VictoRacers - are these tires 'done'

[widebody911]

I was swapping on my track tires tonight, and noticed something odd about the fronts. I could see a linear pattern inline with the tread, kind of like you see when a tire is corded, but they obviously still have rubber on them.

How can I tell how much rubber is left? It would appear that the little indicator 'holes' are gone or are obscured.

The last 2 pix are my rears, which seem to have more wear in the very center, and rough wear at that. What would cause this? Underinflation to/from the track?

Bummer, as I'm supposed to go to the track Friday.

Fronts:




Rears:

[cstreit]

V700's always seem to wear more at the center, it's normal.

If the wear bars are gone, you're close, but for non position/points events, I run 'em to the cords... (Though rarely ever get to the cords before they get too many heat cycles...)

THose look fine to me Thom

[David Borden]

The fronts look pretty worn but you can flip the tires on the rims to get more life out of them. They may last a track day depending on how hard you drive.

The rears have scalloping, this is normally caused by under inflation on that particular tire.

What size tires are you running on what width rims out back?

David

[Chuck Moreland]

Victos do that when they are getting close to the cords. You don't have much tread left in that area.

Your wear is very uneven though. You need to hit those with pyrometer to diagnose your setup. Your camber and/or pressure is significantly off. Grip and tire life will increase when you get this sorted out.

[widebody911]

I decided not to run them. I have a backup set of wheels, which were actually slated to go on the market soon; plain-jane 7&9 Fuchs with the same tire. I've become acustomed to the 9&11 setup, and it feels weird to be on such tiny wheels, but I guess tiny wheels with fresh rubber is better than big wheels with no rubber. It's 100+ miles each way to the track, and I usually squeeze in 200miles at the track, so there was no way in hell those fronts would have made it. Maybe it's time to start thinking of a tow vehicle or a trailer.

Chuck: I'm still on the steep side of the learning curve as to optimum settings. I've spent some time experimenting with pressures and sway bar settings, but haven't experimented at all with alignment settings, paths of least resistance and all that. OTOH, since I still have stock inner trailing arm bushings and beat-down Neatrix spring plate bushings, any serious experimentation is just short of pi55ing in the wind without a solid base model.

One thought I have about the wear pattern on the rears is that I haven't been inflating them to 'street' pressure before traveling to and from the track. On a warm track day, I start them between 24 and 26, and they stick great, but I think it destroyed them driving 200+ street miles that way.

David: The fronts are 245/45-16, the rears are 315/35-17

[chrisp]

Bad shocks can also cause scalloping.

[Vintage911Racer]

Why are the fronts more worn then the rears???
The rears should see all the work.

The fronts look a bit WORN
Rears do not look bad at all.

Were they all new and installed at the same time?

[126coupe]

Looks to me like that car is understeering like a MF! Also maybe some more negative camber in the fronts would cure the excessive wear in the fronts. I agree w Vintage racer The rears should be more worn than the fronts. I go through 2 sets of rears to 1 set of fronts

[widebody911]

Originally posted by Minkoff
Looks to me like that car is understeering like a MF!
Normally I would go thru 2:1 R/F, but, I was experimenting with sway bar settings, and at one point, this thing was understeering like a Coupe de Ville. I've fixed it, but the damage is done. Maybe it's time for camber plates

[Tim L]

I would agree with Mark the rears should go first. Your car must be pushing. You could try softening the front or a stiffer setting in the rear. I think you could use some more camber in the front also. With out knowing what your setup is now it's just a guess.

Tim

[North Coast Cab]

Thom,
Interesting thoughts about the street drive to the track. I have stuffed my track wheels in the trunk and inside the car for the trip to the track. It is such a pain and they are so hot at the end of the day I have to wait to get them in. I think if it's dry I'm going to drive the track wheels with V700's to Mid Ohio and I'm wondering what pressure should be in them for the trip? Also, I notice your track pressures are pretty low. As I've gotten better on the track I've found my self lowering the pressures as well. I was concerned about the wear patterns but so far so good.

John

[chrisp]

For highway I would start them around 35 or so but you'll have to experiment and see how much they rise after 15-20 of driving. Probably run them just like street tires.