Looking to Borrow Good Tread

[jasontiff]

This post may seem completely ludicrous, but I thought it was worth a shot...

We have a Viper Days event coming up in central Texas on the 15th of February and I'd like to go. I have 1993 RT with 2 sets of wheels/tires, but the tires on my 3-spokes are bald (down to the wear bars) and old, and the tires on my newer wheels (2002 OEM) are pushing 5 years. Blame ignorance for the latter; I had never owned a performance car and hence had never needed performance tires, so when someone locally was selling "new" tires with stickers on them, I didn't know to check the date. Lesson learned.

Long story short, I've had my car about 9 months and would feel much safer completing some sort of driving school (many people on these message boards have emphasized the same), but I don't have it in my budget to wrap my wheels in new tread. If someone in the central Texas area (including Dallas, San Antonio, Houston, but preferably Austin) has a set of wheels/tires laying around I could borrow for the weekend of the 15th, I'd be greatly indebted. If anyone's car is down at A.R.T. and wouldn't miss their wheels for 2 days, or if you're not planning on attending and would swap wheels with me for a day or two, please send me a PM.

I'll gladly sign something stating that if I do anything to your wheels or tires outside of normal wear and tear on the tire, I'll gladly fix or replace what I've damaged. I know this is a pretty tall order; on par with "can I borrow your girlfriend/wife?" or something, but I'd like to go if possible and thought I'd throw it out there. Thanks, guys!

 

[HLN A55]

Jason-I can't seem to find your e-mail address-but shoot me an e-mail. I picked up a spare set in the fall with decent rubber that you can run on.

-G

 

[99 R/T 10]

another option is to get ahold of JonB for a set of 17" Kumhos to put on your original 3 spokes and use them as your track set. They are fairly cheap if I remember correctly and they have outstanding grip!

Online Shopping - Home

 

[jasontiff]

HLN is a champ and is going to let me run on his at Viper Days!

Hopefully I can have as good a showing as he did when he drove on 'em...

Thanks, all!

 

[B767DRIVER]

Buy some new tires. You will get addicted to the track...Viper Days is coming to Texas 3 times this year. TWS Feb. 15-17, TWS Oct. 10-12, and Eagles Canyon Oct. 24-26. You will want to attend all 3! See you there...

Sterling

 

[jasontiff]

another option is to get ahold of JonB for a set of 17" Kumhos to put on your original 3 spokes and use them as your track set. They are fairly cheap if I remember correctly and they have outstanding grip!

Online Shopping - Home

$800 for a set of Kumhos? AND they fit on the 18's? That's a helluva deal compared to the prices I've seen for the PS2s and the Pirellis!

Online Shopping

 

[HLN A55]

$800 for a set of Kumhos? AND they fit on the 18's? That's a helluva deal compared to the prices I've seen for the PS2s and the Pirellis!

Online Shopping

If I remember correctly, the 800 number is for 17's. Doesn't really matter though-those wheels will be fine on the track anyway-keep your 18's for the street

 

[jasontiff]

If I remember correctly, the 800 number is for 17's. Doesn't really matter though-those wheels will be fine on the track anyway-keep your 18's for the street

That's kind of deceiving if that's the case. The link says they have both sizes, but lists only one price. That'd be a heck of a deal for 18's! When I'm in the market for new tires I shall inquire. I know Frog said he liked his Kumho's a lot and would never go back to Pilot Sports.

Yeah, I'll hold on to my crappy tires for a while; they have plenty of tread for normal driving. I just didn't want to go pushing the limits and have to tell my insurance company I hit a "concrete deer" on the way home.

Thanks again, G!

 

[FrankBarba]

Let me get this straight? You own a Viper, you want to spend several hundred dollars to do Viper Days, your driving on old tires, and you ask for someone to lend you wheels & tires but are willing to sign something to the effect that you will replace if damaged other than wear & tear? But currently tires are not in your budget?

I guess if you put your viper into the wall on the tires you are borrowing you will either sue the person lending you the tires stating that they were inadaquate or you will try to have your insurance pay for your damage that you did to your car??? Only in America!!!!

Would you like us to prep your car for you for free? I guess you will be asking someone to go over your ride to get it ready at no cost. Might as well have someone replace your coolant with water & then ask them to bring along a few gallons of coolant as a replacement, would you like to borrow brake pads also? Give us your address & we'll ship you some brake fluid, spare parts, powersteering fluid...ect...ect...

