Hey guys, so I've been building my car to get it to the basics of a drift car...Finally almost ready to take it out on the track (and super excited), I was just wondering because I have no idea...How long does a tire last you? I'm sure someone is going to say "Hrmm uh well uh it completely depends on the brand of tire you dummy!" but I'm just wondering in general, for a decent tire how long it will last?

I'm also wondering if I'll have to buy another set of rear wheels and have the tires mounted before I go to the track? Or can I bring new tires and they mount them there for you? Once again I have no idea. I will surely be doing a lot of drifting at Adam's cart track and Willow Springs in the SoCal area if that matters as well. Thanks, errybody.

 

Im not a cali guy but buy another set of 15's and use whatever tires u can get your hands on at first. Run higher tire pressures if your low on power. Assume your gonna use 2 to 4 rear tires atleast at first depending on seat time. So 1-2 sets of rears

Hope this helps

 

If I stay away from long donuts and burnouts I can go a whole day on a pair for the rear at balcony wsir. Keep in mind I am n/a though so theres not that much power to burn them up.

 

Should I buy really good brand new tires for the rear, or just for the front?

 

by that i mean like each time i go practice should I buy good new tires for the rear?

 

I dunno, are you that baller?

Start on garbage tires. Once you can feel the inconsistency between tires and it begins to hinder your driving, start getting the same tire [preferably still used]. Leave the new-tire drifting to the pros and sponsored guys.

 

Well I'm a freaking baller...but i'm broke haha

I should definitely have good, grippy tires up front though right?

 

the hotter the tire gets the faster it dies off.
doing long donuts, and burnouts will kill them fast. for a track day you'll need about 6 used tires (assuming theyre 50% tread left) but the more you bring never hurts if you have space incase you get crazy and burn them fast.

new tires generally are the better way to go, but are more expensive. they last longer.
NEXEN's will last you a long time. i usually get 1 track day on a brand new set. one time i got 2 full track days in vegas/balcony on 1 new set.
Nexen N3000's are usually $100-$150 each brand new. Call John @ City Tire Online to see pricing.


when you start hotlapping (running back to back without stopping) the tires will get super hot, and die off. the more angle you have, and the more you LAY on throttle at angle without lifting will really kill any set of tires. i could kill a new set if i tried to in less than an hour. but just driving, and not worrying about it, and checking your tires after every few runs, you'll see about how fast they go, and you'll start getting more confident, and better at judging how many tires to bring, or buy for next time.

 

if you could afford it i'd suggest trying to get some softer tires for the front.

Falken RT-615k's would be good. Toyo R1R's are good (pricey).

but you could do it with anything honestly. its all about seat time. if you had shitty front tires, you'd start feeling when they understeer on initiation, and you'll learn how to weight transfer the car/be more gentle with initial steer in to compensate for it.

Any new tire would probably do the job for the fronts. they should last all year, so i'd suggest buying decent/new front tires to start off with.
you can always mess with tire pressure settings too.

Lower the front tire pressure slightly if it's slippery to add a little more grip.
Raise the rear air pressure to make it more hard/slippery.

just dont think yourself to death, and go have fun. you'll see whats up fast.

 

Sounds like the plan, man. Thanks

 

I started with good new tires up front and used rear tires.

Used are usually slick and hard and are easy to drift on.
New are grippy and less tire will do the job of a larger used.

My standard setup is
235 up front 30psi
215-225 rear USED 30-35psi
or
215 New 30 psi

As for longevity. You usually need double or more the amount of tires when you go used.
I went through 3 sets of used tires in an hour one time.
I did an entire event friday on a set of new 215's and they can go another event or two.(Don't know brand)

 

To help tires a lil bit after you do a run or so u can get a sprayer to spray your tires with cool water to cool them off a lil bit. It's helpd me and some friends a lil bit cuz we'r on broke status and need tires to last as long as possible.

 

water sprayer works if you dont care about water spots on your wheels! it works really good!

i just hate cleaning my wheels...