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I'm not sure about the camber. I had one particular track configuration and ran with a lot of left turns where I was really pushing the car hard. I think that's why you see the uneven wear. Up till that day it was more even.
But do these still have 1-2 track days left in them?
If it's not going to rain, definitely flip the tires on the rims. Inside looks good, but outside is getting questionable. Keep a close eye on them after each session for cording (stop once you see cords). As mentioned above, look into significantly more negative camber if this is a track car (e.g., going from probably ~1.3 that you have now to ~2.5 or even 3.0). It will even out wear on track and improve performance, but will wear more on the inside on street. If you street it, go closer to 2.
Right front has at least one more day in it. Left front may be close to cording. The R888s take a lot of negative camber. You might be OK if you flip both front tires on the rims and let the worn outside of the left front become the worn inside of the right front. Other than your left front everything else looks good. Flipping on the rims will let you keep the tread directional and still move the worn edges to the inside.
Can everyone see that it has worn past outer layer of rubber?
The OP has tracked these long lasting tires without proper alignment and without any worth while feed back until now and is trying to get away cheap in an inherently risky sport.
How much is the cost of a track weekend?
How much is lost when the car can't continue?
Should tires be run down to the cords?
When the OP cords the tire in the first session, then what?
Any worthwhile tech inspection would not pass that tire.
Don't be so cheap with your life and the lives of those around you, get an alignment and replace those tires.
OK first this is the reason I am asking. If people tell me it's not safe then I have no issue buying tires. The thing is I don't track 25 days a year so I don't have the experience how much you can push a tire.
For example I saw one guy with the cords showing clearly and he just swapped the tire to the other side and took another few runs.
Also this is tracked 4 times per year. A negative setup used for just 4 days would not work.
Again though I am asking these questions because I take safety seriously. Otherwise I wouldn't even ask and just sign up and drive
I know a lot of guys who have a long and safe track record of running tires until they see cords - but these are track rats who have a ton of experience. Personally, when I have tires that look like the outside of these, I put on new ones. OP, ultimately it's up to you, but it sounds like you don't go through a lot of track tires or have experience running them down to cords. I also recommend replacing them to be safe.
Do you run these R888 tires only on track, or also on street? If you run both, definitely look into more negative camber to even out wear. Even if these are just track tires, there are some street tires these days that are made for sports cars with increased negative camber (e.g., certain Potenzas) you may want to look into that in combo with a bit more negative camber in an alignment.
Last edited by SunnydayDILYSI; 04-30-2016 at 05:16 PM.
Reason: Question
Well now I have a different concern. I run these on the streets as well. I've done about 4 track events over 2 years and each time they wore evenly.
The last track day was when I did all the tread wear. It was mostly left turns and I was pushing the car really hard as I felt comfortable in my skill level and the car.
So I am wondering if this is just valid wear or a negative camber setup would have solved that.
#1 Is the tire safe?
My opinion is absolutely no, time for replacement, but you have heard from a variety of sources now, so no need to belabor the point.
#2 Alignment?
Your alignment, specifically front camber, is insufficient for what you're doing. Give the use you have described, it is likely that you learned and developed the skill and comfort to push the car harder and the tire is rolling over much more on the edge wearing prematurely. Those tires on there mostly have a lot of life and tread left, but that front was killed by poor preparation. Now you run into why tracking a car seriously can be so expensive.
You need a holistic evaluation of what you are doing.
What are your alignment settings, what were your pressures like, what were your tire temps like? For that matter how is the rest of your car prepared, brake pads, rotors, and fluid maintenance, trans, dif, and coolant temps? All these things are manageable, but will need attention from yourself or a shop.
If the last track you were at had lots of hard lefts, then why is the left tire so worn? It would be the front right doing all the work.
A proper track alignment is very manageable on the street, just don't go crazy on the toe.
If a track has more turns in one direction, you can do more camber on the favored outside tire.
Lime Rock is one track where we used a split camber setup as it has only one left turn per lap.
Get real , before you get hurt when you have a tire fail. Or hurt someone else on the track with STUPID ideas like flipping a worn out tire to get get a few more laps on a junk tire.
Any real tech inspection would not allow tires like shown, to go on track.
If you think tires cost to much, wait until you get the bill from the emergency room. And, sir, don't think it can't happen to you.
I have 40+ years in all forms of racing! and your attitude about safety needs a slap of reality.
Spend the money ,do it right, or stay off the track. Really,I am serious !
I looked at your front tires again, and saw a flat spot, so that tire is not even round any more. That alone will degrade the grip of that tire.
Thank you for the warnings but again, I asked this question to get me an answer. Since I lack the proper knowledge I came here to ask the right questions so I do the RIGHT thing. This is not a case of me looking to save a few dollars. I can afford the tires. So rest assured I will be replacing the tires.
For any further comments here is my disclaimer:
I asked this question so that I may get a consensus on tire safety. I asked this question so that I can be as safe as possible on the track for myself but also for others who I share the track with. If said advice was that it was safe then I would go with that advice. If the consensus is not safe I would be replacing the tires.
Ok, glad to hear you will get new tires. I was hard on you for a reason.
Now, let's do it right. Get a good alignment with more neg camber, not sure of what toe would be best for your car, but info should be available
. Get a tire pyrometer and use it.
You will want to see about 15 degrees difference across the tread, with the inside edge the high temp and the outer edge the lower temp, middle of the tire should be the adverage of the 2 edge temps.
Now think about what the temps show you. If the center of the tire is hotter than the edges, you have to much air pressure, if center is colder than edges, not enought air pressure. If the outside edge is way hotter than the 15 degree spread,you need more camber, if the inside edge is hotter than the 15 degree spread you need less camber. You are trying to get the tire to work correctly with tread pressure working the whole tire width.
This is just a starting point for you. It gets more technical, but start here. Also if you flat spot a tire, it is done. You torn the crap out of those tires, so it seems like you have good and aggressive driving talent. Now we need to teach you how to setup your car and start to go really fast. Not just fighting a poorly setup car. Also, you can't have it both ways, set the car for the track or set it for the street, or get 2 sets of tires and rims,one for street, one for track, and realignment to race spec's each time you track the car . I know many here will claim this is not necessary, but check their lap times at the track. Or their tire tread wear on the street.
04-30-2016, 11:08 AM
Tire tread, how many more track days can I do?
