RSAErick

I'm 3 hours of highway miles away from Portland International Raceway, and would like to drive my MPSC's to the track and back (total of 6 hours).

I am doing this purely for the convenience factor.

Does anyone have a feel for how much life I am taking from the tires by doing this? Is it tread, or heat cycles (or both) that I am taking?

Thanks as usual,

AJ88CAB

Take a look at this thread.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/showt...hreadid=222176

I drove my Toyo RA1's 4+ hours each way (Atlanta to Savannah/Roebling Road). The track time will do a whole lot more to the tires as most commented on. The tires were new though. After two, 2-day track events (Roebling & Road Atlanta), the treads are worn some (Roebling is real hard on tires). I would be very careful if there was a chance of rain now.

Bull

We have many people who drive on MPSCs and other r-compound tires to events 4 hours away. They believe they have minimal wear on the street...not enough to do otherwise. They are more likely to pick up sharp objects, etc.

The warning about watching for rain is a good one, particularly given your location! (I lived in Seattle, Bellevue, then Issaquah in a previous life). Seriously, it is the heavy rain/standing water that you need to be cautious of.

TheOtherEric

I drove MPSC's to all my events last summer; anywhere from 2hrs to 7hrs, probably averaging 3.5 hrs each event. I did that probably 6 times, for a total of 10 track days. No worries. HOWEVER, I just inspected those MPSC's and found a HUGE gash in one tire's tread. Probably 0.5" deep, 1" long, and you see can a bunch of slashed cords. So now I'm wondering if driving MPSC's on the street might not be such a great idea.

This year I'm driving Dunlop SSR's to every event and have done about 9 days on them, no problem. Still have tread left too.

I personally think that changing tires at the track sucks, and I'm not willing to trailer my car.

Bill Gregory

I drive the short 1 hour to my local track on MPSC's, but either cart them myself (overhead rack) or have a friend take them, for longer distances. Figure they are just too expensive to use on longer street drives. BTW, a Sears battery-powered drill does wonders to make tire changing quicker and easier.

Wreck Me Otter

The main issue for me is that if you puncture your track tire on the street, you can't plug it and continue using it on the track. Too risky for expensive tires IMHO.

jrgordonsenior

If you decide to drive the MPSC's, inflate them more than you would at the track to keep them off the shoulders. Since you aren't sliding them around, they won't get as hot as they do on the track and thereby could damage the shoulders, especially if you have some serious negative camber.

JCP911S

I drove my car to the track for years. Wear is not an issue. Handling in rain or cold weather can be somewhat dangerous. Clearly the potential for punctures is there.

Another big problem I had was ride harshness... R compounds typically have very stiff sidewalls. Potholes bumps etc really drive alot of impact into the suspension/chassis... particularly if you have a track suspension also. I have had suspension pieces break, and actually rip out of the chassis.

IF the road is smooth this will be less of a problem

PT

I drove to the track with my R compound for a few years until the 1 time that I was hydroplaning for 2 and 1/2 hours to the track. It was down right dangerous at that time. Plus the thought of puncture and "can't really wear them down to cord on track" convinced me to pull a small tire trailer with my own car to the track.

BrokeAss

I'll ditto some of the sentiments here. Wear isn't really an issue.
Cording a tire on the track or encountering rain on the way home can be a big problem.
I've driven to the track on my R compounds. The ride can be harsh - especially on the way home when your wheels have all kinds of rubber balled up inside of them, or thrown a wheel weight.

If you've got track tires, chances are you've got different brake pads too. Track pads don't work when they're cold! Asking your car to make a sudden stop in traffic on cold race pads is very dangerous.

RSAErick

Thanks everyone for your insightful comments. I have changed my impressions about driving to the track with r-compounds. I always worried so much about wear and tire lifespan, but rarely about punctures. Plus, rain is always a possibility in the northwest. Still, I drive them to my local track, and may eventually drive them to a more distant track, if the weather is good. I'm getting tired of changing them at the track - even with a cordless drill. Maybe if it was a cordelss impact drill!

Wreck Me Otter

A cordless impact wrench that can break the lug nuts while the car is on jackstands is possibly the greatest invention of mankind...

Z-man

The 19mm 6-point deep socket IS the greatest invention of mankind!

I use a breaker bar to loosen the lug nuts, and then use my small Ryobi (7.2 volt?) cordless drill to zip them off.

I have done the whole gammut regarding tires -- drove to the track with R's (2 - 4 hours away), drove with the 4 tires on my roof, trailered with a borrowed truck, and this weekend, it will be the first time I'm using my Porsche to pull my recently aquired tire trailer.

All of the above options offer good solutions, but also introduce their own unique issues as well. If you have a truck/SUV that you can use to pull your car, IMHO, that is the best bet. 2nd best is the tire trailer thingy.

After the last time I used my roof racks I felt is really over-weighed the car. Then again, I also packed in the hatch my two rubber maid track containers, my tool box, jack, AND a 12x12 canopy. (I don't pack light!)

Back to the original question:
While driving to the track on R's won't for the most part wear out your track tires, I have two concerns about that:
1. If your R's are worn down to the point that my RA-1's are now, it would be outright dangerous to drive with them in the rain -- in the wet, they are slicker than snot on a doorknob!
2. At about $200 a corner for track tires, damage that occurs to the tires while driving to/from the track now becomes significantly more costly.

Just my $0.42,
-Z.

aeshultz

And the $150 Harbor Freight battery Impact gun is just the tool for this.

Heddok

I've heard I'm not supposed to use an impact wrench on the alloy lug bolts of my boxster. So can I do this or will I round off the hex?
Thanks
Brad