brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 I went to Les Schwab today to see about getting rid of the RE92's while they were still fairly new (1200 mi). The kid behind the counter asked me how much I expected to trade them for. I hesitated and asked how much the Proxes 4's were...click click click... $600 and change he replied. I actually think a set of 4 would have been $564 since they were "on sale". Knowing that I would be lucky to get about $200 for the Bridgey's I balked. He then asked me if I had any thoughts about siping the tires since they were "really not that bad a tire". After I saw the little Les Schwab demo on the counter and felt the difference between the siped and non-siped tire and listened to what he had to say (longer tire life, much better traction) I took the $52 option over the $364 option. Anyone had any experience with this tire mod? :?: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
outahere Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 No experience here. Is it supposed to improve the snow traction? Can't see how it is supposed to improve tire life. BTW, I think you can get 4 Proxes4 tires shipped to you for under $425 from treadepot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 Mine were shipped for $402. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 Yeah, I knew the Schwab price was expensive. Gotta pay for all those extra helpful employees running all over the place. :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 [quote name='outahere']No experience here. Is it supposed to improve the snow traction? Can't see how it is supposed to improve tire life. BTW, I think you can get 4 Proxes4 tires shipped to you for under $425 from treadepot.[/quote] Supposed to be better in all conditions, and dissipates heat better thus extending wear. Or so they say... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim1969 Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 What is sipping? I've never heard of that term. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 [quote name='jim1969']What is sipping? I've never heard of that term.[/quote] It is a great high-margin item for the tire shop. Please don't waste your money. Rob   IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 It's a common practice, but if it were me, I wouldn't do it. Think of it this way -- if siping the tread was such an easy way to improve tire characteristics, why don't tire manufacturers simply sell their tires that way? More food for thought -- tire companies don't recommend tire siping. Why? A significant amount of R&D goes into the design of the tread design. If you then have some third-party start cutting fine slits into it, you no longer can control the final product nor do you have the same design. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 Here's the official Les Schwab stance... [url]http://www.lesschwab.com/Siping.html[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SUBE555 Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 That may be their stance, but not everyone agrees on that. I'd send Luke@TireRack some questions about that. He can be found at the Wheels/Tires forum on NASIOC.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 I had it done to the RE92's already so I'll report back. The demonstrator on the counter at Les Schwab was pretty dramatic. Basically what they have is two pieces of rubber, one siped and one smooth, on a metal tray with some water on it. The rubber pieces have two ~5lb. weights on them. Pulling both pieces across the tray it was very noticeable that the siped one was more difficult to pull. As far as I could tell there was no black magic or witchcraft involved. :P Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eamiller Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 [quote]Think of it this way -- if siping the tread was such an easy way to improve tire characteristics, why don't tire manufacturers simply sell their tires that way? [/quote] Actually, many dedicated snow tires (I.E. Blizzaks) and SUV off-road tires are siped from the factory. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CombatCQB Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 So you paid $52 for someone to razorblade your tires? No offence but I thought siping was a DIYable job. I've seen some tutorials online somewhere, not that hard. Maybe I'll try it if I decide to wait on the winter tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted August 25, 2004 Author Share Posted August 25, 2004 [quote name='CombatCQB']So you paid $52 for someone to razorblade your tires? No offence but I thought siping was a DIYable job. I've seen some tutorials online somewhere, not that hard. Maybe I'll try it if I decide to wait on the winter tires.[/quote] Les Schwab has a machine, and with as many sipes as they put in if you were to do it yourself it would take a long, long, long time. Besides they had free popcorn and popsicles. :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rao Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 Well you should have mentioned the popcorn :D Rob   IF YOU CARE ABOUT YOUR CAR YOU SHOULD NEVER DRIVE IT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ken S Posted August 25, 2004 Share Posted August 25, 2004 [quote name='eamiller'][quote]Think of it this way -- if siping the tread was such an easy way to improve tire characteristics, why don't tire manufacturers simply sell their tires that way? [/quote] Actually, many dedicated snow tires (I.E. Blizzaks) and SUV off-road tires are siped from the factory.