prepping tires

Dont matter if you use a heat gun, lights, or a torch, if you dont use it with SAFETY in mind, anything can happen.

As for the OP question, some like heating before adding, some like doing it after applying prep, its a personal preference really.
 
The real problem is...

I have a buddy that had a hot box explode and blow the whole lid off and bout burnt the whole place down! And it had a heat gun

Yes torches can be dangerous but a heat gun or hotbox will not do the same thing as a torch. Why do you think at the big races you see us all torching tires instead of using hot boxes or heat guns?

I seen this happen one time inside a trailer...very dangerous inside close quarters...they liked to never got it out...kart from trailer or fire out...LOL

bigcat6 I just had a friend that had a hotbox explode on him and burnt him up pretty good. The fumes from the tires are trapped in the box and when you get a spark your in more trouble than having a tire in the open with a torch.

Never "TORCH" a tire. This is dangerous and foolish.
Never roll an external prep in a pan in a closed box. It is a waste, not repeatable, and can be very dangerous.
The real problem is not knowing the Flash Point of what you are using.
You need safety data on the can or the MSDS. It is supposed to be on one or the other or both.
If the racer doesn't get this data the racer is using the prep at his own risk.

Don't roll external preps in pans in closed boxes that are hotter than the flash point of the chemical.
Rolling in a pan, in closed box using a pan, is also a waste of prep.

Track Tac Products and Venom Juice Products never recommend rolling externally for many reasons, this is one of them. Enclosed boxes can explode.

Track Tac® Products in plastic bottles have Flash Points of 200 Deg F or greater.
Track Tac® Products in metal cans without ORM-D tags have Flash Points of 105 Deg F or greater.
Venom Juice™ Products in plastic bottles have Flash Points of 200 Deg F or greater.
Venom Juice™ Products in metal cans without ORM-D tags have Flash Points of 105 Deg F or greater.

Ask your prep supplier what the flash point of their product is.
I know most of the popular preps, but it is not my place to divulge this data.
It is the manufacturer/suppliers duty.

http://www.tracktac.com/pdf/Brochure.pdf
http://www.tracktac.com/pdf/FAQsheetforTrackTac.pdf Read the section about external rolling.

Hope this helps,
Randy
 
Talking about the flash points of these chemical brings back some memories....I found out the flash point of taco shells was around 350F at five minutes or so...forgot they were in the oven. The taco shells came out of the oven with a 24" flame
 
i torched a tire once and it was my last thought i would do it on the kart and it was the right rear and the motor was on the kart poof it whent right up in flames under the tank talk about panic !!! was able to get it out before it got real bad and burned my garage down but that was the last time i put a open flame to a tire
 
That's why you never have the tire mounted to anything solid when torching. A little common sense goes a long way. Hold the tire in your hand while torching so if it does catch fire you can put it out or move it to safety. The tires are not hard to put out when burning. Most of the time if you keep rotating the tire the torch will blow the flame out. Its not the safest method but its the best method that will give you more speed than anything.
 
That's why you never have the tire mounted to anything solid when torching. A little common sense goes a long way. Hold the tire in your hand while torching so if it does catch fire you can put it out or move it to safety. The tires are not hard to put out when burning. Most of the time if you keep rotating the tire the torch will blow the flame out. Its not the safest method but its the best method that will give you more speed than anything.
what...common sense...whats that on here....LOL
 
X2. Was just doing this last night and my fiance thought the whole garage was gonna catch on fire. I said watch how this works and just blew out the flame on the tire. Seems like common sense is going away these days though
 
Isn't talking about torching tires and common sense a bit of an oxymoron? :confused:

All the best,
Randy
 
Isn't talking about torching tires and common sense a bit of an oxymoron? :confused:

All the best,
Randy

Randy I really appreciate your effort to keep everyone safe, it does mean a lot to us. However I feel that you do not give us enough credit in knowing what we are doing. Torching has been going on for 20 plus years. We all hear the tracks announce no open flames in the pit but I have yet to see a track eject a racer for torching. Matter of fact I have watched many torch right in front of track officials with nothing said and I have even seen this at WKA sanctioned events. If tracks would truly enforce the rule then im sure things would change, but I can tell you if anyone breaks out a torch they will be faster than anyone that isn't torching tires.
 
i don't use any prep at all....i race on a paved oval. but....one comment "fumes travel from pit to pit...just better off with hot box...less smell...still fumes though"......i don't like the use of prep at all because of the possible negative affects it could have. they could mess up your lungs, cause chemical burns and generally ruin your day. now you're talking about burning your shop down!! heat guns to clean the tires or heat the rubber is one thing...using it with a flammable chemical on a tire? which part of it might explode or it might burn your rear end up don't you understand? and i have to strongly disagree with you csteel14golf!!! hold the tire in your hand while heating it with a torch? did you get dropped on your head when you was little? that's the worst way to do it!! they make tire racks to hold the tires to prep them...a little common sense goes a long way. holding the thing in your hand while applying an open flame is asking for trouble!!! and before anyone says "don't use a torch, you a hair dryer!" look inside!!! you will see little coils that are exposed to the air! these little coils glow cherry red....and add in a fume or light mist when you roll the tire and you might end up racing at heaven's gate speedway with saint peter as the announcer!!!! come on folks!! look at what your saying before you tell someone on here to torch a tire while holding it!! that's jsut plain dumb!!!
 
