When tyres have plenty of tread but feel worn out?

[Wabbitkilla]

When tyres don't look like they're worn out, but "feel" like they're worn out.

Ok ok before anyone lambasts me, i was wondering..

I am wearing Toyo T1Rs, and although they've covered nearly 10,000miles the tread is still very good. But in the wet they're becoming pretty awful - especially in the corners, bad under steer is the order of the day.

So I guess i've had the best out of them and should replace?

After just seeing an RX7 (very nice it was too), head through some railings on a roundabout i was thinking that maybe i should get some new boots on the car.

[aaronjb]

It's entirely possible for tyres with tread to be knackered - heat cycles can change the physical properties of the rubber, as can old age, UV exposure etc..

Basically - if they feel knackered, they probably are  s;) s;)  


10,000 miles in how many years?

[Wabbitkilla]

Oh um, errrrr ... less than a year?  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:  

They were phenomenal in wet AND dry, but they now feel odd all the time - off to mytyres methinks

[kanujunkie]

10,000 miles  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  

your not trying hard enough there Nick! get out there and give it another go  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

never got more than 7k out of mine before they were bald as the wifes bum!

[aaronjb]

they were bald as the wifes bum!

That's both a really strange thing to say.. and a strange mental image to give me   s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:   s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

Anyway - I think I got about 10k out of the last set, and that included a track day  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:  They still felt fine at the end, though..

[kanujunkie]

silly q Nick but you havn't got something on them have you, diesel etc etc

[VVT-i]

When was the last time you checked your pressures?

You also say the tread is "still very good".. as a tyre fitter I hear this all the time, but on closer inspection the inside edge of the tyres have nothing on them.. so get your head right under those arches (back and front)

In your opinion, how good is very good..5mm left 3mm left? (8mm is on a new one.. 1.6 is legal limit).. if they are down to around 3mm they could cause problems in the wet, especially heavy rain. Give them a good once over, check the pressures.

[aaronjb]

Good point there - when I picked up a screw in my last set of rears I went in looking for a repair as I thought there was decent tread left (not a lot, but enough, I thought).

Turned out they were down to the wear indicators - not just on the shoulders, but all the way across  s:oops: :oops: s:oops:

I'm sure modern tread patterns are deceptive compared to old ones  s:? :? s:?

[Wabbitkilla]

Tread is a good 4 to 5mm.
Pressures are good (what i found to be good on these tyres)
No damage, and wear is even - except the very outer edges.

10K is actually pretty good for my usual driving, and there will be some people around here who can vouch that i do like my corners  s:wink: :wink: s:wink:  

So i've ordered a fresh set and will see how they play out.

[enid_b]

nick,

for me this car is a confidence thing.  its all about the feel.

if it does not feel right, you will not be confident.  if you are not confident, you may get caught out. or it will just dampen your driving pleasure.

personally, if you are ok for loot, i would change them. by changing them, you can only improve things, and that is good.

J

[ChrisGB]

While it is possible that the compound has hardened up with heat cycles and storage (parking in the sun does tyres no favours either) is it possible that the roads are a bit greasy? If there is a spell of hot weather followed by light rain, it can seem the tyres are shot when in fact it is just the road surface contaminants.

Chris

[Wabbitkilla]

Nah, they've been a bit tetchy in wet and dry for the last few drives - not exactly confidence inspiring.

I'll change all 4 and work it out from there. At least i'll have a good indication of when to change tyres in future if it is the tyres.

Alignment was recently checked and setup, so if new tyres don't fix it i'll head off to DemonTweeks for a check.

Thanks for your input guys - always appreciated.
At least i haven't stuffed it into a fence unlike that RX7 i witnessed today.  s:shock: :shock: s:shock:

[enid_b]

odd that it has developed understeer though nick?  i trust you are going for toyos again?

was chatting to gaz and others at anglesey.  my tyres were put on before i got the 2, and i have covered over 18 thousand miles in them.  they still look the same as the day i got them, and im no slouch too.

perhaps im not driving hard enough.

BTW im still on bridgestones.

E

[Wabbitkilla]

Yep - going for Toyos again - i love 'em, and at that price i don't mind changing them twice as often as the bridges.

TBH on previous cars i've worn out P6000's in 12000 miles so they've done well for such a soft tyre. Then one of the guys at work said "You're not supposed to drive a Bora like a rally car" - to me if it handles, it's meant to be driven  s:twisted: :twisted: s:twisted:

[Chris_h]

You will probably get a few quid for your old ones on Ebay.

I have found this before on other cars that I have enjoyed (i.e. ragged).  A new set of tyres (of the same type)  seems to offer tremendous dry grip. Must be something to do with heatcycles, ruuber degredations etc etc.

So you don't fancy guinea pigging the Falkens then Nic?

[ChrisGB]

Thinking a bit more on this, if the tyres are rounded off on the shoulders, as the corner load builds up and the sidewall starts to deform, in the wet, the part of the contact patch doing most work has least tread, so the car will grip up to a level, then seem to let go with little progression.

In the dry, the rounded shoulders again affect the contact patch loading and the bit doing most work is well worn although the rest of the tyre is OK.

Chris

[VVT-i]

Thinking a bit more on this, if the tyres are rounded off on the shoulders, as the corner load builds up and the sidewall starts to deform, in the wet, the part of the contact patch doing most work has least tread, so the car will grip up to a level, then seem to let go with little progression.

In the dry, the rounded shoulders again affect the contact patch loading and the bit doing most work is well worn although the rest of the tyre is OK.

Chris

Exactly... during cornering the sidewalls get deformed because the weight of the car shifts and the body rolls, the result is wear on the outer edges. The passenger side wears quicker too, this is because we turn right more often than we turn left.. roundabouts.. A way of prolonging the life is to swap them over left to right. (tyres will need turned on the rims if they are directional)

Uprated anti-roll bars can also help prevent this as they greatly reduce the body roll.

[Wabbitkilla]

Food for thought guys, i think we've come to an answer here.

So my next mod is uprated anti roll bars, droplinks, and member braces?  s:lol: :lol: s:lol:

[davidhowson]

I uprated the drop links (same as FGRob) from twosrus.com and found that a very good value mod. Certainly helped stop the roll when fitted with the tein sprins.

[Wabbitkilla]

Hmmmm - might be interested in these.

Any issues with fitting them - i spotted on their website someone saying they were SAE sized?

[davidhowson]

The only fitting issue was with the fitter (me)! I had to grind off one of the old nuts as it was so badly rusted - not the prettiest bit of precision engineering I've ever done! But other than that and the fact the new harder bushes creaked for a week or so, they fitted fine.
I also fitted the corky's and front upper and lower braces and rear lower braces at the same time and the package is such an improvement.

[VVT-i]

I got whiteline Automotive to do both my bars and droplinks.. really good value mod.. I paid about 500 in all fully fitted.

 m http://www.mr2roc.org/phpBB2/viewtopic. ... =whiteline m

[enid_b]

have you robbed a bank? did you bang your head? did all spit's teasing make you cave in?

you have gone mod crazy my dear chap,

GOOD WORK !

lol.

J

[Chris_h]

The floodgates have opened for Wabbitkilla, the bank balance will never be the same again...

Those droplinks sound like a nice easy DIY mod.

[kanujunkie]

Those droplinks sound like a nice easy DIY mod.

you'd think so wouldn't you  s:? :? s:?  

mine old ones came out with an angle grinder only  s:( s:(