My advice is to stay home if you can not play....

G....i need some new Tires for my car also...and by the way can you spare some change????

 

[jasontiff]

Let me get this straight? You own a Viper, you want to spend several hundred dollars to do Viper Days, your driving on old tires, and you ask for someone to lend you wheels & tires but are willing to sign something to the effect that you will replace if damaged other than wear & tear? But currently tires are not in your budget?

I guess if you put your viper into the wall on the tires you are borrowing you will either sue the person lending you the tires stating that they were inadaquate or you will try to have your insurance pay for your damage that you did to your car??? Only in America!!!!

Would you like us to prep your car for you for free? I guess you will be asking someone to go over your ride to get it ready at no cost. Might as well have someone replace your coolant with water & then ask them to bring along a few gallons of coolant as a replacement, would you like to borrow brake pads also? Give us your address & we'll ship you some brake fluid, spare parts, powersteering fluid...ect...ect...

My advice is to stay home if you can not play....

G....i need some new Tires for my car also...and by the way can you spare some change????

Someone's being a little presumptuous. You did a pretty good job of making an ass of yourself but just in case you need a little help, I'll explain myself a little more thoroughly.

I bought my car with bad tires. When I ordered the 2002 OEM rims from Skip Barber, the tires that came on them were hard. I picked up some "new" ones locally and though they had never been mounted they were almost 5 years old. Rookie mistake and I learned from it.

The last time my car was in the shop, the tech told me that the tires were pretty old and that while they were safe to drive on for cruising, he wouldn't go over 100mph on them and definitely wouldn't track them. I didn't participate in July because I was still catching up on deferred maintenance from the previous owner and since new tires weren't a "must-have" I did the things that needed to be done (new clutch, fluid changes, etc.).

Yes, I am a Viper owner. It took me a while but I finally got one. It's nothing fancy, it's not new; in fact it's pretty rough around the edges...it's about as old as you can get and the miles are getting up there. I'm by no means affluent but instead am a car guy that found a way to reprioritize a few things in my life so I could afford the car of my dreams. While I feel like a million bucks when I drive my car my bank account reflects something entirely different.

Yes, right now I can't afford to spend $1400 on a new set of tires for my car. I can swing a few hundred bucks to learn how to safely operate something that I enjoy greatly and enjoy often. All of the local Viper guys have recommended it, and when I watched the action from the sidelines in July I knew I wanted to do it.

Up until I got this comment, the VCA has been nothing but helpful and supportive. You ask a question and 10 minutes later you have people offering up solutions and ideas that wouldn't have crossed your mind if you had gone about things alone. That said, I figured asking for help from fellow enthusiasts wouldn't be that big of a deal.

I'm not asking for coolant, prep work, brake pads or any of the other things you stated. I'm not going to sue someone if I crash my car. I'm asking to borrow someone's wheels/tires for a day so I can better learn how to do something I'm passionate about. Someone stepped up to the plate long before your misplaced aggression made it's way into this thread. One of my friends and a fellow Viper owners offered his track tires up within 15 minutes of me posting.

This in no way, shape or form concerns you. If you have any more "contributions" I'd post them on the other Viper site where they'll fit in a little better.

By the way, "inadaquate" is spelled inadequate, and you abbreviate et cetera "etc." not ect. in case you want to go **** in someone else's thread.

 

[ViperTony]

Don't let one or two jackasses ruin your perception of the VCA. Most of us are a helpful bunch here. By the way, look into the Ignore List in your User CP settings, its a great thing! If you can't afford to do both ViperDays and buy new tires now I'd suggest putting some of the ViperDays money into buying new tires and attend some local club track days. You can get very good instruction at club track events.

Old tires, regardless of how much tread is left, will bite you when you least expect it. Search the forums and you'll find stories from too many members who got bit because of old hard tires.

Give JonB at Partsrack a call. You never know, he may have a good deal for you. Enjoy your Viper and welcome to the VCA. At the very least, he'll give you a quick education on tires. Well worth the call. Enjoy your Viper and welcome to the VCA.

