How much does grip change with tyre age?

[OpenToSuggestions]

Evening all.
I have a mk1 mx5 on the stock alloys. They 5.5" x R14 with 185/40/R14 tyres fitted. I like how they make the car look stock and they are light wheels.

Since fitting a turbo (~200-210hp) I am experiencing some grip issues, which I fully expected.
Whilst a wider tyre may be required, I would like to explore the idea of better tyres first.
The stock tyres are mid-range Dunlops. They are in excellent condition but have been fitted since 2012. There is no way that time hasn't affected the ability of the rubber to 'hug' the road.

I know a sportier tyre such as Nankang NS-2Rs in the same size as my current tyre will provide better grip, however I would like to check that I am focusing on the correct thing i.e. if a 185 wide road tyre ever provide the grip I need. I suspect the answer is yes.

The car is SORN during the winter. I tend to tax her March/April to Oct/Nov. I only do about 4000 miles per year, so if the car eats them in 3 years I it is not the end of the world.

I am interested in OcUK's views (gay?).

 

[OldKitMan]

Are Nankang any good these days? I thought they were a budget tyre to put it politely.

 

[On Holiday]

Are Nankang any good these days? I thought they were a budget tyre to put it politely.

NS-2R are a brilliant dry day budget tyre.
Comparable with the higher end "road-legal" track tyres but just don't wear as well but are obviously far cheaper.

 

[Mr_Sukebe]

PS3s are well rated by other MX5 drivers, but I don't know if they're available in 14" size.

 

[paradigm]

When I changed my (albeit N/A) mk2.5 MX5 from bridgestones to AD08Rs on the same wheels/size tyre the difference was night and day.

Where before I could provoke the back end into a slide, I couldn’t do that on the AD08Rs.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

PS3s are well rated by other MX5 drivers, but I don't know if they're available in 14" size.

When I changed my (albeit N/A) mk2.5 MX5 from bridgestones to AD08Rs on the same wheels/size tyre the difference was night and day.

Where before I could provoke the back end into a slide, I couldn’t do that on the AD08Rs.

Had a nose and sadly not available in 14".

 

[Avalon]

I honestly wouldn’t be driving on 12 y/o rubber. I had to put 6 y/o rubber on for a few days so I could have new rubber fitted to loose wheels, ride was noticeably noisier, suspension felt harsher, mpg anecdotally dropped, but they were OK. Then it rained a little, suddenly they became an absolute liability on bends/roundabouts.

Have you looked to see if the Goodyear F1 Asymetric 5 is available in your preferred size? They’re reasonably priced and get decent reviews, but check the MX5 owners groups/forums AMD see what people with similar set-up’s are running.

 

[Rroff]

Maybe not everyone can but you can usually tell by the look of them if they've aged and/or worn to the point of compromising grip.

Likewise I would not be driving on 12 year old rubber.

 

[theone8181]

Surely they must be racked by this point? I replaced some ~10 year old ones on my parents car as even though they had loads of tread left they were cracked all over (parents don't use this car much).

 

[sovietspybob]

for a toy that's not being used much i'd defo be going for NS-2Rs as they're so highly rated or ad08's but as you say they're not around in 14's, you'll get a LOT more grip on those even in 185 section.

Tyres do really drop off in performance over the year. Try pressing your car key into the old tyres versus a new one and it's amazing how much more pliable the new ones are, i think the general rule of thumb is not to run tyres older than 5-7 years old for safety.

I've got some 2016 Bridgestone RE002's on our suzuki swift at the moment and even though they've got over half the tread left im thinking of replacing them in the next year just to be safe.

 

[HangTime]

I can't profess to have any knowledge of this but I'd imagine narrow 12 year old tyres combined with a turbo mod is taking a risk of some sort.
I guess the point is you don't want to waste money replacing with new narrow tyres if the problem remains. Unfortunately I think that is going to hard to determine, I'd be very surprised if a new quality tyre didn't improve matters but whether it gives you the full amount of grip desired, who knows. Maybe worth checking in an owners forum or something.

 

[OpenToSuggestions]

Not sure where the idea that they're 12 years came from, but at 9 years old they are very much not fresh!

I can't profess to have any knowledge of this but I'd imagine narrow 12 year old tyres combined with a turbo mod is taking a risk of some sort.
I guess the point is you don't want to waste money replacing with new narrow tyres if the problem remains. Unfortunately I think that is going to hard to determine, I'd be very surprised if a new quality tyre didn't improve matters but whether it gives you the full amount of grip desired, who knows. Maybe worth checking in an owners forum or something.

This is where my thoughts were at the time of opening the thread.
I would imagine that the new tyres are going to be vastly better. It is the 1.6 mk1 mx5, so almost certainly <200lb/ft of torque.

The cost of the NS-2R is really not bad. £60-70 each plus fitting, balancing and full alignment would set me back possibly £380-400.

 

[MissChief]

'have been fitted since 2012' Yikes!

I'd be replacing them regardless, they'll have hardened in a big way. Are you sure those tyre sizes are correct as well? 185/40/R14 don't seem to exist on the tyre sites I've checked.

 

[lordrobs]

Are you sure those tyre sizes are correct as well? 185/40/R14 don't seem to exist on the tyre sites I've checked.

I was thinking the same. Wouldn't a 185/40 be really low profile? That doesn't tie up with the "they make the car look stock" comment.

 

[BUDFORCE]

I wouldn't ride a motorcycle with tyres past 5-6 years, ideally less than that.

Car, I dunno I would be looking to change 9 year old tyres but I always rotate on a car so they wear before perishing.

 

[King4aDay]

When I bought my old imported 350gt it had 8 or 9 year old tyres on, still loads of tread but they were hard and covered in tiny cracks. I don't tend to push the limits of grip but could feel a really obvious difference in the smoothness of the ride with fresh tyres on.

 

[VaderDSL]

OP might have made a typo, aren't stock wheels/tyres 185/60/14?

 

[acemastr]

I had to swap out my PS4S at about 4.5mm because I couldn't hook up anymore. Too many heat cycles (and a couple of burnouts perhaps) had destroyed them. Got some new ones and it hooked up great.

Age isn't the only thing to think of, heat cycles matter too.

 

[lordrobs]

I had to swap out my PS4S at about 4.5mm because I couldn't hook up anymore. Too many heat cycles (and a couple of burnouts perhaps) had destroyed them. Got some new ones and it hooked up great.

Age isn't the only thing to think of, heat cycles matter too.

For your average driver though (ie ones that don't do burnouts) I doubt 'heat cycles' are really a factor. Or if they are they are almost insignificant compared to UV exposure.

 

[SkodaMart]

I don’t think grip gets worse as the tyre tread wears.

Wet grip is the problem, the tyre looses its ability to displace water.