Question on tires...

#1

Well I managed to cord my front left tire this last weekend at CMP…Many thanks the Jason and Evan for getting me back on track for the last session…:blush:

Looking at replacing it. The other three tires still seem to be ok, but am expecting more cords to show up at some point. Was thinking about getting 2 tires so I had a spare for the last event this year. Will pick up some more before driving next year…

Based on the fact that the tires currently in use are worn down, would it be ok to get two new ones full tread and run them on the front with two old ones on the back?

or

Shave the new ones down to try to match what will be on the car ( i.e. no tread blocks )

or

Shave partially and run them…

Looking for options on best course of action…

Will be getting more wheels and tires in the new year, so looking for current options…

Any input / advice would be appreciated…

#2

just get some used ra1s, that way everything will stay reasonably balanced. you’ll be at the nov event right? email me, i might have an option for you. jtower at gmail dot com.

#3

Shaved is faster but they don’t last as long. An exception to that is when it’s really hot out and then full tread tires can overheat.

Using tires with dissimilar anything is ok as long as you’re comfortable handling dissimilar tire characteristics.

In the daily driver world a tire shop would be aghast at a person running different make tires because of their different characteristics. But for someone pretty experienced on the track, different amounts of traction at each corner is kind of business as usual. Most of us are running tires until they cord, at least those that are doing DE’s and track days. And a corded tire is certainly a bit low on traction. You just have to adjust to the changing traction conditions.

So mix and match tires as much as you want. Run your tires until they cord and then toss them. It’s a matter of what you are comfortable with.

#4

Thanks for the replies…

#5

At the last TT at RA, I mixed the survivors of two separate 4 tire sets (each set had at least one corded tire). Two R888s on the left, and two RA-1s on the right. Worked great, but I’m salivating over my upcoming purchase of some shaved RA-1s. I’ve never had shaved tires before, and I can’t wait to see how they feel.