warranty (or lack thereof) from TireRack

I just got a new set of Dunlop Direzza Star Spec Z1 from TireRack and took them to Thunderhill
After two days of fun my front right had developed serious chunking.
Just ONE tire not all four, which lead me to believe that there must be a defect with this tire.
So I called TireRack, they requested photos and long story short:
TireRack rejects any warranty claims as - as they state it - "racing" voids the warranty.
My argument was that I was not racing, I was at a "Driver Education" event, where the organizer (PCA GGR) is adamant that it was not Racing
The definition of "Racing" is "a competition of speed", which IMHO does not apply for a DE event.

Well again, they rejected the warranty.
So I asked the bonus question if this would mean that track tires would also not be covered when they are being "raced". The answer was "yes", meaning if you use track tires in the way they are meant to be used and they chunk, you are s*** out of luck.

Will I take further action over $200 worth of tire - waste of time, and I guess that's what TireRack counts on. But needless to say: My "love affair" with TireRack is over and I just wanted to send this warning out to all of you.

Thats just ridiculous. Thanks for the heads up. I guess thats how they can get away with their pricing, by denying returns and giving crappy customer service. Ive used them before and was considering working a deal with them for our business. Im glad I saw this post.

Have you considered going to the better business bureau..or threatening to. I know they are a rather big company but no company likes to lose reputation.

And if they don't state that racing voices the warranty (as they claim you were doing) than I think you have some legal recourse.

Interestingly enough I opened the same thread on the Grasroots Motorsports Forum, where the common consensus seems to be:
a) I am an idiot (they seem to be talking to my wife - maybe this has also to do with driving a Porsche as the car of choice on Grassroots seems to be a Miata
b) don't take unshaved street tires to the track
c) when you go on the track you enter the "no warranty" zone (even with track tires)

So I am a bit surprised that in the amateur racing scene 80% of the posters seem to think that what TireRack is doing is OK. I certainly will not take any further actions over $200 worth of tire but I will look for other options when getting my next set of tires and also maybe go back to dedicated track tires)

and - sorry - I just noticed that I forgot to mention ONE important piece of information:
TireRack offered me a replacement tire for 50% off + shipping.
Well, better than noting but I still think the tire was faulty so having to pay a 50% "deductible" doesn't make me too happy

Hmm well I guess at least they offered you something. Still a bit shady. Perhaps there is a good tire dealer in your town with a decent reputation that will allow you to inspect for any obvious defects before purchase. I suppose there will always be a risk though as tire faults are not always visibly obvious.

The following is an example of a state law dealing with car racing:

32-25-25. "Racing" defined. Racing is defined as the use of one or more vehicles in an attempt to outgain, outdistance, or prevent another vehicle from passing, to arrive at a given destination ahead of another vehicle or vehicles, or to test the physical stamina or endurance of drivers over long distance driving routes. See how your state defines it. Unfortunately many states merely define street racing which would not apply here.

Thus a DE whose intents are none of these should not be defined as racing. And tirerack offers a manufacturers warranty which in no way excludes a DE as it does not define racing but merely uses the term so the common definition should apply. Further this tire is marketed as for use on a track.

So to the practical. How many laps? At what speeds? With what cool down procedures? With what tire pressures? Were the pressures adjusted after every run? Tire temps monitored?

Is your suspension good? Alignment?

Does the track put unusual wear on one side of the front? Many tracks have a bias towards one side or the other.

Chris, thanks for the write-up.

I am making a mental note on the Dunlop Star Spec tires and TireRack. I was thinking switching to Dunlop Star Spec from Michelin PS2 for street/AX and now I am dropping the idea. By the way, I love my dedicated track tires due to their consistent behavior at hot laps.

Threatening with BBB most likely will not help. I went that route and even started to prepare for small-claim suit and ended up nothing for my DSLR+lens (another story not related to cars). Try to get as much as you can from TireRack.

I paritally understand Tireracks position in terms of not offering warranty for track tires. But how do they know if you were on track or not? Guess thats what you get for being honest.

I would ask for a manager at Tire Rack and request some level of compensation. Perhaps discount on another set of tires, etc. I dont think they want to have a dissatisfied customer and sometimes the service people they have dont make decisions that are in line with managements vision of how these issues should be handled. I have had a couple experiences with them in the past where I wasnt satisfied with product and went to a manager. Edit: See you got some level of a discount.

I have never had good luck with street tires on the track. I turn them into mushy chunked piles of goo usually. It only took a couple expereinces like that before I went with DOT R or Race slicks for DE's. I havent found a street tire yet that handles hot track surface and a car that is being pushed at limit for 20 minutes.

Funny thing is I have said I dont like Dirennzzas becuase they appear not to handle heat well and I hear that people love them. Suspect people who havent pushed these tires hard wont notice heat issue. I prefer new Bridgestones. They seem to handle heat better and wear very nicely for a soft compound tire.

Hi Grant,

so I got my replacement tire mounted today and just for good measure I had my installer check the balance on the three other tires (which did not chunk) and they were all out of balance.
One of the GT3 guys at the track marked his tires before the event (Sport Cups) and noticed that they wandered about 3" on the rim.
So I guess the same thing happened to me as well..
OK, so one thing for sure I will NEVER take new tires to the track again.
And for next season I will probably look for a set of dedicated track wheels again. Trista *maybe* I should not have sold you my 2nd set of 17" rims ...

About the Direzzas: Man they stick well, I improved my best lap time to 2:13.2 - not bad for TT11 - before the right front gave up
So generally I like them and they seem to last MUCH longer than the NT-05 I had before (of course if they don't fall apart ;-)

Thinking about not taking new tires to the track, I usually do an AX event with the track setup before I take the car to the track. If there is anything wrong with that setup, I would rather see it at AX than at track. I know there is some more stress level at track that one won't see at AX. I try my best to test things at AX.

Chris, you can buy the track wheels back after the season

ChrisZang said:

Hi Grant,

so I got my replacement tire mounted today and just for good measure I had my installer check the balance on the three other tires (which did not chunk) and they were all out of balance.
One of the GT3 guys at the track marked his tires before the event (Sport Cups) and noticed that they wandered about 3" on the rim.
So I guess the same thing happened to me as well..
OK, so one thing for sure I will NEVER take new tires to the track again.
And for next season I will probably look for a set of dedicated track wheels again. Trista *maybe* I should not have sold you my 2nd set of 17" rims ...

About the Direzzas: Man they stick well, I improved my best lap time to 2:13.2 - not bad for TT11 - before the right front gave up
So generally I like them and they seem to last MUCH longer than the NT-05 I had before (of course if they don't fall apart ;-)

Click to expand...

I happen to have a set of somebodies old 17" wheels with BFG R1's with 50 treadlife on sale for $450. I made transition to 15 inch wheels with slicks and dont need two sets of 17's anymore.

Grantsfo said:

I happen to have a set of somebodies old 17" wheels with BFG R1's with 50 treadlife on sale for $450. I made transition to 15 inch wheels with slicks and dont need two sets of 17's anymore.

Click to expand...

Hi Grant,

I just sent you an e-mail

After reading this I sent TireRack a email. My last set of Kuhmo MX's only lasted 4500 miles. They sent me a online gift card for $75.00! So, I did a little shopping on their website and picked up a few little things. At least they did something for me... But, I will most likely buy my next tires off e-bay, I have had good luck with that.