nt01 shredding at mid ohio
 

removing my nt01 tires on sunday showed some tire shredding on the left side front and rear

mike thought it might be over inflation but i was running them at 34/35psi hot

in fact, start pressures were as low as 26psi, which i was thinking was too low

the right side was fine

i did not perceive and 'extra' traction issues beyond the wet track on the nt01s

i did run the pss, pilot super sport, tires sunday afternoon, and the pressures did get too high last session because i started too high, like 32psi, the temp went up to over 80 degrees and the tire pressure got over 40psi (tpms which indicates low) - needless to say i ended my last session early as i was loosing grip

lesson learned

on the way home the pss went down to 31psi by tpms, which would gauge out at about 33psi

any thoughts on what is going on with the nt01s?

i was searching the net and found reference to other people having shredding at mid ohio - due to odd track conditions / setup

Otto - I would not qualify what was happening on those tires as "shredding". On the center of both the tires (not the shoulders) you had significant "graining". somewhat like the image below. The fact that it was just the center made me think it may be dn over inflation issue but I am just guessing.


http://i136.photobucket.com/albums/q...psf6f820f1.jpg

That's what mine typically look like after an event at Mid-Ohio. My NT01s were so old and dried out that they didn't look like this though :shock:

John - the strange part was that this was only the center of both left side tires. Could that mean overinflaction?

Mid Ohio is run clockwise so makes sense the left side tires are worked harder. Wear in the center typically indicates over-inflation (except for R888's....). The car setup may require some PSI stagger between the left and right side at this track. A temp guage measurement (tire pyrometer best, but even an infrared gun would give some info) as quickly as possible after exiting the track, to verify left vs right temp differences. Higher temp would lead to increased PSI. You may not get the temps to balance left to right, but lower PSI on the hotter side could reduce center wear.

Actually, MidO usually punishes the right front the most. Can you post pictures?

How confident of your alignment are you?

The tires are out at Summit right now - will take some shots on saturday

alignment is something i should check but i am sure it is not that far off

Otto,

The NT01 tends to have a high degree of slip angle. If you are overdriving the NT01 the tire will wear prematurely especially of the left side at MO. Personally I believe the NT01 has better grip than a 888 hence more wear (scrubbing) . I recall using RA1's at MO once and noticed a significant amount of wear. Concluded that I was in fact overdriving the tire.

I believe the NT01 and the RA1 are the same compound, just a different tread pattern and branding. Toyo and Nitto are brands within the same company. I always considered all the rubber before the last mm to just be there to allow a drover to break them in until they get the most grippy in the session before they show cords.

One knows one is over driving one's tires when one hear the crunch of sheet metal. :twisted: