Tires= white smoke

[PalmerWMD]

Yesterday I did 7 quarter mile runs on the track.(with the weather being what it was, my et's were a somewhat disapointing 15.1 almost every time, but my trap speeds were a respectable mid nineties w/ the best being 96mph)I warmed up my tires with the ususal brake stand technique in "the pit", to warm up my tires on this cold day.

the first couple of runs were w/o brake stands but i didnt hook up at all getting 60 foot times of 2.6 and worse..

But after watching everyone warm up their tires like that I did it too.

It looked really cool seeing those clouds of smoke coming from my wheel wells again and agin.

But of course this entertainment is not w/o consquences. On inspection at the end of the run I see that my rear Firehawk SZ50EPs (w/ less than 10kmiles) are history.

Now I am wondering, I live in KY which has mild (but not non-existent) winters.

Should I buy a fresh pair of SZ50EPs ($230 EACH in 245/45-ZR17) and run that set thru the winter into next spring summer?

Or try to buy as cheap as possible set of winter tires (never cheap or even easily available in my size) for the winter here, as I hate not having the right tires for the season.

Any thougths?

Fred...

[911/Q45]

I think I'm going to take Dennis advice and get a set of Michelin high zoot all season. The price from Tire Rack is about the same as your Firestones. Also per Dennis, I'll probably get 255/45-17 for the increased load capacity and closer to stock diameter. Cheap tires rarely make sense unless you're dumping the car and want lots of tread showing when you sell. Winter tires make more sense on another set of rims, but then you've got those laying around in the summer dry rotting, and have to move them when you PCS. The Michelins seem like a good compromise tire for your location and weather.

[PalmerWMD]

Thats good input, exactly the type I was looking for.

Fred...

PS:('cept, I still have a good pair of SZ50EP's on the car that, I'd hate to waste)

[911/Q45]

Just switch front to back and light 'em up again!

[Mayhem_J30]

did 'warming them up' seem to help?

[MetaOrbit]

Hehe...sure was fun sitting next to ya at the line seeing you send all that money up in smoke..

Just kidding with ya Fred. I take it Q's don't have limited slip right? It seemed like when you were roasting them that only one wheel would really spin.

[PalmerWMD]

Hehe...sure was fun sitting next to ya at the line seeing you send all that money up in smoke..

Just kidding with ya Fred. I take it Q's don't have limited slip right? It seemed like when you were roasting them that only one wheel would really spin.

Naw we have LSD.It was chilly enough if one of them was much slower it may not have heated up enough.Both Tires are about equal right now.

Fred...

PS: It did help.

[Q45tech]

A few times burning them out will permanently change the molecular structure.........remember the EP are harder compound than the old non EP.Waste the AVS I at $39 [stock size] at the drag strip ..........bet you would have gotten 14.7-14.8 at 97 mph. Still 15.1 with heavy wheels and tires is nothing to sneeze at.Is initial timing set at 15 Deg BTDC with JWT ecu. You do keep it in 2nd and let it hit the rev limiter just after the lights......Right?

Just think an essentially stock 13 year old 4300 # 4 door car with 174k turning these numbers. Just wait till it gets broken in!

[PalmerWMD]

Dennis, and all others, thanks for the input..

I did not do anything to the timing just left it alone.(used 93 octane)Also just left it in "d" all along, figuring the computer would know what I wanted (max accel) when I mashed the throttle to kickdown.

I never put it in "N" and then dropped it into gear or anything.

I felt like I took a couple of years off my trannies life, with those 5-6 brakesstands (for tire warm up), that I performed.

Actually I feel kinda guilty, like I engaged in terrible car abuse...

I may get a transmission flush today yet, maybe even another pandrop filter exhcnage (even tho last one is only 6 months old).only problem once I get a pan drop/ filter exchange I cant get it done at my usual place and the other place here that has the filter element doesnt do flushes..

Fred...

[AZhitman]

15.1 with an ECU being the only mod?

Damn, Fred - That's NOTHING to sneeze at. Just wait til you swap the gears... 14's, baby!

[PalmerWMD]

Tru dat,and I did have 17 inch wheels and a heavey aftermarket rear deck spoiler, But I did run on E and my spare wheel and jack are always out of the car..I firmly expected hi 14's

Fred...

[EWT]

Yesterday I did 7 quarter mile runs on the track.(with the weather being what it was, my et's were a somewhat disapointing 15.1 almost every time, but my trap speeds were a respectable mid nineties w/ the best being 96mph)I warmed up my tires with the ususal brake stand technique in "the pit", to warm up my tires on this cold day.

15.1 is very respectable, although 14s would be easy with a little better 60' time with 96 mph. A .1 improvement on the 60' translates to .15 to .175 in e.t. As an example, I got a 15.05 with 93.x mph and a 2.4 60'.

Quote »the first couple of runs were w/o brake stands but i didnt hook up at all getting 60 foot times of 2.6 and worse..[/quote]

I don't feel so bad about my 2.4 now. I only got two passes when I went with my 93, and tried just flooring it on one, and brake standing on the other. I got way too much wheelspin on the brakestand, and got something like a 2.6 too. I think the best method would be a mild brake stand. You want just enough wheelspin to get the rpms up, but not so much that you just sit there and spin. I'm not sure if shifting manually or letting the auto do it's thing would be faster. My car shifts a lot harder on the 1-2 shift if it's done manually, but it "pauses" longer before making the shift.

Quote »But after watching everyone warm up their tires like that I did it too.

It looked really cool seeing those clouds of smoke coming from my wheel wells again and agin.[/quote]

Burnouts don't help with street tires. If you collect debris on the way up to the start line, you should spin them to knock the stuff off, but heating them up doesn't improve grip like it does with drag radials or slicks. If you get them very hot, grip will actually get worse rather than better.

However, if the track isn't prepped well, you aren't going to get good 60' times no matter what you do. Street tires just don't hook up well on a poorly prepped launch pad, and are especially bad if temperatures are cool. My other car picked up .75 in e.t. with no other mods than drag radials because it spun so badly through first and second gear on street tires.

I'd try my drag radials from my other car out on my Q45 the next time I go, but I have a feeling 9.5" wide wheels with 315-35-17 tires aren't going to fit.

[Mayhem_J30]

Burnouts don't help with street tires. If you collect debris on the way up to the start line, you should spin them to knock the stuff off, but heating them up doesn't improve grip like it does with drag radials or slicks. If you get them very hot, grip will actually get worse rather than better.

that's why i was asking if it helped or not because this was my understanding as well.

[1qckser]

Nice #s Fred, with the stock rims and some sticky rubber you are in the 14s at that mph, my last trip to Englishtown with my SE-R resulted in terrible 60ft times because of heating up the street tires, I ended up just riding the clutch out of the gate and then getting on it, my best 60ft was a 2.19 with 15 inch 200 SX SE-R rims.