[/quote] I was refering to performance tires. I don't believe there are any that have factory sipes -- large tread blocks, not small sipes, favor hard cornering and agressive driving. The issue I'm trying to highlight is that some tire siping places make it sound like it's a win-win for all tire types. Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brad21 Posted September 3, 2004 Author Share Posted September 3, 2004 Well last night I came over Mt. Hood in some heinous foggy, rainy weather with lots of standing water on the road and I must say that initially I was a little cautious, but wicked it up quite a bit (80 thru the turns) to the point where I was scaring myself a little and guess what... I DIDN'T CRASH! The siped RE92's, while feeling a bit wiggly (probably could use more air) never lost grip. I was quite pleased. So for those of you that like to DRIVE your LGT don't hurry out and spend a bunch of coin on new rubber, if you don't have it. I don't know how a "non-siped" tire would've handled in the wet and I'm sure the handling in general could be improved (don't know, haven't driven the car with other tires) but this may be a short or long term solution for some of you. BTW, nearly had my first wild turkey kill on the way to Portland. I was passing an Escalade at the time and TWO big turkeys started across the road. If I was in an Outback I'm sure I would've hit it with the increased ride height... :o It barely made it over the top of the GT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tsyGT Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 I had my RE-92s siped (before I flatted and ruined one on the freeway) and I agree it does help with wet and snow traction with minimal effect on wet handling (maybe marginally better- hard to say, the tires stink anyway). Definitely better braking, and reasonable traction and braking up in snow. I probably would have kept the siped RE-92s for the winter (pretty mild here- minimal snow, but lost of rain!) and gotten summer tires if I hadn't ruined one. But now I have Proxxes 4s and am much happier! tom tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 19, 2004 Share Posted November 19, 2004 [url]www.onlinetires.com[/url] for Proxes4 I wouldnt sipe the tires, especially when the tread blocks are designed in such a fashion.. go feel the compound on a winter tire, and you'll notice a huge difference in the tread block softness.. siping a tire isnt going to prolong the life of the tire that's for sure. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rodan Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 I inquired at the local Discount Tire about siping the RE92s (to use them for winter tires), and they said they wouldn't sipe a VR/ZR tire because of the chance of chunking the tread in the dry... YMMV Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Xenonk Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 yes, they do chunk off.. I ran my RE92s for drift and autocross events until the final layer of rubber was showing.. after a few runs with bald RE92s, you can see spots of cord showing.. not the best thing to see out of a tire.. Keefe Keefe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith40k Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Just siped my tires at Les Schwab (had about 1400miles on them) and I noticed an immediate improvement in all aspects-- but it is raining (oregon) so I can't say what the difference will be in dry weather. Overall it was worth the $52 (and 20 minutes of eating popcorn) to have it done if you can't replace the RE92's. (I can't until they wear out- then I get new tires and rims!) Also I got a lot less squeel going 50 around 90 degree corners.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wraith40k Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 [quote name='Ken S']It's a common practice, but if it were me, I wouldn't do it. Think of it this way -- if siping the tread was such an easy way to improve tire characteristics, why don't tire manufacturers simply sell their tires that way? More food for thought -- tire companies don't recommend tire siping. Why? A significant amount of R&D goes into the design of the tread design. If you then have some third-party start cutting fine slits into it, you no longer can control the final product nor do you have the same design. Ken[/QUOTE] The common response to 'why dont the manufactures do it' is that the cost would be prohibative.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Monkey Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 Maybe I should sipe me RT-615s...:lol: :lol: :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KA81 Posted April 8, 2005 Share Posted April 8, 2005 [quote name='Ken S']I was refering to performance tires. I don't believe there are any that have factory sipes -- large tread blocks, not small sipes, favor hard cornering and agressive driving. The issue I'm trying to highlight is that some tire siping places make it sound like it's a win-win for all tire types. Ken[/QUOTE] you DO NOT sipe performances tires think of it this way, you buy tires that are about $60/tire, and if you sipe them, they are pretty much better than they were before siping would probably be best suited for A/S's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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