tire treatments

[group7]

Has anyone had any success with any of the tire treatments. I run hillclimbs and Solo events on a tight budget and the 80% rubber, year old R25As' seem to have lost their bite.
D Evans

[RussMcB]

I can't say definitively, but I believe tire treatment is a worthwhile investment. I'm a frequent user.

Google search turned up:
http://www.scuderiaciriani.com/rx7/tires.html#TRE
http://www.tiger-track.com/
http://www.sccaforums.com/cgi-bin/ul...2;t=000767;p=0
http://www.autox.net/pipermail/autox.../2004-July.txt

[steve zemke]

I have used Formula V Treatment and think it works. It would be nice if Dave W. would weigh in on this subject, as he is a real tire engineer.

[EYERACE]

years ago i used acetone or even gas as tire paint. next time you buy some, get a haz mat sheet - ask firmly and do not accept no for an answer because it's the law that when buying, if you ask about any chemical, they must provide you with the hazardous materials sheet - you'll then know what the stuff really is but you can use a lot of different stuff

[DaveW]

I tried a tire treatment a few years ago to try to prolong the life of multiple-heat-cycled GY 160's. Most of them are just some type of solvent, and swell the rubber temporarily, softening it a bit. Some of these want you to put some inside the tire to ooze out gradually as it is running. That, IMO, is a bad idea for tire durability, so I never did that.

Treating the tread surface had a small effect, but the greatest benefit that I noticed was from cleaning the pickup off the tires (heat gun and putty knife) so they'd warm up quickly.

I gave up using it because it was just so darn time-consuming (clean each tire, apply treatment several times over a few days) that I had no time to do it. Cleaning the pickup off the tire provides most of the benefits with less time and no cost or chemical breathing.

EDIT: I never tried tire treatments on hard compounds, so this may not apply there...

[steve zemke]

Thanks Dave W. I always appreciate your help and expertise. I will follow your advice.