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Tire Siping Anyone?

rockDAWG

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It was invented by John F. Sipe in the 1920s. Sipe worked in a slaughterhouse and grew tired of slipping on the wet floors. He cut some grooves and thin slits on the bottom of his shoes. ..... :D

Jeeper often have their mud terrain tire siped for better on the road performance. I did mine years ago.
 

simp5782

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They Mvts have good traction with weight on em. One rv builder here said his scale had 9000lbs on the tandem drive axles of his fmtv. I bet it won't even stop on wet pavement.

I regroove the 395s when they get low.

Cutting a vertical sipe into an Michelin xml would give it similar characteristics of a Goodyear AT3 which would be better for wear
 
Last edited:

In2Fords

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Hawaii
I was thinking the same thing.
Sipping is super thin lines cut into the tread. It not only gives better wet and ice performance because it has more biting edges, but it also can help cool down a tire.
Depending on pattern and depth of sipping, you could design basically a whole new tire.........
 

ramdough

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If you are hard Offroad on your tires, you can also lose chucks of tread easier. Or so I have heard.


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coachgeo

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If you are hard Offroad on your tires, you can also lose chucks of tread easier. Or so I have heard.


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True.... but you have to be real hard core.. aka...... crawling by spinning screeching tires that occasionally grab some traction when they find a small thing to bite on (or rip a lug off).
 

rockDAWG

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If you are hard Offroad on your tires, you can also lose chucks of tread easier. Or so I have heard.


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It can be for sure depending on the driver and his skills in wheeling, especially on the rock. Unlike mudding, rock crawling is "not" about speed, it is all about finesse. One has to keep the wheel speed down to avoid wheel spinning. One airs down the tires to the point the tire surface molded into the shape of the rock. Let the vehicle crawls up slowly. If you are heavy on the gas, things will start to break.

Every choice we make is a compromise. Pending on the individual's need. I would doubt anyone will take their LMTV for hardcore rock crawling like these of Jeep Wrangler. LMTV is not built for this purpose. For those who want their LMTV as an expedition vehicle roaming the continent, there will be a lot of highway travel in rainy and snowy conditions, siping is a good way to improve the performance of 395R95-20 on the road.

Siping has to be done properly to avoid losing a chunk of your tire. I siped about 1/8" deep and always in the middle chuck for BFG MT tires
 

coachgeo

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and of course remember when reading about siping etc.... make sure the writer actually knows difference.... or is not just incorrectly using one term for two different things when they should not be... same for you when you discuss this topic

aka.... "grooving" and "siping" are two different things. "groove" is wide a "sipe" is razor thin
 

ramdough

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Last time I looked into siping smaller tires, I could not find anyone locally that still did that.

Where are you guys finding g someone to do it?


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simp5782

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Last time I looked into siping smaller tires, I could not find anyone locally that still did that.

Where are you guys finding g someone to do it?


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Tire groovers are found on ebay with all types of blades. Just buy small ones for what this thread relates to
 

rockDAWG

Member
86
26
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Location
Delaware
Last time I looked into siping smaller tires, I could not find anyone locally that still did that.

Where are you guys finding g someone to do it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
For siping, I just use my Dremel with a cut-off wheel. I made a jig, so siping will look more consistent through out the tire. It is not too bad. For what I need, siping is fine, I don't need grooving.
 

coachgeo

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Location
North of Cincy OH
Last time I looked into siping smaller tires, I could not find anyone locally that still did that.

Where are you guys finding g someone to do it?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
seems to be only one left that will sipe tires and that is Les Schwab and Commercial tire. Had to search hard to find a place in my home town in OH. they are out there.... you just got to combine net search with good ol' call around.. ask for recommendations etc. (ps that part didn't help much.... lot of tires stores just said "no one did it" with a response tone of... "who is this idiot".... just kept calling anyway. btw.... they may say can only sipe tires based on wear depth. too much wear depth limits them liability wise the store said. though I suspect it is more about selling new tires.

PS groove tools.... have read many such tools do actually do sipe widths.... you just have to turn the blade over and use opposite side... or something to that effect. Look close at the tools to see how that might work. its been awhile since searched it.
 

Reworked LMTV

Expedition Campers Limited, LLC
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For siping, I just use my Dremel with a cut-off wheel. I made a jig, so siping will look more consistent through out the tire. It is not too bad. For what I need, siping is fine, I don't need grooving.
Do you have any picts?
 

Wingnut13

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Strafford, NH
Funny this thread should pop up today. I was eyeballing my tires after a short ride yesterday. Best way to enhance traction on a tire you own already. Have spent a bunch of time researching the pros and cons. Seems like there isn’t much in the way of negatives. Summit used to sell a tire siping tool, haven’t checked of late on the availability.
 

frank8003

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A machine does it for the racers

 

spankybear

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WA
Funny this thread should pop up today. I was eyeballing my tires after a short ride yesterday. Best way to enhance traction on a tire you own already. Have spent a bunch of time researching the pros and cons. Seems like there isn’t much in the way of negatives. Summit used to sell a tire siping tool, haven’t checked of late on the availability.
I knew a UPS feeder driver (semi driver) and has to go over 2 passes to get to the hub. He swore by siping. With 2 passes each way he may need to chain up and then take the chain off over each pass as needed. He said that with sipped tires he didn't need to chain up as often.
 
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