i don't use any prep at all....i race on a paved oval. but....one comment "fumes travel from pit to pit...just better off with hot box...less smell...still fumes though"......i don't like the use of prep at all because of the possible negative affects it could have. they could mess up your lungs, cause chemical burns and generally ruin your day. now you're talking about burning your shop down!! heat guns to clean the tires or heat the rubber is one thing...using it with a flammable chemical on a tire? which part of it might explode or it might burn your rear end up don't you understand? and i have to strongly disagree with you csteel14golf!!! hold the tire in your hand while heating it with a torch? did you get dropped on your head when you was little? that's the worst way to do it!! they make tire racks to hold the tires to prep them...a little common sense goes a long way. holding the thing in your hand while applying an open flame is asking for trouble!!! and before anyone says "don't use a torch, you a hair dryer!" look inside!!! you will see little coils that are exposed to the air! these little coils glow cherry red....and add in a fume or light mist when you roll the tire and you might end up racing at heaven's gate speedway with saint peter as the announcer!!!! come on folks!! look at what your saying before you tell someone on here to torch a tire while holding it!! that's jsut plain dumb!!!

Hey while we're at it let's just stop racing all together bc it is dangerous. I like using a hot box with a heat gun too but when the time calls for a torch there isn't anything that will work better than the torch
 
Hey while we're at it let's just stop racing all together bc it is dangerous. I like using a hot box with a heat gun too but when the time calls for a torch there isn't anything that will work better than the torch

X2 on this especially when it's cold and you need to heat your tires up to get the prep to soak in.
 
how come at some tracks it's illegal to prep tires and all?

some tracks wont allow you to prep at the track because its not allowed by the conditional use permit of the land. If you build a track or dig for gold or whatever, even on your own land you have to go through a process to get a conditional use permit, they will get a environmental impact statement done and depending on location and yada yada, they can make stipulations on you permit.
 
i don't use any prep at all....i race on a paved oval. but....one comment "fumes travel from pit to pit...just better off with hot box...less smell...still fumes though"......i don't like the use of prep at all because of the possible negative affects it could have. they could mess up your lungs, cause chemical burns and generally ruin your day. now you're talking about burning your shop down!! heat guns to clean the tires or heat the rubber is one thing...using it with a flammable chemical on a tire? which part of it might explode or it might burn your rear end up don't you understand? and i have to strongly disagree with you csteel14golf!!! hold the tire in your hand while heating it with a torch? did you get dropped on your head when you was little? that's the worst way to do it!! they make tire racks to hold the tires to prep them...a little common sense goes a long way. holding the thing in your hand while applying an open flame is asking for trouble!!! and before anyone says "don't use a torch, you a hair dryer!" look inside!!! you will see little coils that are exposed to the air! these little coils glow cherry red....and add in a fume or light mist when you roll the tire and you might end up racing at heaven's gate speedway with saint peter as the announcer!!!! come on folks!! look at what your saying before you tell someone on here to torch a tire while holding it!! that's jsut plain dumb!!!

Ok since I was dropped on my head let me dumb this down so someone with your ignorance can understand. You don't hold the tire or rubber part in your hand while torching, you hold the center of the wheel. You do realize that the chemical may have a low flash point but the rubber doesn't. You can burn the chemical off way before the tire will start to burn. This isn't Hollywood and the tire will not explode in your face. You sir have made the dumbest post of this thread and have shown your lack of intelligence. Have a good day and flame on.
 
Ok since I was dropped on my head let me dumb this down so someone with your ignorance can understand. You don't hold the tire or rubber part in your hand while torching, you hold the center of the wheel. You do realize that the chemical may have a low flash point but the rubber doesn't. You can burn the chemical off way before the tire will start to burn. This isn't Hollywood and the tire will not explode in your face. You sir have made the dumbest post of this thread and have shown your lack of intelligence. Have a good day and flame on.

Lol you tell em bud.
 
i don't use any prep at all....i race on a paved oval. but....one comment "fumes travel from pit to pit...just better off with hot box...less smell...still fumes though"......i don't like the use of prep at all because of the possible negative affects it could have. they could mess up your lungs, cause chemical burns and generally ruin your day. now you're talking about burning your shop down!! heat guns to clean the tires or heat the rubber is one thing...using it with a flammable chemical on a tire? which part of it might explode or it might burn your rear end up don't you understand? and i have to strongly disagree with you csteel14golf!!! hold the tire in your hand while heating it with a torch? did you get dropped on your head when you was little? that's the worst way to do it!! they make tire racks to hold the tires to prep them...a little common sense goes a long way. holding the thing in your hand while applying an open flame is asking for trouble!!! and before anyone says "don't use a torch, you a hair dryer!" look inside!!! you will see little coils that are exposed to the air! these little coils glow cherry red....and add in a fume or light mist when you roll the tire and you might end up racing at heaven's gate speedway with saint peter as the announcer!!!! come on folks!! look at what your saying before you tell someone on here to torch a tire while holding it!! that's jsut plain dumb!!!

Ok since I was dropped on my head let me dumb this down so someone with your ignorance can understand. You don't hold the tire or rubber part in your hand while torching, you hold the center of the wheel. You do realize that the chemical may have a low flash point but the rubber doesn't. You can burn the chemical off way before the tire will start to burn. This isn't Hollywood and the tire will not explode in your face. You sir have made the dumbest post of this thread and have shown your lack of intelligence. Have a good day and flame on.

I am sure everyone has seen that warning label on a given product and said who would try that?
Well the warning came after a person tried to do something just plain foolish and then sued because he was not warned not to do a particular thing.
Flammable and combustible chemicals should be kept away from an open flame.
Don't even try to argue it is OK.
This is everyone's warning.
For those who wish to continue, you do it at your own risk.
Also for those who wish to continue please contact Bill Engvall and request one of his signs.

All the best,
Randy
 
Back
Top