i just bought some new SO3. after about 200 miles (local and freeway), i took a 90 degree turn going at about 30-35 miles per hour. the tires were sqeeling very loudly and slipping quite a bit! I understand break in period should be about 400-500 miles to get to the compound and i do understand SO3 should perform better with around 30-70%+/- tread, But is this normal for me to be slipping this much? it seems like my almost bald es100s perform a lot better than these SO3 with a little more than 200 miles on it. i read somewhere where some people have been getting "bad sets" of tires, such as random kumho mx's. hopefully this is just because the grease from the new tires or something.. any ideas?

-Justin

 

maybe u caught a little bit of gravel or some other substance while in that turn

 

hm i dunno it was a perfectly normal paved road. it seems that wider turns are good, but cornering tighter turns the tires loose a lot of grip (seems worse than my es100s)

 

Even great tires can be overdriven. Trust me on this, I've probably overdriven S03s more than anybody on this forum.

 

ok so i now have around 450+ mi on these SO3s. they are sticking GREAT! definately can predict when they will break loose now and a lot better than before!

about an hour ago I did a run through Calaveras from Fremont to Milpitas going uphill, then Milpitas back to Fremont downhill. This was pretty much the first time i was driving hard with the SO3, and agx set on 2 fronts and 3 rears, and 3 fronts and 3 rears (changed when heading back) I looked at my tires after the run. --The SO3s were loosing a lot of rubber and on each tread block (facing outwards) was completely cut off. they used to be solid blocks, now the outside of each block is chopped off diagonally. ill try to post pics soon. I was wondering if this was normal for this kind of hard driving?. reason why I ask is because i know some people with SO3 and they tell me they do touge- yet their tread blocks seem to not be diagonally chopped off like mine. =x

any feedback would be cool!
tia,
Justin

 

Have your alignment checked, sounds like a severe alignment issue...

 

Try a little more tire pressure too. I run 40 or so when I autocross on my S03s. Also, try understeering less.

 

thanks for the advice guys~

yea when i was driving that day my pressure was at 40 front and 37 rear. actually i dont have understeer at all when i drive due to mods and weight reduction up front

just a small update: went auto-x yesterday morning, SO3s are very predictable and hold up very well! starting to love them a lot! anyone know how they compare with falken azenis(ones with uncommon tread) in heat/dry for auto-x and tracking? i would like to try those as well since they are very cheap

-Justin

 

Your description of your tire wear indicates you're workign them too hard and overheating them. Like I said, I've abused more S03s than just about anybody. Your car may have neutral handling, but you were still sliding them too much.

 

hahaha yes your right.. i slide wayy too much. i improved my time in auto-x by almost 9 seconds just because i tried gripping and taking my time instead of sliding ;p aha..

Justin

 

Sometimes I forget that, even though I've learned that lesson several times myself.

 

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get a good alignment done, and throw in some front camber bolts if you haven't already:

www.rogerkrausracing.com