Home › Forums › General Discussion › !!!!!!!!!!Tires!!!!!!!!!!!!
- This topic has 9 replies, 6 voices, and was last updated 18 years, 1 month ago by
Doug Welch.
- AuthorPosts
- January 8, 2007 at 4:06 am #41845
Tony LaPorta
Participant:new
Tires: i got to ask.
1.for club races do u need like really fresh tires
2. if u are running on used tires how worn can they be :idn:
3.how much do tires cost, like most drivers and teams i dont have a bunch of money to throw around ( represented here in this smiley guy)
:money
4. how many tires do u go through in a club season :idn:
thanks hope questions arent to stupid
any responses are apreciatedJanuary 8, 2007 at 3:33 pm #55998Rodney Ebersole
ParticipantRoad runner, Your best bet is to experiance what it is like on the track with worn out tires and not so worn tires. A new set runs about 180 bucks.
Many teams do have enough money to buy new sets for every race and are willing to recover some of there investment of there 1 race day set and will sell there used set for penny’s on the dollar.
There is no “NEED” to race. But sence you have a kart you might find it rather fun to do. Running tires to the cords is something every racer should have some experiance in even if they can afford new ones every time on the track. New tires are nice and so is winning races. You being a “new guy” will find that wareing out any tires you have will be a learning experiance that can not be replaced with a set of new tires.
Once the “need” to go faster takes over any logic you have about money you will buy some new tires and probably go a little faster.
You have the entire season to hone your personal needs with your new sport. I wouldn’t worry about having enough tires for the season as it only takes a few minutes to change them after having lots of fun wearing them out. Good Luck, I hope I can get to the track and meet you so we can enjoy wearing out some tires togather.January 8, 2007 at 4:54 pm #55999Anonymous
InactiveI ran new tires at most of the club races last year. If you really want to be as competitve as possible, you will want new tires to qualify on. Having said that, the last race of the year I ran used MGs with at least 80 laps on them and they worked really well still.
I’ve had good tire wear on used tires but found that I had so many heat cycles, the tires really lost grip. You’ll get a feel for all this as you run more. I just got started last year, and learned as I went and asked a lot of questions.
I look forward to seeing you at the Track.
Tony
January 8, 2007 at 6:07 pm #56000Anonymous
InactiveFreeze had some good input.
If your laps times are in the hunt and you want a chance to be up front, you may consider. (If you are calling Imi home track), new front’s every race and run rears 2 races. Each track has it’s own characteristics regarding tire wear.
One thing you and your Dad will learn is something that we all deal with. It is tuning with old rubber and adding new tires to race can be a little difficult because your set up will change with new rubber.
I made Roman run used rubber (till you could see cords) till he was @ mid pack qualifying times then cut loose with new rubber every race. Those were Yhc’s which seem to taper off much quicker than Mg’s though. To support this point, many of the Super Pro’s in Vegas used new rubber everytime they were on the track to gather accurate tuning information at that level of racing.
Better to be out there with used rubber than to not race because of money.
January 8, 2007 at 10:39 pm #56001jj
ParticipantWell I started last July and only got two club races in at the Track at Centennial (MG Yellows).
I ran two races and some practice time and the tires still have plenty left to them.
I’m sure they will have lost a little bit of grip, but until you start getting within 3 or 4 seconds a lap of the leaders I doubt that you will notice much difference at all. In that last 3 or 4 seconds there is paobably a lot of difference, but just learning to drive well will take a good number of laps.
Having said that for new or used tires what I can comment on is different tires. I’ve practiced with Bridgestone YHCs that are stiff whereas the MG Yellows are a lot softer and stickier. I made a big mistake in saving that first lap for qualifying with the new MG Yellows. They were Sooo different from the YHCs that I could barely drive them and had poor qualifying times. The MG Yellows are great but they are soo different that you will want to get your kart setup and get used to them prior to a race.
I suggest getting a spare set of hubs and running two sets of tires. Use the older set for practice and the newer set for a race. I doubt that you will need a new set for club level racing until you start getting fast. For a relative newby a set of MG Yellows should probably last for two or three races and practice in between. I’ve heard you can stretch the life out a bit by rotating the tires from side to side as the insides or outsides tend to wear more and rotating balances out the wear pattern
January 9, 2007 at 12:30 am #56002Mike Jansen
ParticipantJJ:
If you’re 3-4 seconds off the pace, wasting time on new tires isn’t the solution. Paying for a day of practice is! Save your tires and get seat time versus new tires. When your a second off pace then consider purchasing a new set of skins. BTW… YHC’s are rocks and MG’s are what you want if you want a set that will last for a long time.
Again, practice is what you need at this point and check out different chassis setups to see what makes you faster. Good luck!
January 9, 2007 at 12:46 am #56003Tony LaPorta
ParticipantHow much do just hubs cost :idn:
January 9, 2007 at 1:07 am #56004Anonymous
InactiveYou don’t need hub’s, (for now) just get a second set of wheels.
When you do start off with a set of new tires, properly heat cycling them will help the tire perform more consistent through it’s usable life. If you want to PM me, I’ll tell you what we do. Everyone seems to have their own concept on the subject. But I spoke to the MG importer at the SuperNats and he supported the importance of heat cycling his tires.
January 9, 2007 at 5:40 am #56005jj
ParticipantI meant to say a second set of wheels, not hubs. You can just get two sets of tires, but then you need to keep changing them. If you get a second set of wheels (about $130-200) you can have a practice set of tires and save your newer set for quallifying/racing.
Yes, practice time is key. I know, and I need more of it.
My oint was that you shouldn’t even worry about a “new” set of tires until you are within a couple of seconds. Up till then you can keep running the same set of Yellows.
However, I practiced on the YHCs and then switched to the Yellows right before my race. Big mistake. The kart setup was so different that I had a tough time learning to drive the higher grip tires. Afterward I figured out how to adjust the kart for the yellows and now can really appreciate them. What I was trying to say was get your kart set up and practice on the same type of tire otherwise you’ll be toast on race day.
January 9, 2007 at 2:14 pm #56006Doug Welch
ParticipantIf you are going to get a second set of wheels and you should, make them the same as your first set. Wheels can have different offsets and different flex characteristics that greatly affect handling. By having the same set of wheels, you minimize the differences.
The Douglas magnesium wheels are a good wheel at a reasonsable price.
By the way, new tires (yellows) are good for about .5 of a seoncd over used yellows. If you need more time than that, don’t waste your money on tires. You would be better to spend that money on a driver/tuner coach or just more seat time.
- AuthorPosts
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.