Should I have my RE-11 AX tires heat cycled?
Brown Santa delivered my new set of RE-11's AX tires and they're sitting in the garage waiting to be mounted this weekend.
Sorry if my question has already been already answered somewhere. I looked around online but I'm still not sure I have an answer to my specific question.
Some of the articles I found were old and I'm wondering if they may not be current with the newer tire compounds available for street tires. Some of what I read (older articles?) indicated that only R-compound tires really needed to be heat cycled and that street tires were a harder compound that didn't need it. The street tires only needed a little driving before the first AX to remove the release compound.
Other articles/postings discussed performing heat cycling on a machine vs. some form of driving to get them up to temp. Not sure I came away with a definite answer here either. seemed like consensus was that there is a benefit and that the machine provides a controlled environment and better results but at a cost. There seemed to be many TCB methods of driving on them for the initial heat cycle but results may vary as to the actual effectiveness.
So, assuming that I understood correctly that heat cycling is really more of an R-compound thing. I've read all the talk about the new street tire compounds and how they're getting much closer to the stickyness of an R-compound tire.
So finally... here's my question... Is there more of a benefit now to having AX "street tires" heat cycled on a machine? I don't mind paying to have it done if there's a real benefit (and I can find somewhere in the metromess to do it). Otherwise, if the benefit isn't worth the cost, what's the preferred TCB method for breaking them in?
TIA,
Keith
90 Red NA
91 Red NA
99 Triple Black NB "Dimples"
I have only owned two sets of R-comps. One was heat cycled and the other was not. The heat cycled set seemed to last longer, but there were other variables, too.
I have never heat cycled a set of street tires. Just mount them and drive them to the event.
Keifer...where are you taking your tires to mount and balance? I need to get my RE-11's mounted too.
There's a small tire shop on Pipeline in Hurst (near Winnie's Pets) that will dismount your old ones and M&B new ones for $40.
I wouldn't bother heat cycling a set of street tires. You will want to put 50-100 miles on them prior to the first event though, to remove the mold release.
Like jrj512, I've heat cycled R comps in the past, but found no real objective difference in performance or tire life. In my case this was comparing half a dozen set of heat cycled V710s to a ten sets of non-heat cycled ones.
Iain
"We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw
Heat cycling is a thing of the past these days. Even the Hoosier A6's is best right off the UPS truck.
Stuart F. Maxcy
STR 82
NC Miata
Talk to this guy
Blah blah blah!
Last time I think I went to DW tires on Bedford-Euless Road. Kind of a run down looking place. I had two sets of wheels/tires that I had them dismount all 8 tires and then swap them to the other set of wheels and remount. seems like they charged $10 a wheel to dismount then remount and balance. Maybe I'll give the place you mention a try though. I was also considering checking with Hamm's tire at Denton Hwy and Western Center. You know anything about them?Originally Posted by sammm
90 Red NA
91 Red NA
99 Triple Black NB "Dimples"
Thanks for all the input guys. Guess I'll just drive on them a little next week to get the mold release off and call it good. If I don't go out of town next weekend I'll be all set for NTAXS at TMS.
Mike, you think the guy could use that method to seat the bead and heat-cycle them all in one step?
90 Red NA
91 Red NA
99 Triple Black NB "Dimples"
They are a bunch of
YMMV
Don't know anything about Hamm's, but this afternoon I went to the place on Pipeline I mentioned (yellow sign...A&T, D&T, something like that - just east of Hurstview on the north side).
$40 - dismount, mount & balance.
They are a bunch of
BTDT they are just minutes from the Palatial POS Compound go to Jimmy's place that is where I went last round.
Posting Permissions
Reply With Quote