Burned a Bald spot on tires - Need Help!

[Miami Canes RT/10]

So I locked up my brakes to avoid mowing down a squirrel crossing the street and I consequently burned a bald spot in my front tires.

Is there any way to avoid buying a new pair? Need some expert advice!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Boxer12]

Nope, they're toast.

 

[jmillsUT28]

Next time run the squirrel over!! Your tires are gone.

 

[Boxer12]

At least you didn't swerve into a tree...that would have cost a lot more. ;0

 

[cfiiman]

I would have done the same thing to not kill the squirrel, you get Karma points for sure, it is just money.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

How about rotating front and back and doing a burnout? Will rear wheels fit on the front?

 

[MTGTS]

been there, done that, time for new tires

 

[Bobpantax]

If you locked up your brakes and it truely resulted in a BALD spot, your tires have very little tread on them and should have been replaced quite some time ago. The squirrel may have saved your life.

So I locked up my brakes to avoid mowing down a squirrel crossing the street and I consequently burned a bald spot in my front tires.

Is there any way to avoid buying a new pair? Need some expert advice!

Thanks in advance.

 

[Boxer12]

The more you run them, the worse they will get. Anyway, if this is a Viper, the tires are different sizes in back. You can prob find some good used tires if you look.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

The more you run them, the worse they will get. Anyway, if this is a Viper, the tires are different sizes in back. You can prob find some good used tires if you look.

Yes. It is a 99 RT/10... I am skeptical of used tires unless they are my own.

 

[ViperGeorge]

Every time you hit the brakes hard with a flat spotted tire it will tend to lock on the same flat spot. This obviously makes it worse and will lead to tire failure. If bad enough you will probably notice a vibration in the steering wheel since the tire is no longer round or balanced. Basically your tires are done, no fix possible except maybe finding someone to shave them. This would turn them into near slicks though so probably not what you're looking for.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

OK. Next question (based on above responses): Where can I get the best price for a new front pair of PS2's for my 99 RT/10? Thanks.

 

[JBW1997]

This happened to me a few years ago in my 97 RT/10. There is a kit available from Tom's. It replaces the rear calipers and give more balanced braking. These cars need this. As far as your tires go, like everyone said, they are toast. I tried to find other options too. All I can say is get them replaced soon. It is not good for the car to be driving with flat spots on the tires.

 

[JBW1997]

OK. Next question (based on above responses): Where can I get the best price for a new front pair of PS2's for my 99 RT/10? Thanks.

Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels

 

[Bobpantax]

Try Viper Parts of America. In case you do not know, VPA is owned by the VCA and is run by VCA member volunteers. You can also call JonB at Partsrack.

 

[ViperGTS]

OK. Next question (based on above responses): Where can I get the best price for a new front pair of PS2's for my 99 RT/10? Thanks.

Do not mix different tires! All 4 corners need to be replaced, if the rear ones are several years old or not PS2's

 

[Dom426h]

You said "bald spot" i assume this means that you didnt have much tread left to begin with so the lock up took you down to No tread on the flatspot? If thats the case id say replace all four tires. You dont want to go relacing only 2 as ViperGTS said. This would leve you with more grip up front leading to a possible oversteer accident.

What brand/make of tires do you have?
When did you purchase them?
How manymiles are on em?
How much tread depth do you have left on em?

Ive locked up the brakes momentarily on my previous autoX miata and viper several times each on the street & track with no flatspot problems. Just kept on driving/racing.

 

[Boxer12]

12 yr old car, prob has original tires (Pilot Sports). You will want to put a new set of tires on anyway for safety's sake. Pilot Sport 2's are the current model of tire in Michelin, but there are numerous other tire options (other Manuf) if you want to shop around. PS2's are prob the Best, and most expensive option. Tire Rack will have PS2's in Viper sizes but prob not much else. The other sources mentioned above can give you some other options. I doubt you can beat the prices of these three sponsors/vendors mentioned.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

You said "bald spot" i assume this means that you didnt have much tread left to begin with so the lock up took you down to No tread on the flatspot? If thats the case id say replace all four tires. You dont want to go relacing only 2 as ViperGTS said. This would leve you with more grip up front leading to a possible oversteer accident.

