Tire Siping

    While on the subject of tires:


    No, not grooving...been there, done that on my boggers. I'm talking machine siping. I know quadna had his Jeep's tires siped at one point and I'm looking for some improvement in wet/inclement weather in my truck as the Michelin's G124's are about 40% and have plenty of life yet (only have 60K on them ;D ) but have burnt through most of the siping and weren't that great in slick conditions from the start.


    Anyone know of a place that sipes tires locally? Comments as to the effectiveness? I know it's mostly something you find in colder regions but figure it's work a try.


    --Ian

    I used to love the MTRs ( Both the 35s and 37s) that i got from Quadna. Ive used both siped and unsiped versions and there was a big difference in wet traction and road noise especialy. Also from what i can remember, One set went from Chris's jeep to my Jeep to Artie's Jeep and on to another one after that and still had plenty of life. Even after being daily driven and wheeled. As for getting them siped locally.....???????? :shrug:

    2000 Sahara, All custom...
    2000 Cherokee Police package, Beater....


    I may be slowest and the stupidest

    Utility knife by hand. Try 1/4" to 3/8" depth on "center" lugs. Machine siping can cut too close to the edge of the lugs and then they just chunk off. Siping made a world of difference for wet & ice on my MTR's. I have a good article I can dig up if you want...

    Quote from Quantum73


    Machine siping can cut too close to the edge of the lugs and then they just chunk off.


    they machined siped both sets of mine but stopped the bit about 1/2"-3/4" from the outer edge of the outer lugs. so no issues with chunking....guess it depends upon the machine operator. each of my tires took all of about 2 minutes to finish - and the guys at the shop hook me up for next to nothing. can't beat that!

    Quote from Quantum73


    Utility knife by hand. Try 1/4" to 3/8" depth on "center" lugs. Machine siping can cut too close to the edge of the lugs and then they just chunk off. Siping made a world of difference for wet & ice on my MTR's. I have a good article I can dig up if you want...


    Hmm, I'll pass on the manual method...the idea of spending hours cutting slits every 1/4"-1/2" just doesn't thrill me, esp knowing what a PITA it was grooving my boggers. I've read a good amount about siping but post a link, always looking for info. I knew Ed had good experience w/ Chris' old MTRs and was just thinking if I could get them done locally I'd go ahead and give it a try before getting new rubber. From what I saw with the MTR's as long as you kept it to the center tread lugs there was little to no chunking. Keep in mind this is on load range G tires running 90-ish psi that only make it as far off pavement as RC's parking lot and the occasional muddy/dirt road.


    --Ian

    Quote from clendaniel

    Keep in mind this is on load range G tires running 90-ish psi that only make it as far off pavement as RC's parking lot and the occasional muddy/dirt road.


    whoa, i'm confused. wtf are you inflating to 90-ish psi? :?

    ~ JD
    * WARNING - The above post may contain trace elements of biting sarcasm. Those with known sensitivities should avoid staring directly at it.

    Quote from altierior

    whoa, I'm confused. wtf are you inflating to 90-ish psi? :?


    It's for his tow vehicle not his Jeep I rum the tires on my motorhome at 100 psi ea. but it weighs 26,000 lbs loaded.

    Neill


    In a perfect world every dog would have a home and every home would have a dog.

    Quote from 92Renegade

    It's for his tow vehicle not his Jeep I rum the tires on my motorhome at 100 psi ea. but it weighs 26,000 lbs loaded.


    oh, i see... i run abt 75 psi in my tow rig. i was thrown off the by the mention of MTRs in the prior sentence.

    ~ JD
    * WARNING - The above post may contain trace elements of biting sarcasm. Those with known sensitivities should avoid staring directly at it.

    Quote from clendaniel


    Hmm, I'll pass on the manual method...the idea of spending hours cutting slits every 1/4"-1/2" just doesn't thrill me, esp knowing what a PITA it was grooving my boggers. I've read a good amount about siping but post a link, always looking for info. I knew Ed had good experience w/ Chris' old MTRs and was just thinking if I could get them done locally I'd go ahead and give it a try before getting new rubber. From what I saw with the MTR's as long as you kept it to the center tread lugs there was little to no chunking. Keep in mind this is on load range G tires running 90-ish psi that only make it as far off pavement as RC's parking lot and the occasional muddy/dirt road.
    --Ian


    Actually, it took me 20 minutes for all for tires. 33" MTR's, on the Jeep, 2-3 slits per each of the center 2 lugs. Key is to have a new blade in the utility knife for each tire or 2. :up:

    Quote from Quantum73

    Actually, it took me 20 minutes for all for tires. 33" MTR's, on the Jeep, 2-3 slits per each of the center 2 lugs. Key is to have a new blade in the utility knife for each tire or 2. :up:


    There's the difference, the ones I've seen done have slits every 1/4"...on the G124's w/o a whole lot of void area it's alot of ground to cover. If I get bored and desperate maybe... :shrug:

    I used a tire groover. If you fip the groover blade upside down, you will have two blades sticking down. They will heat up the same, but not remove rubber and you can do two at a time 1/4" apart. Way way way easier then the utility knife!

    Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.<br />-Frederic Bastiat

    Quote from TheMistaken


    I used a tire groover. If you fip the groover blade upside down, you will have two blades sticking down. They will heat up the same, but not remove rubber and you can do two at a time 1/4" apart. Way way way easier then the utility knife!


    thats what i did but I had a much larger groover so I could space it out more like .5 in

    Quote from da mutt


    thats what i did but I had a much larger groover so I could space it out more like .5 in


    I used yours, didn't think it was that wide. I know that there were different tips for it though.
    The siping worked well for a while, but then the TSLs gave up on all traction or me anyway.

    Government is the great fiction, through which everybody endeavors to live at the expense of everybody else.<br />-Frederic Bastiat

    As an update I got bored and gave it a go w/ the old utility knife...new blades run through it like butter. Took prob 30-45 mins and 3 blades for each tire. Slices 1/4" apart on all 'inner' tread blocks...6-8 per block made for alot of friggin cuts! Only did the rears for now but in the rain last week there was a noticeable increase in traction even without the trailer and with nothing in the bed. I'll sipe the others at some point, likely when I rotate them.


    --Ian

    Quote from clendaniel


    As an update I got bored and gave it a go w/ the old utility knife...new blades run through it like butter. Took prob 30-45 mins and 3 blades for each tire. Slices 1/4" apart on all 'inner' tread blocks...6-8 per block made for alot of friggin cuts! Only did the rears for now but in the rain last week there was a noticeable increase in traction even without the trailer and with nothing in the bed. I'll sipe the others at some point, likely when I rotate them.


    --Ian


    :up:

    lets see a pic of that shiz

    1997 TJ 4 banger 5 speed, 4.88&#039;s, detroit tru track in the front d30, RE 3.5,OME shocks, JKS 1.25&quot; BL, 33&quot; BFG A/T&#039;s, Llama bumpers tire carrier, Hi lift

    machine siping - did my km2 tires this weekend up in PA. you can see from the side of the tread blocks that they went through half of the tread...should get plenty of life out of these. can't wait to see how differently they perform on wet/snowy pavement now!



    not that i had noticed. they open up on the bottom of the tire though as you contact the road...making your big lugs into lots of little lugs. i did see a little of the raised edges or kerfs over time on front tires but whenever i rotate them that disappears right away when you put them on the back. overall i can't think of any cons to doing this - only pros. plus this is my third set of tires that i've had siped and have yet to be charged a penny by the shop that does them. :tup:

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