Question about tires!

[Beeasti]

Please forgive my ignorance on tires as I am new to (my most favorite thing in the in life to do) "AUTOCROSS"!!!:D :D

1) Has anyone ran the Yokohama A0302R's before?

I am comparing them to the Kumho 710's. Seems like they may not handle quite as good but may last a lot longer? Yokohama also talks about being able to "turn the tires inside out" and running them longer? Is that possible?

2) Also, what the heck is Heat cycling? Do I need it?

Thanks in advance for your input!

[cshodges]

No, I haven't run Yokohama's. I can take a stab at your other questions.

You can flip (turn inside out) any tire for racing purposes. It's just remounting the tire on the wheel in the opposite direction, so the inner sidewall is now facing away from the car. In autocross, you corner hard and eat up the outside edge of the tires faster than the rest, so flipping the tire exposes the opposite edge of the tire to the outside, and makes the whole tire last longer.

It doesn't even matter if the tire is "directional" -- directional tires are generally only that way for rain. Running them "backwards" on dry asphault doesn't affect them. Now, asymmetrical tires are a different story, as they're different on the inside and outside edges, but a bunch of us flip them anyway to extend their life. Now, if we're talking about your street tires and they're directional, I wouldn't run them backwards -- you'd have an increased chance of hydroplaning if you got caught in the rain with them like that.

Heat cycling is getting the tire up to operating temperature and then letting it cool back down for at least 24 hours, off the car. The short version is it helps extend the life of the tire, if you want technical details, look here: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=66

You can heat cycle your tires one of two ways: 1) pay for it, 2) drive on the tires for about 20 minutes, then take them off the car and stack them up for 24 hours minimum.

[MX5bob]

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You can heat cycle your tires one of two ways: 1) pay for it, 2) drive on the tires for about 20 minutes, then take them off the car and stack them up for 24 hours minimum.


Scott forgot one word in the DIY method: drve them HARD for about 20 minutes. Some say there's almost no way to get the tire hot enough with this method, but if it's summer in Fontana ... :D

[Beeasti]

:o I guess this is the chance you take asking question on the forum! Now everyone can see how silly I was thinking. When they said you can turn the tires inside out...I'm trying to imagine really turning them inside out!!

Thanks for clearing that one up for me. Hey, so if you don't heat cycle the tires, do you get significantly less wear?

[MX5bob]

Interestingly enough, with the 710s most folks are doing their best to get them warm, like 6 runs at a practice day, and then putting them up for 24 hours. 710s are at their best for the first 20 or so runs. Still pretty damn good for the next 30 and then the decline really starts.

Don't know about the Yokos in that regard. But people do run them, somebody should chime in soon.

[Beeasti]

Thanks for this info...you see, getting numbers like (30 runs and then the 710's start to decline) is really good for me to know, cause I was hoping to get a whole season out of 1 set of tires. If I can do 10-12 runs per practice day, I'll eat those up quick. Looks like you need "Practice day" tires AND race day tires!

Thanks for the guidelines on the Kumho's...Still wondering on the life of the Yoko's.

Just out of curiousity, what kind of tires are you guys running?

[barkingspyder]

I run the cheap tires. ;) Grass Roots Motorsports did a R compound test a few issues back. They like the Yoks for a driver who is just starting out on race rubber or for someone who is out more for fun than anything else.

[MX5bob]

I run the 710s. I've run 2 different Hoosiers, the S04s and S05s, neither of which was as good as the Kumho in several respects. Before that I ran the Victoracers, which aren't really well suited to autocross for a couple of reasons. Less grip, very stiff sidewall and carcass, which makes them easier to flat-spot.

You could run a good street tire for practice, like the Kumho MX or the Falken Azenis Sport 615, and use the 710s for championships. But, that might not be that much cheaper then just figuring on a couple of sets of 710s for the season. Keep in mind there drivers using 710s with 60-70 runs on them. It's those drivers running national tours and pro solos who are really picky about how new the tires are.

[Beeasti]

Good Point. I guess the definition of worn out tires is relitive. Besides, I have a ton of fun sliding around!

Having a couple of sets of tires is a great idea but now we get into the rim factor. As it is, I'm trying to find a set of ZR1 (17x11) rims to mount these tires I've been talking about.

Anyone know of someone selliing any ZR1 rims ?

[cshodges]

Yeah, I'm running the Victoracers. I've put quite a few fun laps on them. I could tell last weekend that they've started to decline. However, I'm on a bit of a budget too, and I'll be running them until they cord.

I have heard that the Toyo and Yokohama tires do last longer than other tires, though they don't grip quite as well. Of course, any race tire will be better than the best summer tire.