How many miles would you say to run in new rear tyres?

[im]

Am going on a hoon on Sunday but just put 2 new REAR Bridgestone Potenza SO2's on my Chim.

Got a hint from a fellow hooner that this could give me grief if I give it some beans on the hoon without "running the tyres in" first.

So if I drive about a bit today (Saturday) do you think 50 miles would be enough?

I assume the problem is the 'sheen' on the new tread?

[Roberto Rica]

Find some high friction surfacing such as 'Shellgrip' and give it some wellying.

[im]

Roberto Rica said:

Find some high friction surfacing such as 'Shellgrip' and give it some wellying.

Thanks for the reply but what's 'Shellgrip'?

[spend]

Have a search 'scrubbing in' ~ loads of threads. IMHO try not to change tyres until the weather is warmer... Whatever you think its hard to get even heat into them at this time of year, lighting up the outside just doesnt seem to work so well. If I was you I would put your old ones back ~ unless they were illegal of course. You need to heat & cool them a couple times I reckon ~ distance is not an effective method from all reports (loads of threads on 'tyre wars' in the past also).

Dave

[Martin W]

I had Toyo Proxes put on the rear of mine last weekend and was advised that approx. 150 miles should do it. Sounds like a nice drive might be in order today!

[im]

Cheers guys

Tried a search for "scrubing in" on loads of forums going back 2 years but nothing came up of relevance about tyres.

Tried "tyre sheen", "tyre wear", "new tyres" and again nothing about the bestway to do it came up.

...sigh...

I'll give it 100 miles today and TRY and get a feel for it. Unfortunately I can't put the old ones back on as they are well below the legal requirement - although they looked fine on the outside. Anyway, they've gone to tyre heaven now so its too late anyway.

Again, thanks for the help.

[BD Pro]

Drive 50 miles then 10 consecutive donuts(in a safe open area, not city centre). Should be enough to soften and roughen. You need friction so let them scream a liitle.

[Roberto Rica]

High Friction Surfacing such as 'Sheelgrip' is used extensively on the approaches to traffic lights, roundabouts and bends - it's the surfacing that looks much lighter than the normal asphalt/bitmac - sometimes gives off a soapy smell due to the inclusion of Bauxite, which is usually imported from China.

Rob

[zippee]

Where did you manage to get SO2s from? Thought they were discontinued long ago and subsequently are now rarer than rocking horse poo!

[hut49]

im said:

Am going on a hoon on Sunday but just put 2 new REAR Bridgestone Potenza SO2's on my Chim.

I take it these are PolePositions? There was a thread about 'ordinary' SO2s being Porsche specific

[GreenV8S]

The tyres need to go through several phases before they will work at their best. First you need to wear off the release compound, this will take a few miles. Then you need to lightly buff the surface of the tyre and scrub the surface in. This will take a few hundred miles of normal driving but will happen much quicker if you are throwing the car around. Then you need to cure them. The final stage is the one that most people seem to miss out and it makes a big difference. You need to get the tyres up to around 50C and then let them cool down gradually over an hour or so. 50C is too hot to touch comfortably but not enough to burn. You need to get the entire thickness of the tread up to this temperature not just the out layer. The best way to do this is to continually accelerate, brake and corner using about 3/4 of the available grip, the tyres will be starting to squirm with the occasional squeal but not sliding or laying down rubber. In good conditions this takes about ten minutes. In very cold conditions you may simply not be able to generate enough heat. Be careful where you do it, obviously it's not something you want to be doing near other people. You will find it is easier to generate heat if you overinflate the tyres by about 25% (make sure you stay inside the tyres maximum rated pressure), this reduces the size of the contact patch and increases the sheer stress on the tread so it deflects more, but you need to be aware that it will also reduce the available grip.

Each time you get the tyres hot like this it cures them a little further, but it's a case of diminishing returns, the first time makes the most difference.

Curing makes the rubber in the tyre harder and tougher, so the tyre holds its shape better when you load it up. If you push the tyres hard before they have cured you will find the tread blocks distort when you try to load them up. This puts more heat into the tyre, which softens them, so they distort more, and you end up in a vicous spiral that can wipe out new tyres very quickly if you keep pushing them. This is why you can wreck new tyres at a track day, but take well used tyres and come back without any significant wear.

[Roberto Rica]

Hi

Great advice GreenV8S - HFS will help shorten this process.

Regarding the unavailability of new SO2 PPs I have a pair of brand new Bridgestone SO2s Pole Positions in the standard rear size for TVR Griffith/Chimaera (225/50ZR16s).

They are still in the Bridgestone wrappers so easy to transport if anyone needs a pair.

Rob

Edited by Roberto Rica on Saturday 17th February 12:57

[im]

Yep - great advice and info from EVERYONE! Thanks so much - looks like I'll have to take it easy tomorrow morning then. I've managed to do 155 miles today but it would appear I need to put more 'application' in than I had previously thought before letting rip.

I got the tyres from Elite Garages who said that it was the last 2 they would be able to source. I took them at a cost of £200 the pair - fitted, balanced etc.

[spend]

im said:

Tried a search for "scrubing in".

WTF is scrubing? Is there an AloAlo section I've not erd abot?