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Old 07-16-2009, 10:51 AM   #1
bribri
 
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Mixing tires for track use

I'm concidering buying used tires to use at the track and street. I can find pairs but not all 4. Is it safe to mix tires (different on back and front)? What is the minium tread depth that I can use?
Thanks Brian
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Old 07-16-2009, 11:47 AM   #2
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You can mismatch tires, some people do it on purpose to help adjust the balance of the car. You generally want the grippier tires up front for track use. (for street, if your grandma is driving, you might want the grippier tires in the rear)

How much tread depth? You said for "track and street", that means you need a minimum of 2/10" to be legal. To be worth paying to mount them, you'd want at least 4/10".

For track use... how long do you want to stay on track??? You can run a tire with no visible tread depth for a little while!

Used tires are a risky investment. Tires get hard as they age. You might find a great deal on a set of tires that have well over half of their tread depth, but if they're more than 2-3 years old, they're gonna be useless on a race track. You also never know if a used tire is going to have a flat-spot or other damage that you might not notice until the tire is on the car.

You're really better off buying a set of cheap NEW street tires in most cases.
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Old 07-16-2009, 11:37 PM   #3
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I wasted some time today looking at used tires, all were too old and hard.
I m concidering getting 2 new ones for the front and could use some help chosing sizes. My wheels are 15X5.5 and my choices are:

Toyo Proxes T1R - 185/55R15 [/U]$165.99

Dunlop Direzza Sport Z1 Star Spec - 195/55R15 $159.99

Bridgestone Potenza RE-11 - 195/50R15 $155.99

Hankook Ventus R-S2 (Z212) - 195/50ZR15 $145.99

Falken Azenis RT-615 - 205/50R15 89 W - $145.99

I think the Toyo Proxes T1R will be the best choice because of the 5.5 inch rims. Is this correct or will a 205/50R15 work just as well. My tire choices are based on your suggestion in a earlier post, Loren
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Old 07-16-2009, 11:48 PM   #4
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195/55/15 direzza sport z1 star spec, $332 + shipping a set....

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....t+Z1+Star+Spec
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Old 07-17-2009, 12:52 AM   #5
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The T1R is not your best bet. It's a fairly grippy tire, excellent in the rain and will give you a nice smooth street ride... but it's not as grippy as some of the other offerings and it's major shortcoming is really soft sidewalls, mushy turn-in. Cross that one of the list for a track tire.

Any of the others would be okay. The Star Spec and RE11 would be the best of that bunch.

I've had Star Specs and loved them, you would not be disappointed with them. You'll get a 195 on a 5.5" wheel, don't sweat it.

Add to your list the latest "best of the best" street tires:
Toyo R1R
Kumho XS

Both of those are even better than the Star Spec, and it's an awesome tire.

Damn, it's scary how many of the tires on your list I've had! T1R's are on the car right now (I knew better than to try them again, but they're available in a lot of oddball sizes, and I wanted to try one of them). Star Specs were before that. I've run on RE-01's (the predecessor of the RE-11), and it was great. I've had several sets of Azenis, they're a great "bang for the buck" tire and used to be one of the best street tires available, now there are better tires for not a lot more money. The RS2 is almost on-par with the Azenis.
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Old 07-17-2009, 09:56 AM   #6
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195/55R15, don't go with 195/50R15.
the 5.5 rims _can_ fit 205's, but not sure if it'll be very good for the track.
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Old 07-17-2009, 10:26 AM   #7
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It's better to have a wheel that is closer to the tread width of the tire for better support of the sidewall, but as long as the wheel width meets the design tolerance of the tire, it will work okay. 5.5" falls within the spec for most 195 and 205 tires.

195/55-15 or 205/50-15 will yield a nearly stock tire diameter.
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Old 07-17-2009, 11:23 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Loren View Post
The T1R is not your best bet. It's a fairly grippy tire, excellent in the rain and will give you a nice smooth street ride... but it's not as grippy as some of the other offerings and it's major shortcoming is really soft sidewalls, mushy turn-in. Cross that one of the list for a track tire.

Any of the others would be okay. The Star Spec and RE11 would be the best of that bunch.

I've had Star Specs and loved them, you would not be disappointed with them. You'll get a 195 on a 5.5" wheel, don't sweat it.

Add to your list the latest "best of the best" street tires:
Toyo R1R
Kumho XS

Both of those are even better than the Star Spec, and it's an awesome tire.

Damn, it's scary how many of the tires on your list I've had! T1R's are on the car right now (I knew better than to try them again, but they're available in a lot of oddball sizes, and I wanted to try one of them). Star Specs were before that. I've run on RE-01's (the predecessor of the RE-11), and it was great. I've had several sets of Azenis, they're a great "bang for the buck" tire and used to be one of the best street tires available, now there are better tires for not a lot more money. The RS2 is almost on-par with the Azenis.
wow... pretty amazing. those star specs i have now are awesome! its taking awhile for them to wear out too lol
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