What is a good homemade tire prep

Jeeper2020

New member
New to the karting scene trying to get my son competitive..
looking for homemade recipes for tire prep .we run dirt track on yellow vegas. anyone wanna share ?? Thanks
 
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track type and tire manufacturer will help some but your not going to get the full benefit of a lab made prep.
 
You’re going to spend the same amount if not more on chemicals to make the stuff than you would buying a proven prep line. With how hard it is to find tires right now let alone how much they cost, the last thing you need is accidentally junking a set of tires especially if you’re new to it. Find a prep line and learn. So much useful information on here regarding what prep to use in whatever situation.
 
track type and tire manufacturer will help some but your not going to get the full benefit of a lab made prep.
Any tips or tricks to get him faster . Good driver .new tires.we are fast. Not the fastest .just wanna be competitive
 
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looking for homemade recipes for tire prep .we run dirt track on yellow vegas. anyone wanna share ?? Thanks
You'll been able to find some info on this site about home brews for tire preps. I've not used any myself to be able to speak to how well they worked. I know a handful of people who make their own prep. Some of them are successful racers and claim to make a gallon for $30-$40. Look at the dozens of prep manufactures out there. They thought they could make something as good as or better than what was already available. I agree with the other comments that it comes with risk, both health and cost wise, and without support. However, I wouldn't let people talk you out of it if that's what you want to do.
Any tips or tricks to get him faster . Good driver .new tires.we are fast. Not the fastest .just wanna be competitive
I'd suggest reading the sticky in General Karting Forum "A go to thread for the new or newer dirt oval racer". There's some good info in there about making sure your driver is consistent, preparing and maintaining your kart, and where to look for improvements. I'd also talk with other racers at the track and see what advice they have to offer. Maybe they watch your driver or take a look at your kart and can provide some input.
 
You'll been able to find some info on this site about home brews for tire preps. I've not used any myself to be able to speak to how well they worked. I know a handful of people who make their own prep. Some of them are successful racers and claim to make a gallon for $30-$40. Look at the dozens of prep manufactures out there. They thought they could make something as good as or better than what was already available. I agree with the other comments that it comes with risk, both health and cost wise, and without support. However, I wouldn't let people talk you out of it if that's what you want to do.

I'd suggest reading the sticky in General Karting Forum "A go to thread for the new or newer dirt oval racer". There's some good info in there about making sure your driver is consistent, preparing and maintaining your kart, and where to look for improvements. I'd also talk with other racers at the track and see what advice they have to offer. Maybe they watch your driver or take a look at your kart and can provide some input.
The thing is though they may be successful on prep now and make it for cheap but 9 times out of 10 the first recipe they used wasn't what they are on now. I know I can afford expensive prep but it isn't practical for me to buy a few sets of tires for me to just test my prep out. But once you get your homemade prep figured out it will for sure be cheaper but it may take a while for you to get the right recipe and it may take a few sets of tires. For me right now it is way cheaper to buy the prep I am on than make my own prep. Once you figure out the prep it will be cheaper but if you are on a budget right now I would just buy a good prep that is commonly used at the track you run at. By no means am I trying to talk you out of it but you can do what you want but this is just my opinion. Good Luck
 
New to the karting scene trying to get my son competitive..
looking for homemade recipes for tire prep .we run dirt track on yellow vegas. anyone wanna share ?? Thanks
I would recommend purchasing as well . Especially being new .
Rolling internally might be what your missing for that extra little bit .
This is a good place to start . Simple effective and universal .https://4cycle.com/karting/threads/opinions-on-hot-lap-tire-preps.86837/
 
Somebody once told my just spray them with WD40, don't know if that's true or not.
WD works on Burris for certain conditions but not all.
So does simple green.
Use either at the wrong time and you'll look out to lunch.
When and where to use preps isn't something that is learned overnight
 
used wd40 a lot back in the day along with Gojo cream hand cleaner (non gritty). long time ago 30+ yrs they used strait up turpentine on the tires. next evolution was acetone and transmission fluid. wd40 will drop the duro. Don't know what concoctions they come up with today but i would assume its a mix of thinners and oils in some form or another. agree with the post above todays prep is condition specific. to my knowledge there is no 1 prep that fits all conditions. you would need to develop several to cover the gamut.
 
I had a local known clutch builder last night tell me that gasoline works well on Vegas. 🤷🏻‍♂️
Yikes! Gas will pull some oils out of the rubber and make them harder over time. I'm not sure if that's what you really want/need.

Homemade preps are really a thing of the past. Most that are still mixing their own chemicals have gone to using commercially available preps and blending those. Mineral Spirits are the foundation of many preps out there (ie HL2 based.)
Gone are the days of mixing diesel fuel and transmission fluid, or acetone, lacquer thinner and the such.
Too much trial and error and the result still isn't near as good as the R&D proven commercially available preps today.


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You've gotten some info about some stuff your can use for prep other then buying already made prep.

Prep and adjustments to what you put on the track are all about how you need to use each tire at every place around the track.
Your going to prep for specific reasons and general reasons for different track conditions and racing situations.

To learn what does what your either going to get the info from someone else by asking questions or by trial and error.

Being new put something on the track that you know everything about as far as everything number wise about setup and tires.
Then bring what you observe on the track as far as a problem which is hurting you at a specific place on the track or over all and your info about what your putting out there to race here.
You will get info help to try to fix your on track problems.

I don't know if you'll get prep suggestions on using ex: Go Jo or Simple Green instead of a named brand and type of prep to fix specific problems.
It would be not only nice but fantastic if you do get solutions other then name brand products.
 
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I make my own preps for use in a common set of conditions at my own track.
If the conditions are off just a little, or if I’m at a different track, I use commercial every time.
 
If your driver/son is young enough and you start now its possible youll have a homebrew that you can rely on for all the tracks (and their conditions) that will put you up front before you quit racing. Even if you made something that worked one night at your most raced track, the next week with different weather and track prep conditions might find you worse off than you are now. We all know that most preps are very similar and use basically the same ingredients and we also know we could theoretically get it right with a visit to the paint store. What we willingly pay for is the advise and knowledge of the guys we buy from.
 
Once you learn enough you can mix the available preps to make your own, but I would start with the ones available at most kart stores.
 
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