sipe em

[tundra ron]

Has anybody done this on new tires.Just bought new tires at discount tire they were pushing this.It is cutting thin grooves in the tread.I did not have this done.It is about 60 bucks.They claim tire runs cooler and better traction

 

[kamikaze_bros]

How's it work on the track?

 

[98panther]

Letting a tire jockey slice up a new set of tires just seems wrong to me.
I would think if it was better traction and wear etc, they would just come that way.

I also bought new tires and they had a sipeing display on the counter, nobody brought it up though.

 

[hemi_newman]

we do that to the tires on dirt track race cars but never heard of it working on street tires

 

[polarisrider1]

It's a scam to make your tires wear out faster. It gives you great traction on dry pavement. I feel a good tire wouldn't need such a thing.

 

[blutooth]

I think a lot of people do it in the mountains in lieu of studded winter tires - I've talked to a few people in the mountains who really prefer the siping over the studs. Never heard of it around here. Around here a god set of all season tires are good for 99% of drivers. We don't have many big changes in elevation and plows are pretty on top of things in comparison.

I think you made the right call.

 

[dafuzz]

Take a look at standard tires with high mileage ratings beside a Bridgestone Blizzak and you'll see what siping looks like. Siping is why Blizzaks work so well in the snow and on icy roads, along with being a softer rubber. Yes, siping works well but I prefer to just buy snow tires instead of siping standard tires, usually for the cost of having a set of four siped, you are close to the cost of dedicated snow tires. It also depends on what type of vehicle the tires are going on.

 

[mjkaliszak]

I agree with " dafuzz" above. I do have some blizzaks on my kids car. I just had a friend get his siped and @ discount tire the display is cut far deeper than they actually cut your tires. I had it priced at the local DT and it was $10 a tire. Like everything else, they find a way to cheapen the product up while they take your money. I have some new Nitto Grapplers on my truck and if they don't perform in the snow I will sipe them and stand over their shoulder to make sure they get it deep enough. I have heard this works really well. My friend was pissed when he had seen that they didn't go very deep as compared to the " display " .

 

[polarisrider1]

The truth of the matter is, it is an upsell, just like the "road Hazzard" policies. Don't you think that if a tire needed that, that it would come that way. The tire Manufacturers are always looking to build a better product to get you to buy their wares. If it was good they would do it. Wouldn't sipeing work better on various tread patterns? Tire stores fight fiercely for your business at very low margins, hench free mounting and (bubble) balancing, unless you want computer spin balancing, extra, road hazzard extra, sipeing extra, front end alignment, wiper blades, etc. I put way more trust into tire engineers who want to prevent liabilty claims against a manufacturer than I would some tire jockey trying to increase his till count.

 

[mjkaliszak]

The truth of the matter is, it is an upsell, just like the "road Hazzard" policies. Don't you think that if a tire needed that, that it would come that way. The tire Manufacturers are always looking to build a better product to get you to buy their wares. If it was good they would do it. Wouldn't sipeing work better on various tread patterns? Tire stores fight fiercely for your business at very low margins, hench free mounting and (bubble) balancing, unless you want computer spin balancing, extra, road hazzard extra, sipeing extra, front end alignment, wiper blades, etc. I put way more trust into tire engineers who want to prevent liabilty claims against a manufacturer than I would some tire jockey trying to increase his till count.

Agreed... the better snowtires have silica in them, micro air pockets as they wear that act like little suction cups, lots of molded in sipes.... You get what you pay for with yokahama's & blizzaks. I couldn't get Yoka's when I was in DT, I would have had to wait 3 weeks ( or so they claim ) , my options with the rims & off-set were limited so I opted for the Nitto Grapplers.

 

[fusionfool]

If you are a NASCAR fan you would be familiar with the term "Scuffs" they use a scuff tire for better traction on a fresh track for grip. They don't last as long as a new tire.

 

[elf]

I had a set of tires siped on a old truck and the added traction was awesome in the winter. The snowtires we have for the Focus are siped and the difference between the regualr tires and the Blizzaks that are siped is amazing. Don't know how much of it is due to being siped or to just being Blzzaks but there is a huge improvement.

 

[snofisher]

here read this...i can tell you from past experience that a siped tire will work much better on snow and ice than a nonsiped tire.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siping_(rubber)

 

[6mile]

One thing that I always wondered about this is how much does it decrease the life of a tire?

 

[dab102999]

.

 

[salmonbum]

I siped the tires I put on my Fiero in the Spring and it was night and day difference. Better braking, handeling, rain, etc. I liked it so much I did it to the ones on my Jetta TDI. The Duramax will be getting its new Michelins on next week.... They will be siped.

 

[fredster]

I run blizzaks on my wife's car and Cooper M&S on my silverado in winter and both tire types are heavily siped. The sipes make a huge difference on ice and hardpack. They channel off the water created by the tire sliding over the ice and let the tire grip the ice/snow. Increases the available friction for the tire to stop against.

Winter tires do stay pliable at much lower temperatures and this helps the bite too. A siped 4 season or summer tire will not bite like a winter tire, no matter what you do. But, winter tires cannot handle temps in the 50's or higher and will wear pretty quickly if you run them year round, so it's a trade-off.

 

[polarisrider1]

One thing that I always wondered about this is how much does it decrease the life of a tire?

a lot.

 

[jojo69]

What do you mean by a lot, like half their wear time? Was thinking about doing it to my truck tires.

 

[lofsfire]

I had it done on my truck last time I put tires on. Goodyear Wranglers RT/S Same tire I had on it since new, this is my 3rd set now. I noticed a difference but even more of a differance now that They are about 1/2 used. They still have great traction. I would say its worth the $10 a tire. But I do agree that true winter tires will preform better in winter conditions. Google sipping, I found a lot back when I had mine done. Some mixed reviews, but most were good reviews. I have gotten 60,000 miles out of each set and these seam to be right on par for wear. I currently have 156,000 miles on my 98 F150.