Any body/suspension mods? What width tire?

 

I just mounted a set of Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 225/50R16 tires (~$92 each at Tire Rack) to replace my ~10-year-old Firehawk Wide Oval Indy 500's.

These newly released tires are asymmetrical vs the old ones that were directional. Asymmetric tires, IMO, have a significant performance advantage over directional since they can be tailored to accept large cornering forces w/o compromising aquaplaning resistance or braking performance.

 

Just went out for my 1st ride on these tires. Much more responsive and better ride quality than the ones I just removed! The outer 1/3 of the tread is like a slick with narrow slots.

 

^
Good information, thanks!

 

Currently bone stock body (except for rolled front fenders) with some cheap coilovers. 18x9 rear and 18x8 front.

 

I had some perreli 285's - about 10 years old.

Where shithouse, down the drags they would start to light up in 4th, scary as ****. Just to bloody hard.

I got one of those testers and was about 90 from memory, did wheel repare kit for slicks (to try and soften them up) did nothing.

bin job.

 

What TIRE size?

 

My fd has 18's as well (8.5/9.5) and it looks good in my opinion.
Tire width is 235/255 (I forgot the wall size)
I'm thinking about going with 235 or 245/40 on front and 275/35 on rear.

 

This why this forum is great... I just realized that my tires are close to 10 years old but less than 5K miles on them

 

My bad, 235/40 on the rear and 215/40 on the front. Fits the wheels with just a bit of stretch.

 

Sucks to have 'like new' tires insofar as appearance/tread depth goes...but perhaps too old to be usable, huh?

 

FWIW to those who might not be aware, there's a production date code on every tire. IIRC it's part of the DOT stamp on the sidewall and will tell you the month or week and year of production. Worth checking IMO, even on supposedly new tires.

 

IRP has it right. Heat, sunlight, and even moisture exposure can degrade a tire structure without external clues. And even synthetic rubber in tread compounds can slowly harden and lose the ability to grip the road, especially in wet or cold conditions.

Although a set of tires MAY still be usable, I just don't trust them after 10 years, even though my FD spends 99% of its time in the dry, heated garage.

 

Yup!!




I've been riding motorcycles for about 6 years now, that experience taught me to be VERY aware of the tires age!! You definitely can notice a difference in grip once the tires hit a few years old. On two wheels, three years is about the max I'll let my rubber age before I get new tires. Granted, you can probably stretch tire use much further on a car, but even so... Performance tires stop performing at the 3-5 year mark.

 

Anything more than about five year's old is just plain dangerous to drive with a high-horsepower car unless you're driving to go buy new tires.

 

I agree 100%

 

Here is a good presentation from the NHTSA website on the effects of tire aging. The website has about 12 articles and videos on testing old tires.

 

Although it is necessary to be aware of the potential of tire aging causing a failure, the NHTSA article confirms the fact that tire failures caused by long-term aging are much more prevalent in hotter climates that accelerate the chemical source of tire degradation.

In NE Ohio, 10 years is probably a reasonable assumption for a tire's life, assuming it's not worn out.

In Texas or other hot areas, 5 years is obviously a more prudent time to replace them.

YMMV

 

Yup sure does. But then I think about how much of an ******* I would feel if I got into an accident because I was too damn cheap to buy new tires

 

Many years back a pretty well-known dude on this forum crashed/totalled his CYM due to being caught in the rain on older low-tread tires. He survived the wreck but was banged up from the airbag deployment, definitely not a good day for him. That always stuck with me........

 

Of course, the tires don't have to be old for that to happen, just worn out.

I never let any of our street tires get below 4/32's (NHTSA says 2/32" is worn out) for just that reason.

 

It's not even tire failure, but a lack of grip. The first time I drove my MR2 turbo on the track, I was using OLD tires (with tread) and it was like driving on ice.

 

That's a common complaint. But it depends on the tire's tread compound and its sensitivity to heat cycling and wear. It's a very common thing in some race-tire compounds that the grip dies long before the available tread depth is used up.

So if you're feeling it, as you said, it's time to get new tires.

 

After running 20's for 2 years, I am over 'looking good' but sacrificing ride quality and handling.





I just got some enkei rpf01 lightweight 18" rims. They aren't the best looking wheel, but the performance should be better. Running NT01 Nitto semi slick's.




With this suspension the car should go a lot better



My only experience with really old rubber is through trucks at work that were on factory rubber. The trucks were 6 years old, so I imagine the rubber was of a similar vintage. Anyway one by one they would de-laminate which caused damage and was dangerous if travelling at speed.

I always want newly manufactured rubber when buying car tyres for that reason.

 

IMO rpf01's are nice wheels and for what it's worth:

On this side of the world, 20's are ridiculously big for an RX-7 and therefore your new 18's look 100x better.