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The Right Tires and Tire Preps can help you WIN!
Here are some preps to help you gain that edge over the competition....

Usage Instructions:

Inside: We measure our inside prep in cc's, every 30cc = 1oz. We only offer one inside prep as we feel it will work in all the situations that you should encounter. There are a couple of variables that will affect how the inside prep affects a tire

Amount: Obviously the amount we use directly affects the durometer as well as the overall bite of the tire by offering more sidebite. Follow the guidelines below for each of these brands of tire:

Maxxis: Comparing Maxxis to Firestones the Maxxis will produce more overall bite thus we don't need to prep the Maxxis as much to get the same bite under the same track conditions as we would a Firestone. A normal fresh 8.00 low rubber tire will check 60 to 62 on a Intercomp durometer. Every 30cc = 2-3pt drop, so for example, if you roll set (1) with 75cc and set (2) with 100cc, expect set (1) to duro @ 54-55 and set (2) to duro 50-52. All of these duro readings are recorded with the tire @ operating temp which is 80-90 deg.

Firestones: These tires are dryer and harder than the Maxxis and require more inside prep to get the job done. We usually won't go any lower than 50cc which @ operating temp will duro around 58. Normally were in the range of 75cc and will go as high as 175cc depending on the track conditions at hand.

Cure Time: A tire that is allowed to cure longer or a tire that is scuffed and allowed to cure will have a harder surface while still providing the side bite needed to make the kart work. This affect is desirable during the warmer months of the year so the the tire won't â€œchewâ€ up on top because of the tire being to fresh and to soft. Depending on the situation we might scuff a tire and let it sit anywhere from a week to 4 weeks depending on how much bite the track is producing and how much bite the kart is producing will depend on the amount of cure time that will work for you.

Lastly, an inside prep program is not for everyone. The newer karts require it as chassis designs have changed they have required more side bite and inside prepping delivers it by the ton. Most of the older karts even as late as the phenom will work better with an outside base program which we will describe below.

Next is the introduction for the base preps:

Base: A base prep is used to add bite or change the overall duro of a tire which is determined by what kind of prep you use and the application method, meaning whether you roll tires in the pan or wipe coats on the outside. Rolling tires in the pan will produce the largest and longest amount of bite in the tire. Wiping a tire will generally only affect the outside layer and will not go much more than surface deep in the tire which allows for it to dissipate faster and come back out of the tire quicker. A base can be worked in a tire that has been worked from the inside just be careful not to get to much bite when they are combined together. Below is a list of the bases that we offer and the preferred application method for each:

Here are the 3 base preps that we will offer:

Hard Base: This will work best for hard biting,southern style,calcium tracks especially during the warmer months. Produces a good "feel" while maintaining a consistent duro allowing the kart to fire off and produce consistent lap times throughout the run. Best suited for tires duro in the range 55 and above.

For a lighter bite/surface bite: Wipe medium coats on the outside allowing 30 min in between coats to dry. The more you wipe the more bite that is added, the deeper the bite goes and the more the duro is affected. Let tires cure for at least 24 hrs before you run them.

For more bite/deeper bite: Use a hot box and roll the tires in the chemical for a certain amount of time. This allows the chemical to penetrate deeper in the tire providing the bite for a longer amount of time. Roll the tire with heat @ 100deg. Roll them 12-15 pts softer than your expected duro and let cure till the end of the week. So for example if you would like a tire to duro 58 roll the tires till they check 46 warm in the box.

Medium Base: Best used on tracks that produce less bite either through a tacky condition or a medium to severe dry slick condition. Follow the same application method for the medium base as you would for the hard base. The durometer best suited for medium base is 45-55.

Base Soft: Best used for all tracks that produce a wet, slick,soft track condition. Durometer range best suited for soft base is 30-45. For most applications apply heavy coats with a foam roller allowing each coat to fully dry before the next one is applied. Follow these steps until the desired durometer is met, and for extreme conditions roll the tires in the hot box @ 100 deg. Until the desired durometer is met. Start a week ahead of time to allow the prep to penetrate fully through the tire. Repeat the above process if necessary for a softer tire.

Lastly is our trackside prep:

Trackside Prep: Hopefully you have done your homework and have fully prepared your tires according to the weather and track conditions that you might face throughout the day. The last piece of the puzzle is reading the track, picking the right four tires for the situation, and finding the right trackside wipe to make the tires fire and produce bite to get the kart working. We have several defined preps that should cover most every track condition that you would face. With this program there are a infinite amount of combinations that you can use to find the right tire program to fit your needs.

Trackside Hard: Just as the name says this is a all-purpose wipe for all hard biting,abrasive day time track conditions. Will not change the duro of the tire unless wiped excessively, but will help fire the tire when a small amount of bite is needed. Wipe with no heat for a few laps of bite w/ no duro change, wipe with heat to drive the chemical deeper in the tire building more overall grip in the tire and changing the durometer a few pts. When the tracks during the day start dropping off a few tenths and you need to add more surface grip to the tire look to the trackside dry/fire for something more aggressive that will give the tire a ton of bite but will not lock you down.TSH will come back out of the tires returning them back to normal so re-application is necessary after the tires have been run. If your looking for something to build bite in the tire that will last in the tire and offer more bite and more duro drop than the TSH look the the TSM and follow those directions.

