Just got a set of V700s (205/50/15 / 15x6) and am planning on making a ~150 mile round trip tomorrow and then another 50 or so miles to an autox the next day, where I was going to swap 'em off and put my street wheels on.

They're full tread and I'm not sure exactly how much wear this will put on 'em and hoping I can be lazy and just leave them on my car this time.

 

don't drive that far on them

 

thought so. blah.

outside i go.

had fun scrubbing them in today, anyway.

 

The wear should be minimal though....

The additional heat cycles may be the bigger negative.

 

Agreed. When I come up from Portland, I just put the tires in the back seat.

If I'm going to a local event, then I'll drive on them, but that's only a couple of miles.

 

a friend of mine drove from Florida to Ohio and back on his...

with the amount of abuse he put on that car, it's amazing just how long they/the car lasted.

 

I used to drive on my Victos and Ecstas on the street all the time. I probably would put about 1000 street miles in each set. I never noticed any wear from the street driving. Just be a bit careful if it rains.

 

Victoracers last forever. The treadwear is amazing in low-scrub, low-heat situations like highway driving. Just run for cover if it starts to rain . . .

I bought a set of them 2 years ago, and used them on various cars up until the end of last year. They had about 2000 street miles and over 300 autocross runs on them before they were dismounted. Hell I even passed a state inspection with them on once.

I would imagine they would last for about 12,000 street miles or so.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgast &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">don't drive that far on them
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please tell me where you get your info??

i drove from charleston sc on victor racers to beaver run and back!!! in fact there is still tread on them!!!


yes jeffs is correct that heat cycles are of more concern!! but one heat cycle up and one back....don't see anything wrong with that!!!

no they aren't as fast but hey.....they are awesome on the street!

 

Aw, already took 'em off and it was super nice again today.

Supposed to rain tomorrow and I'd rather not drive 50 miles to an autox in the rain on the highway on 'em, though. No problem driving on Azenis in the rain, but v700s are a bit too low on tread for my liking.

 

I don't think driving around really equals a "heat cycle". Perhaps, if the temps are in the 80s, 90s? 30 minutes on the track is a heat cycle.

I've driven R compounds from Boston to Watkins Glen and back. Noisy, but no obvious ill effects.

I have a friend who used to drive his Neon ACR year round on R compound (Boston), but he's mental.

 

I drove on Victoracers from San Diego to Topeka and back, and they were none the worse for wear. Had to be careful through the thunderstorms on the way back though.

If you've got a jacked alignment with lots of camber and toe, it may be a different story...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by pcorad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't think driving around really equals a "heat cycle". Perhaps, if the temps are in the 80s, 90s? 30 minutes on the track is a heat cycle.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think you are misunderstanding the term. Heat cycling does not require the kind of heat that track driving generates (and, if anything, that kind of heat should be applied only AFTER a tire has been heat cycled). Heat cycling only requires the same kind of heat generated by "easy driving" - in other words, highway driving does indeed accomplish proper heat cycling. In a sense, the term is a misnomer, because what is really needed is the stretching of the tires, rather than the application of any great amount of heat.

Here's what it says on the Tire Rack website:

As participation in autocrossing, track days, driving schools and road racing continues to grow in popularity, the tire manufacturers have developed unique DOT legal competition tires which feature very sophisticated tread compounds. However just like other high performance parts, these tires will provide more consistent performance and last longer if they are properly broken-in.

The first time a competition tire is used is the most important. During that run, its tread compound is stretched, some of the weaker bonds between the rubber molecules will be broken (which generates some of the heat). If the tires are initially run too hard or too long, some of the stronger bonds will also be broken which will reduces the tire's grip and wear qualities. Running new tires through an easy heat cycle first, and allowing them to relax allows the rubber bonds to relink in a more uniform manner than they were originally manufactured. It actually makes them more consistent in strength and more resistant to loosing their strength the next time they are used. An important heat cycling step is that after being brought up to temperature, the tires require a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to relax and reform the bonds between their rubber molecules.

Looking at the heat cycling system, it positions a mounted and inflated tire between rollers which apply pressure while the tire is rolled up to speed. It is very important to note that this allows heat to be generated as a result of deflecting (stretching) the tire within its normal operating range. There is no "artificial" heat added (no oven, no forced air, etc). Then they receive the stamp showing they are Tire Rack heat cycled.

Measuring the tread temperatures with a tire pyrometer we confirmed that in our controlled environment we were able to achieve appropriate and more consistent temperatures across the tire's tread without causing treadwear. All of these are significant improvements over heat cycling tires on our test track. And the 24 to 48 hour waiting period efficiently occurs while the tires are in transit to you. That means the tires are ready to use when they arrive!

The cost of heat cycling is $15 per tire. BFGoodrich, Hoosier, Kumho and Yokohama all recommend that their competition tires be "heat cycled" before being run in competition.

 

Ok. So there is a process of "Tire Streching" and cooling an R compound tire to set it up for longevity and consistency. Agreed.

Then is there heat cycling as a result of: track use, leaving them in the sun in the paddock on black asphalt, etc? Would driving on the highway (not stressing the tires by driving like a maniac) equal a "heat cycle"?

Are there not a finite number of "heat cycles" a R compound tire can withstand, before they lose effectiveness? (Assuming the tire isn't worn down to cord before this occurs.) For example, on a formula ford, you could achieve this finite number of heat cycles before the tire is fully worn (not sure if a FF would use an R compound radial... )

Also, the TR article talks in fairly vague terms about:

"Brought up to temperature" what temp? would highway driving achieve this temp? On a hot sunny day vs. a cool overcast day?

"Tire is rolled up to speed" what speed? Max speed vs. rating on tire? Highway speed?

"deflecting a tire w/i it's normal operating range" I assume the normal operating range takes into account track use, which generates a lot of heat. A lot more than highway driving

"significant improvements over heat cycling on our test track" so, are they achieving test track temperatures with the rollers? If so, these are a lot hotter than those generated from highway driving.