Track Tac

Simple tire prep for dirt treads

D

Dogdoc

Member
First off I’m new to Karting (heck racing in general). Finally found something my son (10) loved and we are hooked. We race on a 1/8 banked oval (Jonesboro Karting complex). Son started last fall on rookie cage... now we have 3 karts and he’s racing junior 1 and 2 cage and I’ve joined the fun this year in the Stock appearing cage.

I’m still learning every single weekend. Last night I had one of my worst weekends. Track was a little on the dry side and I had never been so loose. The grip was not there. It did seem to be there for the karts in front of me. Lol. Son was also a little loose too.

After the races a friend that been helping asked me when was the last time I scuffed the tires? I confess, I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said “oh wow, yeah that’s your problem.” I guess I’ve kind of been under the impression that running treads there wasn’t much involved with tire prep.
As of right now my my routine has been to pressure wash the kart (including tires) and then just spraying them in wd40 and leaving uncovered in the trailer till
Next race.

any suggestions on a basic (but obviously better) prep routine for me to follow? I do not want to have jugs of toxic high dollar magic tire potion laying around. I’ve got a belt sander and have watched some videos on scuffing so I think I can handle that part. I’d just like to know a good routine after pressure washing / scuffing.
Some have mentioned soaking in simple green and wrapping in Saran Wrap. Some use wd40.

maybe the wd40 is adequate and I simply have been missing the scuff part?

I’ve got Hoosiers and Burris both.
 
Let me add that I don’t mean to be critical of tire prep products or their cost. I’m not cheap and I don’t have an issue spending $ on these karts. I simply desire to keep it pretty simple. I don’t want to be slathering different chemicals through the week on some schedule. Ideally clean / scuff / treat shortly after race night and then maybe a little pre race prep on race day if needed.
 
Keep it simple then . Run the belt sander over them to get any dingle berrys off .
I liked atomic punch when we ran treads .
Any tire conditioner should work .
Hot lap2 is easy to source and works .
 
Sand the tires to refinish them and open them up.
Wipe with a few coats of our Black Bite 2.0. If you want longer lasting effect, you'll need to needle the prep down in the blocks.
If you want something to soft the tires and add a ton of bite, then our Monster Bite will help tremendously. We also use it as a Pre-Race Wipe to get the tires to fire off.

Give us a call at the shop if we can be of any more help. We work on treads regularly and have a simple and proven effective prep program that won't break the bank.


-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
32 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
Thanks guys

Brian. Shoot me a pm or I’ll try to call you in the am. We’ve got some races coming up this Friday and Saturday. I’d love to have something to maybe give a go for then. If we could get stuff shipped Tuesday I think it could get here by Friday if not Thursday?

I did my thorough cleaning with pressure washer and simple green yesterday and then gave the belt sander a go. That definitely freshened them up.

thanks

Brent
 
Dogdoc said:
Thanks guys

Brian. Shoot me a pm or I’ll try to call you in the am. We’ve got some races coming up this Friday and Saturday. I’d love to have something to maybe give a go for then. If we could get stuff shipped Tuesday I think it could get here by Friday if not Thursday?

I did my thorough cleaning with pressure washer and simple green yesterday and then gave the belt sander a go. That definitely freshened them up.

thanks

Brent
Click to expand...
Thanks Brent.
765-339-4407
We can ship the same day you order.
 
Brian hooked me up with some prep with fast shipping. Got them all scuffed up and worked. My son and I were both in awe of how much more grip we had. The difference was night and day.
My son moved from rookie to junior 1 this spring... about 6 weekends or so this year. He’s made podium a couple times with a 2nd / 3rd but hadn’t won. Last night he got it done!!!
Proper tire prep made a difference. Before the prep his line was limited. He was plenty fast but he had to find a line (typically only at the top) and stick with it. Last night he was able to work down the the track and still hold on.
Thanks Brian!
CB222A2B-B997-401B-9690-48001D99EE2B.jpeg
D903972A-5D07-41AD-A85D-51928743073F.jpeg
 
Oh and I should mention that my kart was waay better too! I finished 2nd.
This is my first year to ever race a kart (or anything) and the guy that wins most weeks has been at this a long time. He has to make a mistake to give us other guys a chance and he didn’t make one last night.
 
2 consecutive weekends bringing home first place. Thanks again Brian!

I’m still fine tuning the prep process throughout the evening. Racing 3-4 karts it is kinda hectic as the evening moves quickly. Running treads on all karts. We show up at the track with well prepped tires. After hot laps we simply clean them off really really well with wire brush. There’s often very little time between hot laps and heats.

After heats we repeat the wire brush to clean the surface. Next is the belt sander with 80 grit. Only takes about 20 seconds / tire and no need to even remove them from the kart. Immediately afterwards a good coat of prep and we are ready for the features.

The difference has been drastic. Out of the normal 6-7 karts my son has gone from having to work super hard to make podium to being the kid to beat.
9D028C07-E45A-4F5E-8F13-F95B367BABCD.jpeg
 
Dogdoc said:
First off I’m new to Karting (heck racing in general). Finally found something my son (10) loved and we are hooked. We race on a 1/8 banked oval (Jonesboro Karting complex). Son started last fall on rookie cage... now we have 3 karts and he’s racing junior 1 and 2 cage and I’ve joined the fun this year in the Stock appearing cage.

I’m still learning every single weekend. Last night I had one of my worst weekends. Track was a little on the dry side and I had never been so loose. The grip was not there. It did seem to be there for the karts in front of me. Lol. Son was also a little loose too.

After the races a friend that been helping asked me when was the last time I scuffed the tires? I confess, I didn’t know what he was talking about. He said “oh wow, yeah that’s your problem.” I guess I’ve kind of been under the impression that running treads there wasn’t much involved with tire prep.
As of right now my my routine has been to pressure wash the kart (including tires) and then just spraying them in wd40 and leaving uncovered in the trailer till
Next race.

any suggestions on a basic (but obviously better) prep routine for me to follow? I do not want to have jugs of toxic high dollar magic tire potion laying around. I’ve got a belt sander and have watched some videos on scuffing so I think I can handle that part. I’d just like to know a good routine after pressure washing / scuffing.
Some have mentioned soaking in simple green and wrapping in Saran Wrap. Some use wd40.

maybe the wd40 is adequate and I simply have been missing the scuff part?

I’ve got Hoosiers and Burris both.
Click to expand...
Your doing the right thing by seran wrapping them, but you need to first grind with an 80 grit angle grinder or an electric sander, you can get one from Meijers for cheaper and i also recommended making or buying grip bite because it doesn't soften the tire it only makes the compound sticky and preserves the tires natural oils you will pass tech, you could get tire softner if allowed in your class or if no tire prep allowed then grind with 80 grit just wash in baby shampoo and water to keep the natural oils in for better grip, then wrap tires, otherwise if prep allowed (usually if the rulebook doesn't say anything about tire prepping go ahead and do it), first grind with 80 grit then wash the tires in simple green and water (be light on the simple green), then dry the tires or let them dry out in the sun, then spray your tire prep or grip bite on then wipe the tire with a brillo pad (steel wool), then wrap with seran wrap
 
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