Haven't seen that before

"MM54" (mm54mk2)
08/14/2018 at 20:16 • Filed to: FB RX7

There are bits of melty rubber hanging out of the bead of one (and only one) of the tires on the RX7. I don’t think the chinese all-seasons are too happy about that autocross on Sunday...

DISCUSSION (18)

daender > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:22

Oof, you might want to invest in some 14s and a set of Dunlop Z2 Star Specs!

LOREM IPSUM > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:31

I’m trying to rectify how that could even happen where it did, and am coming up short, though I do have a suspicion.

Was this a driven wheel by chance?

MM54 > daender
08/14/2018 at 20:38

If I were to buy wheels, it would be these:

https://www.amazon.com/Konig-Rewind-Graphite-Machined-4x110mm/dp/B003M8HD7K

They look good on these cars (though not as good as the stock +s) and open up a whole world of tire options (including the Z2s) .

MM54 > LOREM IPSUM
08/14/2018 at 20:39

Nope, on the front. I can’t imagine I managed to spin the wheel inside the tire, which is about the only case I can come up with for it. There’s no (new) marks on the wheel or anywhere near the bead on the sidewall, either.

daender > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:48

There used to be an Improved Touring FA or FB RX-7 running those wheels in the local SCCA region . They do look quite good on old RX-7s! 15" wheels really do open up a lot of sticky tire choices!

LOREM IPSUM > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:48

Well, hell, I am completely stumped then because that was my only possible thought on how that could occur.

... Unless t hat crap was inside of the wheel after it was mounted, and the bead burped it out under extreme cornering forces? Maybe? Shit man, I dunno. Did you happen to not ice if that wheel down a little when compared to the others after running?

MM54 > LOREM IPSUM
08/14/2018 at 20:51

It does almost look like the flash off the inside edge of a tire. Pressures were pretty consistent all day, though.

LOREM IPSUM > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:53

Maybe then. If it happened just enough to vent some rubber, but not enough to roll completely off.

I'm gonna go with that, just so the mystery doesn't bug me all night. Haha

someassemblyrequired > MM54
08/14/2018 at 20:58

On the bright side, 13" name brand tires are cheap! However finding a set is a bit of a challenge.

I really like the stock rims - I’m sure Kumho/Dunlop/Michelin must have some sort of decent option, they tend to have tires in the smaller sizes.

HFV has no HFV. But somehow has 2 motorcycles > MM54
08/14/2018 at 21:08

Watanabe/ minilite Reps like those are on the list of upgrade wheel for the Rabbit. Mostly I want a wider tire that will really fill up the fender flares. The 13x5.5 with 185 tires just look too whimpy

MM54 > someassemblyrequired
08/14/2018 at 21:25

Short of DOT track tires (R888s and such), no. There’s nothing I can get for these wheels that isn’t either no-name shit or <200TW rubber that I don’t really want for day-to-day street use.

cluelessk > MM54
08/14/2018 at 21:30

C ould be the sealant they used when mounting the tires.

glemon > MM54
08/14/2018 at 22:54

I am guessing that is tire bead sealer, came out under the heat or stress of autocrossing.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > MM54
08/14/2018 at 23:44

What others have said. Some shops will wipe some bead sealer on the inside of the rim, especially on aluminum wheels. Older aluminum wheels often don’t seal very well as the rim oxidizes and shops don’t want to deal with a pissed off customer who has a slow leak.

Tire rubber can’t melt either. When the tire is vulcanized all the rubber polymer chains get cross linked and the tire essentially becomes one huge molecule. Get it hot enough and it’ll burn, but it won’t melt.

nerd_racing > MM54
08/15/2018 at 07:44

It is possible that could be the bead sealer. The place I had mount the wheels was pretty liberal about applying it. I’ve had to clean up wheels I’ve had mounted there before. Never had a leaker though.

someassemblyrequired > MM54
08/15/2018 at 09:24

Tire Rack has Kumho Solus, Hankook Kinergy and General AltiMax tires in 175/70r13. While they’re touring tires, they at least have semi decent >600 treadwear, and the Solus (although not in that size) were d ecent when I had a rental equipped with them .

I suspect you can get all of those tires a bit cheaper with some googling too (Tire Rack they are $50-$60).

MM54 > someassemblyrequired
08/15/2018 at 12:10

Not replacing shitty all seasons with slightly-less- shitty all seasons.

someassemblyrequired > MM54
08/15/2018 at 13:29

Lol true enough, it’s hard getting decent tires for small cars now, even for my NA (which has 15s ) the options are pretty thin.