Tire Siping

I've never even heard of tire siping, until you posted this. Learn something every day!!!

 

Never heard of this either.

 

My old man used to sipe his steer tires. Claimed they helped grip the roads better.

 

I noticed they never went right to the edge. Any reason for that?

 

Company I used to work for did that.
Could only tell the difference on solid ice.
Did lose pieces of tread on the trucks that were in the quarry more.

 

I had 3 sets of bfg DR444 that were way too hard on ice. I had them siped and it was like new tires. Never had any chunking or adverse affects from the siping. I now only use Michelin xdn2 or xds2 for drives, and its just not necc.
There is 1 shop in Edmonton that will sipe tires, and they refuse to do used tires now because of the pebbles.
I de pebbled the tires I brought in. Suprising how many 1 can get out of a tire.

 

The machine is like a sprial potato peeler that rotates and goes back and forth while the tire slowly turns. I suspect the crown of the tire probably made it difficult to sipe the shoulders. There is cuts into the shoulder, but not across it.
The sipe is only about 1/4" deep at the most.