I picked up a set of 285 MTR's this morning and was thinking about getting them siped. Anyone know a place in the SF Bay Area that does it?

Should I wait to get them mounted until they get done, or doesn't it matter?

 

Tom, do you have a Les Schwab tires by you?

They charged me about $10 or $11 per tire to sipe them.

Makes a big difference in the way they handle in rain, snow, ice, ect.
Plus it can add about 10K to the lif of you tires since they run cooler.

However, it's not a good practice to do this to a tire that will see lots of rocks, as rock crawling can split the sipes open some.
However for general trails and dirt, it's good.

 

Hey Corey, thanks for the suggestion, unfortunately no Les Schwabs close by.

I tried the Goodyear place, they don't do it, I'll just keep trying some other places.

I saw some other posts concerning siping and got the same idea that its not the best for rock crawling. That's OK, I won't be running the Rubicon any time soon!

 

OK, I also forgot to answer your 2nd half.

When a tire shop does it, they do it with the wheel on generaly, but off the rig.

Les Schwab uses a machine they put the tire up against, and it cuts away.

I have read the write-ups on doing it yourself, but I am afraid of ruining a $130 tire by doing it myself.
$40 for a pro who does it quite often is well worth the $$$ to me to have it done right.

Google search I just did.
Google is my friend
Very good reading here.
http://www.can4x4.com/articles/siping.html

 

Thanks for the link Corey. I've seen some other write-ups on DIY siping, and I agree, I think I'd just as soon take it somewhere, if for no other reason than doing it yourself just sounds incredibly boring.

 

mertzer, try Discount Tire Company if you have them out there, they also do it for the same price, about $10/tire.

 

There's an Americas Tire close by, they're basically the same company. I'll check with them on Monday, thanks for the tip!

 

What is siping? By the post, I assume it is scoring the tire to add additional grooves in the thread for rain stability. Is that correct? Thanks

 

That's correct. They cut thin grooves perpendicular to the tread pattern for better grip in rain & snow, much like snow tires and the soles of Sperry Top-Siders. It also gives a cooling effect as more rubber is exposed allowing the tire to dissipate heat faster.

 

RW, The local Americas/Dicsount tire does do siping, and you were right - $10 a tire. Thanks again!

 

No problem, enjoy those MTR's!

 

In an unrelated note, Bob and I volunteer to watch over your truck while you're away, gettin' hitched. Where can we pick up your keys?

 

Keys?? What keys?? Oh you must have me confused with someone else...I don't own a 4Runner...I don't even own a car...I just ride my bike everywhere...

 

Siping does deffinatly give you grip on ice. The week after I siped my old BFG ATs I won a trophy in the ice racing us crazy Coloradans do in the winter. That was with my electric spool. They say spools/lockers suck on ice but I got a trophy with mine and beat some experienced ice racers in the process.

Also those tires lasted 52,000 miles and didn't chunk much at all despite my best efforts to destroy them on rocks. My sipes were cut diagonally across the tread lugs and didn't go very deep. I have no doubt that helped me win a trophy and strech the life of the tires.

I DIYed my siping by airing down to 12 PSI and running some twisty pavment to heat them up as much as possible, then I went to work with a box cutter and several new razor blades.

I have not siped my newish MT/Rs, just haven't felt the need and they are a softer compound than BFG ATs so I do worry about chunking.

 

im from Daly City ... can you tell me where this shop is that does siping .... thanks

 

Howdy neighbor!

The place I called was in Redwood City (1610 Broadway), that's probably the closest one to Daly City too. There's others in the east bay as well, but I'm not sure if all shops do siping.



Hey, are you gonna make it to Pismo?

Dsicount Tire site

 

thanks for the info. i dont think ill be able to make it to Pismo but we'll see wuts up. i was just wondering ... would it be stupid for siping to be done on RT/S? thanks.

 

Might make them grip better in the snow.

 

k this question is a little off topic, but ... how many PSI should you be running with the MTRs (on-road). The guy that put them on said 40 PSI was good. He didn't recomend putting them at 60 PSI like what the tire said.

I'm considering doing this sipping thing. I have noticed when I have to brake hard, the tires slip out from under me (especially on wet pavement). Will sipping them help with this? Or would airing up/down be more benificial?

thanks

 

Actually, the worst siping jobs I've ever seen are the places that use the machines. Most use a gang of slitting wheels spaced out every 1/4" or so and they just slice away at the tread, regardless of where the tread blocks start or stop. I've also seen tires where they siped the full depth of the tread. Either of the above is a recipe for bad tread chunking.

Doing it by hand is way better as you want to avoid sipes within 1/2" of the leading and trailing edges of each tread block. Just make up a gauge with marks every 1/4", may it on the tread block, start 1/2" from either end, mark and slit every 1/4". Using a utility knife with a blade projecting 1/4" guarantees you won't cut too deep:

DIY tire siping

I've done my own tires about 5 times, never had a problem.

Heck, I'll do them for $10/tire, on the vehicle, as long as they are soft compound mud terrain tires.