Lemming

So, many of us heat cycle our race tires out long before we use up the rubber. A friend of mine uses tire warmers to reduce the number of heat cycles each weekend. That is, once his tires are up to temp, he keeps warmers on them the entire weekend. The premise is that the weekend then consists of one heat cycle instead of many for the set. If this is indeed true, then the cost of tire warmers seems warranted by the money saved on tires. The question is, does this work? Are tires that are kept up to temperature for the entire weekend only one heat cycle, or some number less than the total sessions run that weekend? Thoughts?


EDIT: The article link provided by Martin in the other thread states that they increase longevity of the tire http://www.hotrod.com/how-to/wheels-...#__federated=1

NaroEscape

A friend of ours does/did the exact same thing (selling car, warmers, trailer...lock, stock, and barrel but that's besides the point). Since two of them drove - GT3RS - tires were really expensive for a DE weekend. He's a former motorcycle racer and everyone there uses warmers, so he was shocked that nobody uses them in our sport. they noted that ABSOLUTELY they do help, they could run multiple events on a set vs barely one weekend.

The downside is the work involved....each time you come off track you need to jack up the car and keep all 4 wheels off the ground, then wrap the tires. Reverse that just immediatley before you go out each time. PITA unless you have help (they both did the work on the car, but they were constantly jacking, wrapping, unwrapping, dropping down, etc. etc. etc.... then...it starts to make air jacks sound like a good idea...which is just the spiral of more $$$ that we all fall into

Matt Romanowski

Has anyone asked Hoosier or another tire manufacturer? I'm sure this could be solved with a quick phone call.

LuigiVampa

Interesting thoughts about the heat cycling. Would more than pay for the cost of the warmers but, as pointed out, it would be a pain unless you had air jacks.

I saw these tires warmers in the other cold tire thread - http://www.ebay.com/itm/D3-4x-Car-ti...f93aeb&vxp=mtr

For under $500 it seems cheap to avoid that costly spin on cold tires. I always assumed tire warmers were crazy expensive.

Curious why no one uses them especially in the Northeast? I have been at LRP with snow on the ground more times than I can remember. Are they legal for PCA races?

Lemming

I'm assuming its orange and is currently for sale?


I sent an email to Jeff S. at Hoosier, will post response.

Yes, I posted that link. Someone needs to buy a set and let me know if they work

Beantown Kman

+1 being confused about what constitutes a heat cycle. Tire manufacturers typically say the tire needs to "cure" for at least 24 hours to allow the bonds to reform. So, if your sessions on track are frequent enough over the course of a day so the tires stay warm, and the ambient air temp is warm enough, can one day at the track be considered one heat cycle??

See this from Hoosier: http://www.hoosierdirect.com/Tire_Heat_Cycle.html

KaiB

Oh Lordy I wish...

winders

I used tire warmers when I raced motorcycles. I raced on Dunlop "DOT" treaded race tires and Dunlop slicks. I found that using tire warmers all day long did increase tire life, but it was not like it was just one heat cycle. The increased life was in the 10 to 15 percent range.

The bigger advantage was being able to get 100% traction at the first turn.

Cory M

looks like that ad is for a single tire warmer, so you're at about 2k/set, unless I misunderstood the ad

I thought about this years ago, seems like way too much hassle if you aren't running with a support crew and airjacks

KaiB

I've often wondered why more of us don't use them. I've long thought this could be a big advantage, but haven't done it as I see no others.

Because I follow the herd and all that...

Steve113

We need a group purchase

LuigiVampa

It is for four - they don't really make it clear unless you read the whole description. Not bad for $480.

I feel like the first person who shows up with this is going to get a hard time and then the herd will follow.

US$480 including shipping to your door;


700W on each rim; Bake to work condition within 40 minutes;
BEAT CHICHEN HAWK RACING IN PRICING/PRICE; 12 MONTHS REPLACEMENT; 36 MONTHS FREE REPAIR;
MORE DENSE HEATING ELEMENT ON EACH SQUIRE INCH; 35W/YARD;
PRICE IS FOR 4 WHEELS.
SIZE CAN BE CUSTOM ORDERED;
LOGO PRINTING $60 EXTRA FOR 1 SET.

Lemming

I do worry a bit about the statement "International items may be subject to customs processing and additional charges."

Ted in Rochester

If I remember correctly, PCA does not allow tire warmers for Club Racing.

Cory M

If they work and last that's by far the cheapest I've seen them.

Often times we sit on the grid so long before a session starts I wonder how hot the tires would be when we actually hit the track?