Any Psychics in the house I need a tire reading.

After 5 track events I have finally bonded with my new car.  Let's play a game I call read these tires.

2008 Mustang GT, full fat version.  255/45/18 front 285/40/18 rear, 35psi, 34psi hot, 28 cold.

Tires are 2016 vintage Continentals with 340 tread wear ratings.

I painted a portion of each tire to see how far they were rolling over.

Drivers front.

Slight feathering, this is new.  Previous wear was more even.

Almost no paint left on this one.  This is the drivers rear.  What is up with the ridge towards the edge of the tread.

Rear, pretty flat.

Better shot of a ridge, out side rear.

And what it looks like in action.

akylekoz said: What is up with the ridge towards the edge of the tread.

That's abrasion graining, caused by the tire sliding.  Pretty normal to see on the edges of a street compound driven with any slip angle.

In reply to red_stapler :

That would make sense why I never saw this before.  Prior to my last track day I installed a T2R, the push/slide turned into grip and slip.  

Some light chunking is also new, but it was a little chilly out and I was not patient warming the tires.

Seems fine. Maybe a bit more pressure but on crap tires like those just keeping them from riding on the sidewalls is a win.

Those tires predated our last presidency and a pandemic.  They're from an entirely different era!  Zombie tires.  I predict that you're going to try to kill them, only to have them show up at another HPDE 28 days later.

In reply to Tyler H (Forum Supporter) :

Dood!   That is really spooky.  It's like you can read my mind.

My guess is you are just experiencing what it is like to use a 3600lb 300hp car to abuse 255s on the front.  Even with new 200TW I predict similar results, but with more grip.

akylekoz said:

In reply to red_stapler :

That would make sense why I never saw this before.  Prior to my last track day I installed a T2R, the push/slide turned into grip and slip.  

What is a T2R?

dps214 said:

Seems fine. Maybe a bit more pressure but on crap tires like those just keeping them from riding on the sidewalls is a win.

Hey! Since when are Continental ECS tires "crap?" I resemble that remark.

Based on the absurd amount of rubber left on those tires, you should be going faster.

In reply to ProDarwin :

It's the Torsen differential that comes in Boss 302 and other track spec cars.

300hp!  I'm 330 at the wheels, Ooo WOW, I know, not impressive in 2022.

In reply to Streetwiseguy :

I pulled of a 1:51 at Gingerman in this pig.  The abundance of tread is likely due to them being hard as a rock....and how slow I am.  

In reply to dculberson :

Honestly these are not the best as dedicated track tire but they are hilariously fun in their current state.  I felt like I was in the spec tiger paw class.

A fresh set may not be bad at all, actually tempted to not go 200TW time and look in the 300 range.  It was that much fun.

dculberson said:

dps214 said:

Seems fine. Maybe a bit more pressure but on crap tires like those just keeping them from riding on the sidewalls is a win.

Hey! Since when are Continental ECS tires "crap?" I resemble that remark.

The ECS isn't crap, but those are the older Continental DW that preceded the ECS.  I don't remember those being nearly as good, nor holding up nearly as well as the ECS to stuff like track use. 

rslifkin said:

dculberson said:

dps214 said:

Seems fine. Maybe a bit more pressure but on crap tires like those just keeping them from riding on the sidewalls is a win.

Hey! Since when are Continental ECS tires "crap?" I resemble that remark.

The ECS isn't crap, but those are the older Continental DW that preceded the ECS.  I don't remember those being nearly as good, nor holding up nearly as well as the ECS to stuff like track use. 

Yes. And crap might be harsh but none of the 300tw tires are really truly designed for track work. A friend of mine did one lap on Michelin ps4s on a heavy camber challenged car and they literally wore the Michelin logos off the sidewalls.

So, based on comments, how bad my tires are and how much of a pig my car is...could be worse Huh?

Until these are completely dead maybe a little more pressure in the front.  Drive harder to kill them quicker, and select a larger size front next time.  Next tires will likely be 275/40/18 front and rear.

If you are sticking with that category of tire for your next set I'd take a hard look at the Firestone Indy 500, I feel like they'll hold up a bit better than the Conti ECS on a dry track and likely be quite a bit more affordable too. 

I was actually thinking you could go down in pressure a bit to let them roll a bit more.

Or am I seeing that wrong?

In reply to Robbie (Forum Supporter) :

The rears rolled right down to where the tread meets the sidewall but those are a 285 tire on a 9.5" rim so they are a little ballooned.   Fronts could maybe stand a little less pressure based on how far down the paint has worn, I'll go down a couple psi next time and see.

In reply to adam525i :

I'll probably end up with an endurance 200 like an RS4, just because I don't get out much and only put about 2k miles on a year.  Maybe this way I can wear them out before they age out.

I'm taking care of myself better so I don't wear out before I age out, not what I look for in a tire.