Driving the point home about tire break in

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Driving the point home about tire break in

Postby blacksheep-1 » Sat Mar 15, 2014 12:49 pm

This is geared more to the HPDE type of driver but could apply to auto-x, or even performance street tires......


I can't go into real specifics but at Sebring we were shocked at how long tires did not last. It was not a comment on the track over all but rather the method of break in.
As an example ( and like I've said before) the best laps in your tires are in the first 5, with a set of stickers, it was pretty clear that if you were to run a fast qualifier then it would be in the first 5, if you got blocked (Buford) and you couldn't get a clear lap in you were really screwed. Now, that being said, we also ran a set of stickers new to used (in one long stint) and when they fell off, it was very dramatic, and they were pretty much toast from then on. (the amount of time/laps/wear/ temps and pressures are proprietary so just take my word for it). Lastly, tires that were broken in by running a short stint lasted quite a few laps longer than expected.
So it is pretty clear, if you want to go fast, do it in the first 5 laps of the tires life (and don't forget you have to anticipate the temp/pressure to do that..hope you've been working on your graphs) if you want them to last, break them in , in one or two 3-5 lap stints and let them normalize.

BTW gratuitous babe pics from Sebring......

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Re: Driving the point home about tire break in

Postby twistedwankel » Mon Mar 17, 2014 6:32 pm

Well you certainly got me thinking about rubbers!!

Great graphics.
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Re: Driving the point home about tire break in

Postby jbrannon7 » Tue May 06, 2014 1:58 pm

Now I don't mind spending a couple extra bucks when I buy from Turner, looks like they spend it well.

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Re: Driving the point home about tire break in

Postby impalanut » Tue May 06, 2014 8:12 pm

If you put on stickers and just run them for many laps the first time on the car you are not breaking them in correctly and will waste a lot of tire. For track tires, you should be heat cycling prior to racing. This means running the tires for about 15 minutes beginning at slow speeds and gradually increasing so your last lap is at full speed. Then take the tires off the car and let them rest for 24-36 hours. This should add 25-50% to your tire life.
If you are already doing this than never mind.

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