RA1's for 2017 CMC

[blk96gt]

Is anyone getting the tires heat cycled before they're delivered?

Also, are you going out on a fresh set of tires with no heat cycles and going balls to the wall for a 25min race? Or are you going out in a session on Friday with a fresh set and doing a few laps at 75-80% and then bringing it in and letting the tires sit until the next day?

I've noticed a significant decrease in tire life when I've gone out and went 10/10 on the first heat cycle, vs going out and doing a few laps hard enough to get some heat in the tires and then coming in and letting them sit.

[ShadowBolt]

Is anyone getting the tires heat cycled before they're delivered?

Also, are you going out on a fresh set of tires with no heat cycles and going balls to the wall for a 25min race? Or are you going out in a session on Friday with a fresh set and doing a few laps at 75-80% and then bringing it in and letting the tires sit until the next day?

I've noticed a significant decrease in tire life when I've gone out and went 10/10 on the first heat cycle, vs going out and doing a few laps hard enough to get some heat in the tires and then coming in and letting them sit.

I paid for heat cycling from Phil's Tire but could not tell any difference in tire life or fall off so I stopped paying for it. I have not tried your method Kevin. Your the only one I know that changes tires and wheels six times per race weekend. LOL

JJ

[BADVENM]

When I've put on fresh sticker still on the tires it was for Toyo and/or points races, not for warmups or qualifying. If memory serves me I did this last year at High Plains Raceway. While the other competitors were grasping for grip in a few turns at the beginning of the race I was able to stick to the inside and carry more speed putting me in front and I think winning the race. I did this at Pueblo two weekends ago (Saturday) and was able to get a rare first place finish.

[MikeP99Z]

Not my place to vote, but my $0.02 -

As far as I know, the current RA1 compound is the same as the RR - you just get some tread. There is no more long lasting compound like the 2005 RA1. Y'all are chasing a goose and there is no golden egg.

I'd find it hard to get everyone to agree to run 4/32 shaved RA1s.

Through tire testing (and I burned a lot of tires), the RR is faster than the RA1 due to being round and lack of tread. It is critical that the tire is treated correctly, and track temp plays a huge role. I killed a new set of RRs in one session because I cooked them to 250* - they had huge degradation after that session.

I set the ECR record the same weekend that Michael did, and I was also on 16 heat cycle tires because I was burning up leftovers from the season. It was a great track day temp wise, and the surface just had grip that weekend. I normally only run 10-12 heat cycles, then onto a new set.

Treating the RR nicely the first session, then letting it properly vulcanize will give you some longevity and nice consistency for remaining track days. Driving like an animal the first few heat cycles will be great for that day and lap times, but terrible for longevity. Super hot ambient temps also affect tire wear and some days the track surface just doesn't have the grip.

Collect relevant data.

[ShadowBolt]

So I just got off the phone from talking to Phil. Toyo swears the compound has never changed on the RA1! He says a shaved RA1 should last a few more sessions than the RR but just a few more. The RA1 is a slower tire. The new 888 so far has not been used in a race group and is only being used by track-day guys. Not enough info to know if this will be a good race tire or not. He said the most important thing is exactly what Mike said above......."YOU MUST BE EASY ON THE TIRE THE FIRST SESSION AND IT MUST REST AT A MINIMUM 24 HOURS TO GET THE MOST LIFE OUT OF R COMPOUND TIRES". I ask if the heat cycling they offer is just as good as an easy session then the 24 hour wait and was told yes it is.

The RA1 is going to cost us more and we will not be able to get tires shipped out the same day (at least not with Phil's) due to shaving time (Phil shaves all tires himself). Phil said there is no reason we should not be able to get through a six race weekends schedule on three sets of tires and that includes a practice day prior to each race weekend.

JJ

[blk96gt]

Here is how you can get two good weekends out of a set of tires. This assumes you have at lest one set of older tires that can stand another 8 heat cycles or so.

Friday Practice - If you have a set of tires that haven't been heat cycles, go out and run a few 7/10 laps, park the car and pull the tires off. Put on older tires for the rest of the day.

Saturday - If you do warmup, use the old tires. Put on new tires for Qual and R1. After R1, swap to the older set for R2 invert.

Sunday - Swap back to new tires for qual and R3 (also rotate tires at this point), swap to older set for R4.

At this point you've got 4-5 heat cycles on your newer tires. You've still got plenty of life left to use them for Qual and Toyo race for the next weekend, and they're not likely to start falling off until after R3 on the second weekend. After the second weekend use them for practice and invert races. They will fall off after 8HC or so, but if you treat them right they don't fall off too bad until around 12HC.

[Rob Liebbe]

Here is how you can get two good weekends out of a set of tires. This assumes you have at lest one set of older tires that can stand another 8 heat cycles or so.

Friday Practice - If you have a set of tires that haven't been heat cycles, go out and run a few 7/10 laps, park the car and pull the tires off. Put on older tires for the rest of the day.

Saturday - If you do warmup, use the old tires. Put on new tires for Qual and R1. After R1, swap to the older set for R2 invert.

Sunday - Swap back to new tires for qual and R3 (also rotate tires at this point), swap to older set for R4.

At this point you've got 4-5 heat cycles on your newer tires. You've still got plenty of life left to use them for Qual and Toyo race for the next weekend, and they're not likely to start falling off until after R3 on the second weekend. After the second weekend use them for practice and invert races. They will fall off after 8HC or so, but if you treat them right they don't fall off too bad until around 12HC.

Easy!!!

[Supercharged111]

When I've put on fresh sticker still on the tires it was for Toyo and/or points races, not for warmups or qualifying. If memory serves me I did this last year at High Plains Raceway. While the other competitors were grasping for grip in a few turns at the beginning of the race I was able to stick to the inside and carry more speed putting me in front and I think winning the race. I did this at Pueblo two weekends ago (Saturday) and was able to get a rare first place finish.

I wouldn't attribute that to tires, the people behind you were over 2 seconds a lap slower.

[BADVENM]

I wouldn't attribute that to tires, the people behind you were over 2 seconds a lap slower.

So what do you attribute it to? Obviously they were slower...but why? Were they on sticker tires? Corded tires?

[Pranav]

Great discussion guys. Please use Jander's tips often, and be sure to sell me your used tires.

Every time I buy a new set of tires I blow an engine; I officially have swapped more engines than I've bought NEW tires in my 4 seasons of CMC.

So sell me your gently used RRs.

Think of the engines.