88Z51

First let me say I understand the old adage 'you get what you pay for', and these aren't exactly expensive tires, but they seemed at least okay when new. But now that they are a few years old they seemed to have completely gone away. At the last autocross last year they seemed like they had lost a lot of grip compared to previous events, but after driving it yesterday around PIR, the car was sliding all over the place.

I seem to recall reading here about others expressing the same issue with these tires - when they go away, they go completely away.

95jersey

You got a few years out of a set of track tires?? I think your ahead of all of us. Sounds like you got your money's worth to me. Time for a new set

88Z51

No, they are a street tire (this is a street driven car that gets autocrossed).

shakedown067

Man, I barely get a set of tires to last a year...and that was BEFORE I started autocrossing. They are probably just old and tired. Age is almost as big of a factor as tread depth...if not more so.

jaa1992

A set of Summitos that I've used for several track weekends and DD are now a year old.
They are getting to the point where they are just good for DD - good thing I got some rims and a set of Hoosier R6's for Time Trials.

Time to start saving my pennies for another set.

vettehardt

It could have a different coumpound of rubber exposed now. The mfrgs tend to put different compunds on so they have different characteristics when they wear down. Usually there is a harder compound next to the carcus vs. a softer compound at full tread size. I think it is more for wear than for grip. This is especially true on their all season tires. Summer tires start with a lower tread depth so they tend not to have the different compounds.

If you want a set of good all around summer street tires look at the Kumho SPTs or BF Goodrich G-Force Sports. I haven't used the Kumhos but I have used the BFGs on my 98 Camaro. They stuck great for the first year, but I think having them stored in an unheated enclosed trailer for the winter hurt them. They wouldn't stick at all the next year. I think they would have been good still if I could have stored them in a heated garage.

If you don't care about how long they last, but still want a street tire, look at the Kumho Ecsta XS. They are dominating street tire classes at autocrosses. You will not get alot of miles out of them because of their soft compound.

If you are looking for a all season, I don't have much experience with how well they perform in an autocross. I do have a set of continental conti-contact extreems on my camaro right now for winter. The work well in the snow.

For all out race tires look at the Kumho V710s or Hoosier A6s. Both are great tires. The hoosiers have a little more grip, but the kumhos last a little longer.