Tyre Warmers

[Jeff 8]

Do people use tyre warmers on wet weather tyres? As far as I see it they lose temperature when they run on a wet track. Is this not the case?

With only one set of tyre warmers would you warm the wets or use them on your slicks in case the track dries out just before you hit the track?

Does anyone run mixed tyres, eg wet front-intermediate rear, or intermediate front-slick rear?

Jeff

[tristancliffe]

Wet tyres are a soft compound with treads not only to clear water, but also to generate heat. A wet tyre will get warm!

In the UK most race series disallow the use of tyre warmers anyway.

[greenamex2]

When speaking to a race tyre manufacturer about wet tyres something along the lines of the following discussion occurred -

Me "What cold tyre pressures should I run in the wet"
Them "About what you need to run hot in the dry"
Me "But won't the tyres get hot and the pressure increase"
Them "If the tyres get hot you won't have any tyres left so it won't be a problem...."
Me "errrrr"
Them when they realised the response was possibly a bit 'negative' "They should not be getting hot enough to get a significant increase in pressure"

Fortunately being a fairly negative person myself and possessing an odd sense of humour I found the initial response blunt, to the point and very funny!

And two years practical experience proved the persons point. If wets get hot (usually through running in the dry) grip goes off, they start wearing out fast and they aren't nearly as good the next time you use them.

In a low power to weight ratio saloon they certainly don't feel like they are changing as the race progresses, unlike slicks which take me a couple of laps before I can 100% commit to corners.

So I'd say no you probably wouldn't need tyre warmers on the 'typical' set of wets a typical club racer would use.

No idea on mix and match, I don't have intermediates and would probably go for the 'worst case' if I was in any doubt. I'm a club racer and not hitting something is far more important than a slightly quicker lap time.

[speedsense]

Originally Posted by Jeff 8

Do people use tyre warmers on wet weather tyres? As far as I see it they lose temperature when they run on a wet track. Is this not the case?

With only one set of tyre warmers would you warm the wets or use them on your slicks in case the track dries out just before you hit the track?

Does anyone run mixed tyres, eg wet front-intermediate rear, or intermediate front-slick rear?

Jeff

One thing to consider.... the heating of the core of the tire is most important part of the heating process, whether dry or wet tires. The core maintains the consistancy of the heat cycles of a tire. The outside (contact area) is always in flux with the temp with the ranges of a dry tire going up and down in seconds in the range 200-300 F. The heated core of the tire causes the outside temp to "return" to it's core heat level when not gyrating through the cycles. This range is much narrower on a wet tyre, but needed just the same.
So yes, heating a wet tyre in a blanket long enough to get the core up to temp would help it, as long as the pace and use of the tyre is kept up would offer an advantage. Though with the cooling properties of water and the type of race track may or may not help the tyre maintain that temp very long.

[ubrben]

Originally Posted by tristancliffe

Wet tyres are a soft compound with treads not only to clear water, but also to generate heat. A wet tyre will get warm!

In the UK most race series disallow the use of tyre warmers anyway.

To generate grip you need heat but heat generates grip - it's a positive feedback loop. Sometimes a compound that will grip at 50 degrees can't generate enough grip at 20 degrees to ever get to 50.

If you heat this tyre in a warmer to 50 you might be able to force it into the necessary positive feedback loop.

Crazy but true :-)

Ben

[Jeff 8]

That's a very interesting point, Ben, but I am thinking that warming the slicks ready for a quick change might be a better thing, especially for qualifying.

When it stops raining here the track usually dries out fairly quickly.

Jeff