Azenis RT 660 missing strips of tread

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by strat61caster

Tread, no threads in tires, it's not a blanket.

Well there actually are but if you get to them then the tread wear is sort of a moot point.

[strat61caster]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Well there actually are but if you get to them then the tread wear is sort of a moot point.

Those are cords.

They stopped using weavers to make tires last century old man

[andys_garage]

Originally Posted by Gearhead1

I’m not a tire expert and I may not fully understand Guth’s explanation. Has anyone else seen this kind of wear (I call them missing strips of rubber, Guth called them “lines on the tread”)? If so, what was the cause and what was the fix? Any suggestions for me?

i *am* a tire expert - I would call this a 'flow crack' - when the belts shrink inward during curing, the uncured rubber flows in to fill the space, which sometimes causes rubber from the surface to pull down towards the belt edge. It's probably not very deep, just keep an eye on it.

[jflogerzi]

For those are running 660's what PSI do use hot?

[Pat]

37 - 38

[NoHaveMSG]

I ran 34-37.

[Lynxis]

Originally Posted by jflogerzi

For those are running 660's what PSI do use hot?

On 245/40r17 on a 17x9 wheel, with -3f/-2.2r camber and 0 toe, I run them ~31 hot. This might be *slightly* low but I've got decently even wear across the tire although I can tell I'm wearing the outside more than the inside so I'm still not running enough camber but I've also got noticeably increased inner tire wear on my street tires so I'm not in a rush to go adding more, this seems like a decent middle ground since I'm not going to be getting a whole lot more out of either tire even with more optimized settings.

[Breezio]

255/40r17 on 17x9, -4 camber in front, for autocross purposes I ran 29 in front, 28 in rear.
Temp probe showed even temps inside/outside/middle in the front. Rear was same outside/middle, little warmer on the inside.

[Desertnate]

As someone still fairly new to the world of performance driving and running non-stock tire widths I noticed a trend in the last couple of posts:

The wider the section width the lower the air pressure in the tire, even on wider wheels. Is this do there being less chance of the tire rolling over on the sideway because of the extra width, the additional negative camber being used, stiffer sidewalls on the wider tires, or a combination of factors?

I'll leaning heavily towards the 660's next season in 225 and trying to learn as much as possible to make any test-and-tune event be more productive.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

As someone still fairly new to the world of performance driving and running non-stock tire widths I noticed a trend in the last couple of posts:

The wider the section width the lower the air pressure in the tire, even on wider wheels. Is this do there being less chance of the tire rolling over on the sideway because of the extra width, the additional negative camber being used, stiffer sidewalls on the wider tires, or a combination of factors?

I'll leaning heavily towards the 660's next season in 225 and trying to learn as much as possible to make any test-and-tune event be more productive.

If you are new and trying to learn as much as possible, don't run the RT660's. Like other super 200 tires, they are only good for a couple good laps before they drop off considerably unless it is cloudy and cold. If you insist on a 200TW tire, the V730 or RS4 are way better options as they will perform far more consistently over an entire session.

[Desertnate]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

If you are new and trying to learn as much as possible, don't run the RT660's. Like other super 200 tires, they are only good for a couple good laps before they drop off considerably unless it is cloudy and cold. If you insist on a 200TW tire, the V730 or RS4 are way better options as they will perform far more consistently over an entire session.

Thanks.

I used "new" as a relative term. I've got four AutoX seasons under my belt, but that's not much compared to a lot of folks here. Everything in the street classes in a couple different cars. I still fully admit to having plenty to learn. My real lack of knowledge is in running mods like 200TW tires.

I did manage to run a couple events in my previous car on a set of RS-4's for a couple of autox events and really liked them vs running on summer tires. They were my first introduction to a 200TW tire vs a summer tire I'd run before (PSS and PS4's). I was looking to step up in platform as well and initially thought about the RS-4's or RT615's, but the call of the 660's was strong since I'll the autox'ing them and won't really do any track days.

I may re-evaluate my plans.

[NoHaveMSG]

Originally Posted by Desertnate

Thanks.

I used "new" as a relative term. I've got four AutoX seasons under my belt, but that's not much compared to a lot of folks here. Everything in the street classes in a couple different cars. I still fully admit to having plenty to learn. My real lack of knowledge is in running mods like 200TW tires.

I did manage to run a couple events in my previous car on a set of RS-4's for a couple of autox events and really liked them vs running on summer tires. They were my first introduction to a 200TW tire vs a summer tire I'd run before (PSS and PS4's). I was looking to step up in platform as well and initially thought about the RS-4's or RT615's, but the call of the 660's was strong since I'll the autox'ing them and won't really do any track days.

I may re-evaluate my plans.

AutoX'ing them should be fine since the run is so short, I probably shouldn't have just assumed you meant track work.

[Lynxis]

Originally Posted by NoHaveMSG

AutoX'ing them should be fine since the run is so short, I probably shouldn't have just assumed you meant track work.

My experience is that the 660s can take a bit more heat than other tires in it's class. I'm primarily HPDE/lapping and just do autocross when something local is going on but at the very least, they hold up to lapping in comfortably warm weather (28c/82f) without significant fall off.

My impression in autocross on hot days (33c/91f) is that I can feel more grip in later runs as I get more heat into the tires, although perhaps my experience should be taken with a grain of salt given that I was the second slowest twin out of about a dozen at regionals this year, the only slower car was a complete novice while I've done track and autocross casually for the last ~6 or 7 years.

[cmiovino]

I'll chime in with my pressures on 225/45/17 660's. 31 front, 26, rear. Car also has a 19mm Perrin FSB on stiff, Sachs dampers, and that's about it.


As far as pressures, the general way I get to a certain pressure setup is to lower the front as low as possible to hit the triangles on the sidewalls. For this tire, that ended up being 31.

The rear is then tweeked to match the balance you want. With only -1.1 degrees of camber up front, 31 is the magic sauce there, but the rears need to be kept lower down at 26. I'm basically right on the triangles there and the car is general is going to push before the rear kicks out hard. I've set them to 28PSI with my co-driver and he immediately notices a difference and asks to lower them 2PSI... even when I didn't tell him I set the to 28.

I'd suspect with more camber up front, I could lower the front into the 28PSI range and the rears probably a bit lower too.

As far as the tire in general after 170+ runs the year, I'm not totally impressed. Price-wise, they're a good value. The wear well, but will heat cycle out near around 125 runs with more than half tread left. After about 150 runs, they really start losing grip. I've had RE-71R's and the drop off is about the same with those.

I had the A052 Yoks last year even on a ~1 degree low camber setup and they wore fine for me. Noticeably more grip and a better balance. I really like these more than the 660's, but they're $230/tire vs $165 in my size. For autox only purposes - if you're doing track too, the 660 is likely the ticket there.