how long (in time) before road 1a tyres go off
Discussion
I'm restricted to using 1a tyres and need a new set to go faster. I only do 4 sprints per year so they don't wear out for years. In fact I'm struggling to wear out the old ones the car came with!
My experience from previous cars is that road tyres loose grip before the treed is worn out. So would they loose grip over time, even parked in the garage? If so how long? Is it a continuous and consistent drop off or do they loose a lot early on then stabilise?
thanks
My experience from previous cars is that road tyres loose grip before the treed is worn out. So would they loose grip over time, even parked in the garage? If so how long? Is it a continuous and consistent drop off or do they loose a lot early on then stabilise?
thanks
If you can store them off the car and protect them from extremes of temperature and humidity and UVA/B exposure, they will deteriorate very slowly and in a linear fashion IMO. What will turn them into plastic will be the heat cycles. When I ran 1As (circuit racing) I used to have them scrubbed down to ~4-5mm as that is where the best performance was- if you used them in the dry with full tread they'd overheat and by the time I'd worn them down to 5mm they were well past their best (revealed by the fingernail test).
for sprinting tyres are critical - you cant win without good rubber. I try and have a new set each year which I reckon are worth 0.5 second on a 60 second run. that's on 1B tyres but 1A will degrade at the same rate. The older the tyre the less grip you will have so I guess the real question is how competitive is your class and where do you want to be at the finish..
Thanks for all the replies.
Skimming is an interesting option. It has also been suggested to me that getting the rubber moving about is a good idea as it generates heat on such short runs. Some people run pressures low to achieve this.
I don't want to be near the front so much that I spend £600 per season on tyres for the 3 or 4 events I do - its just a bit of fun. And I'm not consistent enough for the tyres to be the only limiting factor.
But I do want to time my purchase right - ie new tyres just before the first event.
Jesfirth - do you have yours skimmed?
Skimming is an interesting option. It has also been suggested to me that getting the rubber moving about is a good idea as it generates heat on such short runs. Some people run pressures low to achieve this.
I don't want to be near the front so much that I spend £600 per season on tyres for the 3 or 4 events I do - its just a bit of fun. And I'm not consistent enough for the tyres to be the only limiting factor.
But I do want to time my purchase right - ie new tyres just before the first event.
Jesfirth - do you have yours skimmed?
Again, thanks for the replies.
I assume driving on the road at normal road speeds would still count as a heat cycle.
Assuming it does then, even though my car is only used occasionally, I would be loosing grip every time unless I have a separate set of wheels and tyres just for sprinting. I had this on my previous car and felt like a bit of a faff at my level of competition*. Also, although my tyres would last for years if only doing 4 events per year and then being stored off the car, after 3 years there would probably be better options anyway! On the other hand half a second per minute is an age. I've both won and lost my class on a lot less.
I assume driving on the road at normal road speeds would still count as a heat cycle.
Assuming it does then, even though my car is only used occasionally, I would be loosing grip every time unless I have a separate set of wheels and tyres just for sprinting. I had this on my previous car and felt like a bit of a faff at my level of competition*. Also, although my tyres would last for years if only doing 4 events per year and then being stored off the car, after 3 years there would probably be better options anyway! On the other hand half a second per minute is an age. I've both won and lost my class on a lot less.
- though I liked having the competition wheels visible on a rack in the garage as it cheered me up every time I came home.
Again, thanks for the replies.
I assume driving on the road at normal road speeds would still count as a heat cycle.
Assuming it does then, even though my car is only used occasionally, I would be loosing grip every time unless I have a separate set of wheels and tyres just for sprinting. I had this on my previous car and felt like a bit of a faff at my level of competition*. Also, although my tyres would last for years if only doing 4 events per year and then being stored off the car, after 3 years there would probably be better options anyway! On the other hand half a second per minute is an age. I've both won and lost my class on a lot less.
I assume driving on the road at normal road speeds would still count as a heat cycle.
Assuming it does then, even though my car is only used occasionally, I would be loosing grip every time unless I have a separate set of wheels and tyres just for sprinting. I had this on my previous car and felt like a bit of a faff at my level of competition*. Also, although my tyres would last for years if only doing 4 events per year and then being stored off the car, after 3 years there would probably be better options anyway! On the other hand half a second per minute is an age. I've both won and lost my class on a lot less.
- though I liked having the competition wheels visible on a rack in the garage as it cheered me up every time I came home.
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