Tires and Paul Walker

[flaps10]

This means that its all up to you and your driving skills.

If that weren't true I'd own a different car. I'm sad for the generations of pedal stabbers we're raising.

[MARTHA]

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A good article, but….. When idiots drive fast and reckless on the street (or parking lot), idiots sometimes die. I’ve driven like an idiot more than a few times, but lets take responsibility for our actions. Had they been driving the speed limit he’d still be alive. Should we replace old tires yes, but old tires are not to blame for Paul Walkers death. Porsche’s response "The perils, risk, and danger were open and obvious and known to him, and he chose to conduct himself in a manner so as to expose himself to such perils, dangers, and risks, thus assuming all the risks involved in using the vehicle”… this says it all as far as I’m concerned.

I purchased a low mileage 987 but I realized the 10 year old original tires would have to be replaced and I ask a new set be installed before purchase. I should have negotiated the price and installed the tires myself, the seller installed a new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires and I hate them. They are noisy and rough riding. I know some folk swear by them but I’ve never had any luck with Bridgestone.

I once upon a time purchased a set of Bridgestone for a Miata and replaced them after 500 miles, so while I don’t have money to burn I want something on my new baby that feels good to me.

So now I’m trying to figure out what I’m going to do, as husker said, tires are so subjective, and reviews on TireRack are all over the place. Do I live with the (1000’ish mileage) Bridgestone’s or take a chance purchasing another brand. I’m not necessarily wanting performance, a spirited drive from time to time is all I will be doing, I’ll not be going to the track, in my ole age I simply want smooth and quiet.
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[Frodo]

Originally Posted by MARTHA

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Should we replace old tires yes, but old tires are not to blame for Paul Walkers death.
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Ummm, yeah, I believe it's pretty clear they were... Should they have been driving that way where they did? No. But is that what cost them their lives? Nope.

[jdraupp]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Ummm, yeah, I believe it's pretty clear they were... Should they have been driving that way where they did? No. But is that what cost them their lives? Nope.

...umm, step back a tick. We can say the tires were a contributing factor here if you'd like but the tires were not the direct cause of the crash. Speed too fast would be the cause. The exact cause of their death? Slowing down really fast. If they were driving 45 mph on old tires then they'd still be here. If they were driving like that on a proper race track then they also still might have survived. Doing 100 mph on a road not designed for such idiocy with tires that old then yes you get this result.

I get the car is designed to make this work and on brand new tires there likely would be no crash...but they didn't have new tires. It is the responsibility of the driver to understand the limitations of his or her car each day they get behind the wheel. If you exceed those limitations it is neither the manufacturer nor the roads fault...only yours.

Simplified version: tires don't cause crashes. Choices leading to the exploitation of their limits do.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by jdraupp

It is the responsibility of the driver to understand the limitations of his or her car each day they get behind the wheel. If you exceed those limitations it is neither the manufacturer nor the roads fault...only yours.

Oh, of course. Obviously the more you know about cars, and the more you know about your car specifically, the better off you are. Clearly it’s not in one’s best interest to outdrive the capability of your equipment. But, on the track and off, people do it all the time! (Or, at a minimum, they push the limits of that equipment.) Is it smart? Often times, no---it doesn't always work out well. So, in this case, with Roger and Paul, what FAILED?? The goshdarn tires, that’s what failed---they didn’t do what we’ve come to expect tires to do. In keeping with the whole spirit of the linked article, that’s what my point was. Obviously both the tire and the actions of the driver contributed---the cause of the huge majority of accidents is multifactorial.

[jaykay]

Thanks Tom...a great post!

[paulofto]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Oh, of course. So, in this case, with Roger and Paul, what FAILED?? The goshdarn tires, that’s what failed---they didn’t do what we’ve come to expect tires to do. In keeping with the whole spirit of the linked article, that’s what my point was. Obviously both the tire and the actions of the driver contributed---the cause of the huge majority of accidents is multifactorial.

The single NON action of the driver/passenger was that they failed to replace 10 year old tires before going on a 90 MPH joy ride in a parking lot. If the tires had a glowing red band that said 'I'm old, replace me' they would have done it. So lesson learned the hard way. RIP Paul & Roger but the thrill of driving his new-to-him GT over took good sense to have the vehicle completely looked over before doing what they did which was to hop in and drive like it was track ready.

[Frodo]

Originally Posted by paulofto

The single NON action of the driver/passenger was that they failed to replace 10 year old tires before going on a 90 MPH joy ride in a parking lot.

Semantics. Splitting hairs. We're all saying the same thing here, which is what the article was all about. In this case specifically: Old tires, perhaps having good visible tread, should have been replaced. They weren't.
They failed. Catastrophically.

[paulofto]

Originally Posted by MARTHA

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. the seller installed a new set of Bridgestone Potenza RE050A tires and I hate them. They are noisy and rough riding. I know some folk swear by them but I’ve never had any luck with Bridgestone.
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Martha, my 986 had RE050A's when I bought it. I found them noisy as well and not very good in the rain.. I went tire shopping last spring and eventually settled on Goodyear F1 A/S Asymmetrical. I went A/S versus summer only because I was heading out on a very long west coast trip not knowing what conditions I would hit going through the Canadian Rockies. After 4 or so months of driving on them I am very happy. The are grippy on dry, great in the rain and are very quiet. Just my 2 cents worth.

And, oh yeah, Porsche is in no way to blame for what happened to Paul Walker. Personal responsibility accounts for everything in this case.

[MARTHA]

Originally Posted by paulofto

Martha, I went tire shopping last spring and eventually settled on Goodyear F1 A/S Asymmetrical. After 4 or so months of driving on them I am very happy. The are grippy on dry, great in the rain and are very quiet. Just my 2 cents worth.

Thanks paulofto, I will check them out.

I have been looking at Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06’s, they have a superior performance rating on TireRack.

I hate to remove the expensive, like new Bridgestone’s, but I want a tire that has a good ride quality and comfortable noise level befitting a Boxster.

The Bridgestone’s TireRack performance rating is 7.2 ride quality and 6.8 noise comfort. I personally feel these a little too generous.

The Continental’s are 9.1 ride quality and 8.8 noise comfort.

Anyone have thoughts?
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[Porsche9]

Good article!

What some people drive around on in terms of tires can be scary. The 964 I bought had winter tires on it and this was in the L.A. area in the middle of summer. I obviously went out and bought new tires immediately but it worked out for me since I was able to negotiate the price down and pick the tires I want.

Here in the Phoenix area I replace tires every three years or when they are worn out, whichever comes first. The heat is really hard on the tires and if your track the car you are taking a huge risk. Throw in a rare rain and it gets scary.

[Topless]

Yep, showboating at 120mph on a small street in an industrial area wearing 9 yr old tires was not the best plan. Hindsight is 20/20 and maybe they should have reeled it in a bit. Tragically their mistake turned out to be fatal.

[alynch]

Thank you for the article. A couple of days ago I bought new rear tires. At the time I thought I should really buy all four but there's plenty of wear left on the fronts even if they are seven years old (I bought the car just over a year ago). I haven't yet had any really spirited drives or attended any DE or autocross events but after reading that article there really isn't any excuse. Tomorrow it's two new front tires. Thanks again for putting it all in perspective.