ninety4formula

I have an autocross coming up this sunday which is our last race of the season at WGI. I am in a battle for points and I want to run my best tire option. My options are my A6's or my street tires (nitto NT555R in front and Michelin pilot sports in the back). What would you guys suggest?

CHJ In Virginia

If there is any water on course, the A6 tires will be about useless. Check weather satellite views to see what conditions are going to be shortly (30-45min) before your runs. Get help and change tires to suit conditions as close to run time as possible. Good luck !

fatbillybob

A6 work amazingly well on wet tracks but not standing water. If track is wet and no rain I would be on a6.

froggy47

DLevey

Last Sunday I was on a6's and it started pouring before my first run, wet course but no standing water car felt really good, next run standing water all bad

ninety4formula

Does the temperature make any difference? I am watching the weather like crazy hoping it doesn't drop below 50 degrees. Last weekend I was running in similar temps and in the morning I got 3 runs and the tires weren't really that warm so I know I wasn't getting optimal traction. Has anyone had any experience with the outside temp being too cold?

RacePro Engineering

What does your autocross have to do with the Last Chance Regional?
Am I missing something?

Ed

ninety4formula

The Glen Region is having an autocross at the paddock on sunday. This is an out of points event for our region (southern New York region) and to win BSP I have to go there and take first place. It is normally just me and a '97 M3 that are competing. We did the same thing last year. It is cool to have people out on the track to watch when we are on break for the autocross. Are you going to be up there Ed?

RacePro Engineering

Thanks for reminding me - actually I do recall seeing some cars running in the lower paddock in prior years. Unfortunately, we will not be there this year. Best of luck with your season wrap-up!

Ed

talon95

Below 50 and raining and the A6's will suck donkey *****. These guys are right about them working good in damp conditions, but not when it's cold. Despite the water, I'll still use tire blankets to help hold heat in the carcass, wheels, brakes between runs.

Dave G.

Bill Dearborn

You are talking about the paddock area behind pit lane grandstands, right? I think that area is sloped to some extent but can't remember for sure. Probably will have slight dips with puddles scattered around the course if it rains hard but if it sprinkles you will just have damp pavement. As others have said be ready to change tires but you really need to consider the temps through the day. Forecast for the town says low temp will be 37 with a high of 50. That means up on the hill at the track most of the day you will see temps in the mid 40s with the high coming in the mid afternoon or later if ever. The wind is always blowing there. In the summer it keeps you cool on those 90 degree days but at this time of the year you will think you are at the North Pole. Although wind chill doesn't affect the actual temperature it will cool your tires right down to ambient almost as soon as you park the car. If you are doing heats it may be hard to keep the tires warm from one run to the next if there are a number of cars in your heat. Tire covers may help but make sure they don't blow away.

It will be a brutal cold day so layer up with several sweat shirts and a rain suit. I was there last weekend when temps were about 5 to 10 degrees warmer and never took off any layers. It felt good to put my helmet on as it kept my bald head warm. I don't envy you being there but wish you good luck while I will be 60 miles away sitting in my warm house.

Bill

ninety4formula

We were wondering if you were going to make it up there Bill. Too bad you won't be there. I know that it isn't going to be nice. This time last year it was beautiful. Not a cloud in the sky and it was in the 70's! I'm just hoping that the weather is going to hold up. I think I could get the tires swapped out as long as I didn't have to do it while waiting in the heat. If it was before I went out though I'd have enough time. If I didn't need the slicks I wouldn't take my trailer up and make it a lot easier on myself, but like I said, I am trying to win BSP so I need every advantage I can get. If I don't win my class then I will tie and I'm not sure what the SCCA does in that event. It will be cold, but it was in Ithaca sunday as well. I still pulled 4th fastest and that was with a cracked brake booster! I knew I had bad brakes, but I didn't realize the booster was cracked. I found it monday night. Either way it is replaced and I'm ready to race!

ninety4formula

I don't have any tire blankets. Can I just throw anything over them to try to keep the heat in? Towels, throw rugs and things of that nature?

talon95

You can do that or make some with some of that silver insulation from Home Depot, etc...

Solofast

Cold Hoosier's are pretty much worthless, but tire blankets work for sure... Not sure if I invented them, but I used them at the 85 Nationals and was winning at the end of the first day because of it.... Hadn't seen anybody do it before... My competition was wrapping their tires with their jackets and sweatshirts when they saw what I was doing.

Part of the trick is to get heat into the wheel and tire by dragging your brakes for a bit and then wrapping the tires. Running the engine will put heat into the front tires if you wrap them, but the rears will be slippery and that can get exciting. It's a lot harder to get heat into the rear tires than the fronts.

For cold tires it's also important to start with a good bit lower pressures. With lower pressures you get more flex, and the tire will develop more heat. The more heat you have the more grip you get, and the more grip you get the heat you develop. Do it right an by the third run you should be hooked up. If you start with too much pressure, the tires don't even start to build heat and you are screwed... And yes you could damage the tires with too much roll over on the first run, so be gentle, work the car to what it will give you and don't try to hammer the first run, work on building heat and don't think you will win the event on the first run. If I normally start with pressures like 28/24, I'd use somehthing like 24/21 on a cold day first run.

Let the pressures come up some as the tires heat and the second and third runs will be fine.

RacePro Engineering

Guys,

Help me out here. It has been at least one hundred years since we ran autocrosses, but the last I knew, SCCA (and probably others) strictly forbade any "external" method for warming tires or keeping them hot.

So, dragging brakes, or wheelspin before coming to the start line were OK, but TIRE BLANKETS??

Has the Solo II GCR changed?

Ed

ninety4formula

Our local SCCA (as far as autocross goes) isn't very strict. Last weekend our region had a newer charger RT in the same class as a 02 cobra. That seemed a little unfair to me, but unless someone complains about it they let it slide. I haven't seen anyone do anything like this before, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they can't. To give you an idea of how relaxed some of the rules are they basically just shake your tires on the ground and make sure that there isn't anything loose in the car before you run. I ran last weekend with a cracked brake booster (I didn't know it was cracked, but I did know that the brakes weren't the best).

Solofast

The rules say you can't have an "external" source to heat tires, which means you can't have things like electrical tire warmers or bring a red dragon space heater to grid. There has never been a restriction on keeping heat in your tires once it is there. Which is what a blanket does.

Some people even put a skirt around the whole car to let the engine heat warm the back tires too.

Been done for years and years like this (like I said, 1985) and the only restriction is on something that adds heat. Blankets are fine. You gotta do what you gotta do...

RacePro Engineering

Thanks for the clarification -- I understand that distinction now.

talon95

The only other restriction is that you can't run the motor with the fence around the car. Ok to run the engine with the individual blankets I think though.

Dave G.