NickHolt Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 All the tech officials in the state have promised me that they will not read this thread, so feel free to share your thoughts on tire softeners. Which ones do not contain hydrocarbons such as toluene and benzene? Which one doesn't go away after a few laps? How much is a tire roller and which one works best? Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poorboy Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 I don't expect you to get any answers on this . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
speed83 Posted November 30, 2007 Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 the best i have come up with is turpentine and mek paint thinner. i used the combo on karts and it worked verrey well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NickHolt Posted November 30, 2007 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2007 We tried MEK and some other hydrocarbon (maybe fuel oil?) way back in the mid 80's but found the tires turned greasy after a few hard laps. The truth is that I'm becoming more concerned about the health dangers associated with the use of aromatic hydrocarbons (such as benzene and toluene) and oil fractions found in many of the more popular tire softeners. Aromatic hydrocarbors have been shown to cause cancer when absorded through the skin or when the fumes are inhaled. Anyone using tire softeners should be very careful not to come in contact with the softener or breathe the fumes. But I've seen guys slather this stuff on with rags or paint brushes or paint rollers and practically pass out from the fumes. Oh well, I guess we all have to die some way or other. At the very least, anyone using this stuff should make every effort to avoid making physical contact with it, use repirators, protective gloves and make sure there is an effective ventilation system working as you apply the chemicals. Oh, by the way, last time I played with this stuff Hot Lap seemed to give the best overall results. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdaddy Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 Not only the dangers of that Nick, years ago someone was soaking some tires in his garage and the fumes made there way to a GAS hot water heater and just about burned the house down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
poorboy Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 I beleive that was Charlie Heflin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 1, 2007 Report Share Posted December 1, 2007 we used to rap ours in rags .soak them then cover them inside big yard bags sealed up .. .and put them outside .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfat Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 We use nothing but Hot Lap in our roller. Fits 8 tires and has a timer. Hi Jack. Post Script, Check my overflow can the next time you see the 12. It is a Hot Lap can. Thanks Chase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy_GT13 Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Guess that explains all that SMOOOOOKE!! Tried Track Claw when we ran T.C. recaps, seemed to help with tread problems the recaps had, didn't make any difference in lap times just made tires last longer without blistering/ chunking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 those recaps . when we realized those were directonal .. that problem took care of itself .pappy ..kinda miss those old recaps ..i believe we may have an old pair from way back when .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy_GT13 Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Knew they were directional, no problem there. Fresh tires seemed to chunk if you ran them to hard before they had a few heat cycles. I don't miss them, limited selection & way out of balance. Some tires took 3 ounces of weight or more to balance. Cost more than the tires I run now & didn't last any longer. Living in Port A meant an extra trip to the track to pick thru whatever was left, always hard to get the rollout needed for my car. DO NOT MISS THEM AT ALL!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ProTree Posted December 2, 2007 Report Share Posted December 2, 2007 Best Tire Softener=a bottle of whiskey,a newspaper,a gallon of gas and a match. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Truck99 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Post Script, Check my overflow can the next time you see the 12. It is a Hot Lap can. Thanks Chase. Don't drag me into this immoral, unlawful discussion. Next time I see your car, I'm checking that overflow can! That's funny right there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neon14 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 I used vp's version of tire softener on those recaps. Used blue shop towels and then wraped them with seran wrap. Do I think that it won me a race? Prolly not. I hated those tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 well then i must have set my car up right ..cuz i ran alot of races on mine .after i figured out what camber tire pressure.s and so forth ...there was a problem at first ..got em figured out and the hotter i got em the bitter they were ..the tires you run now are good tires for what they are and cost ..but they are alittle hard .. alot of tread which keeps them from heating up right ..and takes along time to work them in ... ..no stagger ..unless you ran two sizes of rims and tires ...not knocking them that much they are good ..and not saying i was really crazy aboult the recaps ..but you could do something with them quicker ....and if i remember correct they were cheaper than the ones that are run now .as for as cheaper in the long run ..it depended on your set up ...and no i dont want to go back to them .unless they have been improved sense then ..thats if recaps are still sold ...we ran those recaps that the track sold at sas with tps .and they were faster then what the tps .or tida had at that time .and were 7 inch ..tida ran 8 inch .