tyres tyres tyres

[f2boy 460]

Hmm im wondering what is the best softener if any to use in the dry and if there are any for the wet? can anybody relate to me there theories or experiences of it? i know its a taboo subject but im trying to develop my own in the labs at work and just can't get quite the right stuff! and also as my formula is a budget restricted oval type ive got an issue of im only allowed to spend 45 quid on a tyre! bit naff i know but ive got to have receipts to prove that there available retail at that! ive come up with yokohamas a539, avons cr322 and a fulda tyre? any tyre people out there help me?!

[graham bahr]

in the past i used GRIP tyre softener that worked ok, i once accidently spilt some super unleaded on a soft slick that very quickly became super soft.

£45 isn't much to spend on a tyre is that plus or inc VAT, giving us the size you use might also help getting an answer.

not all tyres are marked with treadwear rating number, but that will give a clue how grippy the tyre is, the lower the treadwear no the softer the tyre, a rockhard mich that will last seemingly forever will have a number wear rating around 300-400, on the other hand i have some road legal very soft kumho's that are too soft for any more than a few laps in the dry with a rating of 50

[dtype38]

I bought a set of tyres for one season that were supposed to be "the control" tyre, only to get the final regs saying that tyres were "free" (to Blue Book 1a/1b). So that left me on rubber much harder than a lot of the competition. I tried a couple of "softening" products on tyres, including "GRIP", but found that they only seemed effective for a few laps. I even tried soaking them in so much softener that when I left the paddock I was leaving black stripes on the concrete... still only lasted half the race!

Some time later I was chatting to a kart racer who said that tyre softener products are aimed at "reclaiming" old tyres. He said that when soft racing tyres are stored over the winter they can go hard on the surface. The softener product will help it return to its original state, but this is a completely different concept from changing a tyre compound into a softer compound. I'm inclined to agree. Now if you invent something that can physically change the basic compound of the tyre, you may be onto something

[f2boy 460]

the tyres are 185/60/13 there run on 6 inch rims on the front and eights on the rear and its 50 quid with the dreaded vat which doesn't leave me a lot to play with! i only run to 15 or twenty laps on an oval and nothing lasts even that long! a trick i have seen used though is pouring it through the valve and letting it soak through from the inside! and even that doesnt last that long and throws you pressures off sync!

[dtype38]

Originally Posted by f2boy 460

i only run to 15 or twenty laps on an oval and nothing lasts even that long!

Can you describe a bit more what you mean by that. What seems to be happening to the tyres?

[graham bahr]

thers a certain irony here, pages and pages of posts regarding D types 225 tyres being too wide for 7 inch rims and here were talking about using a 185 on an 8 inch! which really is too wide a wheel for the tyre size.

[dtype38]

Perhaps we should get f2boy onto the right size tyres for his rim / rims for his tyres first. Suggestions on a postcard please... err, I mean 10-10ths thread!

[graham bahr]

normal rim size for a 185 is 6 inch, although it was quite common for car makers to fit 185's on a 5.5 rim, 6 is better, for race use go to 7 but 8 hmm, i suspect your starting to drive on the sidewalls.

[Anuauto]

The Escort roadgoing hill climb crowd are mostly using 185/60-13 on 7" rims. A few are on 6". 8" sounds unhealthy.

[graham bahr]

ive got some 195/55/15's which have a taller sidewall than 185/60/13's mounted on some 8 inch rims, they seem to work ok, although the sidewalls are obviously farly well stretched so i suppose 185/60/13 might just work on 8, but its going to be very very tretched, and i doubt the tyre can take its proper and natural shape and give a proper foot print that far stretched, its also going to be very sensative to camber etc as i doubt the sidewall will have any "give" in it

[graham bahr]

as for getting decent rubber for that price well, all the tyres at the budget end of the market are list 1A type budget stuff, the only way i can see of getting some nice soft, therfore grippy rubber is a set of colway's

[retro_msport]

Colway did a 205 that i used on an 8.5" rim... worked well and seemed to last almost as long as the other tyres i and the rest used, think back then they where 20 odd quid

[Peter Mallett]

Just a thought. Doesn't the MSA Blue book ban tyre treatments of any kind?

[graham bahr]

yes but i would guess as the car the tyres are for races on ovals it isn't regulated by the MSA

[Trikes]

Hmmm not sure if I should reinvigorate this old thread but here goes. There's been quite large advances in tyre softening tyre dosing etc etc. It's no longer a fine art. Just follow the directions to the letter. Different brands yield differing results. But GRIP still smells and is easily detected. Octopus is popular with the H/C guys I know and Track Claw is simply not detectible at all and works a treat on tyres to be used for Dirt Track racing. There's quite a few brands out there now and as one Karter recently told me 'everyone's dosing their tyres and if your not doing it your not competitive'.
I used GRIP on a set of road Michelin PS3' nine days before race day that were less than a season old and went 2.5 secs quicker. The guys on semi slicks (untreated) that I'd been chasing for the first half of the season and had been 2 to 2.3 secs quicker I beat by .3 and .5 secs. I could smell GRIP at the track but I don't think any one else did.
On another car used in Speedway I used Track Claw on brand new road tyre's (mandated in Class) and the driver easily jumped ahead of his competition. Was the Driver Car Owner excited, yes sir indeed. TC needs to be put inside the tyre to get it's best as well it should be painted on the outside. So you need a tyre place to oblige with allowing you to pour some in while the fit up work is performed and then stay quiet. Follow the directions to the letter. Tyres don't wear out as quick or go off as quick with the latest tyre 'additives'(?).