Legal, borderline or illegal tyre?
- Thread starter duckson
- Start date
Liverpool
Soon as my tax return check comes in....it's been oddly missing....now, i'm no tyre engineer but.. whilst you would think that old tyres that are worn down to slicks would give better grip on a dry track surface as they have more surface area touching the tarmac. I was told due to the number of heat cycles the tyres have gone through the rubber becomes harder and hence old tyres have less grip so not the best to use on track.
I can see the theory, It does seem to be the case that old tyres are less grippy as they get old, but can anyone confirm?
I can see the theory, It does seem to be the case that old tyres are less grippy as they get old, but can anyone confirm?
Old tyres do go crap, so for optimum road performance (stopping, wet weather, limit behaviour etc) best to be not into the wear bars.
But for a jolly around a track where you don't need to worry as much about the above, good place to wear them off and have fun
Personally I'd run them another month/1000 miles tops. If you get caught out in heavy rain they will be a liability so take it steady
Dave
But for a jolly around a track where you don't need to worry as much about the above, good place to wear them off and have fun
Personally I'd run them another month/1000 miles tops. If you get caught out in heavy rain they will be a liability so take it steady
Dave
Well, here's a picture of my rear tyre (both were very similar), that illustrates the effect of negative camber on a tyre. The inner is just on the wear indicator, but I knew that, as I could feel the loss of grip when driving and knew how close it was from weekly tyre checks. Didn't spot that gouge in the tyre until it came off in the tyre fitter's though - but it was superficial anyway and only went down 3mm.
It was also very noticably more keen to oversteer with the tyres in this condition.
5,000 miles including 2 track days and a few fast 200+ mile blasts will do that to a tyre, although I'm sure the Conti M3 tyres are quite soft too
It was also very noticably more keen to oversteer with the tyres in this condition.
5,000 miles including 2 track days and a few fast 200+ mile blasts will do that to a tyre, although I'm sure the Conti M3 tyres are quite soft too
Had my 2 rears changed today, stuck with the OEM Contisport M3 255x40x18 in the end.
The chap i have to change my tyres is an ex-BMW tyre fitter who has gone mobile and does a wide variety of cars now (inc. Lambo's, Bentleys etc), if your in the North West I cant recommend Leigh enough, he's a mobile fitter so no hassle, good prices and cares for your car and rims.
http://www.tyres2younorthwest.com/
He said the inner wear is 100% normal, they run negative camber from the factory and hence the wear due to the setup....I believe him due to his background and how many cars he now sees a week!
He also advised against getting it dialled out thus making it outside BMW settings as it can ruin the handling of the car, he knows someone who did this!
I'll still give the car a 4 wheel Geometry check to make sure everything is pointing where it should and as BMW intended.
The chap i have to change my tyres is an ex-BMW tyre fitter who has gone mobile and does a wide variety of cars now (inc. Lambo's, Bentleys etc), if your in the North West I cant recommend Leigh enough, he's a mobile fitter so no hassle, good prices and cares for your car and rims.
http://www.tyres2younorthwest.com/
He said the inner wear is 100% normal, they run negative camber from the factory and hence the wear due to the setup....I believe him due to his background and how many cars he now sees a week!
He also advised against getting it dialled out thus making it outside BMW settings as it can ruin the handling of the car, he knows someone who did this!
I'll still give the car a 4 wheel Geometry check to make sure everything is pointing where it should and as BMW intended.