What brand/make of tires do you have?
When did you purchase them?
How manymiles are on em?
How much tread depth do you have left on em?

Ive locked up the brakes momentarily on my previous autoX miata and viper several times each on the street & track with no flatspot problems. Just kept on driving/racing.

I currently have approx 1 year old PS2's with about 4-5000 miles on them. I haven't measured the tread depth yet, but will do so when I get home and get back to you.

I'm not quite sure if it is really a complete "BALD" spot, but I am definately feeling it at low speeds. The skid was about 25' long and I think was only the fronts.

By the way, the squirrel lives on...

 

[Black Moon]

Check into having them shaved.

 

[uvbnbit]

Check into having them shaved.

As was said a few times before, have 'em shaved a few thousandths if enough tread allows. Probably won't completely get rid of flat spot but may make it a bit more bearable.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

Follow up. I measured my tires yesterday. Here's what I found:

LF/RF: 5mm, 3mm at flat spot
LR/RR: 5mm
(all measure even across the whole tire)

It's amazing that 2mm would make such a huge difference at low speeds...

I couldn't find anyone in South Florida to shave tires, but even if I could, I'm not sure I would want only 3mm on the fronts.

Looks like my only real options are to find 2 used front PS2's with about 5mm left or buy a whole new set and sell my 2 rears which are about 50% used.

What do you think?

 

[Dom426h]

With the rears only a year old id personally just replace the fronts. If your rears are already at 50% after a year then you are an agressive driver2tu and you'll be replacing those next year. So then in a few years you'll be back at square one replacing all 4 at once.
Or you could find a newer used set for the front like you said to hold you over untill all 4 need to be replaced.


Anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with the squirrels and pigeons???
WE HAD A DEAL!!!!!

 

[SquadX]

Happen to me once, buy new tires.

 

[JonB]

With the rears only a year old id personally just replace the fronts. If your rears are already at 50% after a year then you are an agressive driver2tu and you'll be replacing those next year. So then in a few years you'll be back at square one replacing all 4 at once.
Or you could find a newer used set for the front like you said to hold you over untill all 4 need to be replaced.
Anyone remember the Seinfeld episode with the squirrels and pigeons???
WE HAD A DEAL!!!!!

"We had to order in tiny, little instruments".................... End result HAWK FOOD.

If you even found a place to shave tires, they dont like to shave treaded tires. Why? The sipes hold stones and gravel that EAT the costly shaving blades. They would probably charge you for a set of blades, and the shaveing fee... Just Buy Two New, you'll go thru 2 sets of rears for one set of fronts anyway.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

What do you think of these as an viable option? They seem like they might fit the bill.

PAIR OF (2) 275/35/18 MICHELIN PILOT SPORT PS2 - eBay (item 310298196932 end time Mar-03-11 16:35:16 PST)

 

[JohnnyViper]

i personally would not buy used tires, who knows maybe they are being sold because someone locked up the brakes, buy new tires and have no worries about your life because of a tire failure

 

[viper067]

I'd stay away from them .... if you look at the date code on the tires, one is 2307 and the other is 1605. The 1605 tire is 6 yrs old and the 2307 tire is 4 yrs old. Age is as important as tread depth, especially if you managed to burn 1/2 your tread in 1 year.

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

i personally would not buy used tires, who knows maybe they are being sold because someone locked up the brakes, buy new tires and have no worries about your life because of a tire failure

Very good point...

 

[Miami Canes RT/10]

Thanks for all your help and advice. I have decided to try something new and ordered a new full set of the BF Goodrich KDW's from Viper Parts of America for $950 incl free shipping. Better to be safe than sorry.

I hope I just didn't sacrifice ride and handling too much...