Posted by Jack on February 25, 2000 at 12:02:02:
In Reply to: Does "Siping" (sp?) help NDT's... posted by Johnny Burrito in NC on February 25, 2000 at 08:38:58:
Johhny,
Siping is the creation of deep razor-fine cuts into the tread lugs by the insertion of an edged tool (usually heated) deep into the road contact portions of the tread. A typical siping tool resembles one of those kitchen gadgets that makes curly potato fries, about an inch or less wide. It's not that visible when you look at the tire, but when the tire is under load, the lugs deform, allowing the sipe to open up or "smear", as the cut sections slide past each other, giving more contact area. Siping helps a tread shed water better, and for this reason, it makes the tread SEEM like it grabs better on wet pavement. The actual effect is that it's harder to hydroplane a siped tire, so it keeps better road contact. Siping also softens up the tread on tires which are made of very hard compound, making them more flexible as they take the load. I'm not certain that there is any benefit offroad, as it's my understanding that siping is done mostly on road tread tires for the previously stated reasons. Nearly all passenger car tires are siped, and I've talked to M37 owners who have had this done to NDT's with good results on highway driving. As far as a place to get this done, services like this are becoming harder to find as the US becomes more "blister-packed", and you'd have to live near a good urban tire service center, I think. Look for a place that offers truck recaps and such services, and I believe they'll have the proper equipment. Racers often do their own siping, so you migth get a lead at your local track. Have fun!