Trackside Medium: Best used for all mild/medium dry slick conditions for day or night time races. Used on tires duro in the range of 46-55. This is a wipe as more bite is needed prep. There is no set amount of times to wipe as no one track condition is the same. Keep in mind, wipe with no heat for less duro affect and more surface only bite, wipe with heat for more laps of bite, more duro affect, this allows the chemical to go deeper in the tire allowing the kart to re-fire after cautions and keeping the kart more consistent in lower bite situations. When used with heat expect a 3-5 pt duro drop when wiped 4 or more times, but the prep will come back out of the tires returning them mostly back to normal so re-application is necessary after the tires are run.

Trackside Soft Lite: This wipe covers somewhat of the same durometer range as the TSM (54-45) but works on a totally different surface. TSSL works best when the track surface is hard, but has zero grip from a variety of situations including when the tracks get slick on top from the dew setting, moisture coming back up in the track surface or a track that is calcium slick, basically any track condition that has moisture present but is not considered a wet track, this will work very well on. Keep in mind that TSSL will not come out of the tires and can be used with or without heat. Just like with all of the other trackside preps, when used with heat expect the bite to go deeper and the duro drop to be more as well. When used with no heat it will act as a real aggressive firing agent to get the tires going and will provide very little duro drop and will dissipate much quicker off the surface. Use either of those methods depending on how slick the track conditions are and how much bite you are needing. Expect a 4-10pt drop depending on which method you choose and can be used on top of any base to provide mild softening and a ton a bite.

Trackside Soft Heavy: Used in all low grip wet track applications. Provides a larger duro drop than the TSSL providing ultimate grip for all low bite situations. Best used with heat such as tire warmers or heat box, apply heavy coats to the tire, expect a 5-15 pt drop depending on how many coats that are applied. Best used on tires that duro 45 and less and keep in mind this will not come out of the tires.

Trackside Dry/Fire: This is a very unique treatment. TSDF will not soften the tires nor will it stay in the tire. No matter how many times you wipe you will only be adding more laps of bite. Used in all lite dry slick conditions or times where you are looking for the tires to fire immediately. Wipe lighter coats with no heat for bite that will last 2-3 laps and wipe heavier coats with heat for bite to last up to 8 laps. Keep in mind that the compound of the tire that you choose is very critical. TSDF will come back out of the tire completely returning the tire back to normal. It will not build any lasting bite making it very effective to use during day races to fire the tires off but in the same token if the compound that you choose to apply TSDF to is to hard underneath when its gone the tire will be to hard to produce bite and will work as if there was never nothing applied at all.

SURFACE TREATMENTS: Below we will list the surface treatments we offer to be used at the track. Like we said earlier, its not what you use its how you use it. Hopefully we have done a well enough job of explaining the basics of why tires work the way they do, and you have a better understanding of how to take advantage of all the info and variables given so you can make the best decision possible. Even with all the work that you have done during the week, there is still work to be done at the track. Now that all your tires are prepared like you want them according to the directions that we have given, there are still different track conditions that you are going to encounter where different treatments applied at the track can seal the deal on a winning tire program. Just to try to simplify things before we go into to much more info, here is a general list of what treatments fall into what category so you have a better understanding of what works on what type of surfaces. Day time/hard surface/lots of bite: Acrysol, 2/3 Acrysol 1/3 CS2 or sometimes nothing at all. Day time/night time/hard surface/medium bite: Acrysol CS2, Outside Blue Day time/night time/hard surface/medium bite/dry slick/dusty: Acrysol CS2 with 1 oz WD 40 1oz Turpentine, Quicksand, Day time/night time/hard surface/medium surface/low bite/sandy: (Consider going to a rolled inside tire or a tire that has been treated the most in your tire selection) Atomic Punch, Quicksand, 2/3 CS2 1/3 Acrysol, Use with heat
Day time/night time/medium surface/low bite/moisture present: 1/3 Acrysol 1/3 CS2 1/3 Wintergreen, Atomic Punch, Day time/night time/soft surface/low bite/wet: Wintergreen, Goat P

The above is just a general reference of what works for certain track conditions. In no way is this implying that these are the only things that can work in the conditions listed. Below I will break down all the surface treatments that we offer so you have a better understanding of what works for a given track condition.

PRE TREATMENTS: A pre treatment is the preparation done during the week to get your tires down in the compound range needed based on the parameters and variables that have been laid out earlier. Here is a list of pre-treatments that we offer and the track conditions that they are designed to work on.

