Once you have made the investment in chrome wheels, you want to keep them looking great. And Griot's Garage can help. The first item to take a look at when the wheels are still brand new is Paint Sealant. Though your wheels aren't painted, a durable coating of Paint Sealant will protect them from grime and brake dust. While this isn't going to provide 100% protection, it's much better than the raw plating being exposed.
When it comes to keeping your wheels looking new, brake dust is the enemy. It comes to rest in the corners and nooks of your wheels and begins oxidizing your vulnerable plating. Washing the wheels often and using the Chrome Wheel Cleaner and a Long Reach Wheel Scrubbing Brush will help.
When the wheels begin to haze, and they will, be sure to clean them properly. I suggest using Griot's Garage's Chrome Wheel Polish Set on the entire wheel, including behind the spokes. Once you have polished to a shine, reseal with the Paint Sealant. Maintaining chrome wheels can be a lot of work, however it's important to properly maintain them. So be sure to clean them on a regular basis.
To properly maintain your investment, take a look at the full line of Griot's Garage products here.
Seasoned or novice autocrossers and road racers may have some questions about the benefits of heat cycling and tire shaving. The first time a competition tire is used is the most important. During that run, its tread compound is stretched, some of the weaker bonds between the rubber molecules will be broken, which generates some of the heat. So before putting your competition tires into action, take a look at the key features and benefits to heat cycling and tire shaving:
Heat Cycling
Heat cycling applies to R-compound competition tires. To take full advantage of the tire's durability and traction, there's a required break-in process. By heating the tires up in a mild and easy environment, this allows them to cool down again and the rubber bonds to become stronger. As mentioned earlier, the weaker rubber bonds in the tread compound are broken. This is a good because the tires cool down and reattach in a more uniform manner, which results in more consistent strength and resistance for the tires to break again. This rebonding process occurs during the critical cool down period of 24 to 48 hours. Tire Rack offers a heat cycling service for $15 per tire. It's also possible to heat cycle competition tires yourself, however you must be careful not to overstress the tire (no hard cornering, acceleration or braking during this process). Next, you'd need to remove the tires from the vehicle so they can cool down and rebond without a load on them.
For more information on heat cycling, read "Competition Tire Heat Cycling Service."
Tire Shaving
Most competition tires call for a tread shave to maximize capability and longevity. I know it may sound counterintuitive stating removing tread depth results in longer wear, but it's true. With a racing slick, there's no tread design whatsoever, just a contact patch that acts as a single unit. With no tread blocks or water channels, there's no squirm of the individual pieces. While you need these design features for wet traction to channel the water out, they're not your friend in high-performance, dry only situations. By reducing the tread depth, you do a couple things to help with performance:
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Reduce tire's weight
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Reduce tread squirm
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Less heat generated
Tire shaving is recommended for competition tires for dry events that start at 6/32" of tread. However, it's also important to remember that once used, all tires will be much less effective during the next competition season. Therefore, we recommend that tires be shaved to a depth that's sufficient to last for no more than one competition season. If it's very important to you to do well in the one event you run a year, a tire shaved to about 4/32" will further enhance your performance. You can learn more about tire shaving by reading "Shaving Tires for Competition."
BFGoodrich recently introduced the new g-Force Sport COMP-2 high-performance tire and we had a chance to participate in the initial tests. The tire was installed on a variety of vehicles (Dodge Challenger SRT8 392, Subaru WRX STi and VW Golf GTi) in an effort to experience the tire's capability on rear-wheel, all-wheel and front-wheel drive applications.
Across several different tests (dry autocross, wet autocross and dry stopping distance), the new BFGoodrich was pitted against Kumho's Ecsta SPT KU31, Hankook's Ventus V12 evo K110 and the Yokohama S.drive with very good results.
In the wet, the COMP-2 proved to be better for front-end traction in the corners and provided a more balanced and predictable feel. In the dry braking test, the COMP-2 seemed to be the most composed of the group and beat the competition by a 5-7 foot advantage in stops from 60 mph.
Unfortunately, the drive didn't include any "real world" road time, so we plan on conducting a full test at our headquarters in the summer of 2012, so stay tuned for that report. To see what else we learned about the tire, watch "BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 Introductory Track Drive."
Note: BFGoodrich g-Force Sport COMP-2 tires are designed to have a very square shoulder tread design and section widths, which may cause clearance issues in plus sized fitments. Be sure to consult with one of our sales specialists to discuss the issue and how it may affect your application.
It seems like everybody knows someone that drives a Toyota Camry. For a great combination of reliability, versatility and efficiency, the Camry is hard to beat. Take care of your Camry and it'll run forever. Part of that proper care is tire maintenance. With correct maintenance, the vehicle's Original Equipment tires should last anywhere between 40,000 and 60,000 miles. To gain a better understanding of when you should look for new tires, read "When Should I Replace My Tires."
If it's determined that you need new tires, what option should you purchase? The best choice will vary depending on how you drive and where you drive. Where you drive is a crucial variable and to ensure the following recommendations are accurate, let's focus on Southern California.
So what does the average SoCal Camry driver need from their tires? A tire with excellent emergency handling for battling traffic, effective braking for sudden bottlenecks, good treadwear, low tread noise and tire efficiency for optimal fuel economy. With little rain in Southern California, wet grip isn't as critical to the selection.
Based on our test data, feedback from drivers and the tire manufacturer's internal testing, I recommend the following Grand Touring All-Season tires: BFGoodrich Advantage T/A, Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring, Yokohama AVID Ascend (H&V) or Kumho Ecsta LX Platinum.
The BFGoodrich Advantage T/A gets good ratings in the dry traction portion of our surveys. Goodyear Assurance ComforTred Touring tires tested well on the dry track, drove well on the road and topped the test group in fuel economy. The Yokohama AVID Ascend (H&V) is the replacement for the proven Yokohama AVID TRZ. Yokohama's internal testing shows improvement across the board especially in fuel efficiency relative to the TRZ. Kumho's Ecsta LX Platinum offers a great combination of value and competency with good results in the dry portion of our test.
2008 Toyota Camry FAQ:
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How often should I rotate my tires and what air pressure is recommended? Rotate your tires at least every 5,000 miles in the "X-Pattern." The factory recommend air pressure that's printed on the door placard is your starting point. For the 2008 Toyota Camry LE, factory recommend air pressure is 32 psi in the front and rear.
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I noticed that none of the above tires are directional, why? Directional tires are designed to emphasize hydroplaning resistance. Hydroplaning is normally a non-issue in the Southern California area. By selecting a directional tire, you can't rotate in the X-Pattern and you're more likely to develop irregular heel-and-toe and its accompanying noise.
The air pressure in your tires is critical to their maintenance. Tires cost hundreds of dollars, so spending a few minutes every month is a small price to pay to maximize the return on your investment.
What are the benefits of checking your tire's air pressure? In the case of an underinflated situation, the tire can experience uneven wear on both shoulders. Additionally, fuel economy, cornering and braking are all adversely affected. In severe situations, you can even have a tire failure or blowout. When a tire is overinflated, uneven wear is still likely, but this occurs towards the center of the tire. Overinflation also results in a stiffer ride and smaller contact patch. The smaller contact patch will diminish the traction and cornering capability of the tire.
To learn more about tire pressure and how it can affect your tires, read one of the following tech articles:
Ready to check your tire's pressure? Make sure you have an adequate tread depth gauge or find one here.