GhostGT

Considering that almost every day my tires spin at least 2-5 seconds, and i get some smoke...how long do u think they will last? I also do an occasional donut here and there. there is an uphill stopsign I always floor it on, and i get massive wheelspin until they grab the road (2-4 seconds of spin max.) Is that bad for the tires?



ALSO...our AXLES: :scratch:

I've heard many on M3Forums who have broken their axles (?) by doing a hard launch where the tires will spin and EVENTUALLY grab the road. Is this something I should even worry about when I spin my tires? (auto tranny for me)?



Sorry, I know these are killer "noob" questions..but I'm curious.


Thanks!

Indystang

I once read that every burnout that you do uses up about 100 miles worth of rubber. Depends how long the burnout is I suppose. I have a tire depth gauge I keep an eye on the wear myself and these Pirellis wear like iron for me. Mine are showing 9/32" now with 13.7k miles on them. I figure I will get about 45k out of mine unless I go with some Goodrich KDWS rubber before then.

Cleveland

Its going to be very hard to break our rear ends. The Ford 8.8" rears are darn close to 9" strength IMO. You shouldnt compare an IRS, especially that of a BMW to a Solid Mustang.

-Dan

GhostGT

Okay so no worries there...but how about in the tire department? Am I okay with a daily spin of 2-3 seconds?

Cleveland

Im going onto 16000miles with the last 6k involved in about 30 trips down the 1320 with burnouts before each, small ones and large. While the tires are thrashed from doing plenty of burnouts they still have enough tread for the rainy days.

I do suggest you pick up a spare tire set, Drag Radials for the strip so you can keep your street tires good for as long as possible.

On a side note, the first heavy rain for the season slipped my front tires on a right turn and I hopped the curb and destroyed my driverside wheel. I only regained control when that same wheel's tire reached soil and I threw the car back onto the pavement before possibly taking it into the bushes and further.

I just bought a slightly used replacement on ebay for $95 shipped so I'll be driving on the spare tire for the next week.

A pointer, if you can think fast enough I suggest flooring the pedal to spin your rear if you find yourself in that situation. I was taking it easy on the road and my foot wasnt close enough to the pedal to react as needed. Im just greatful I didnt rap the car around a tree.

Take it easy this winter.

-Dan

dustindu4

I'm at about 17.5K miles now. I've taken it to the track a buttload of times and burned the tires out more times than I care to remember. Everyt ime I come back from the track my rear quarter panel has tire chunks sprayed all over it. On a side note I took the back wheels off 2 weeks ago and cleaned out the wheel wells, man it was gross, all the rubber chunks in there. Anyways the stock tires still have a ton of tread on them. I'd have to say they're good for 40k miles at least.

If you're just doing quick burnouts every day, I doubt that hurts the tires much. You have to heat them up to a high temp to really start taking rubber off them.

holeshot

i have 12,500 miles on my car and both front and rear tires are past the wear indicators for some reason.

300HPGT

Well i have had my KDW2's on for 14,000 miles and I drive spirited and I expect about another 15,000 or more miles out of them.

gkaufman

well i have 22k on mine... and whiel they have tread and some life left I can tell you that the wet traction now blows and I find myself understeering ALOT in the rain. Very scary if you are not ready. Just be careful. I think they lost their stickyness compound.

GhostGT

See, I just went and did a "finger" check and pushed my finger as much as I could into a section of the thread going all around. The front tires had some more depth than my rears. Also, I'm running on K104 Sports (for my 20" Foose wheels.) Is there a way I can officially "check" my thread...or would you guys like for me to take some pictures of both the front and back? That way, maybe you guys can get a petter picture (literally...:)

Cleveland

In this case a picture wont be worth a 1000 words unless you get a depth gauge in the treads.

-Dan

acadian

Scary... glad it wasn't worse.

don_w

This is a funny thread for me. I must be near the top of the tire melting crowd... hahaha.

Let's put it this way. I love big smokey burnouts (duh - you all know that already); and about 90% of them are at the track. I changed my stock rubber with Nitto 450s at 1,400 miles. I replaced the first set of Nittos at 7,200 miles (melted). The second set of Nittos were replaced 2 weeks ago at 10,800 miles (again, melted). But, now that I have the MT drag radials, I suspect this third set of Nittos will last a while longer.

Indystang

The wear indicators on tires are at 2/32in. Or if you put a Lincoln penny down in the groove, the head of Lincoln should be covered up somewhat. The tread depth gauges are very cheap I got mine at an autoparts store for around $5. I rotate my tires at 5k miles too. Also if you look at the tread rating on the side of the tire and multiply by 125 this is approximately the best estimate mileage that can be expected from that tire figuring on some highway and some city driving. Example...400 rating x 125 = 50k miles. I was told by a Goodyear dealer that this is pretty close to actual.

acadian

Nice tip!

Question: Let's say you have 255's on the front and 285's on the rear, and therefore can't rotate the tires... how long should some BFG g-Force KDW's last you, assuming you don't do any burnouts? 15k? 20k?

GhostGT

Oh my god are you serious? The thread on BOTH my front/rears don't even reach the middle of the penny! Or am I putting the penny in wrong (headfirst or not?)


I just measured my thread...

Fronts: 1/4 inch
Backs: 1/8 inch

Yea, I'm just gonna go and freak out now...brb.

Sonic Brew

Head first, I believe, thats how I heard to use the penny. But thats only gives you a general idea.

dustindu4

I've seen an 05 automatic lift it's front wheels off the ground on a launch so I'd say you're all set. Don't listen to M3 forums, they don't have solid rear axles like us.

GhostGT

Sounds good to me. Thanks!