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question: race tire wear

Old Aug 12, 2006 | 08:46 PM
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Default question: race tire wear

Hello,
I have a question regarding race tires

I used to have 245/40/17 front and 275/40/17 rear and the car understeer quite a bit and the rear tires didn't wear out much.

Then today I switched to 275/40/17 all around and the car feels very neutral with little oversteer (pretty good!) but the rear tires seems to wear out faster than the front now

Is that a good sign? which tire (front or rear) should wear out faster? What are your settings for front and rear suspension? I'm thinking whether i should stiffen up the front (or soften the rear) to reduce the oversteer and tire wear for the rear

Thanks and input would be nice
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Old Aug 12, 2006 | 09:12 PM
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now that you have 275's all around, just rotate the tires to distribute the tire wear. I'd go for even tire wear -->all 4 wheels working the same amount, car handleing is neutral...in the end, it depends on how you like your car to handle. From what I've seen, autoX ppl like 275's all around b/c it helps with turn-in and being able to rotate the car, but track ppl tend to get 245/255 fronts and 275 rear to prevent too much oversteer...getting tail-happy going 80MPH can make your heart hit your throat.
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Old Aug 13, 2006 | 04:33 AM
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I autocrossed in stock class for a couple of years and never had the rears wear out faster than the front. In that class though I had 275 all around I could not rotate rear to front because of the rules governing stock class.(different size wheels cannot be rotated in stock class and be legal).

In fact I would say that because I could not rotate the rears to the front I had a 2 to 1 ratio of wear. The fronts wearing out twice as fast as the rears.
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Old Aug 13, 2006 | 08:08 AM
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Originally Posted by M23
Hello,
I have a question regarding race tires

I used to have 245/40/17 front and 275/40/17 rear and the car understeer quite a bit and the rear tires didn't wear out much.

Then today I switched to 275/40/17 all around and the car feels very neutral with little oversteer (pretty good!) but the rear tires seems to wear out faster than the front now

Is that a good sign? which tire (front or rear) should wear out faster? What are your settings for front and rear suspension? I'm thinking whether i should stiffen up the front (or soften the rear) to reduce the oversteer and tire wear for the rear

Thanks and input would be nice
I wore out my fronts quicker when I had the 245/275 stagger on street tires. But I also took later apexes, and rarely could get a drift on exit. It oversteered at corner entry, mid corner, and corner exit. The only way I could induce oversteer was to lift the throttle at mid-corner.

Then I swapped to 265 (r-comps) all around, I also changed my driving style. I took earlier apexes, and could put the car on a nice drift on exit. Now my rear tires are wearing out quicker. With all these parameter changes happening all at once, I can't really say whether it was driving style, tire type, or tire stagger, or all of the above. So, I guess I've been of no help, except to say that I'm experiencing the same type of wear before and after changing tire widths as you do.
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Old Aug 13, 2006 | 08:52 AM
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i saw significantly more wear in the front than the rear on my 245/275 hoosier set up. i think it's typical to see fronts wear out faster, like everybody said.

if you've got a staggered set up in wheel width, the only real option is to remount the front and rear tires on the opposite ends.

Last edited by jun14scr; Aug 13, 2006 at 08:54 AM.
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 01:09 PM
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since I have the older ones (275) in the back and almost like new ones (275)on the front, it may look like the rear ones are wearing out faster. I'll try to rotate them next time and see how the newer ones do in the rear.

Thanks guys
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Old Aug 15, 2006 | 03:04 PM
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Default suspension settings

What are you currently running for suspension?
I have my sways set to full stiff front, full soft rear, i run my rear shocks at 4 clicks from full soft in the rear and 6 clicks from full soft in the front of 16 adjustment points. I stiffen the fronts as needed to correct oversteer.
I also run 275's front and rear and it's pretty balanced with this setup.
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Old Aug 17, 2006 | 05:02 AM
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M23... IMHO, I think we need to know a LOT more in detail about whats going on.

#1... you said race tires. That could mean a lot of things to a lot of people. Assuming you mean R-compounds, are you talking hoosier slicks? Toyo RA-1? Khumo Victorracers? V711?

#2... if the above is accurate, we can assume this is non-street driving... are you talking autocrossing or track?

#3... if you're NOT talking R-comps, and are talking more about BFG KDWs or Azenis 615 or something, thats a whole-other ball game... is the wear seen on the street under normal conditions? or again, autocross or track

#4... no matter what the answers to the above questions are, chances are its more of a driving style issue than it is an equipment or settings issue
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Old Aug 19, 2006 | 04:44 PM
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From your description, that sounds like what is supposed to happen. Your car won't oversteer with the staggered set up, so you have to scrub a lot of speed, done with your front tires in an understeer situation, and trail-braking. When you went to your current setup, you get a little sideways (oversteer) and scrub speed with the outside tires (front and rear), but then when you accelerate out of the corner, you use your rears. That's why your rears are wearing faster.
Soften the rear or stiffen the front, depending on your use and needs. If you drive mostly on the track, go stiffer in front. If you drive both and want some comfort for daily driving, go softer in the rear. Or, your third option is to brake in a straight line... always. Which safest, but not the fastest.
Personally, I'd stick with the oversteer as long as the car is not eradic and comes around unexpectedly. Real life situation: Amuse 350Z uses 265 all the way around. Wheels the same offset too.
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