I was going to buy some new 315 Nitto drag radials and Discount Tire says that they should be heat cycled. Is this something I need to do/pay for when I buy them?
Heat Cycling Nitto Drag Radials?
- Thread starter liedenfrost
- Start date
You can; but don't have to.
Just put some easy street miles on them before you go to the strip or do any healthy burnouts and they will last longer.
Just put some easy street miles on them before you go to the strip or do any healthy burnouts and they will last longer.
You can pay Discount to heat cycle them in their "oven" (about $10 to $15 per tire) or you can do it yourself driving around sanely for about a half hour and then taking your wheels off for 24 to 48 hours and laying thetires down flat in your garage. The tires will last much longer if you do that. You must take the wheels off or it won't work.
What if you just raised the rear wheels off the ground instead, would it still work?
All you have to do is get all weight off the new tires.
I didn't heat cycle mine and they are performing fabulously after 8K miles and about 50 track passes. I still have at least 2K miles and 25 track passes left on them.
How does this work????
So, what's your point? They would last longer if you had heat cycled them.
I forget exactly, but I'm sure an Internet search will tell you. My personal experience has been that the "R" compound tires I use for open tracking last much longer than those that were not heat cycled.
Just cause there heat cycled does not mean they will last longer. That may be true for road racing tire with a tread wear of 40-50. A Nitto DR that spends more time being casually driven on the street as opposed to the track and is the most street friendly DR made it would be a waste of money in my opinion.
That was my point.
BTW how many sets of Nitto DR have you owned, much less heat cycled, 99Kobra?
That was my point.
BTW how many sets of Nitto DR have you owned, much less heat cycled, 99Kobra?
I believe the Nitto drag radial has a rating of 100, which makes it a "R" compound tire. I agree that harder compound run of the mill tires don't need to be cycled. I base my opinion on what rating the DRs have on my current ownership of Nitto R11 Extremes, which are DRs with stiff sidewalls for road racing. I also race a BMW, so between the two cars I've been through about 15 sets of Yokohama race slicks, 4 sets of Yokohama A032Rs, two sets of Michelin Pilot Sport Cups, 2 sets of Kumho 710s, and 1 set of Toyo (Toyo owns Nitto) RA-1s. With the BMW, I go out on Friday or Saturday practice with a new set and run easy on them for about 15 minutes. We take those off and race with them on Sunday.
The DR will last longer if they're cycled. I'd love to hear your theory why they won't.
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What exactly does "heat cycling" do? I have tried it with new tires and tried new tires without it and honestly cannot tell a difference. What is the theory behind it? Or is "Extra Profit" the theory?
op:
op:I've only paid to have it done on one set. All the other times I have done it myself. See above. As I stated above, I really don't think you need to bother unless you have "R" compound street tires or race slicks. For those types of tires it works. Do an Internet search as to how cycling works.
99Kobra, most road racing tires go from the rack to the road course w/ very little, if any street driving. A Nitto DR spends 95% of its life, if not more, on the street. While I only have 1 year in road racing I have learned that heat cycling is very popular and believed to extend tire life. I would probably recomend it for that.
On the other hand I have 4 hard years in drag racing. Half of that time on Nitto DR. I am also friends w/ many drag racers that use all types of tires. I have never heard of any of them heat cycling a tire. While this may be beneficial for a MT or Hooosier drag radial, the Nittos are more a sticky street tire than a DOT drag tire. There is more to it than just treadwear ratings. Like 2 completely different driving styles and tire designs.
I did'nt mention earlier that I also used the Nitto DR on the back of my Terminator for 20 OT sessions last year. They performed great, my NASA instructor was even surprised. And I actually have closer to 9K miles on then, not 8. So I am looking at getting about 12K miles of use w/ about 100 track passes, and about 450 minutes of road racing on them. I think experience has proven my argument.
Save the heat cycling money as far as the Nitto DR is concerned.
On the other hand I have 4 hard years in drag racing. Half of that time on Nitto DR. I am also friends w/ many drag racers that use all types of tires. I have never heard of any of them heat cycling a tire. While this may be beneficial for a MT or Hooosier drag radial, the Nittos are more a sticky street tire than a DOT drag tire. There is more to it than just treadwear ratings. Like 2 completely different driving styles and tire designs.
I did'nt mention earlier that I also used the Nitto DR on the back of my Terminator for 20 OT sessions last year. They performed great, my NASA instructor was even surprised. And I actually have closer to 9K miles on then, not 8. So I am looking at getting about 12K miles of use w/ about 100 track passes, and about 450 minutes of road racing on them. I think experience has proven my argument.
Save the heat cycling money as far as the Nitto DR is concerned.
Has anyone tried the 555R2's?
Well, I have zero seat time at 1/4 mile tracks, but I still think it would be worthwhile for him to cycle them himself by putting the car on jack stands for a day after he puts an easy heat cycle in them. It can't hurt and it might help. The first time I heat cycled a set they were for my '96 Cobra and they were a set of A032Rs. They lasted almost twice as long as the prior set that were not heat cycled. I was blown away!
That's what I currently am using for open track with my Cobra. They are a good, sturdy "R" compound tire for a heavy car. The grip is okay. The tread wear rating set by Nitto is 100.
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