Tire question.

[97Whitesnake]

Hey guys,
I have a question about tires. I have recently "retired" my cobra from street duty so it will be used mostly for track events. I plan on using street tires on the track for the time being. I was told by a friend not to bring new street tires to the track b/c they will start to fall apart... he said they have to be heat cycled a few time first. How do you guys break in street tires before track use?
Thanks
Thomas

[93KingCobra]

Hey guys,
I have a question about tires. I have recently "retired" my cobra from street duty so it will be used mostly for track events. I plan on using street tires on the track for the time being. I was told by a friend not to bring new street tires to the track b/c they will start to fall apart... he said they have to be heat cycled a few time first. How do you guys break in street tires before track use?
Thanks
Thomas

If you are buying new street tire you could by them from Tire Rack and on some tires they can do that for you.....

Sorry not sure how they do it....

[SuperG]

Well, I am not sure about having them heat cycled, but you can certainly heat them up yourself during several track sessions but not to the point where you're squealing around corners...

[CobraR05]

Maybe this will help. In April I took my Cobra R to Camp Steeda/SVTOA weekend at Sebring. I had sticker Bridgestone RE750's on the car for a magazine project.

We ran all day on those tires. The car ran a TV shoot with repeated high speed cornering at turn 7 during lunch. It ran in multiple run groups. So it ran more sessions than normal.

The director of open track ops took the car out for one session and was possibly the fastest car on the track. A first timer took the car out in a group one session with her instructor and the car was perfect for her.

In the end the tires were perfect. PERFECT?

I would not worry about heat cycling. I would highly recommend the Bridgestone tire.

Questions?

[puzzle13]

According to most information on heat cycling tires, you are to bring them up to operating temperature and then remove them from the car and let them cool for a preferred 48 hours (24 hours listed as minimum). You can put your car up on jack stands, but they specified no weight on the tire! One source said 15 minutes straight at highway speeds would do the trick. City driving will work ... especially on a hot day. This heating and cooling allows the materials to heat & expand and then resolidify for better handling response and much longer wear. This has only been specified for track tires to my knowledge and don't know if it is as useful on street tires, but I would guess that it would.

[Stack]

There are a couple things here that you're mixing...

Heat cycling refers to R-compound tires, or close to it, and generally not normal street tires with treadwear ratings greater than 200.

The suggestion not to run new street tires refers to the tire "chunking" after extreme use (otherwise known as 'abuse'). Some tires hold up to track use better than others. The Bridgestone's Rob talks about are great track tires from what I understand. Very much like a Kumho MX or the older V711's.

But, if they are abused, or if your car or driving style lends itself to pushing through the turns... any tire can start "falling apart". I've run brand new street tires on track almost every time I've bought some. And while I have noticed some rough edges around the tread blocks, thats usually gone away after a few hundred miles of street driving.

It also depends on the tracks you're running... tracks with very coarse pavement obviously will wear out a tire more than smooth tarmac. Climate has something to do with it as well.

Chunking, or coming apart, happens when a tire is overheated, and the rubber starts losing its bonds. Basically, if you know your tires aren't gripping any longer, and you continue to drive on them, you will tear them up.

Now... one other thing to consider, is you really do need to burn off the release chemicals before going out on track. Basically, try to drive the car a few hundred miles before going on track the first time. This heats them up and burns off any remaining residue from the chemicals used to ensure the rubber comes out of the tire molds cleanly.

Good luck!

[fbiagent]

nicely put Stack!

See you at CMP in a couple of weeks:)

[tgentry]

Tire Rack used to have an article on heat cycling that I can't find right now. In short, if your car is still streetable and licensed, just drive on the highway for about 45 min., then take the tires off and let them sit for at least 24 hours. Done.

If that's not possible, TR offers heat cycling on their track tires when you buy them.