Tire tread, how slick can you go, on a city road? | FerrariChat

Tire tread, how slick can you go, on a city road?

Discussion in 'Other Off Topic Forum' started by 62 250 GTO, Feb 1, 2004.

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  1. 62 250 GTO

    62 250 GTO F1 Veteran

    Jan 9, 2004
    7,765
    Nova Scotia Canada
    Full Name:
    Neil
    #1 62 250 GTO, Feb 1, 2004
    Last edited by a moderator: Sep 7, 2017
  2. Hubert

    Hubert F1 Rookie

    Jan 3, 2002
    2,642
    The Left Coast

    hooisers are molded at a dpet of 4/32 and are still street legal (DOT R rated tires). true slicks are at 0. problem with running hooisers on the street are many 1. don't warm up; 2. absurdly expensive; 3. you won't believe all the **** an r cmpd tire will pick up = lots of flats; and there's more. you can run a "lesser" r cmpd, if you like, as in, michelin pilot sport cup; pirelli p 0 corsa; yoko a032r, etc; also remember, that past 4/32 you can be charged with negligence (depending on where you live) if you're at fault for an accident.
     
  3. 62 250 GTO

    62 250 GTO F1 Veteran

    Jan 9, 2004
    7,765
    Nova Scotia Canada
    Full Name:
    Neil
    Wow you have the specs don't you? Thanks. With my tread right now {I really like how it looks} I already can't drive on gravell {the road surface, or just trucks dumping it at an intersection} sand is even worse, if that's possible. I drove onto a gravell driveway to a driving range and spun out driving in a a straight line! Nasty when I'm not on clean, flat and dry surfaces. And no I don't drive in the rain.
     
  4. PSk

    PSk F1 World Champ

    Nov 20, 2002
    17,673
    Tauranga, NZ
    Full Name:
    Pete
    Tyre looks fine to me ...

    It is all about throttle control and tyre temperature. If you run tyres nearly bald you have to understand that in the wet, etc. they will not grip well. Why?, well it is not so much the lack of tread, but more likely the fact the component is now harder and old and no longer nice and soft, thanks to many miles and thus heat cycles, etc.

    I remember a tyre guy telling me that tread on a tyre is the least important factor of a tyres performance, ie.:

    Number 1 is contruction of the tyre, ie. sidewall stiffness.
    Number 2 is compound.
    Number 3 is tread ... and that really only matter in the rain. (What does matter regarding tread though is the tread depth. If the tread depth is too deep, then the tyre might suffer from the tread bocks flexing too much. This happens with the Bridgestone RE71Rs, that simply have way to much tread (7mm deep) and too smaller tread block. The solution to make them work really good and last on the track is to machine 3mm of tread off. Been there and down that and then they are a really good tyre)

    He stated that most ads focus on tread because that is what you can see ... he found this laughable ...

    Have a look at an A008R Yokahama tyre ... fnck all tread and they stick fantastically. Infact the outer part of the tyre is a slick. The inner part has only 2 crooves, and the wet weather grip is okay if not brilliant, but perfectly safe if you can drive ;). They do aquaplane easily though :D Those tyres have incredibly stiff sideways that make them real hard to install on the wheel. They also are real soft compound wise and would not last long on the street. They are also OLD technology now ...

    I've raced in the rain with tyres that had less than 1mm of tread and the grip was very acceptable ... but these were NOT old tyres and thus still soft.

    I've also driven on the street (when very young .. ie. no money and having too much fun, etc.) on completely bald tyres in the rain, and I had lots of fun. Braking was the hardest part, but cornering was okay ... if you like going sideways ... but you really had to plan ahead :)

    Pete
     
  5. WFO_Racer

    WFO_Racer Karting

    Nov 5, 2003
    98
    Newport Beach Ca
    I run Hoosier slicks (on a S2000, my beater) here in Southern California most of the year. We have a short rainy season, so that helps. Haven't been stopped yet.
     
  6. Exotic_Car_Guy

    Exotic_Car_Guy Karting

    Apr 2, 2003
    214
    California, Carmel
    Full Name:
    Gil Lucero

    I ordered a replacement set of period-correct Michelin tires from Coker since the rear tires on my 68 Lamborghini Miura are almost slicks. The tires won't be here for a couple more days, but I decided to drive it anyway this morning to attend a Bay Area (CA) FChat gathering in Half Moon Bay. It started drizzling and the car was all over the place. Definitely would NOT recommend you run "slicks" on the street.

    Gil
     
  7. Exotic_Car_Guy

    Exotic_Car_Guy Karting

    Apr 2, 2003
    214
    California, Carmel
    Full Name:
    Gil Lucero
    Here's a closeup of my Miura tire...
     
  8. rudy

    rudy Formula Junior

    Jan 13, 2004
    363
    Los Angeles California
    Full Name:
    Rudy Hassen
    I used to have a 71 Mercury Capri with some kind of 4 cylinder engine and autobox back in Chicago. I remember have bald, and I mean BALD, Dunlop SP4 rear tires on that thing and having a ball driving it. It would oversteer at the slightest provocation. Much fun.
     
  9. 62 250 GTO

    62 250 GTO F1 Veteran

    Jan 9, 2004
    7,765
    Nova Scotia Canada
    Full Name:
    Neil
    I would just like to try the slicks, not keep them on. Buy having a tread that looks unique would be a plus. After reading this thread I have some thinking to do about replacing the tires and wheels.
     
  10. Mitch Alsup

    Mitch Alsup F1 Veteran

    Nov 4, 2003
    9,252
    If there is no water on the road, you can run full slicks (errrrrrr--that is you can run street legal tires that have no tread left on them). Sand (a couple of milimeters) is not an impediment to traction is the road is otherwise dry--that is treaded and non treaded tires will have similar traction.

    Water is the only requirement that mandates treads; although most people would not like the 'sound' of full slicks on dry roads.
     
  11. Horsefly

    Horsefly F1 Veteran

    May 14, 2002
    6,929
    Maybe not sports car related, but I bought a brand new set of tires for my GMC truck last Friday. The steel cord was just starting to appear in one place on the front tires. But the real problem was the overall fatigue of the body of the tire, not the tread wear. Within the past 2 weeks, the steering wheel had developed a slight shimmy back and forth that was very noticable. It wasn't constant but was becoming more frequent. I figured that the sidewalls of the tires were becoming flabby after thousands of miles and were becoming unstable. After the new tires, no shimmy, no unstability, no problems. Nothing. I wouldn't drive on crummy unstable tires any longer than I had to.
     

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