I've never actually bought a brand new set of race tires. I got my first used set when I bought some wheels and the guy threw them in, saying "they're finished anyway". They were Yokohama A008's. When I took them to Talon Tire, the guy there told me that they still had some life in them as soon as I used them once to wear off the crust that had formed around them. He was right! After one session on the track, they looked clean and felt really good. Now, every time I see a used set of R-compounds around town, I buy it. I've bought 13-inch Hankook's for 40 $CAD per set and 60$ per set. I bought some almost new-looking A008 RS-II's for 100$. I know they're pretty old because they don't make that tire any more, but they look fine, not crusty or cracked or anything. I also bought some ok 14-inch V700 Victoracer's for 200$ last week. So far, for track days and Solo 1, this has worked really well. I used a set of the Hankook's at Shannonville with the EMRA and they worked just fine. I had paid 40$ for those.

I talked to the guys at Talon and they said that there is generally no problem if the tire is less than 5 years old (or 3 if it's a Hoosier). I plan on doing some EMRA enduros in the fall with these sets of tires. I'm not really competitive anyway, so if they're not the stickiest tires around, I'm not too worried. I just got a call from another guy who has a cheap set of these A008's. I've accumulated over 20 tires like this and never had a problem yet, and I've paid less than the price of one new set. (I've also accumulated 12 alloy wheels and 12 steel rims, which allows me to mount different sets at the same time). My mother is about to kill me, because I store these wheels and tires at her place. But I can't stop! 20$ tires, who can resist?

All this leads to a few questions:
Is it a mistake to buy used? What are the risks?
Is there a way to tell just from looking at a set of tires if they're still good or whether they're all dried up?
What's the best place to store these tires (taking into account that the winter choices are crawl-space in the dry heat or in the freezing shed outside) and is it true that you should not store them mounted on wheels?
Should I generally not buy tires that have been discontinued for a few years, even though they look good and are irresistibly cheap?
Thanks all.

Pics of my car at www.geocities.com/basileracing/civic.html

 

IM me to remind me, if you want I can ask my friend about a tire-restoring chemical he's used. He had a mad old pair of A032Rs that were greasy and slippery but still had a fair amount of tread depth, and decided to try out the stuff on them. He says they now grip as good if not better than when they were new! I think you have to "paint" the liquid on the tire 2x a day for a few days, or something like that. It might not be exactly 100% legal for whatever club you're racing with, but quite honestly it isn't detectable. So unless there are hardcore inspections after racing I wouldn't worry

 

there is nothing *wrong* with using used tires... they just won't be at their peak
if a tire is corded ... dont' use it...

the tire soak *IS* detectable... all you need is a durometer..
your tire will be significantly softer after soaking it..
however if you soak an old hard tire... if may still ber harder than a new tire after soaking

 

Sorry, I meant not detectable when you aren't looking for it. For autocross or something like that I doubt anyone would notice/care, but I'd check with the EMRA rules before trying it.