Tire Wear at Laurinburg?

Adam Biolsi · **Joined:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:19 pm **Posts:** 41

I spoke with my local tuner about auto-x'ing at Laurinburg, and he mentioned the surface is abrasive and tires may wear more than usual.

I had every intention of running my car in stock form for quite some time. It appears I may have to adjust. Does anybody have more definitive information about this?

The wife and I signed up for both the Novice clinic, and the event on Sunday.

Carl Fisher · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:41 pm

Laurinburg's concrete surface does wear tires more than asphalt surfaces like Sanford, but the sad truth, Adam, is that even autocrossing on the smoothest site is going to cause your tires to wear about 100x (total guess) faster than normal street driving. Laurinburg is maybe 120x. But it's also faster and more fun IMO than any other site.

Here's my advice: Run the L'burg weekend with your wife. Have fun, drive hard. Assess the tire wear vs. the fun you had, and whether y'all think you'll stick with the sport for a while and make an informed decision what to do.

One good option that I don't see too many people doing any more is to pick up an extra set of rims (steelies or cheap cast-offs) and find some $10/per "almost bald" tires to have mounted on them. Then on race weekends, put those wheels on (changing your own tires is easy fyi) and your street wheels and tires can stay clean and safe at home. You definitely want to spend your first season (even 2) on street tires, it makes learning a lot easier.

Good luck!

Richard Casto · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:58 pm

Ditto what Carl said.

I personally wouldn't worry about the tire wear. Just enjoy the weekend and have fun!

Ryan Holton · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 9:59 pm

Adam Biolsi wrote:

I spoke with my local tuner about auto-x'ing at Laurinburg, and he mentioned the surface is abrasive and tires may wear more than usual.

I had every intention of running my car in stock form for quite some time. It appears I may have to adjust. Does anybody have more definitive information about this?

The wife and I signed up for both the Novice clinic, and the event on Sunday.

Yeah, what Carl said.

Tire wear is more pronounced for R compound shod cars.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:35 pm

Ryan Holton wrote:

Adam Biolsi wrote:

I spoke with my local tuner about auto-x'ing at Laurinburg, and he mentioned the surface is abrasive and tires may wear more than usual.

I had every intention of running my car in stock form for quite some time. It appears I may have to adjust. Does anybody have more definitive information about this?

The wife and I signed up for both the Novice clinic, and the event on Sunday.

Yeah, what Carl said.

Tire wear is more pronounced for R compound shod cars.

aaahh-uuum, unless you suck like i did / do at autoX. i smoked a new set of Michelin Pilot Sport IIs my first autoX season. but i do have this issue with lifting so the push/drift thing was a little hard on the tires.

what you will probably find after your weekend Adam, is that you have scuffed the outside edges of your tires more than what you would normally see in street driving. if you are smooth (the secret) this wear will be minimal.

just out of curiosity, what do you drive?

Jason Mauldin · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:41 pm

Ryan Holton wrote:

Yeah, what Carl said.

Tire wear is more pronounced for R compound shod cars.

Are these the super sticky tires on the GT-R? If so, just be aware to not push the front of the car around.

steve remchak · **Posted:** Thu Feb 19, 2009 10:46 pm

Jason Mauldin wrote:

Ryan Holton wrote:

Yeah, what Carl said.

Tire wear is more pronounced for R compound shod cars.

Are these the super sticky tires on the GT-R? If so, just be aware to not push the front of the car around.

sweet. a GT-R at an autoX. that destroys my theory on the popularity of that car. :oops:

hey Jason, do you happen to remember how bad i was at the Nov school. i seem to remember your demeanor was leaning towards Other Sports Beckon

Matt McGrain · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:09 am

Adam, I agree with Carl about driving then assessing the wear.

What you're probably going to notice is a little wear on the front outer edges due to the GT-R's size and weight from cornering. Just make sure you run a little higher pressure during the school and event (5-10 psi higher than DD'ing).

George Bright · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 9:27 am

When I was active in auto-X I had two sets of wheels. When my street tires started to get thin on tread they bacame my auto-x tires and I bought a new set of tires for the street. I also drove to the event on my street tires if the weather was iffy. Driving to Laurenburg on almost bald tires in the rain is no fun. I was lucky that cheap steel wheels were available for my PL-510.

BriceJohnson · **Joined:** Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:33 am **Posts:** 2230

hehe

finding steelies to fit a GT-R might be kinda hard.

Don't sweat the tire wear too much. Laurinburg has TONS of grip which makes it a lot of fun.

Don't take this the wrong way, but if you can afford a GT-R, you can afford the tire wear of autocross. For me, it means I buy a set of tires every year. I run a sticky ST tire for my everyday tire, and get roughly 18k miles and a season of autocross out of them. You may see a little less life out of yours given the added weight and two drivers, but don't let it scare you away. Trust me, its worth it.

Chuck Frank · **Posted:** Fri Feb 20, 2009 6:41 pm

Overdriving into the corners causes more tire wear for the novice than the surface you're running on IMHO. If you find yourself continuing to turn the wheel tight as you go thru the first 1/2 the turn, you are likely over driving. It's nearly impossible to brake too early for a turn but braking too late is a major time killer. You CANNOT go faster by driving deeper into a turn, it will just add time. Concentrate on braking a good 50' sooner than you think you should. If you broke too much/too early you can always add more throttle as you go around the turn. If the car starts pushing as you enter the turn from carrying too much speed in, turning the wheel more will NOT help, it will just add to the push.

Adam Biolsi · **Joined:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:19 pm **Posts:** 41

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yeah, it's the same GT-R on RE070R's that I ran at CMP, VIR (2x), countless 1/4 runs, and an auto-x at Carowinds in Dec. I'm still on the original tires (and they are about half gone).

It doesn't help that the wife is giving the car double duty (she drives better than I do).

It doesn't sound as bleak as I was originally told. I think I'm going to concentrate on having a good time at the novice clinic, and the auto-x event with the wife, and we'll assess the tires after the weekend.

Again, thanks guys.

Adam Biolsi · **Joined:** Sat Jan 17, 2009 8:19 pm **Posts:** 41

Chuck Frank wrote:

Overdriving into the corners causes more tire wear for the novice than the surface you're running on IMHO. If you find yourself continuing to turn the wheel tight as you go thru the first 1/2 the turn, you are likely over driving. It's nearly impossible to brake too early for a turn but braking too late is a major time killer. You CANNOT go faster by driving deeper into a turn, it will just add time. Concentrate on braking a good 50' sooner than you think you should. If you broke too much/too early you can always add more throttle as you go around the turn. If the car starts pushing as you enter the turn from carrying too much speed in, turning the wheel more will NOT help, it will just add to the push.

And this is why I'm going to the novice clinic. I'm familiar with this, but doing it in real time is something I've been working on (and need improvement).

Kevin Allen · **Joined:** Thu Aug 28, 2003 6:42 pm **Posts:** 3479

Adam Biolsi wrote:

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone.

Yeah, it's the same GT-R on RE070R's that I ran at CMP, VIR (2x), countless 1/4 runs, and an auto-x at Carowinds in Dec. I'm still on the original tires (and they are about half gone).

It doesn't help that the wife is giving the car double duty (she drives better than I do).

It doesn't sound as bleak as I was originally told. I think I'm going to concentrate on having a good time at the novice clinic, and the auto-x event with the wife, and we'll assess the tires after the weekend.

Again, thanks guys.

Laurinburg should finish them off for you, then. I hate Laurinburg for various reasons, including tire wear. I'm not really that into high grip levels, though.

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Tire Wear at Laurinburg?

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