 

[grcforce327]

Let me get this straight? You own a Viper, you want to spend several hundred dollars to do Viper Days, your driving on old tires, and you ask for someone to lend you wheels & tires but are willing to sign something to the effect that you will replace if damaged other than wear & tear? But currently tires are not in your budget?

I guess if you put your viper into the wall on the tires you are borrowing you will either sue the person lending you the tires stating that they were inadaquate or you will try to have your insurance pay for your damage that you did to your car??? Only in America!!!!

Would you like us to prep your car for you for free? I guess you will be asking someone to go over your ride to get it ready at no cost. Might as well have someone replace your coolant with water & then ask them to bring along a few gallons of coolant as a replacement, would you like to borrow brake pads also? Give us your address & we'll ship you some brake fluid, spare parts, powersteering fluid...ect...ect...

My advice is to stay home if you can not play....

G....i need some new Tires for my car also...and by the way can you spare some change????

 

[mad0953]

jasontiff....I'd let you borrow my tires if I were in Texas. I am sure most of us have wanted something we couldn't afford at the time but found a way to get it....I know I have done it many times with no regrets. So welcome aboard and just remember some people would complain about the bread on a poop sandwich.

 

[PDCjonny]

Let me get this straight? You own a Viper, you want to spend several hundred dollars to do Viper Days, your driving on old tires, and you ask for someone to lend you wheels & tires but are willing to sign something to the effect that you will replace if damaged other than wear & tear? But currently tires are not in your budget?

I guess if you put your viper into the wall on the tires you are borrowing you will either sue the person lending you the tires stating that they were inadaquate or you will try to have your insurance pay for your damage that you did to your car??? Only in America!!!!

Would you like us to prep your car for you for free? I guess you will be asking someone to go over your ride to get it ready at no cost. Might as well have someone replace your coolant with water & then ask them to bring along a few gallons of coolant as a replacement, would you like to borrow brake pads also? Give us your address & we'll ship you some brake fluid, spare parts, powersteering fluid...ect...ect...

My advice is to stay home if you can not play....

G....i need some new Tires for my car also...and by the way can you spare some change????

Somebody has some displaced anger management issues.

 

[jasontiff]

Tony, Mad, Jon, HLN...thanks for the advice and support. I'll give JonB a call. Regardless I'm going to be covered for Viper Days! Thanks, guys!

 

[goldcup]

Buying new tires bites,I changed out all the fluids right after purchase and then bought tires,after the brake fluid and tires the car drove totally different! From one NOT independently wealthy Viper owner to another good luck at the track!!! The tire advice will be the best advice you ever get, it makes a giant difference.

 

[HLN A55]

Man, pay no attention to that d!ck.

While I agree that new tires should be on your short list (take it from someone like me who has been there and been bitten), use mine for now and enjoy your car. It's the least that I can do-especially when only months ago, I was lent a set of track wheels/tires when my new wheels didn't come in on time.

 

[Hoosier Daddy]

Sounds like the truth hurts. I agree with Frank's comments exactly. Maybe some Texan can let me borrow there car since mine is put away for the Winter up North!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd prefer a Comp Coupe, if not then an 06 Coupe.

I'd say scour the take off pile at the tire changer, but probably not to many track drivers still rolling on 17's

 

[jasontiff]

Make that 2 d!cks.

The "truth"? What's the truth? That I'm going to ask for free inspections, parts and fluids? That I'm going to crash and sue HLN? Sounds to me like we have a pair of Nostradumbasses on our hands! Not only can they predict the future, but it's now being touted as the truth! I'd ask where you keep your crystal ball but I'm pretty sure I can guess...

Hoosier, I have no idea why you or Frank even bothered commenting...boredom, I guess. I had my problem solved long before you (or Frank) came and put in your 2 cents. Your posts did nothing positive for the thread and were made for no other reason that to reiterate that some have more money for their toys than others. Congratulations; you have more money than me. You can afford new tires whenever you want. You rock. Woo-hoo.

This wasn't supposed to be a p!ssing match between the haves and the have nots; I was just asking for a favor from friends and this was the easiest way to do it. From now, maybe you could spend your time a little more constructively by helping people, as these forums were intended to do.

