I was surprised I did not find any information on the forum about heat cycling so, I figured I would start a thread should anyone else be interested. This is short and sweet but, there is tons of information in the links below.

Just so you get the general idea; heat cycling is slowly bringing your new tires up to their maxium operating temperature to breakdown uneven and weak bonds in the tire and form new stronger bonds. This will make the tire stronger, more consistant, and provide better treadwear.

A few notes:
Perferably this should be done on the track.
The first time your tires heat cycle is the most important.
You should heat cycle your tires for a max of 15 minutes the first time so you don't breakdown already exsisting strong bonds.
Increase the tire pressure 3-5 psi higher than normal for the first heat cycle.
You should let the tire rest/recover for a minimum of 24hrs after the initial heat cycle.

Here are a few useful links I refer to when heat cycling:

http://www.goaheadtakethewheel.com/b...aving-process/

http://www.tyre-technology.com/index.php/heat-cycling

 

Also if you buy from tirerack they can do this for $15 per tire then you'll be all set on race day without having to wait 24 hrs: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=66&

 

Having 2 sets of tires and a track handy to do this is unlikely for most. It's also unreliable to do it yourself on track as there is no consistancy what with ambient temps, track conditions, traffic, etc. far better to let the tire dealer do it for you with standardized and reliable results.

I think the reason you don't find much about this here, if that is so, is that it's so standard stuff. Those that do, do it as a matter of course, those that don't, well I'm not sure about that.

But good you should bring it up as track season is upon us yet again and for those unwashed among us.....

 

As long as you get the first heat cycle in and recovery time thats the main thing
I heat cycle mine in on deserted country roads if I can't get to the track but, I wasn't going to recommend that
Anything is better than nothing though
New set of RE-11s should be here early next week

 

hm never even knew this existed lol thanks for the info

 

Sooooooooooo.........

This may be slightly off topic.........but.........


Your avatar really resembles that pic of you with the ice-cream and coke...

 

my "WTH face"

 

You both have the side mouth thing going on...lol

 

different tires respond to it differently, on some tires it is more a matter of scrubbing off the mold release rather than molecular bond alignment, on others it affects life more than performance and vice versa