Miata Mailing List: December 1994, Message #176
sponsored by



     


   From: dquara@encore.com (Doug Quara)
Subject: Race Tires, shaving (was: Bridgestone tires)
   Date: Tue, 6 Dec 1994 16:07:34 -0500

Donnie_Sturgeon-U1591@email.mot.com, On Dec 6,  2:46pm, writes:
> Subject: Bridgestone tires
> can't wait to get them.  But I have never had racing tires.  I had one tire 
> store shave my RE-71(s) once before, but that was to get rid of a flat spot.  
> Can anyone give me any info on racing tires and why you would shave them if 
> you were going to use them for everyday driving?

You wouldn't want to shave them for everyday driving.  Race tires are
shaved for the following reason:

	To reduce the "squirm" of the rubber.  The reduced thickness
	deforms less, gives the driver better feel, and heats up
	much less.  Because of reducing the heat buildup, it increases
	its longevity *in racing applications*, and reduces the chances
	of "chunking".  

	In street driving, a tire does not heat up (the occasional on-ramp 
	banzai does not heat up a tire like a 10-lap all out race), so there 
	is no advantage to shaving except in increased feel.  In fact,
	since there is less rubber to wear away, the longevity of the
	tire is reduced just about proportionally to the amount of
	rubber that is removed.

You can go with the R-compound version for the street, but be prepared
to replace them probably within 10,000 miles.  Note that the softer
rubber will increase wet weather traction a great deal.  Shaving
will significantly increase the tires tendency to hydroplane.  I'm assuming
that the RE71R *does not* have a mold pattern that is designed as it wears 
or is shaved to turn into a slick with a couple of grooves to be legal for 
Solo II and other racing rules, like a BFG R1 or Yoko A008RS.  Running with 
such tires on the street after they have some wear in them is risky for 
hydroplaning in wet weather, and attracts the law due to the tread being 
pretty much gone.

Bottom line, unless you plan to race them, if you do decide to get them
and can afford to replace them often, don't shave them for the street.

Doug Q.
dquara@encore.com