days? I ask because if I have to throw them away after 7-8 years but with still 5-6mm of tread it would make more sense to get faster-wearing tyres.
 
My shout would be Avon or Toyo, but whether you can get them in the size you require is another matter. Ask 3 people the question and they'll suggest 3 different makes though.
 
kennyh said:
My shout would be Avon or Toyo, but whether you can get them in the size you require is another matter. Ask 3 people the question and they'll suggest 3 different makes though.
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That's what I fear, but also desire, since not all will be available in 16inch size, these days.
 
Thanks, Kenny, very impressive-looking but I'd be afraid of even a few drops of rain, and Roma has lots of cobblestones!

It says:
MPORTANT: Caution is required in extreme wet conditions due to limited anti-aquaplaning capabilities. These tyres are not intended to be used as regular road driving tyres, and should not be used in any sort of cold/winter conditions.
 
Yes always a trade off. I've used the R888s on various vehicles and although they are not quite as horrific as the warning makes out they are not anywhere as good as a traditional all rounder for the wet.

It's just that I had a feeling yours was a "toy/hobby" car like mine and would not be used in all weathers and on a daily basis.

If it were then it's a no no anyway as they only last 5000 miles at most, if you're lucky.
 
kennyh said:
Yes always a trade off. I've used the R888s on various vehicles and although they are not quite as horrific as the warning makes out they are not anywhere as good as a traditional all rounder for the wet.

It's just that I had a feeling yours was a "toy/hobby" car like mine and would not be used in all weathers and on a daily basis.

If it were then it's a no no anyway as they only last 5000 miles at most, if you're lucky.
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Not an everyday driver, but it does get used in the rain. Traffic, supermarket, cobblestones. Even without the warning just looking at the picture frightened me.
 
Tyres like this teach you to be very smooth with your inputs on damp surfaces! My Fury runs on Yokohma A048s, which are fabulous in the dry, but in a car that weighs 500kg with me in it over cool damp surfaces - un-intentionally hilarious. In such a toy you get the changing condition and balanced telegraphed to you long before it's a problem. I'd not do it deliberately nor in anything less reactive.

Yoko A021s are the 'sticky' equivalents designed with some damp weather tolerance in mind, bit pointless on such an open car though.
 
In my Caterham owning days the one of choice was Yoko 048r (replaced the 032) for use on dry roads. Legal in the wet/winter but rather slippery. Yoko 021R was the rain equivalent - less grippy in the dry (still better than most tyres) and more an all rounder. Heavy wear rate too.

The Toyo shown above is the same sort of thing as an 048r, as are the Avon (CR 022?).

Tyres are often made with different compounds. I had some Bridgestones that were fairly conventional but the rubber once half worn was softer and grippier because the inner layers were softer. This was intentional and why Kenny talks about getting tyres shaved. It has long been known that if you take 2 identical new tyres and leave one as new but shave the other to 3mm the shaved one grips better in all other than standing water conditions. It's because the deeper tread squirms about more under load.

Cars of different weights need different tyres. Goodyear were known as Ditchfinders in the 7 owners' club as they just didn't work on a 500kg car. Twice that, sure. Your 911 will have an optimal choice for your usage but it won't be the same as a different car.
 
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