Poll: Tire Warmers?

[Nate R]

Just Curious about the % of you on here that use them.

[tigerblade]

Don't have any yet, but they are high on my list for purchase.

[Dawn]

Paul didn't use them the first two years racing (no $$$), but we will be trying them this year.

Dawn   :)

[Jeff]

Year 1, I "couldn't afford" tire warmers
Year 1, Race 1 went down on cold tires

$400 repairs + $200 warmers by year 1 race 2...

Funny how that works.

Certain things are expensive (tires, suspension, warmers), but bodywork, broken parts and insurance deductables (broken person) make it all justifyable

[Dawn]

Jeff - that is so true.

Paul would need to take it easy the first lap of every race until the tires would come up to temperature.

Dawn   :)

[KBOlsen]

They are next up on my list.

[MightyDuc Racing]

I love mine.  Do I use them exactly to perfection?  Who knows, but at least the tires are somewhat warm when I go out.  And they really help keep the tires near temp between practice sessions just by putting them on without plugging them in after coming in from the track.

[LSTD]

Exactly.  Other than obvious wear, heat cycles are what breaks down a tire as well.  A fellow racer had a conversation with a tire rep at national event.  He said that simply mounting the tire warmers after coming in from a race/practice session is good...  slowing the cool down of the tire is good.

He also mentioned that it's good to rotate the tires every 5 to 10 minutes when their powered on and toasting the tire... meaning, turn the wheel a 1/2 rotation so that the "top" of the tire is now at the bottom/closest to the ground.  Hot tire temp makes its way to the top of the tire, ergo, rotate the wheel to get the "other side" of the tire as well.  This is especially true for the front wheel, because the area of the tire under the front fender gets that much hotter.

Granted, this is splitting hairs, but I'm all for as much even heat distribution as I can get.  :)  Take that for what it's worth.

[Gixxer124]

In a sprint race, there's not a lot of time to make up for taking the first lap easy. Everyone with tire warmers are putting the hammer down from the start. The big problem with warmers is you have to have electricity to run them. Warmers plus a generator really cuts into the budget. :'(

[motard11]

 I barely got a handle on things so here goes!  I bought 2 sets of tire warmers both diffrent and I think it helps me with my confidence whien I first roll out. I usualy pinit on the first or second lap. Before I bought  some warmers it would take me a long time to get them up to temp. My bike naturaly likes to slide but its real hard to control with cold tires I didnt fully understand that untill I first tryed them. Next time you go to JGP give me a shout and you can try a set of mine. Motard11 ;) PS I read somewhere someone has come out with tire insiluators (not elctric) to keep them warm between rounds 8)

[Dawn]

In a sprint race, there's not a lot of time to make up for taking the first lap easy. Everyone with tire warmers are putting the hammer down from the start.

That is true.  The one thing that Paul learned through this experience is how to work his way through the pack.  If he started in front.....  I don't know if he would know what to do with himself. ;D

If you have tire warmers, you will probably want to invest in a generator.  Electricity is sometimes not available or not reliable at some of the tracks.

Dawn   :)

[MELK-MAN]

if you want to go hard right off the start, you better have em.. but like mentioned above, without a generator, your not going to be able to use them all the time. I can not tell you the difference in the way Michelin pilot race tires feel right away now that i use warmers. They are GREAT tires but slick as snot when cold...