Tires working better after 1,000 miles?

[HondaToMazda]

I was just curious on the Stock tires if anyone has noticed that around 1,000 - 1,200 miles that the tires will grip better? I ask this because going through a Canyon at 700 miles it didn't seem to grip as well. Head conditions were about the same as well.

 

[t3ase]

I've put about 14k on the stock tires. I never noticed an improved grip, other than when I first drove the car off the lot. I know some tires do "wear in", but these never did that..

 

[HondaToMazda]

Ya that is weird... Hmm Maybe through canyons you noticed it more?

 

[Action Jackson]

Depends on the air pressures too.

But usually tires that are "scrubbed" in will grip a bit better.

Tires that are worn down a bit would increase the size of the contact patch.

 

[Scrapin 240]

well it might be true that it does feel like it grips more because when it wears down, you are increasing dry traction and losing dry traction.

Hence why racing slicks are super sticky and suck in the rain, because of no thread patterns

 

[dolphin]

If you go look on the Tire Rack web site, they have an article on heat cycling tires to get the best grip and life out of them. Autocrossers do this all the time. You can also get Tire Rack to heat cycle the tires on a machine before they are shipped to you. They will also shave the tread if you want them to but they do charge for these services. I had them heat cycle my last set of Victoracers and they are wearing better than the last two sets. I guess tires are like most components of a car, they work better after they are broken in correctly.