Originally posted by turbochad
... I've heard a few differing opinons on how to break them in, so I'm debating what I want to do. Doesn't matter right now, I still need to get my ghetto wheels out of the attic and decide if I'm going to dechrome/paint them or leave them as is.
Tirerack.com has a section on tire breakin for these types of tires. I have gotten the story from the right people on this. Basically you have to heatcycle the tires once pretty good. This has to be the mechanical flexing of the body of the tire as well as getting the rubber up to operating (racing) temp. About 1-2 autocross runs would be ideal for this, but if oyu can't do that then mount the tires and take some exit ramps trying to balance left and right turns.
Then the important part is to take the tires off the car and let them cure for 24 hours, with no weight on them. In a road race car you want to take a few laps, then at least one very hard lap, then set the car in jack stands overnight or put on different tires. this will give maximum life and maximum adhesion for the tires life.
Oh.. and your ghetto wheels.... I need to do the same. I have a set of chrome wheels that I have race tires mounted on. I should paint them too.. but.....