Competition tires question.

[swegyptian]

Hey Kyle,

I was curious about getting some of the DOT approved competition tires for my car, although I don't race it regularly. I am not worried about the tread wear, but I do have other concerns. How do these tires do if they are left on the car year round? Will they get permanent flat spots from sitting for winter, or maybe even just being allowed to cool after a spirted drive? Even if I took them off the car, would they need to be stored at warmer temperatures than my non attached garage? It gets plenty chilly here in central Illinois.

Thanks,

Alex

[Tommy]

Real comp tires arent really good for street use, they wear out incredibly fast, any moisture on the road and they're useless, and theyre damn near close to racing slicks, less than probably 500 miles on the street.

I would go for something that is above a high end summer tire, but below a good set of track tires, Something like 100-150 UTQG, youll get a few thousand miles out of them, theyre a little more durable, as in, will stand up to sitting on a car.

My last set was some Falken Azenis Sport RT-215's, they were hella sticky for every day driving, not awesome on the autox circuit, but not bad either. They're not nearly as sticky as say Kuhmo Victoracers, but not as dangerous for street driving either They stayed on the car all the time, didnt take them off. Still scary on a wet road (and i mean any level of wetness, driving through a road hit with a sprinkler was scary above 35mph and you go sliding, but vs Victoracers, where you cant even look at water without spinning

When storing them for the winter, although i didnt, i was recommened to get some tire bags, keep them from drying out, that type of thing.

[swegyptian]

That's why I was asking about the DOT ones. And I don't care about wet traction in the least.

[Tommy]

all those comp tires are DOT approved, why would i recommend a set of tires that werent DOT approved when you specifically ask for a street usable tire?

[DarkMastyr]

Gonna tear it up on the streets of Champaign with that shit? lol.

I've heard good things about Toyo RA-1, shaved. Might also look into Falken RT-615's. Also try Nitto NT01's.

[swegyptian]

Originally Posted by Tommy

all those comp tires are DOT approved, why would i recommend a set of tires that werent DOT approved when you specifically ask for a street usable tire?

Sorry, I misread your post. But I really need to know about leaving these tires in cold weather, and also if they will permanently flatspot if I park the car when they are warm. My S-02s flatspot when it is cold outside, but it goes away as soon as the tires warm up.

[Tommy]

Well, like I said, I left my Falken RT-215's on year round, never had a problem, they're a little harder than a lot of comp tires, and we dont get much snow or anything here. My car sat under a car cover in a car port during the winter months, and only got driven on weekends, had those tires for about a year, never noticed any flat spots.

Specifically on other tires, I have no idea, although i was recommened to take them off during the off season, so thats probably why - and if you arent going to drive the car at all, then you might as well.

Ive used Victoracer's and the Falken 215's, the Victoracers were a lot softer, but they only saw track time - as most people's comp tires do, I dont think i would trust leaving those on all the time.

Maybe check out some auto-x forums and ask those guys what they do, i knew of a couple of people who would use their track car as a daily driver, and use the same tires for street and track.

[swegyptian]

Well, I figured that I could just ask the tirerack guys. Their main location is in a climate similar to mine, and I wanted their opinion.

[Tommy]

guy doesnt seem to be doing a good job at checking the forum, just taking up a lot of space on the main page with that stupid advertisement next to the forum link....

oh what TN has become

edit- i take that back, check out the sticky at the top of the page, Kyle said he'd be out till the 30th, but leaves a number to call if you have any questions that need to be answered.

[kyle@tirerack]

Sorry for the delay in response as I was out for a few days. While you can certainly use them on the street, most of the competition tires are not intended or recommended for street use. There are a few that are better suited for dual purpose such as the Michlelin Pilot Sport Cup or the Yokohama Advan A048. The main concern is that the tires are very fragile and the sticky compounds will tend to pick up road debris. Potholes and punctures will be harder for the competition tires to handle than say a max performance summer tire. It is unlikely(but not impossible) that the tires will form permanent flat spots, but we usually recommend storing them off the vehicle in a cool and dry place. Feel free to contact me directly to discuss the details and sizes you are using.

[swegyptian]

Thanks, I'll give you a buzz when the time comes.

[Tommy]

Originally Posted by kyle@tirerack

Sorry for the delay in response as I was out for a few days. While you can certainly use them on the street, most of the competition tires are not intended or recommended for street use. There are a few that are better suited for dual purpose such as the Michlelin Pilot Sport Cup or the Yokohama Advan A048. The main concern is that the tires are very fragile and the sticky compounds will tend to pick up road debris. Potholes and punctures will be harder for the competition tires to handle than say a max performance summer tire. It is unlikely(but not impossible) that the tires will form permanent flat spots, but we usually recommend storing them off the vehicle in a cool and dry place. Feel free to contact me directly to discuss the details and sizes you are using.

lol, got any job openings? thats the same thing i said a few days ago