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PSA: Race Tires & Race Tracks

Discussion in 'Information For New Racers' started by Pneumatico Delle Vittorie, Jul 29, 2018.

  1. gt#179

    gt#179 Dirt Dork

    This. I'm always shocked at the number of people that post on forums and FB asking what pressure to run. Like everyone know where you are riding, what you are riding, what's your riding style and what's your load.

    I still call PDV/JJ and ask what pressure to run in my tires on my street bikes. :)
     
  2. stickboy274

    stickboy274 Stick-a-licious Tire Dude

    I'm surprised at how many dirty wheels we see. I cleaned my racebike before every event so I could tell if something started leaking or having a problem. You would be amazed at what you find when you go over your bike cleaning it.

    Plus, if your wheels are dirty enough to need gloves, then my hands are going to get dirty when I change you tires. I'll be grabbing your new tires with those same hands. The dirt/chain line/grease will be spread on the new tires, possibly the rotors.

    If you clean them before the weekend, it doesn't take much to wipe your wheels down before getting new tires.
     
    NemesisR6, MkImroth, DaveB and 2 others like this.
  3. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    It's 202o so bump
     
    NemesisR6 likes this.
  4. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

  5. Woofentino Pugr

    Woofentino Pugr Well-Known Member

    Not that I ever heard anyone doing it on a race vehicle, but don't put Slime in your tires (street or track) and not warn the tire guy. Had an asshole do that where I used to work. Salesman wanted his cars' tires changed (we did that when we weren't too busy building conversions). We used an old Coats 4040 tire machine there. Popped the bead and BOOM, Slime everywhere. Was fun to call the salesguy up and have him come over to clean the wall, tire machine, tire balance and floor.
     
  6. stickboy274

    stickboy274 Stick-a-licious Tire Dude

    Tire slime sucks.
     
    TLR67 likes this.
  7. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    And tire beads too LOL
     
  8. stickboy274

    stickboy274 Stick-a-licious Tire Dude

    Yes. The tire machine will make crunchy noises for a while after messing with the beads.
     
  9. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    Time for a bumpa da bump
     
  10. StaccatoFan

    StaccatoFan 48 Days....Pardon me while I wait patiently

    I wipe my wheels down with Pledge furniture polish when I clean them...spray it on the rag and wipe them down.

    The Pledge attracts and makes it easier to wipe the brake dust off the wheels. It leaves a coating on the wheel surface that
    repels dust and what does get attracted to the wheels is easier to wipe off.

    I also use it on my bodywork when I'm cleaning/wiping my bike down. There's not much difference between Pledge and Plexus as far as I can tell, and
    the Pledge is a hell of a lot cheaper per can.
     
    Newyork likes this.
  11. crashman

    crashman Grumpy old man

    I was just reading thru this thread and the main thing that came to mind is why would anyone use slime or dynabeads on a track tire? And why would a person not wipe down their rims before taking them off. I do not like to get dirty either so I clean my shit before I grab wrenches.
     
  12. 2blueYam

    2blueYam Track Day Addict

    Put on a pair of gloves, remove wheel, take to tire vendor. No dirt on me, just a bit on the gloves. Actually, I try not to take them to the tire vendor dirty, but sometimes if I am in a hurry and the wheel isn't too icky it happens. I apologized for taking a dirty wheel to a track side vendor once and he told me no problem as it was one of the cleaner wheels he had handled that day.

    Oddly enough I cleaned up my shock before taking it for service and my suspension servicer told me not to do that next time so he could see if it was leaking.
     
  13. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    A great time for a bump
     
  14. TurboBlew

    TurboBlew Registers Abusers

    theres a product call TubOTowels that will clean wheels super quick... easy to keep in a trailer and dispose of dirty towels. Retail is less than $15
     
  15. Tim Dobbertin

    Tim Dobbertin Well-Known Member

    The tub is magical
     
  16. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    And bump dada bump
     
  17. regularguy

    regularguy Always Krispy

    I've had issues with wheel weights not sticking after using TubOTowels. I prefer simple green 50/50 with water in a spray bottle. Now the wheel weight and tape goo is always a challenge. A plastic scraper and brake cleaner followed up with a terry towel works in a pinch, but some brake cleaners are really harsh on the paint/powder coat. A lot of my Thursdays at the track consists of cleaning the wheels of all the goo. Goo gone and a bit of patience, then simple green to get rid of the Goo gone residue.
     
    metricdevilmoto likes this.
  18. lopitt85

    lopitt85 Well-Known Member

    I use mineral spirits on a microfiber towel to clean my wheels. All of the gunk just wipes right off
     
  19. Pneumatico Delle Vittorie

    Pneumatico Delle Vittorie Retired "Tire" Guy

    January 2023 so it's time for a bump. And tread carefully out there as you're not just using/ buying tires you need to find a brand & vendor that is actually servicing your needs at the racetrack. Remember good in person sevice and product trumps cheap tire prices without support every single time!
     
  20. RyGuy7

    RyGuy7 Well-Known Member

    Speaking of the worth of tire vendor support at the track, does anyone know if there will be a Pirelli vendor for the North Central Region this year? Mark Junge switched to dunlop last year, and I have not been able to find any reliable information about anyone else stepping in to take that over... My first time racing as an expert this year, and I have no data running Pirelli. So I've just been planning to run Bridgestone since they have contingency and support at our races.. That and, I really enjoy dealing with Quentin, he's great.
     

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