Just ordered a set of V710s for this weekend's autocross. How should I go about heat-cycling these? Couldn't find anything by searching about V710s specifically, and Kumho's site wasn't any help. Should I just stop being cheap and call up Tire Rack to change my order to a set heat-cycled by them?

 

We are on our 2nd set, we road race ours, the first set we were not able to heat cycle them due to scheduling problems and they started to de laminate after the 3rd session, we ran another set this weekend on a test day, this set we had the tire rack heat cycle them, they went 10 sessions with no problem, I highly recommend having them heat cycled.

 

People are talking about two different things when they talk about "heat cycling". One is simply to use the tires at moderate temperatures, and this is what the Tire Rack is talking about. (The other consists of getting the tires VERY HOT by using them on the racetrack.)

The Tire Rack's heat cycling service just brings them to moderate temperatures, like you would do by driving them at normal highway speeds. In fact, if you have the time, you can do this at home by driving 15-20 miles on the highway at normal speeds and it will do exactly the same thing as Tire Rack's heat cycling service, as long as you then take them off the car for a day or two. If it's for use this weekend, though, you may not have time before your autocross. (That's the big advantage of the Tire Rack's service; they cool down while they're being shipped to you.)

I'm sure you've already read about heat cycling on the Tire Rack website:

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tire Rack website &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

As participation in autocrossing, track days, driving schools and road racing continues to grow in popularity, the tire manufacturers have developed unique DOT legal competition tires which feature very sophisticated tread compounds. However just like other high performance parts, these tires will provide more consistent performance and last longer if they are properly broken-in.

The first time a competition tire is used is the most important. During that run, its tread compound is stretched, some of the weaker bonds between the rubber molecules will be broken (which generates some of the heat). If the tires are initially run too hard or too long, some of the stronger bonds will also be broken which will reduces the tire's grip and wear qualities. Running new tires through an easy heat cycle first, and allowing them to relax allows the rubber bonds to relink in a more uniform manner than they were originally manufactured. It actually makes them more consistent in strength and more resistant to losing their strength the next time they are used. An important heat cycling step is that after being brought up to temperature, the tires require a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to relax and reform the bonds between their rubber molecules.</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

Thanks for the info. I don't really trust myself to heat-cycle them as accurately as Tire Rack does, and when you're spending over $700 on the set including install, what's another $60 to do it right and get the most life you can out of them? I just called them and added heat cycling to my order.

I actually will probably not use them this weekend... I still have a little meat left on my RA-1s to use up, plus I'm double-entering so I can take passengers on the afternoon runs so I don't want to "waste" good V710 runs on that. I might be a bit slow this weekend but I'll finish strong with the V710s at the next couple events. I'm doing well enough in season points where I can afford a slow-ish day.

Any bets on how much time I might stand to gain from fresh V710s versus RA-1s on their 3rd season? The RA-1s are still kickin' surprisingly well for having 20-25 events on them... FTD (albeit out of 40-some drivers) at the event before last. Wish I had another set of wheels so I could get RA-1s again for rains.

 

What I do (much like nsxtasy said)....

1) Mount race wheels on car
2) Drive around on backroads for 20 or 30 minutes, taking care not to overheat tires.
3) Remove wheels
4) Put wheels in garbage bags and store for at least 48 hours
5) Enjoy grippy autocross goodness

Right or wrong, it works for me. I saw 160+ runs on a stock Mustang and had my 2nd highest PAX finish ever on the day I corded them.

 

The V710s are fine for autoX without heat cycling. For autoX, the fewer heat cycles the better in the long term to get more runs out of them before the stickiness degrades. They will get stickier after the first run or two as the mold release film is worn off. But then after a number of heat cycles - maybe 12-15 full autoX events, they will start to gradually degrade.

Andrew

 

IMO Heat cycling for AX is waste of $$.

I've never had, nor heard of a difference in longevity, or longevity of grip by running them with stickers. Especially if you take them off the car shortly after you are done running anyway they'll be fine.

Also you don't accidently puncture them on the street. They also pick up a ton of crap, including glass, nails, rocks, etc. Why risk it with the cost?

If you trailer your car, its a different story, but I'd still say run them at an event, change to crappy wheels/tires before you put the car on the trailer, and carry them home.