Heating up the Tyres

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GTS 666

GTS 666

Well-Known Member
Messages
63
Location
Central West NSW
At the moment it's cold where I live how much does the road surface heat make to the traction of a car even when you try to get Tyres up to a warm temp. Am I wasting time and Tyres trying to get them hot on a cold surface. Thanks in advance for any info. :)
 
No you're not wasting your time. A lot depends on the type and make up of the surface you're running on, the set up of the car and the tyres you're using. You need heat in your tyres for them to work correctly. Tyres warmers are a good bit of kit to have to give you a head start but most people will spin the back tyres anyway too just to give you that bit extra.
 
atom3624 said:
I don't race, and it would ruin the longevity of the tyre anyway I'm sure, but I just do a few burnouts and donuts - soon warms up the tyres!!! :D:D

Al.
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Most top racers would use 3 or 4 SETS per meeting (3 heats @ 10 mins each, semi final at 20 mins and main A final @ 30 mins) and that doesn't include saturday practice. Heat cycling your tyres will make them last longer though.

pre heat your tyres, either by warmers or burnouts then do a few laps to scrub them in. Remove the tyres and allow to cool while you're doing another set or practicing.
 
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Mike1970 said:
Most top racers would use 3 or 4 SETS per meeting (3 heats @ 10 mins each, semi final at 20 mins and main A final @ 30 mins) and that doesn't include saturday practice. Heat cycling your tyres will make them last longer though.

pre heat your tyres, either by warmers or burnouts then do a few laps to scrub them in. Remove the tyres and allow to cool while you're doing another set or practicing.
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Top advice there Mike, spot on....

Brad.:)
 
the key is choosing the correct tire for the pavement temp. if your running on cool pavement you need to run soft on the front and extra soft on the rear. as it warms up, move tires around, put the soft one the back and mediums on the front. typically i find that running one compound harder in the front works best. as with any tires you will need heat for them to work well. a soft tire on a hot surface will wear very fast because it cant take the heat, although it will hook very well. the flip side is running a hard tire on a cold surface you wont get much traction and wear the tires very quickly because all your doing is spinning them.

pre-heating tires is more of a race thing. if you get your tires to the temp they will run at before the race starts they will work more consistent start to finish, you don't need to spend a few laps getting them up to temp. if you heat the tires above what they run at, the tires will cool down to there running temp. on a cold track with hard tires that are hot, the tires will work well for a few laps till they cool down, then start to loose traction, thats why running the correct tires is so important on these cars.
 
I'm no racer no track even close to me just car park bashing. No probs doing burnouts to get Tyres warm its just the road surface here at the moment is 0 degrees cesius. Big frost and some snow in mountains might need indoor hobby. Knitting Lol.
 
Sharkey said:
pre-heating tires is more of a race thing. if you get your tires to the temp they will run at before the race starts they will work more consistent start to finish, you don't need to spend a few laps getting them up to temp. if you heat the tires above what they run at, the tires will cool down to there running temp. on a cold track with hard tires that are hot, the tires will work well for a few laps till they cool down, then start to loose traction, thats why running the correct tires is so important on these cars.
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Good point, I agree with pre-heating the tires. It helps if you can heat the tires and the race starts when called for drivers. Any difficulties to delay the race start should allow racers enough time to get or keep the tires at the temp need. Full size Indy/F1 is not an issue, but our smaller 1/5,1/4 with one person its hard to do. I could see where some races/tracks could prohibit the use though.
 
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