DoinTwins

I started the thread asking if I should keep my low tread tires during the dry season and got lots of interesting responses. Now I have seen four sources that confirmed that bald tires and slicks have the best dry road traction. The first one was an article that Chipchase found about tires with tread being shaved for race cars on dry roads to reduce squirm and improve traction. Then Gary from the Tire rack confirmed that bald tires have better traction on dry roads. Yesterday I read an article by Tom and Ray, the car talk brothers, in my local newspaper about bald tires and slicks having better dry road traction. I tried to find that article on line to post it here but I didnâ€^TMt find it. Instead, I found and article by Consumer Reports.org that agrees that bald tires have better traction on dry roads. They all also say that bald tires suck in the rain because of hydroplaning.

Atgmartin4.2 thought my concept was so ridiculous he said, â€oeI'm wondering about you: you come off as someone who has absolutely no common sense whatsoever, but I have a feeling you are just goofing with us.” That got me wondering, does this mean that I have common sense and atgmartin4.2 doesnâ€^TMt? After all, it sure seems like common sense to me that increasing surface area would increase the force required to slide one object across the other. Still, apparently that isnâ€^TMt common knowledge. So, I suspect atgmartin4.2 has common sense. However, he is obviously self righteous, rude and relatively dim. Atgmartin4.2, if you read this I want you to know that I am not â€oeGoofing”.

dt

a_o_smith

the real issue is that bald tires blow out...

schwank

But fundamentally your logic is flawed. You have sought data out to prove only one point - that bald tires are safe in IDEAL conditions. But real life is not ideal. There is water, dirt, rocks, and bird ****. You cannot control the guy next to you anymore than you control the weather. Just because a color-blind man calls the sky red does not make it so.

However, the question of tire replacement revolves around much more than that ONE condition. You are welcome to make up your own mind. However, the consensus of a lot of smart people here is that those tires are not safe for general, real world use.

You have demonstrated that you were not actually asking a question, rather looking for someone to make you feel better for making the decision you had already made. You were not looking for the general consensus of people who have experience with this specific model of VERY HEAVY automobile.

Lives are not replaceable for any amount of money, therefore the question of whether it is worth it to replace your tires can not be answered on a monetary basis. If $100 is worth your life, or your loved ones... then by all means, keep those baldies.

For my safety, I hope I never come anywhere near you on the road.

Esquire6

I can't imagine why any intelligent person would knowingly operate a potentially unsafe vehicle.

atgmartin4.2

There is certainly no possibility that the marginal improvement in dry traction is going to be loads less significant than the increased lack of traction in the rain. Oh yeah, it never rains near you until September, NEVER. So don't worry. So smug. Drive on fumes because of the weight saving and increase in performance, you'll NEVER run out of gas. Only difference is that when you do run out of gas, you won't kill anyone like you could if you lost traction in the rain, or blow out...

Esquire6

From my days as an Armor Officer/Tank Commander, "...Target! Cease Fire!" You're right on point.

schnellmb

big difference between racing slicks and baldies.

DoinTwins

Jeeez, did someone say my tires are bald or are you guys jumping to conclusions? The bald tires senario was an extreme example to demonstrate the premise that tires with less tread have better traction on dry roads. This is from ConsumerReports.com "Bone-dry pavement is one place where less tread means more grip, since shallower grooves and sipes put more rubber on the road. That's why mega-horsepower racing cars typically run on treadless "slicks" for all-out traction. It also explains why the half-tread tires performed better in our dry-pavement handling, cornering, and braking tests"

I think this article from the Tire Rack is even better, "any tread design breaks up the contact patch into smaller elements and additional deep tread depth (required to enhance wet traction) allows tread block squirm which will reduce dry performance. This means that tires typically provide their worst wet traction ... and their best dry performance just before they wear out.

My worst tire has 1/8" before I get to the wear bars. Tire engineers design the thickness of the wear bars to show when a tire becomes unsafe. I suspect that hydroplaning is the first concern with low tread tires, So, that brings us to, "What would I do if it rains"?

I will not drive in the rain with these tires. I look at the NWS satilite photo several times per day and I have another car I can drive if there are any clouds. Also, here is a chart that shows it rains less than .07" here in August and Sept: https://www.audiworld.com/forum/a6.html.

dt

muzzy996

Racing slicks are soft and provide more of a chemical bond to the road vs. hard compound (for longevity) street tires that utilize the irregular tread pattern to provide mechanical bonds to the rough pavement surface.

Not sure why the Tire Rack guy would advocate a bald street tire over a treaded one even for dry use.


One thing about the internet, you can find loads of contradicting information . .<ul><li><a href="http://www.school-for-champions.com/science/frictiontraction.htm">Take this for example, which states that treads help traction.</a></li></ul>

schwank

*YAWN* Broken Record. Stop posting on this topic if you are just arguing the replies