Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

The first used pair I bought were already pretty tired so I wasn't worried as they were dirt cheap to learn on.

I'm looking at some more used semis but with a bit more meat now and wanting some assistance identifying damage that's of concern.

In this link a guy has some 235 RE55s which he says have plenty of tread left, the pics show some melted rubber on the tread surface. Is this indicative of overheating or is it simply rubber that's been picked up on the tread surface while it was hot and has cooled there. Would I expect this to come off once the tyres are at temp?

Cheers

Edited by ActionDan
Link to comment
https://www.sau.com.au/forums/topic/363732-identifying-damage-on-used-semis/
Share on other sites

  • Replies 47
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The top tyre in the first set is the only one of concern. It appears to be a bit "choppy", ei, driven a fair bit past its maximum grip threshold. Just use it on the inside rear and it'll be fine though.

The rubber is just "pickup", it comes off, no concerns there.

The top tyre in the second batch is obviously the most worn too, again, just use it on the rear (or wherever your car uses rubber the least.

Keep in mind you'll likely need two sessions to scrub someone elses tyres into your car's setup.

lol, I'm chasing 1,000 x 75mm long peg board thingys. We use them for our retail display stands we give to our retailers. Aussie prices is 60 cents each which I find simply fkn outrageous.

Why you mixing Facebook with SAU tyre thread? LOL

The first set would be my pick.

They seem to have a bit more tread depth.

2 tyres are a bit excessively worn on the outside edge, probably due to lack of camber, but nothing i'd be worried about. Particularly when they are only 500 bucks.

The old rubber is a good indicator that they have only been used on the track and then wheels swapped for the trip home.

Chuck them on the rear, run them into the ground. RE55's still provide good grip well past the indicators.

The second set have been driven on the street. Way too clean, possibly past their best as far as heat cycles go. I would leave them alone.

Ideally I was after some proper R comps, I considered the KU36s as I can get a new set for about 700 but for another 300 I can get R888s instead. In the end I wasn't looking to spend that much anyway, hence shopping for second handers. This new house is eating up all the moneyz.

You should PM me with details anyway out of curiosity...

Edited by ActionDan

if you can get a set of new KU36s for $700 get them. way better than half fked RE55 for $500. you'll get way more like out of brand new KU36 vs shagged used tyres. seriously buying cheap used ones is a bit of a false economy if you can get new so cheap. it's only worth buying used if you can get anything new under $2K or so.

Option Garage is doing them for that price but if I'm spending $700 (which I really shouldn't be anyway due to having just bought a house) then I'm only another $300 away from the R888s (GG compound) which would be much faster.

One think I couldn't clearly ascertain was how the KU36's would let me down, is it just in outright grip or also in ability to handle sustained hot laps (or both?)

It's also no as straight forward as comparing new KUs to used REs because the KUs are still a street tyre.

Edited by ActionDan

I've just gone from virtually bald A032R's (semi) 265/17 to almost new AD08s (street) 285/18...

I can tell you now the almost dead 7yo semi's were MUCH grippier than the AD08. :/

If you are doing roundy roundy circuit, then getting 2nd hand semi's would be better. KU's will never be as fast lap time wise - and if thats what you want, who cares about tyre life?

If you intend to street/circuit then it comes down to scale of economy, and what you want.

This was my understanding of it too, old R comps are still quicker but I also saw ssxRicoh (think thats the username) saying he set his best PB on KUs as opposed to shagged semis (was a cold day and the KUs prefer that).

So I'm a bit lost, I realise that for 500 I'll be getting used semis instead of new street tyres but given how much grip even the shagged ones I bought had (old old RE55s I got for $200) I'm not sure if a street tyre will satisfy me grip wise.

The other option is I go the new streets and if they are no good after one track day I sell them on or swap them for some used semis.

What's your say on the grip situation Richard?

Hmm, realistically I can probably squeeze another day or two from the semis I have, the fronts will take it but the rears are well into the depth indicators and have a few nice scratches from burnouts at DECA, woops.

After that I think I'll stick with the semis.

So, the question remains... who has some 235 R17 semis for me!

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • Well you could certainly buy or build an enclosure for a pod in that corner of the bay. It is absolutely vital that there is a nice big opening to let cold air in to it from the front or underside, otherwise it will just pull air in around the edges from the bay, and if that air is hot, you gain nothing from enclosing the pod. There is lots of good evidence around (including on here, see posts by @Kinkstaah for example) showing that pods pulling hot air from the bay is only a problem when you're static or slow in traffic, and that as soon as you get the car up and moving the air being grabbed by the pod cools down. Although that will obviously vary from car to car, whether there is a flow of cold air to the pod or if it all has to come through the radiator area, etc etc. Obviously, the whole exercise requires as much thought as anything else does. Doing the lazy thing will often end up being the dumb thing. The stock GTT airbox has a cold air snorkel to feed it from over the radiator. Shows that Nissan were thinking. The GT airbox is upside down compared to the turbo one, yeah? Inlet at the bottom, AFM/exit on the lid? That might make it harder to route the turbo inlet pipe using the GT airbox than a turbo one. That would probably be the main reason I'd consider not using it, not that it is too small and restrictive. I'm looking at a photo of one now and the inlet opening seems nice and large. Also seems to have the same type of snorkel that the turbo one has. Maybe all that's required is to make a less restrictive snorkel/cold air inlet, perhaps by punching down through the guard like I did.
    • Also seen this as an option 
    • I get you, we’ll see I’m aiming for 200ish kw now and hopefully 300rwkw down the line after some upgrades maybe like headstuds, E85 flex fuel etc  so trying to make it final for that now, I can get a GTT airbox for $280 so it’s not too bad but not sure if there’s better ways to spend that money. I seen online they say pod filter which isn’t enclosed isn’t good especially for a plus T.      hard to say what to do
    • Meh. How much power can you make from a +T anyway? I wouldn't have though it would be enough to challenge the airbox. It's not as if it's tiny compared with the turbo one. As to putting a pod in a stock airbox .... it's not the filter element that would be restrictive. It would be the air inlet to the box that would be the narrow point, which you could open up regardless of what element was inside. On my R32 I opened up the sort of triangular opening in the bottom front corner of the box, deformed (heated, moulded) some 4" stormwater pipe to fit to that opening and punched a 4" hole down through the inner guard to the spot where the stock intercooler used to be. This was purely in the search for a cold intake, but you could do something similar if you need to open up the inlet side of it. The AFM tube size is the same for both NA and turbo, so the outlet from the airbox is same same anyway. If you're going to do the right thing, then an aftermarket ECU won't care about the AFM (ie, you can get rid of it). But even if it was still there, people pull >300rwkW through them all day, and I suspect you won't be going there.
    • R34 RB25de Neo by the way ^ 
×
×
  • Create New...