A buddy of mine can't understand why so many people at our autocross events are spraying tires with water between runs. It's definitely hot down here in Texas right now so tires are building up some heat, but I wouldnt think they would heat up beyond the optimum tire temp for best traction. Most people complain about their tires getting 'greasy' after several runs even though they are spraying them.
I dont notice many people checking tire temps and pressures. I haven't found much info on the max tire temp for the best performance from street or R tires, except for a one article that mentioned a range of 165 to 185 for street tires and 185 to 220 for R compounds.
I guess they are trying to cool down tires and reduce the tire pressures, but wouldnt they be better off building up heat and reducing pressures based on tire temps to achieve better tire performance?
I can only get the FC tires up to about 125-128 so it seems like I would see an improvement in traction if I could get more heat into tires.