ELs on asphalt

I hate to see a legitimate question go unanswered. So I will give my best answer. I have not raced on a asphalt oval since April of 1995. That being said I won a WKA National Championship on asphalt ovals in 4 Cycle Open in 1994. Go with the hardest tires that you can find in the sizes you need if this race is in Florida. The north-east part of the country would be different this time of year. It is better to start out extremely loose than perfect. Can you imagine what it will be like if the kart becomes extremely tight for the last 90 laps? Can you imagine what it will be like to have the kart handling perfect for the first 10 laps, become tight for the middle 70 laps and then fight a terrible push for the last 20 laps because the tires wore out? 100 laps during the day will be brutal on the tires. 100 laps at night will be much different as the temperature of the track decreases. Our trouble in 1994 was finding tires that were hard enough in the sizes we needed.
 
Part 2: If you guess correctly on tires you will qualify dead last because you will be loose. Then during the race after about 10 laps you will start passing one kart every couple of laps until the end of the race when your kart will be perfect. Then you will be in the lead because all the other karts are loose with worn out tires or tight and locked down. I would think the EL's would be too soft unless it is a very cold day.
 
Very valid point. It will be at night and we are in Florida. Will be end of November so weather temps are up to the gods above. Appreciate your input. This race was held on dirt for a few years.
 
Seems like you have quite the decision to make.

For 100 laps, what ever prepping you do should probably be on the inside. Never raced on EL's, but from what I have read it seems they are typically worked from the outside in the dirt community correct? I can assure you what ever typical mild bite you would use like Hot Lap 2 will come right out of the tire by half way totally changing the way the kart handles. If it were me, Id probably only wipe Acrysol to help the tire fire on the start and thats it. This way, you can tune with mechanical grip and air pressure. You will be able to make the kart more consistent for the whole run. If you rely on the prep to make speed, your kart will probably fall off a cliff after 50 laps.

I do like the idea of Vega Whites, maybe even go for the Blues which are a couple points harder than the whites but still softer than the EL's. I think that will give you more grip than the EL's and they won't fall off as bad as a Yellow, a Maxxis or Firestone might. Like it was said before, you might lack ultimate qualifying pace but you won't fall off after 30 laps. You will have a kart for the long haul.
 
I would absolutely NOT run an EL. They are by far the slowest pavement tire in existence.

Depending on track abrasiveness, temperature, etc, I would for sure be on Vega's, either yellow or potentially the whites with a little chemical rolled internall
 
EL's don't have enough grip for Pavement. The only one who would push an EL rule is if they had a bunch of them to unload.
 
They are running these tires because it is a true spec tire class. Yes the tires are junk especially on asphalt. That is most of the challenge. Everyone is given the same disadvantage, it is who can make the most of it and be the fastest!
 
I started the thread so here’s my own answer. They do work on asphalt as long as you’re willing to work them. Yes they are slower. As we get older we look for an alternative and we found it. 2 sets of tires this year. Beats 4-6 sets of Vegas. Anyway. Here’s to another pilgrim 100 at space Coast full throttle Speedway. November 25th
 
Was hoping for someone who may had some experience with these. We would like to attend this race. Have not run there since it was paved so have no idea what to do with the tires or even gear for that matter. I have a set of new EL's that are probably 3-4 yrs old never been touched.
 
We have been using Southern Comfort preps for our ELs at Space Coast Full Throttle. Others are using other lines of prep and being successful. We have a set of tires that have 1200 plus laps and are just as fast as new tires. Run more air than what you think should be run. As for gear, 13/61-2 or 14/65-6 and I'm at 400 lbs. You will need to be 13.0-13.1 lap times to be competitive.
 
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