 

[TexasPettey]

I've got another option, if you're interested. I've got a set of 17" Kumho V700's in my garage. I bought them last year, intending to mount them on my stock 17" rims for street use with my ROE. I ended up buying 18" rims instead. They are 275 fronts and 335 rears. I was going to sell the 275's and keep the 335's for race rubber, but I may upgrade to 19" rims for a big brake upgrade. I've also got my original 17" OEM wheels if you want to mount these as spares for track use.

Let me know if you're interested.

 

[jasontiff]

TexasPettey, PM sent.

 

[Wild Bill]

I loved my track experience ... nothing like it! it taught me limits-mine and my cars.

BUT... "don't race if you can't replace". You made a comment about what happens if you wreck and what do you tell your insurance. Insurance companies are not dumb and the info about your track experience WILL show up on the web. Mine still does and it was almost 5 years ago. My insurance will not cover me if something happens and since I cannot afford to eat the cost of my car if the unforseen happens I no longer can consider Viper Days. I do believe i remember hearing that even as safe as the event is on average one car per session gets damaged.

It sounds like you love your Viper as much as I love mine and would hate to see you go into this with false expectations of what might happen if you wreck her.

I know this is not related to your original question.

JMHO

Bill

 

[grcforce327]

Sounds like the truth hurts. I agree with Frank's comments exactly. Maybe some Texan can let me borrow there car since mine is put away for the Winter up North!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'd prefer a Comp Coupe, if not then an 06 Coupe.

If you get two,can I borrow one????

 

[dave6666]

Make that 2 d!cks.

Hoosier, I have no idea why you or Frank even bothered commenting...boredom, I guess. I had my problem solved long before you (or Frank) came and put in your 2 cents. Your posts did nothing positive for the thread and were made for no other reason that to reiterate that some have more money for their toys than others. Congratulations; you have more money than me. You can afford new tires whenever you want. You rock. Woo-hoo.

Surprised v10kingsnotsnake didn't chime in to show his lack of intellect. He's taken to Dave bashing, and it is actually entertaining. If he learns to say something besides Dave you are stupid, I'll keep everyone informed.

Nonetheless, I'll probably bump into some of you Texas Viper owners at one of these events. DFW ain't too far from the action.

 

[plumcrazy]

on average one car per session gets damaged

dang, is that true ?

 

[jasontiff]

Fairly minor damages I can eat, but a total loss would be bad news. That said, since this is my first track experience and I'll be in the green group, I don't think I'll be pushing it hard enough to do extensive damage. I have faith the instructors have their game together and will coach me accordingly.

I talked to 2 gentlemen last night who have raced there (TWS) and one of them said he slid off the track twice...once backwards...and it didn't damage his car. They warned of a few areas on the track where you DO NOT want go off, but said otherwise I should be good. My car is stock and my experience is limited to video games, so I think any incident I have, if any, will be fairly minor in comparison...nothing like the GTS that caught on fire in June or the comp coupe that slid into the wall!

Thanks, guys!

 

[TexasPettey]

I've been on several off track excursions at TWS without issue. There are areas to push, and areas to be careful. The big thing is to have an idea of what happens when you go off. Some of the worst off-track spins in the novice group I've seen were a result of people geting 1 off and snapping the wheel back to recover.

I've got a bunch of in-car video from TWS, both directions. I'll bring it to the next event before Viper Days. The spin videos from inside the car are the most fun to watch.

 

[SNAKE BITE]

Make sure you ask for a viper owner for an instructor. I ended up with a porche driver and he had no idea how the viper handled. Heck he didn't even know how to open my door to get in.

 

[Tom Sessions]

Looking at your avatar.Do you have a hard top for your car?Also you must have a roll bar and some sort of head restraint system to run the Kuhmo tires if the tread wear rating is 100 or less.These are considered sticky tires and require the proper safety equipment.If you have any other questions feel free to contact me. [email protected] See you in Texas

 

[jasontiff]

Looking at your avatar.Do you have a hard top for your car?Also you must have a roll bar and some sort of head restraint system to run the Kuhmo tires if the tread wear rating is 100 or less.These are considered sticky tires and require the proper safety equipment.If you have any other questions feel free to contact me. [email protected] See you in Texas

So to run Kumhos I'll need a roll bar and head restraints...looks like I'm running Michelins!

I know in June the hard top was required for RTs. Does the same hold true for the February event? If so, why are they required?

Thanks, Tom! See you next month!