mrtstang

Okay i have a few questions for you avid drag racers...especially you guys that run Nitto dr's. Our tracks open in MI here this Saturday, and the temps are supposed to be around maybe 40 degrees. Now i run Nitto 555R's and it states on their site not to operate these tires below 32 degrees. With that said, have any of you ran these tires at the track in 35-40 temps? If so how do they hook in this kind of weather, and more importantly are there any potential issues running them hard like this? See it makes me wonder if i might screw up the integrity of these tires by doing burnouts, airing them down, etc... all while at the same time being so close to the infamous 32 degree mark that Nitto says is possibly catastrophic to these tires.

Also, just in general do any of you know if most tracks surface temps are going to be colder than the air temps, especially being that's it's opening day and the ground is still somewhat frozen?

Thanks.

mrtstang

Nobody?

Stone629

From my understanding, it breaks down the compound. I ran mine for a long in freezing temps with no issue, so does my cousin on his Cobra. Your traction will be not so great until you do a burn out as well, even after driving around on them. During the summer months, they hook pretty good on the street without needing to burn them. I would just take extra caution and realize you don't have AS much traction as you would in warmer weather, but as far as them losing integrity.... its debatable imo.

99GTvert

Would a longer burnout be better than a short 'clean off the tires' burnout in the colder temperatures?

I don't think that really hot tires will grip cold pavement that much better than tires that are a little warmed up....but I dunno, what do you guys think?

Stone629

Iirc, burnout (tire) temps can reach temps in excess of 250 degrees, but those temps only last for a few seconds before rapidly decreasing. So, on cold pavement, a well heated DR should initially grab pretty good, but in theory traction will degrade pretty quick. A warm street or track will obviously help keep the tire temp up longer by not pulling heat as quickly from the tire, and in the track's case, being stickier itself since its more or less tire rubber at the starting line. Imo, public streets are no stickier in the summer than they are in the winter... its the tire temp that makes the difference on the street. That last statement is absolutely NOT backed by any educated source. I hope some of that made sense.

302army187

most peoples problems with 555r's is they don't heat them enough. it is not a super soft compound like micky thompsons. you have to really smoke them.

So think to your self, atleast a 5 second burnout, but 8 seconds would be best, but will eat rubber.

you will have to count in your head 1 one thousand 2 one thousand, ETC, because time flys fast when your heart is pounding.


The only "damage" or risk you have to the tires is the rubber you will be burning off while doing the burnout.

mrtstang

Well i just checked the weather, and it's calling for light snow on Sat. I guess that kills the opening day idea lol...damn MI weather!!

In light of what you guys have said as well, i think i'll wait until it warms up a couple more degrees. Maybe let a few t-n-t days pass by to warm up the track a little, and then give it a shot. The air should still be nice and cool in the next couple of weeks, so that might be the best overall time to run for me.

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Stkjock

make sure you see 50-55 MPH when you do your burnout.

I've never run Nittos, on my MT 265/40/18s I've raced in 38-42* temps and was able to pull 1.6x 60s

Big50

Raced in 38* temps and was only able to get in the high 1.8's most being high 1.9's but the track was also slick because of fog. So much so they shortened it to 1/8 mile.

89LX Coupe

I say heat them up really good and yo'll be just fine with thr tire pressure around 20-18 psi