	Corner Speed Tire Cleaner: CS Tire Cleaner is used to open the pours of the tires to allow your tire treatment to fully get in the tire. Can be used on new tires to remove the "glaze" before treating, as well as opening the poures on tires that have cured over time and sealed over.
	CORNERSPEED 2: Cornerspeed 2 is equivalent to Hot Lap 2. It has an unlimited amount of uses as far as what track conditions it can be used on and how it can be used. As we have described before, it is crucial to get a good base in the tire, so whether your running a slick track on SS 11 in Pennsylvania or running a rock hard track in North Carolina this will work for you. General application for Maxxis: CS2 is effective as a pretreatment on ht3 ranging in the durometer of 48-62. Taking in consideration the variables laid out previously, use the following as a guide line for preparation: Rolling tires on the outside in the pan is the most effective way to get a consistent tire time and time again. Roll the tires in the pan for a specific time until you get the durometer needed. Generally 30 min will drop the tires 4-5 pts. Even if you're not looking for a durometer change, you can still roll the tires in the pan for as little as 5 to 10 min. for tracks that have good bite. Keep rolling the tires if necessary for a softer durometer and a tire that is going to give you more overall bite. This process generally works good during the warmer months of the year, depending on your location, and is the most effective on most surfaces that require a durometer above 52. For a durometer less than 52, rolling tires from the inside and outside will give a more desirable result. Tires that are rolled from the inside are designed for tracks that require more side bite like we discussed earlier. This can not be confined to a particular time of the year, as probably 75% of the saturday night tracks require a durometer from 48-52 or even lower, no matter what area of the country there in. You can vary the amount used as your situation deems necessary, but like we laid out earlier it is the difference in the side wall that makes a bigger difference. The preps you use on the inside only varys as the amount of durometer needed changes. We offer other inside preps than just CS2 as a lower durometer range is needed. Later we will give a description of the other two inside preps offered as well as explain some of there advantages. Generally in most cases with Maxxis as well as with the Firestones, every ounce rolled on the inside will drop the compound on avg. 2-3 pts. If using a hot box, do not go over 100 deg when rolling tires either on the inside or outside, it is most effective around 80-90 deg. When using a hot box as well, for every ounce rolled on the inside allow 1 hour of roll time when the box is up to temperature, so for example 4 oz = 4 hrs. This is designed to be used in conjunction with rolling the tires from the outside as discussed above to achieve the complete durometer drop that you are looking for. Track side application for Maxxis: CS2 will build bite the more is wiped in at the track, when used with heat the effect is magnified. CS2 is most effective on hard base, dry surfaces that have moderate to good bite. We have used it on dry slick conditions with great success but have found on sandy, lower bite tracks there are other things offered that will produce a better result. Here is a list of a couple variations that we have found to be most effective as we encounter different conditions: Hard surface/ good bite/ day time racing: 2/3 Acrysol 1/3 CS2. Wipe on in small amounts to fire tires off. Avg. durometer drop 0-2 pts Hard/medium surface/ medium bite/ day or night time racing: ½ Acrysol & ½ CS2. Great wipe to build bite in tires for hard surfaces with bite. Use without heat for a surface bite to fire tires off or use with heat to drive it down in the tires for a longer lasting bite and a slight compound change. Avg. durometer drop 2 pts and up to 4 pts when used with heat Hard/medium surface/ medium bite/ slight dry slick/ day or night time racing: Add 1 oz of wd-40 and 1 oz of turpentine to 32 oz of ½ Acrysol and ½ CS2. Use with heat to get best result. This really works well in the areas that get a dry slick condition at a day race. You will see a slightly higher rate of a compound drop when using this but it puts super bite in the tires without locking you down. Avg. durometer drop 2-4 pts. Medium surface/medium to low bite/ moisture present/night time racing: 1/3 Wintergreen 1/3 Acrysol 1/3 CS2. This works really well on tracks that are non abrasive and have a medium to hard base. During the cooler months of the year moisture pulls back up to the surface or the dew settles on top of the track giving us a track that needs some extra bite. Be careful not to be to aggressive, wintergreen does not come back out of the tires but this has worked anytime the track still had bite but there was moisture present. Avg. durometer drop when used with heat 4-6 pts Most racers know what Acrysol is and how to use it but for those who don't we will explain. Acrysol is used to drive whatever chemical your using deeper in the tire and in this case its CS2. Acrysol can be used by itself as a wipe on hard, fast tracks for tires that have been treated with CS2 just to get the tires to fire but the properties of Acrysol will only let it linger on the surface for a few laps and then it is gone. The reason that CS2 and Acrysol work together as well as they do is the CS2 is a petroleum based product which simply put is going to take longer to get in the tire and thats why we use it during the week, and Acrysol is more of a thinner based product which means that before it ever gets a chance to get in a tire is has already evaporated. So by mixing them both together, you get the best of both worlds. Just remember that the more Acrysol you add to the ratio of CS2 the weaker the CS2 becomes providing less bite, so adjust the ratio to your specific application. Generall application for Burris: Like we said earlier, Burris are different because as you need a serious compound drop you can adjust the tire compound itself and not concentrate on changing up the chemicals you use during the week to get the compound needed. This may make one aspect of the treating tires easy but in some cases the track may be on the verge of liking two tire compounds so making the critical choice of picking the right set gets a little tougher. Just like we listed above, three sets is the optimal number of tires to have so as the track changes you have tires that can change with it. As you go from for example, ss-22 to ss-11 not just the compound changes the side wall changes as well. I have seen many times where a set of ss-22 rolled inside