I thought I'd throw out a quick question. I've been running the BS REO40s and I think they do a great job, though after a hard track session the outside edge of the tread get's pulled back (front right(and it could be I turned a little too late and then too hard.)) I'm in about 10k miles on the tires and I'm hoping to get another 10k out of them, so next summer I'll probably need a new set. I've been looking at the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08s and I was wondring if anybody has any experience with them and have also ran the stock BS REO40s to be able to compare the two. (Not that it's important, but are the Ys quiter than the BSs?)

 

Just saw this if anyone was interested Tirerack has the BS REO40s on sale for $125 each.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/TireSe...ting=S&tab=All

 

The Yokohhama's are awesome!

 

Tirerack.com also has Advan AD07's on closeout at the moment

235/40R18 for $129 each
or
225/40R18 for $139 each

Edit: linky... http://www.tirerack.com/tires/Sizes....VAN+Neova+AD07

 

Dangit! I just got Star Specs put on yesterday. If I wasn't absolutely thrilled with them I'd be upset right now.

 

killer deal on the yokos,

but the star specs are really really good..

beers

 

I <3 my Star Specs... not that I know any better

 

I still think that the BFG's are the best I've run on the 8.

 

I have Yoko Parada Spec II, best tires i ever used.

 

I just got the potenza RE-11 love them
But wanted to get the BFG g-Force T/A KDW 2

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....omCompare1=yes

 

At those prices, Advans for sure.

 

Well I bought the Yok Neova 07s they were on closeout sale for $159 at Tire Rack. The BS REO40s are on sale for $125 if anyone was interested.

I always found new tires to be a bit slick, in my confermation email there was a link about new tires so I copied and pasted what it said if anyone is interested.

Tires are comprised of many layers of rubber, steel and fabric. Due to these different components, your new tires require a break-in period to ensure that they deliver their normal ride quality and maximum performance. As tires are cured, a release lubricant is applied to prevent them from sticking in their mold. Some of the lubricant stays on the surface of your tires, reducing traction until it is worn away. Five hundred miles of easy acceleration, cornering and braking will allow the mold release lubricant to wear off, allowing the other tire components to begin working together. It is also important to note that your old tires probably had very little tread depth remaining when you felt it was time to replace them. As any autocrosser or racer who has tread rubber shaved off of his tires will tell you, low tread depth tires respond quicker."Don't be surprised if your new tires are a little slower to respond (even if you use the exact same tire as before). Their new, full depth brings with it a little more tread squirm until they wear down.

NOTE: Be careful whenever you explore the capabilities of your new tires. Remember that every tire requires a break-in period for optimum performance.

 

I autocrossed on my Star Specs 400-500 miles in

I built a Starspec Snowman today:


I was definitely on the wear bumps:

 

what tires are you running now?

 

are you done with those? i see lots of life left. hehehehehe

 

yeah, you almost have a set of racing slicks!

 

Update with the TireRack tires I just bought and received: My faith was restored in the company! I was a bit disheartened to find out when the tires arrived that they are 4 months shy of being five years old. I know they were on a closeout sale, but really a tire that old? So yesterday I called asking about the tires and the lady looked at the inventory and tried to find the dates of the remaining tires. The tires at the wherehouse were older than mine. I asked if I could return them and she said not a problem and they'll have UPS come back out to pick them up and they'll credit my account. I thanked them and I'm happy and a little sad at the same time, I missed out on a great deal, but now I'll spend a little more money on a newer tire, and not have to worry about an old tire failing on me while I'm doing 130 MPH around turn 1 at PR.

Also in regards to my post about the $125 REO40, maybe the age of the tire is putting them on this sale? Becareful, and maybe call to find out why it's on sale.

 

^ are you hitting 130 there? i think my highest was 126..

 

Yes there's tread left, but they're heat cycled to death. When they get warm, they still act like they're cold... I'll put them back on in the spring but I'll be getting a new set of star specs then as well.

 

^mine are always like that cause i've never tracked new rubber. when i do it's gonna be aaaaawesome.

 

I got 128 last time I went, and I'll be faster the next time. The last time I went I took more of a Pro-3 line through turn 8. Now I have to work on my position through 9. I was going back to were I used to turn in to turn 9, but I'm going to work on being in the middle of the track instead of so far left by the concrete block and the 7. I've talked to my instructer and he said I'll be able to do it, but just to move to the right in slow increments. I'm also going to ask about an early apex to 8. If you didn't see my video check the link and watch how far right I go in the exit, I'm just shy of the fog line. It does get a bit squirelly if you go too far right, the road is choppy. I think I went furthest right in lap 3. I know one of the laps(not in the video) the stability control popped on because the car lost traction because of the road chop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQALQv4TEj0

 

Well today I had the Yokohama Advan Neova AD08s installed. All four tires had a 0509 date on them. I'm excited to see how they'll do compared to the BS REO40s.

It'll be hard to compare since I also got an alignment done that's a bit more aggressive and even than the last one. I had a basic alignment at UMazda last year after a big curbing. When I had it aligned at UMazda I didn't understand the values and didn't realize there was a huge difference between 1 and 2 degrees, my camber on the front was 0.0L and -.06R and the rears were -1.1 L and -1.8R. Caster was a bit off too. When my car was on the ramp before the alignment was done today the rear left tire had about 1/2-1 inch more dirt towards the outside of the tire than the one on the right.

The shop allowed me to sit in the car while it was being aligned so it's set with me behind the wheel on the road (I also had a half a tank of gas to split the difference in weight from a full to empty tank.) I went in with my old Mazda alignment sheet and told them what I wanted and they discussed with me to see what I expected and how much I cared about tire life. It took under two hours. My new camber specs are -1.0L and -1.0R fronts and rears are -1.5L and -1.5R. (I can't remember the other specs.)

If anyone needs an alignment I highly recommend this shop:

Puget Sound Alignment
24441 Pacific HWY. So.
Kent, WA 98032

ask for Mark
253-941-4424

 

when you sat in there aren't you on the lift? that means your weight is on the lift, not the suspension so it won't affect your alignment, right?

 

Nope, they drove my car up onto the lift ramp, once it was up there they lifted the car off it's wheels and installed the alignment tools to each rim and calibrated them. Then they lowered the car, and on the rear tires, they removed two pins on the ramp so that the rear wheels could float and be neutral on the plates they rested on. The front tires were on swivels so they could turn the wheels under load. The full weight of the car is on the suspension while the adjustments were made.

Everytime you make adjustments to your suspension (raising or lowering your ride height on your coilovers for example) you are changing the alignment. I don't know to what degree it changes it, but it does. Just as adding or subtracting weight changes the alignment. If your car is aligned with your speakers in the trunk along with other gear, when you remove them when you track or autocross, you'll have less camber in your tires.

 

Sitting in the car while it's aligned is probably being really picky. Because when I track with an instructor in my car, the added weight changes the alignment. Will I notice? Not a chance Until recently, as I stated above, I didn't understand alignment values, and I still don't fully understand all the different settings. But I figure I might as well make it as perfect as I can when it's just me in the car.