wets or slicks help...
Discussion
I have not had much experience in the wet in my clubsport.
I'm at goodwood tomorrow at a noisy trackday and it's likely to be showery. How wet does it need to be to change from slicks to wets? and if I'm on wets, how dry does it need to be to change back to slicks? I dont want to be doing too much changing if poss.
Graham
I'm at goodwood tomorrow at a noisy trackday and it's likely to be showery. How wet does it need to be to change from slicks to wets? and if I'm on wets, how dry does it need to be to change back to slicks? I dont want to be doing too much changing if poss.
Graham
If its just damp then slicks will be ok, BUT be very careful until you get some heat into them. If its wet as in water on the track go for wets, better safe than sorry imho. Remeber to run the wets around 22psi if they are Avons. If the track drys look at coming in and changing back to slicks.
Hi Graham,
depends pretty much on the compound of the wets you use.
However, all proper wets do need cooling (i.e. run through patches of water on the straights) and hence a reasonable amount of water - on a drying track with no opportunity to cool they will deteriorate very quickly.
I'd use them when the track is reasonably soaked (i.e. podles appear). You might also want to consider intermedeates or a road/track tyre instead of a slick for a drying track.
Also, keep in mind that you will need to "scrub" the tyres in the dry before using them in the wet. I am personally not very fond of scrubbing wets in rainy conditions as the relase agent on new wets makes this affair quite slippery (to the point of being silly) plus it takes much longer.
Felix
depends pretty much on the compound of the wets you use.
However, all proper wets do need cooling (i.e. run through patches of water on the straights) and hence a reasonable amount of water - on a drying track with no opportunity to cool they will deteriorate very quickly.
I'd use them when the track is reasonably soaked (i.e. podles appear). You might also want to consider intermedeates or a road/track tyre instead of a slick for a drying track.
Also, keep in mind that you will need to "scrub" the tyres in the dry before using them in the wet. I am personally not very fond of scrubbing wets in rainy conditions as the relase agent on new wets makes this affair quite slippery (to the point of being silly) plus it takes much longer.
Felix
noneedtolift said:
Hi Graham,
keep in mind that you will need to "scrub" the tyres in the dry before using them in the wet.
keep in mind that you will need to "scrub" the tyres in the dry before using them in the wet.
Don't agree with that comment. My first ever race was in the wet and I fitted brand new Avons, they were grippy straight out of the box. Scrubbing wets in the dry will take the edges off the blocks and make the tyre less efficient at cutting through the surface water.
well just got back from a great day by Trackmasters at Goodwood amongst mostly scoobies and some tasty 911s.
It was wet when I got there with intermittant rain. The first sessions were 5 sighting laps so I thought it wasnt wet enough for wets and I couldnt be bothered to change (right choice!).
It was ok, pretty slippy for a lap or two but not skating rink stuff. The slicks got a marginal amount of heat in (about 16 degrees with an ambient air temp of about 8). It was enough though to make a difference. So it went from slippy to pretty slippy!
The morning was a bit messy being a bit stop start (one being a mashed up westy and one being my mate driving my rad when he parked the front in the tyres at the chicane - only paint and pride damaged!).
The rain then held off and it got better and better, all on slicks, wets not used.
Mind you 5 cars out at a time at Goodwood is just a joke, I hate the noise complainers!
Graham
It was wet when I got there with intermittant rain. The first sessions were 5 sighting laps so I thought it wasnt wet enough for wets and I couldnt be bothered to change (right choice!).
It was ok, pretty slippy for a lap or two but not skating rink stuff. The slicks got a marginal amount of heat in (about 16 degrees with an ambient air temp of about 8). It was enough though to make a difference. So it went from slippy to pretty slippy!
The morning was a bit messy being a bit stop start (one being a mashed up westy and one being my mate driving my rad when he parked the front in the tyres at the chicane - only paint and pride damaged!).
The rain then held off and it got better and better, all on slicks, wets not used.
Mind you 5 cars out at a time at Goodwood is just a joke, I hate the noise complainers!
Graham
RobC - might well be true for some tyre manufactures or compounds and from what you are saying this might be the case for Avons, it certainly isn't for most Dunlop compounds. I am not saying that you won't have any grip on an unscrubbed wet, it just makes life a bit easier to do just that. It's done to remove the release agent on the tyre's surface - which is much quicker and easier to do in the dry than in the wet.
Additional benefit is that the quick scrub in the dry will heat cycle the tyre which lends to longlivety. The corner geometry of the tread does not really come into the equation of a wet tyre replacing water, ultimately the tread will take the same set after it has been run.
Additional benefit is that the quick scrub in the dry will heat cycle the tyre which lends to longlivety. The corner geometry of the tread does not really come into the equation of a wet tyre replacing water, ultimately the tread will take the same set after it has been run.
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