and out will out run a set of ss-11 worked on the outside alone, even when they were checking the same durometer. Now the question your asking is how can that be, well the answer is side wall difference. In this example the ss-11 have a softer side wall compared to the ss-22, so on the longer run the 22's remained freer and produced a more consistent run. So there are many combos that can produce the winning result for your situation so hopefully these examples help you out. Just like we listed above for the application on the Maxxis, most of the work you do will be done by rolling the tires in the pan. Once you have made the choice of what three sets fit in your designated tire program given the criteria and examples laid out above, you will roll each set for a designated amount of time with each set rolling longer than the next. For example, if you have determined that ss-33 is the tire of choice for your track and the desired durometer that your looking to reach is between 44-50, you will roll set 1 on the outside on avg. for 10 to 15 min. to achieve a durometer near 50. Set 2 will be rolled on the outside as well but for 30 min to achieve a durometer near 47. Set 3 can be done one of two ways depending on what your looking for the tire to do. If in your situation a softer side wall is needed and a ss-22 is not fast in this situation, than roll the tire on the inside and outside to achieve the durometer needed for your soft set which in this case is 44. Now on the other hand, if a little softer durometer is needed only to provide ample grip in your situation than roll set 3 for 45-60 min to achieve your durometer of 44. This program will work for every compound of Burris offered and can be customized for most every situation that you will encounter. As long as you gauge correctly what compound is needed and what durometer range is needed for your conditions this will produce one of the most consistent tire programs that you will find, as changes are needed you have the info needed to manipulate this program to fit your needs. Track side application for Burris: Burris are primarily run up north and out west as we described earlier. Most of the tracks in these areas lack bite so CS2 is not the preferred wipe at the track. It will work but I feel like there are other things we offer that are better in these situations. Use the application guide above for the Maxxis as a baseline on what conditions the CS2 will work on, but also read the track side application methods on the Atomic Punch, Wintergreen, Code Blue, Quicksand as well as Goat P for other alternatives that may produce the result needed for your particular track conditions. General application for Firestones: Like we said earlier, Firestones have a pretty specific compound range that they are designed to run in for the possible result in most conditions. Day race application (tracks that have good bite): Firestones, can be worked mostly from the outside only if the track has an ample amount of bite and the compound range needed is at least 55 or more. Just like we have laid out before, you will roll the tires on the outside in the pan for ascending amounts of time for each of the sets that you are taking. If you deem that your tires need to be from 55-60 to cover your track conditions, roll set 1 on the outside only for 5-15 min, roll set 2 for 25-35 min, and like we said on the Burris application, set 3 can be done either from the inside and out if a tire with more side bite is needed (recommended), or you can roll the outside only for 45 min to achieve your 55 compound. The reason I recommend having at least one set of tires rolled inside and out is you never know what you're going to encounter at the track. You can run into a bad dry slick condition, or you may get a thunderstorm in the afternoon and the track at that time may need a tire with more bite. Roll 3oz of CS2 on the inside and roll the CS2 on the outside for 30 min, this will achieve your durometer of 55 which will be your third and softest set for your tire program laid out earlier. So I feel like this approach will give your tire program balance as well as consistency for the numerous conditions that you may face. This can be customized to fit in your tire program as a softer or harder durometer is needed. Night race application (tracks that are hard but have medium bite): Well to make it simple, tires for these track conditions are done about the exact opposite of how you would do your day race tires. Because of the lower durometer range normally needed, more work must be done from the inside to keep your durometer consistent as well as provide the side bite needed in most applications. Firestones have always proven to be quicker the longer you run, so don't let these be the only tires in your trailer. They are quick don't get me wrong but for qualifying, I have saw the Maxxis come in quicker and in some cases produce a better result than the Firestones would only because the Firestones produce speed later in a run. With that being said, in most cases I don't think that you would need more than 2 sets of Firestones in your tire program and balance the rest out in Maxxis prepared in a similar way like we mentioned earlier. For a tire program durometering in the range of 50-55, roll set 1 (Firestones) like set 3 above under the day race example. Set 2 (Firestones) roll 4 oz of CS2 on the inside and roll the outside in CS2 for 30-40 min to achieve a tire near 52. Set 3 and set 4 in this situation I would leave as Maxxis, rolling set 3 on the outside only in CS2 for 30-40 min to get a durometer of 52-54 and roll set 4 (Maxxis) inside with 3 oz of CS2 and roll the outside for 45-60 min to achieve a durometer of 50. Customize this to fit your individual needs, there is no way I can pin point exactly what needs to be done for every given situation, but these examples give you a base line to go off of so you can set your tire program up for your individual needs. Track side application for Firestones: You can refer to the Maxxis application for general guide lines and directions. If your needing more than just a surface bite, use heat when you apply treatment at the track. Tire warmers or a heat box will do the job allowing the prep to penetrate in the tire further dropping the overall compound more if needed but more so the tire will bite longer and provide good bite on restarts as you face cautions at the beginning of your run.
