Heat Cycle Nitto Drag Radials??

[WhiteDevil69]

I had never even heard of "heat cycling" until I called to order some Nitto 555r DR's for my 03 gt. Anyone know what this does exactly and if its worth an extra $40 for 2 tires?? I can get them shipped for 360 without the heat cycle from a different company or through discounttiredirect and get the cycle for 413 or something, what do you guys think?

 

[StangJonGT]

I thought heat cycling was heating them up and then cooling them quickly. I believe this is used to prevent excessive wear, but I could be wrong.


Jon

 

[sl03gt]

Heat cycling will help at the strip but on the street you'll wear them out in no time. It's mainly used for oval track and things of that nature.

 

[MustangLife]

Heat Cycling is just blowing the tires off for about 5-10 seconds right?

Josh

 

[MaxMustang]

The first time a competition tire is used is the most important. During that run, its tread compound is stretched, some of the weaker bonds between the rubber molecules will be broken (which generates some of the heat). If the tires are initially run too hard or too long, some of the stronger bonds will also be broken which will reduces the tire's grip and wear qualities. Running new tires through an easy heat cycle first, and allowing them to relax allows the rubber bonds to relink in a more uniform manner than they were originally manufactured. It actually makes them more consistent in strength and more resistant to loosing their strength the next time they are used. An important heat cycling step is that after being brought up to temperature, the tires require a minimum of 24 to 48 hours to relax and reform the bonds between their rubber molecules.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/competition/heatcycletech.htm

 

[StangJonGT]

Thank you MaxMustang, that is exactly what I was leading towards.