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-Crew Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Circle Track ran an article several years ago on Track Claw. It is advertised as a "toughener" not a "softener". Their tests showed that it did indeed appear to work as advertised. Not much time difference on new tires but treated tires lasted longer and stayed more consistent over the life of the tire. On old tires times picked up about .3 sec/lap on their test car. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy_GT13 Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Circle Track ran an article several years ago on Track Claw. It is advertised as a "toughener" not a "softener". Their tests showed that it did indeed appear to work as advertised. Not much time difference on new tires but treated tires lasted longer and stayed more consistent over the life of the tire. On old tires times picked up about .3 sec/lap on their test car. When I used it we were keeping records every week & A friend of mine would turn the info we gathered into graphs. It was easy to see that this is exactly the results I was getting from the treated tires.I think this was what track claw was claiming at the time in their ads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thumper Posted December 3, 2007 Report Share Posted December 3, 2007 Several of us tried softener on IMCA tires.We used different types of treatment.I wrapped mine in hand towel,thet white continous roll and kept them in a plastic bag after shrink wrap.We all got the same results.On a dry slick track they went straight backwards.I cut up some pieces and soaked them in a coffee can.The only difference in treatment products was some worked fast and dried out faster than others.The Formuls V workes slowest but lasted longer.What we did find out was grinding the surface worked best.A crust seals the tire after a heat cycle and dry slick tracks dont clean them.Thats why you see the fast guys spin the tires on a pure dirt spot under yellow.Heat softens the tire best.I have a suspision that all the Pro Sedans that broke the track record at CC that Lalo set had eather treated or fresher tires. A funny thing happened at the modified nationals the last few of them.After 3 days of hot lapping and racing,on Sat the track started to rubber up.A million laps did not do it but all of a sudden you could see the rubber build up.Then I heard about some trick tires being sold under the table. The whole job of a suspension is to get the maximum grip from all 4 tires.BTW,those recaps were faster than the Hoosers are.You had to buy several to get a good one.At least the street tires are consistant.At CC Speedway fresh tires are better than old race tires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HiTech Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 LALO HAD NEW TIRES AND THE TRACK WAS HOT AND JUST IN GREAT SHAPE ...TPS HAS A SECRET TOOL FOR THAT KINDA STUFF //LOL ... ps you forgot that record was blown away the next time tps was at cc ..by three other cars ...i dont think they had cheater stuff on them there tires either .. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neon14 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 I read in a post some time ago that really fast cars have large magnets attached to the underside of their cars, and there are large metal rails under the track. Giving them an extra high amount of grip to the track. Perhaps this is the secret tool that these TPS cars have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdaddy Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Will your info is incorrect. We had those rails removed several years ago because going down the straights the earth had shifted causing the rails to move in a criss cross pattern across the track and cars would uncontrollably bounce off other cars and even the wall at times and we didn't think it was safe. I think we should have spent all that time and money on something else because it still happens but not as often as it used to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy_GT13 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Will your info is incorrect. We had those rails removed several years ago because going down the straights the earth had shifted causing the rails to move in a criss cross pattern across the track and cars would uncontrollably bounce off other cars and even the wall at times and we didn't think it was safe. I think we should have spent all that time and money on something else because it still happens but not as often as it used to. I think maybe you MISSED a few!! Or maybe some magnets fell off, got buried & now just randomly effect cars as they go by. Hmmmmmm? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tps48 Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 It's possibe some cars have installed wreck magnets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1-Crew Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Magnets are not very directional, they can easily find the car closest to you has more attraction than the rails in the track. Of course, the best ones to use are the big electromagnets so you can turn them off on the straights and on in the corners, you just got to be careful when the battery goes dead unexpectedly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ratdaddy Posted December 4, 2007 Report Share Posted December 4, 2007 Well I have been working on a laser guided system instead of the magnet type. Each vehicle will have its own laser ID so it won't get mixed up with the vehicle racing next to yours. Kinda like a transponder. The faster you go the more downforce is applied, and the tires will automatically get wider. Kinda like those transformer vehicles you see on tv. All this for 3 low payments of $19.95 and if you order now I'll even throw in a 6 piece knife set.............................. Sorry Nick, I just realized we hijacked your thread Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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