	CORNERSPEED 3: CS3 is designed mostly as a very aggressive inside prep, works very similar as to the Victory Lane that Pro blend offers. You can achieve a larger durometer drop than by using the CS2. As far as using it on the outside, it can be effective as well for a "tire soak" during the week for tracks that require a very soft durometer. Inside Application: Obviously it depends on what tire your running as to how a particular tire is going to react to certain treatments. Generally in most cases with Maxxis as well as with the Firestones, every ounce rolled on the inside will drop the compound on avg. 4-7 pts. If using a hot box, do not go over 100 deg when rolling tires either on the inside or outside, it is most effective around 80-90 deg. When using a hot box as well, for every ounce rolled on the inside allow 1 hour of roll time when the box is up to temperature, so for example 4 oz = 4 hrs. I know its hard for everyone to afford a hot box, the reason I feel like it helps is it is one more thing that you can keep as a constant. For example, during the summer months the ambient temperature is in most cases 80-100 deg but what happens during the spring and fall months when the temperature is cooler. I don't feel like the chemical will react in the same way thus getting a different result and the end result is your tire program suffers because of lack of consistency. A open roller is better than nothing at all don't get me wrong. You will have to let the tires roll longer especially as you increase the amount of chemical used. 1-2 oz, let tires roll for 24 hrs, 3-4 oz, let tires roll for 48 hrs, 5 oz or more let tires roll for at least 36 hrs. When checking the durometer, get tires to a constant temperature every time for a concistent result as well as a more accurate reading as to what the durometer actually is.
	Quicksand: Quicksand is designed to be a surface only treatment that provides a massive amount of grip on all hard, dry slick surfaces with little to no durometer drop. You still have to be on your game as far as picking the right compound because the bite this provides is short lived. Use with tire warmers for best results, apply a heavy coat and re-apply warmers. You can do this as many times as you deem necessary, the more coats that are applied the longer the bite will last within reason. Expect the bite to last about 4-6 laps and the tires will return back to normal.
	Wintergreen: Wintergreen is a aggressive prep designed to work in all low to medium bite tracks that have a damp to wet surface. It can be used by itself, or as described earlier can be cut so the softening effect is weakened, if so desired. When used straight, one moderate coat used with heat generally equals to a 2-4 pt durometer drop. Apply as necessary, the major difference is that Wintergreen will not come back out of the tires, which is needed on low bite tracks that contain moisture. Provides great bite from start to finish and can be used on all brands of tires.
	Goat P: Goat P is designed to be a very aggressive tire softener used on all wet surfaces. Can be applied at the track or used during the week as a "tire soak" to achieve durometer drops up to 25 pts. Goat P will not come out of the tires but provides the ultimate bite for all low bite wet tracks. Use with heat to accelerate the softening effect and can also be cut with CS2 to achieve a lesser durometer drop but will still provide excellent grip on tracks that have moisture present in the surface.
	INSIDE RED: For the people looking for a inside prep the resembles the characteristics of lamberts inside prep this will do the job. This will give you a durometer drop in between the CS2 and CS3. I feel like out of the inside preps that we offer this is consistently the best with proven success in all makes of tires. Follow the same directions offered as above for the CS3 and expect a 3-5 pt drop per ounce. This prep works especially well when used in conjunction with the outside blue, read the blue description for more details.
	Outside Blue: For the people that are familiar with Lambert's blue prep, this is our version which gives a similar result. Designed to work on all medium to low bite track conditions that have a hard base. Use with heat, wipe on moderate coats expecting a 2-6 pt durometer drop at the track. Use in conjunction with the inside red for a softer compound as well a tire that will give you more side bite. Directions for use during the week: You can use the blue as your outside base during the week if you are looking for more bite than what the CS2 offers. Roll the blue in the pan as described earlier in the CS2 description. Let each set roll for a particular amount of time letting your durometer be your guide. For example to achieve a Maxxis HT3 at 50, take and roll 4oz of red in the rights and 3oz in the lefts and roll them for 5hrs at 90 deg. when finished, roll the outside in the pan with the Blue for 1 hr at low heat. When the tires have cured the next day they should check at the desired durometer in this case is 50. This will work on all other brands of tires as well, including Burris, which have performed very well with the blue being a track side wipe.
	Atomic Punch: Atomic Punch is a very versatile track side prep. Designed to provide extra bite on all medium to low bite tracks including a lightly damp surface as well as some dry slick and sandy surfaces. Application for damp surfaces: During the cooler months of the year, most tracks get a lite dew that settles on the track, as well as moisture pulling up to the surface producing a "tacky" or slick condition. A/P works very well in these conditions by providing that extra kick to get you up to speed but not allowing the tires to overbite. Once you have picked what set you need to go with given the guidelines provided above, use your tire warmers, and apply 3-5 moderate to heavy coats using preferably a wax applicator allowing each coat to dry before another is applied. After each coat is applied, put the tires back under the warmers to help drive the prep as deep as possible in the tire. You can expect a 4-6 pt drop in the durometer when finished and a tire that will fire off good but will not go away in the long run. Application for dry slick: (hard/medium surface/medium bite) A dry slick surface can be defined as a track that still has bite but has a loose, silty surface with a hard base. Apply 2-4 light coats on the tire with no heat. This will provide good bite to get you going as well as providing a 2-3 pt durometer drop but it will only be surface deep and will come back out of the tire quicker than when using heavier coats with heat as described above. Be careful when using A/P on hard tracks during the hot months of the year, it can provide to much bite, use the CS2 application guide for tracks that provide that type of Condition. Atomic Punch will come back out of the tires and return the compound mostly back to normal. This is a surface treatment only, it will provide bite anywhere from 1-8 laps depending on the application method that you have chosen.

