Fall is here in Central Texas, which means there’s a chill in the air most mornings. And that is ideal tire testing weather.
We’ve got a couple of interesting rounds on our slate, the first of which is a trio of “tweener 200s.” They’re not quite as quick as the lates…
And just dropping it here: our Ultimate track tire guide | 200tw, 100tw, street-legal track and R-comps.
Hey Andy, why are you at the track today? It's not Friday yet!
Most of my track laps lately have been in one of my CRX's prepping for SCCA TT Nats. Testing needs consistency so I'm out here getting my ND chops back in tune.
Time to mount the donuts.
With all the testing I do, you'd think I'd own a machine but I don't. Instead, I trust people that are meticulous, careful and knowledgeable. In short, I got a guy. His name is Joe. And he lives ten minutes from my house. So he's also convenient. Never messed up a wheel or tire. And very reasonably priced.
Joe also knows the right way to work a balancer to minimize vibration rather than saving weights (default settings).
Joe's only stipulation is that wheels are clean and devoid of weights. Similar to Pirelli and Michelin from my days in Pro Racing.
3M Adhesive Remover plus a plastic tool are the weapons of choice. Brake cleaner is not nearly as effective on weight residue. Get the low-VOC version so your brain cells stay intact. 
"Chill in the air" in central Texas........like 60 degrees?
DeadSkunk (Warren) said:"Chill in the air" in central Texas........like 60 degrees?
Actually, it was in the 40's the other morning.
Of course, high for Friday is looking to be in the 90's again. Sheesh.
My tire hauler...
2007 CX9 will hold three sets easily, and four with some creativity.
And, back at the track again. Today is scrub/heat cycle day. 45 minutes on the highway, 6 laps of ever increasing intensity, then 45 minutes of country roads.
Two down, one to go.
Lifts are awesome.
Check out those Kogeki wheels. :)
In reply to Andy Hollis :
IMO, Joe is a renaissance man in that he can do just about anything related to vehicles. And he is a meticulous tire changer for track rats here in Austin.
Just like painting a car, prep is everything.
First step, checking to make sure we have enough brake pad to make it through the day. Looks like some taper is evident, so a quick flip inside out will prolong the life.
Five minutes per corner to flip...if you have this cool Lisle piston retractor. Best $50 I ever spent.
"An ounce of prevention..."
Hot tire changes are prone to galled threads on studs and lug nuts. Easiest way to ruin the day.
We go through and run a re-threading die on all of our ARP studs, then use a quality re-threading tap from ARP to clean up our lug nuts. Problems usually start with the nuts, and ours took a little effort to get the threads back to perfect. this despite being replaced not that long ago.
We buy 50-count boxes of Gorilla brand nuts and replace frequently.
We also carry spare studs and tools for on-the-car field install, though a press is preferred.
Scott Skillman said:In reply to Andy Hollis :
IMO, Joe is a renaissance man in that he can do just about anything related to vehicles. And he is a meticulous tire changer for track rats here in Austin.
Oh how I wish I had a Joe by me. I have multiple vehicles, multiple tire/wheel combos and multiple seasons. It's an expensive nightmare.
you balance race tires? mine just slip on the rim and go out of balance. both from launching at autocross and braking at the circuit...
Matt Huffman said:you balance race tires? mine just slip on the rim and go out of balance. both from launching at autocross and braking at the circuit...
Wheels with knurled bead seat areas will help that.
It's especially important to me for the cars I drive to/from the track. Unbalanced wheels on the highway are super annoying.
Almost forgot to charge up the AIM lap timer/data logger.
Here's some pics shot the other night...our standard "beauty shots" from my home studio, though this is from my cell phone. The one for print was done with a real DLSR camera.
Oh, that writing on the tires? It's imprinted on the tread cap rubber piece prior to assembling the "green tire". After all the bits are put in place, the mold goes around the assembly and the tire is "cooked".
And here a shot of the "home studio"...
it's just a corner of the shop where the floor and wall are still clean. Roll back the CRX, line up tires, shoot. I often have to use a small screw or drill bit underneath to keep them in place. Tricks of the trade revealed!
Andy Hollis said:Hey Andy, why are you at the track today? It's not Friday yet!
Most of my track laps lately have been in one of my CRX's prepping for SCCA TT Nats. Testing needs consistency so I'm out here getting my ND chops back in tune.
I can just feel the car launching bump exiting three, the bone jarring, bump stop inducing bump at the kink, and the suspension upsetting bump at the apex of Mustang...
In reply to racerfink :
Which is all why I do my testing CCW...fewer bumps to deal with. T7 the only one that matters.
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