Tire Question from the average fan

C

CharlieBowlFan

Member
So first off I would like to keep this thread un-biased and free of finger pointing/driver naming. Thank you!

I am the average fan who doesnt know the most about car setup and such, I just love to watch racing. However the following questions have been in my head for awhile but decided now to ask with all of this recent controversy.

1) What is the difference between hard and soft tires? What type of track does each work best on? How does the car handle different?

2) Again with out name calling/fingerpointing, What does "treating" your tires with chemicals actually do? How does it help performance?

Thank you!
 
That is such a difficult question to answer on this forum! I mean you could get a run of the mill generic answer but to really answer those questions i feel an actual conversation would work best....just my opinion

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I'd hate to try and pass off as a specialist... but, i've been on hoosiers for awhile..... now... I only know about E-mods.... (modified tires) the is basically 3 different types of compounds A, H and D,..... A and H tires are ussually considered "hard tires and D is considered the soft tire..... they all have the same tread pattern but that is where the similarities end.... i'll let someone else get into the differences..... now your question about hard and soft tires...... first,, the decision on which compound to run depends on different surfaces, length of race and, temperatures.... lets just lump the A and H tires in the "hard" group and the D tire in the soft group..... the softer a tire is, the better it grips the racing surface..... so why doesnt everybody just run D tires...... temperature..... temperature is a major factor in how a tire works.......... cold... a soft tire will work immediatly but as tire temps go up that soft tire degrades and gets too hot "goes away" as the race goes on...... generally teams run a D tire in the heat and on tacky surfaces.... also on the front and LR of the car where heat doesnt build as much...... now with heat the's more to talk about.... heat is caused by friction on the racing surface..... slick tracks traction is low wheel spin is high and heat builds.... thats when you can introduce a "hard tire" that may not have the traction a "soft" tire has but, will last the entire race.... The A and H tires both like heat (I use the term like cautiosly some may object) as heat builds up the tire builds grip... This is called "FIRING" a tire...... In the race car you can actually feel your tire "fire" you tire goes from being cold and hard to hot and sticky traction increases...... as the race goes on eventually a "hard" tire will go away as well
Now that we understand Firing a tire and how important it is..... there are ways to control or help a tire FIRE.... siping is a way most racers introduce heat into a tire to help it fire sooner.. many razor blades cut in the footprint of the tire promotes friction thus adding heat... there are many ways but, i'd better get to the point, i dont type very fast........ treating a tire with chemicals is one way some use to get a tires to "fire" sooner and longer during a race.. I have also heard treating a tire will extend a tires overall life as well....... but treating tires is all about getting your tire to get hot and sticky sooner and last longer than the guy starting next to ya.......
 
hope that helps and i'm sure some may dis agree so, please correct me if im too far off base some where in there.........
 
Tires are my specialty but I don't feel like defending myself because of what I have to say on this forum. If you want to call me you are more than welcome because I enjoy talking and discussing tires. I don't sell anything so please don't expect that 618-402-4145
 
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