Introduction: We understand how much a tire program can mean to any race teams chances of being successful. We have years of experience behind us so we can offer the best tire solutions for any situation that you may encounter. We offer a different approach to tires than some of the known treatments on the market. We are not going to sell you ten different chemicals and convince you into believing that you must layer this on top of this on top of that in order to be successful, but we are going to teach you as much as we can about tire dynamics. Now I know what your thinking, tire dynamics, what is that and why do I need to understand any more than I already do, what I am doing is working ok. Well a basic description of tire dynamics is having a general understanding of how driver size, kart manufacture, tire brand, tire wear, location, track configuration and composure, and other details can have a dramatic affect on your approach to picking the right treatment as well as the right method of treating. We are going to prove to you that there is a difference in picking up what's popular on the internet, wiping a few coats on during the week and going to the track versus thinking outside the box a little and understanding that its not as much what you use but how you use it.

We are not telling you that our product is better than anything else on the market, but we have a group of treatments when combined with the information that we offer will take your tire program to the next level by offering a more consistent level of performance. We will list a number of things and situations that we have encountered that will let you make a more educated decision during the week as you prepare tires and at the track as you make that crucial decision of what set is going to produce a winning result for your race team.

LOCATION: Most know tire treatments on the market give a basic description of what track conditions there products our designed to work on as well as a basic regiment of preparing tires to achieve a specific compound drop. My question has always been how can you give such a broad description and expect it to work for every person in every area of the country as effective as it needs to produce a consistent winning result. Like I said above I have always taken the approach its not as much what you use but how you use it. A person in Florida can not do the same as a person in Michigan, for example, both areas may have a dry slick condition but the amount of bite each of those tracks produce are different so a generic set of directions can not always produce the best results for every given situation . I think location deserves definite consideration before you make your initial decision on your tire preparation as you may need use our treatments in different ways to get the results that you need to win.

TIRE MANUFACTURES: All tires can not be treated equal. All tires have unique traits and for that reason I feel that's what makes understanding more about tire dynamics and the "why" tires do what they do even more important. The compound (durometer) of a tire is just the tip of the iceberg of making a tire perform like you want it. I feel one thing that does not get addressed enough is the sidewalk of a tire. Sidewalk stiffness is directly connected to how a kart performs

Under load, a term I commonly use as side bite. This is why I say its not what you use but how you use it, you can change the side wall of a tire if needed by rolling the chemical in the tire, this affects more than iust the compound, like I stated above it affects the overall bite the tire can produce. To give you an example, you can take tire A worked strictly on the outside and

take Tire B that was worked inside and out, both have the exact same durometer and both were worked with the exact same chemical, tire B will bite harder than tire A hands down in any situation. Next I will break down the tire manufactures similarities and differences.

Maxxis: Most commonly used in the southeast but have been run in many different areas across the country. They are prominent in the south because of the amount of bite the tracks produce in these areas and the need for a tire that has a harder compound and stiffer side wall so we can reduce the side bite that is created. Maxxis tires create a unique circumstance for people that need a radically softer tire. Unlike Burris, we only have one compound to choose from so we must work these tires differently to achieve the desired result. On softer tracks we will generally do allot of work from the inside as on the harder track its normally done from the outside. Later we will break down a diverse tire program so you will go to the track prepared for your situation.

Burris: Just the exact opposite of Maxxis, Burris are primarily run in the northeast and Midwest because of the lack of bite that the tracks offer in those areas and the need for extra side bite. Because Burris our offered in five different compounds, You can gauge the amount of bite tracks have in your area and pick the correct compound that fits your area the best. Because of the different compounds that our offered, the need to work tires from the inside is not as prominent as on the Maxxis tires because as you switch compound the side walls are softer as well. This creates an overall easier tire program for people and limits the need to change ones regiment on how they work there tires during the week, as the seasons change and a major compound change is needed you can adjust the overall tire compound and work the tire the same to achieve the desired amount of bite.

