I have one more autocross left this season and I killed the tires on my usual car. I have a set of ancient A6s already mounted on wheels for another car I can run just for laughs. Those tires are rock solid, though. Anything I can do to soften them up? I'm going to get my ass kicked, and probably finish DFL, so no one's going to accuse me of cheating. I just want to have some fun.
would you be willing to unmount an remount them? and willing to try something completely crazy that has always tempted me to try
I'd prefer not to, but what's your crazy idea?
Go talk to drag racers, there's a whole gamut of tricks. Rosin, VHT, and other increasingly hazardous-for-your-health chemicals come to mind...
I've heard of guys oiling the inside of old hoosiers to soften them up. I have no idea if it works, just heard of it on several occasions.
Google for "tire softener". There are a variety on the market, seemingly marketed to circle trackers. No idea how well they work.
My buddy mixes me up some stuff he calls "Tire Scream"
It smells like cancer. It will also allow you to get 2 good runs out of stiff old tires before there's nothing left but cords.
i use a 4" foam paint roller and low-odor mineral spirits as a low-buck Formula V. roll it onto the tread surface, let it soak in until dry, repeat several times. have had good results with 2 and 3-year-old tires. have not tried to revive 6-year-old tires, but maybe they just need a couple of burnouts before the mineral spirits.
What Angry said. Burn off the crusty stuff. Add formula V. I've always wanted to try mineral spirits, as that seems to work well for RC car guys.
Worked well on our Challenge car with NOS A3S04's in 2007/08
captdownshift wrote: would you be willing to unmount an remount them? and willing to try something completely crazy that has always tempted me to try
I wanna see where this is going...
poopshovel wrote: ...that seems to work well for RC car guys...
I mostly remember using oil of wintergreen or suntan lotion on R/C cars 
My crazy idea (that may not work at all as tires are larger inorganic material) is to wrap the outside of the tire in vinegar soaked cheese clothe overnight. I'd do as much as possible to ensure that the sidewalls don't get soaked by the vinegar, laying them on an absorbant sponge or clothe. I'd get enough cheese clothe to reapply freshly soaked cloth for 2-3 nights if needed to see if it softens up the rubber. As noted with some of the treatments above it may make for crazy fast tire wear if it works though and the tires will definitely need to be throughly and repeatedly hosed off before track use.
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