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View Full Version : Got Some New Tires



Ross
01-22-2004, 01:08 PM
My old ones were getting a little bare on the rear, so I read a lot of threads, asked some questions, and checked on the 'net. Had a talk with Sarge about his tires. Decided to go with Pirelli P-Zero Assymetrico, 255/50 all around. They look good and feel good on the road, but I haven't really taken them on any winding roads yet to check them out fully. No issues as to front clearance. I was going to buy 5 so that I could have the same size on the spare, but Tire Rack only had 4 left. I took the better of the rear tires and put it on the spare since it will be closer to what I now have on the car.
Interesting, the tires have to be mounted with the "outside" of the tire showing, but they don't say that they are "one directional." My tire guy says that you can rotate them from side to side, since the outside will still be outside when you rotate them. Is that right?

TAF
01-22-2004, 01:17 PM
Interesting, the tires have to be mounted with the "outside" of the tire showing, but they don't say that they are "one directional." My tire guy says that you can rotate them from side to side, since the outside will still be outside when you rotate them. Is that right?
Sounds right to me...:confused: ...did he go over the VERY important "air rotation" that those Pirellis need?;)

Ross
01-22-2004, 01:27 PM
Todd, don't you know that Pirelli's use synthetic air which doesn't need to be rotated?

SergntMac
01-22-2004, 07:00 PM
Congrats Ross, you're going to love these tires. You'll find that they respond very well to adjustments in air pressure. I ran my best ET to date, a 12.81, on Pirellis with 4/32 of tread and 25 PSI. The stick like glue, rain or shine. But, they do wear too, and you can slow that by watching your pressure and alignment, and rotation. Having burned up one set of front tires, and three sets of rears, I did some homework on "Life with Pirelli tires."

I got my best wear with 40 PSI. This was a tad rough on the ride, you do get more road feel. But, your rolling resistance, another wear factor, is at its minimal. For just driving around town, 40 PSI is my recommendation.

When you're hitting the highway for an extended time, drop the PSI to 36. The ride will be a bit softer, and the tires will be sticker, which will benefit your control when road conditions change sudenly, such as driving into a surprise storm in the mountains. Set them up before you leave, restore when you get home.

Planning on driving some twisties? Looking for the grip adventure? Drop to 32 PSI and you'll feel like you're glued to the pavement. The thing about Pirellis, is their uniquely strong sidewalls. You can run 32 PSI and crank her lock to lock at high speed without a worry of side wall collapse or roll over.

Want to race in a straight line? Pump the fronts to 44 PSI and drop the rears to 25. Your front tires won't dig in and hold you back, and the rears will really do their job.

I don't agree with the side to side rotation, only because I don't think you will get anything out of that. The inside tracks is what wears on the front tires. But, I do suggest a front-rear rotation, every 5K. This should balance your wear across the 9.5 inch wide footprint, and you should see 20K from this set.

Last thought, make your PSI adjustments precise, and a no-brainer too. Get yourself a PSI equalizer, like the kit from Percy's, through Summit Racing. This device is a simple "Y" joint with a gauge mounted which allows two tires to be adjusted, balanced and equalized in one step. You can balance from side to side, or, front to rear. It's 60 bucks from Summit, and a real time saver too. Connect to two tires at once with pop off valves, and fill from the center bung, where a 60 Lb PSI gauge guiding you. Summit's on-line cat does not show a pic, but their Jan-Feb '04 cat has a pic on page 15, lower left corner. Here's a shortcut to order.

http://store.summitracing.com/default.asp?target=search.asp&type=bysummitpart&searchtype=both&part=php-01005&x=20&y=14

Enjoy, Ross, but please don't tell TAF about that custom Helium mix we discussed.

evillally
01-23-2004, 05:52 AM
I just picked-up 4 Goodyear Eagle Ultra-Grip tires. What a difference in snow traction!

TAF
01-23-2004, 05:56 AM
Enjoy, Ross, but please don't tell TAF about that custom Helium mix we discussed.
I always suspected you two were inhaling...somethin'...:up:

Ross
01-23-2004, 09:05 AM
I'm making a business trip up to northeast Texas next week. Should be able to get a little more winding road experience than I get in Houston. Looking forward to putting the new rubber through its paces. Thanks for all the good info Sarge.