Firestones: The tire that is primarily used for dirt racing is the YJF. This is a very good tire but its ranges our limited. Primarily used on harder tracks, its used mostly in the durometer range of 50-62. It has shown very impressive speeds against a Maxxis mainly because the tires profile as well as having a stiffer side wall creates a freer tire in most situations. As the tire needs to run in the softer compound range, allot of work needs to done on the inside to achieve these results. The reason for is to help with the side bite of the tire as well keeping the compound down. The rubber on these tires are different and does not seem to retain a reasonable compound drop when worked from the outside only. If your track allows these tires, definitely get a set they are a very fast tire on the long run and will compliment any teams tire program when worked the right way.

Vega: These tires will take you from a hero to a zero just that quick. They are what I would call a very situational tire in the sense that they have very few uses in where they are faster than any of the other tires listed. The rubber is very different and the side wall is very stiff so its a unique tire for sure. The two situations where I have seen the Vega perform very well is on a wet track where a durometer somewhere down in the 20 range is needed , or on a track that has a hard base but has a slight sandy/silty surface. From a tire selection stand point, I would watch and see what is winning in your area before I would go and get a set of Vegas. It seems in most situations the Vega likes to be worked early in the week and they love heat. They seem to like a softer durometer so they will bite up and overcome the stiffer side wall. Like I said above these tires love heat and do not like the colder months of the year, they seem to take to long to come in and will generally not yield a good result. Now most people would not think that the brand of kart they ride would determine how they would prepare their tire program but in all honesty it is probably one of the most important factors. Karts now are made different than in years past and they seem to put more emphasis on tires than ever before. Below we will try to give you some input on how driver size, kart manf. and class run can compliment any successful tire program.

KART MANUFACTURES: It seems like in the past couple of years karts have evolved into a new era and are more tire sensitive than ever before. To me when the tempest came out in 05', they changed alot in the tire game. The karts in years past even as late as the Phenom had more bite and did not require a "rolled" tire like the newer karts that have evolved in the last couple of years. With the kart providing the bite you really only had to concentrate on tire compound alone but no longer is that the case. Now with the icon out it seems like this is where the kart manufactures are finding there speed but it is still left up to us to make adjustments to our tire program to achieve the complete result. With the karts liking so much left side weight and cross in order to balance the karts out, allot of people I talk to complain about these types of karts pushing, but it is not a traditional push like with the older type karts. The karts are pushing from lack of right side grip not from an overloaded lr. That is why we are forced to change our tire program from a tire that we would traditionally work from the outside to achieve bite now must come from an inside rolled tire to get the side bite that we are looking for. This is not the only controlling factor determining your tire selection. Driver size and class run control allot of how the tires bite. If you really just put common sense into it you will see what I am talking about. A guy running super heavy on a Phenom will not like the same tire that a 135 lb. driver running stock light on a icon. They have different amounts of roll over and there overall vcg (vertical center of gravity) is different, so using the two drivers for example again, the tires that work for the stock light driver will be in most cases be to tight for the guy running super heavy, because like I said before you have less weight transfer for the stock light driver on a kart that is in most cases going to be a little freer than the driver running super heavy. In some cases lack of side bite may not result in a push but more so just a kart that is not making any speed. It appears like it is tight and most people who may not have allot of experience especially the plate drivers who may not be able to give allot of feedback, generally you will come in and put harder tires on or a tire that has been worked less thinking it is going to cure there problem and it actually make it worse. So now you see things from my point of view and see why the little things will help you put things into perspective in order to see the big picture, which is more consistency in your tire program. This is why we must have diversity in our tire program and why the generic directions that our on the market now may be effective, but they do not cover the specifics of why it is working.

THE BASIC TIRE PROGRAM: Now that we have gone over the basic principals of what can alter a team's tire program, I will try to lay out some basic things that the "big dogs" use to prepare tires. First off, get a tire rotisserie, it does not have to be a hot box. You can fabricate one on your own or check and see if your local kart shop has one in stock, or call me and we carry the roll n prep that Randy Major makes and we will ship you one out. The reason your going to need a tire rotisserie is all of our directions for preparing tires during the week will revolve around either rolling tires from the inside or rolling tires on the outside or a combination of the two, but nevertheless you will need one to effectively prepare your tires. Now I know what your thinking, why can't I just wipe my tires during the week instead of rolling them in the pan. Well, here is my perspective as well as allot of other people. If you take one of the know preps on the market and follow the directions and wipe three coats a day three days a week to achieve lets say 5 pt. compound drop. Now lets say you take one of our treatments for example and follow the directions and for that same 5 pt. drop you roll the tires in the pan for 30 min. Set A is only going to have a total nine coats, set B is going to have approximately 30 coats. Most people will think, well what does that matter we still have the same compound for both sets, when you go to the track and run those tires putting heat cycles on them and cleaning them, the tires with 30 coats will still have more chemical and bite in the tire than the tires that are only treated with 9 coats.

We have already addressed above why rolled tires from the inside produce the bite the way they do. Depending on the time of the year and the different track conditions that you will encounter most of the times a tire program will include at least one rolled set of tires. Track conditions can vary from week to week so having a set in your arsenal will help you be prepared for the unknowns. As the seasons change you may not change compound quite as much as you will change how your tires are prepared as listed above. In most areas, early spring and late fall months duplicate most of the same track conditions and normally we will carry more rolled tires in our arsenal than we would in the late spring through the summer and into the early fall months The reason for this is the amount of bite the track produces as well as the obvious temperature change. There are two tires that you can not produce at the track, but is a must have in those situations. One is a rolled set as we covered before and the other is a set of scuffs.

Scuffs are tires that have been run on the track for a couple of heat cycles and put up to cure. These tires are a necessity for the tracks that offer high bite mostly in the southern areas during the warmer months of the year. The reason that we have scuffs is sometimes even a fresh tire with no chemical in it will still offer to much bite becoming increasing slower and offering an extreme tight condition. The reason a scuff works is the surface of the rubber because of the heat cycles that it incurred is more resistant to heat build up and offers us on high bite tracks a tire that will hold speed longer and will not lock down like a fresher tire. A few things that will affect the performance of a scuff tire is the overall age of the tire and the amounts of heat cycles that the tire has been through. As any of those variable are increased the tire will have less surface bite and in some cases may be to hard and the tire will make speed to late in the run. General rule of thumb for a scuff tire at a high bite track is to have a tire scuffed and cured for about a month.

This tire will still offer good bite but will produce the long run result that you are looking for. Keep in mind when you get in the summer months, you must think ahead and scuff tires ahead of time to stay on top of your tire program, as one set wears out you must already be preparing another set.

The advice I normally give people to get a basic tire program started is when you start your regiment on Monday and you decide where your going to race at that weekend, try to get an idea based on all the variables that we listed above, of what compound range you need to be in to cover the track conditions that you will be facing. Believe me I know tires are expensive, but you need to have three sets at your disposal prepared not so much with different chemicals but prepared in different ways to get the desired amount of bite your looking for. For example lets just say your running and avg. Saturday night race and Maxxis are the tires of choice for this track. You know that you need tires no softer than 48 and no harder than 54, that is your tire program.

So now that you know where you need your tires now its time to get them there. This is a Generic basic platform for a tire program, please use all the variables that we have listed above to customize it to your needs. If it was me doing tires and I knew the track had a descent surface, I would take set 1 and roll them on the outside only with CS2 for 30 min to achieve a set at 54. Set 2 I would roll on the outside only for 45 min to achieve a tire near 52. Set 3 I would roll the inside of the rights with 3oz and the lefts with 2oz of CS3 and roll them on the outside with CS2 until I achieved my 48 durometer. Like I said above you can customize this as you deem necessary to fit your track conditions. So now you have three sets in descending durometer so as the track changes you have tires to change with it. That way your not wiping a hard set trying to get them softer and now you have a tire with to much bite and don't have the right compound to run when race time comes around.

So now that you have the tires prepared like you want them, now comes the hard part, getting the right set on at the right time. Reading the track is hard for even the most seasoned of veterans, but I will give you a few tips to look for. Don't chase the track, let it come to you. You know your local tracks better than I do, prepare for how its going to be not as much as how it is now. Keep an eye on your times, and try to effectively get your times down in the range of laps that you are going to qualify in. If your track qualifies 2 laps and last round of practice you were fast but it took you seven laps to get to that time, then essentially if the track stayed the same and you did not make any adjustments than your going to be slow. I hear this more times than not," Man im fast I run 12.50, I am 2 tenths quicker than everyone else" Than after qualifying they cant figure out how they only qualified 12.80. They looked to much at the time they run than what lap they run it on and could have made a tire change and run the same lap times he did in practice but run it a few laps sooner so he would had a better qualifying effort. So now that you picked the right set for qualifying and got your kart up at the front now we want you to stay there. The advice I give people is take and clock a couple of classes before you run and if they are running real close to the times they qualify, then you know the track is close to how you run earlier and you can stick with those same tires that you were fast on and just wipe a couple of top coats on with some light heat to fire them off and you will generally be fast. Now using the same example as before, if the track drops of .2-.4 ths than you may need to go for example from set 1 to set 2 and wipe them under the warmers as well. As the track loses more and more speed than its comforting to know that you have tires already prepared for your track conditions and you know by what we have explained here how those tires are going to bite so you can like we said earlier make a more educated decision on what set to put on at the right time.

Hopefully we were able to give you some info that will help you in the tire game. I know we have put allot of info on here but we are the only one that has focused more on the how than the what. If you have a product and don't know all the variables that can affect the tires I just don't see how it is going to be as effective as it needs to. So now when you use our chemicals you see that its not what you use but how you use it and the compound is not the whole story. Now I know with all the variable that are listed above that it is going to be hard for me to go over every possibility for every situation but I hope we have done a well enough job of expelling the details so you have a better general understanding of tire dynamics and you can put this to good use and elevate your level of performance. We will be adding more info as time goes along to keep you up to speed with what's working for what time of year and what's hot at that time. Please read the particulars on each of the treatments we offer and I believe you will have a better understanding of how you need to start a successful tire program.