Do any of you guys that run R-compounds use tire blankets to keep your temps up between runs?

I'm trying to decide if I'm going to buy R comps this year and run stock or go ahead and just run street tire one more year. Obviously with street tires I pretty much want to keep them cool, but R comps work better warm, right?

A guy that I met autocrossing here in Milwaukee sells some that seem to be pretty reasonably priced, but I'm not sure how necessary they are. Does anyone have any thoughts?

http://mlsmotorracing.com/MLS%20Moto...0Blankets.html

That is his website. Has anyone used them? How is the quality?

 

I don't run R-Comps myself, but the folks who run them here in TX use water sprayers to cool them off between runs, rather than blankets to keep them warm. Obviously, the temperatures will be a bit different in WI, so the practice may be different as well.

 

Hey, I run in Milwaukee, too! :D

Though I can't speak for Hoosiers, for V710s you probably don't need the bags/blankets in WI (they'd still be nice, though). I've never used them at Miller Park for my V710s. My 1st set of V710s are on 70+ runs of typical events there (never flipped), and I can probably use them for a couple more events before they cord. They're probably a little over 1 second off new-tire pace. If you want to try old R-comps without buying any, let me know and I can just give them to you when I dismount them. I can try to take photos if you want me to.

Anyway, the V710s don't like heat. I do spray them on hot days between runs. The first run is always loosey goosey, but once you get that small amount of heat in them, they don't want more it seems. Actually, I probably had my best results (pax-wise) in rain/wet events without bags fwiw.

I've heard of Hoosiers going away at less than 30 runs, so I would recommend against them for your first set of R-comps. I'm still too cheap to try them...maybe this year.

Anyway, I hope this helps. Let me know if you have any questions this year. I'll be going to most events this year, but I'll be in a kart half the time. Still, it'll be nice to see more minis in Milwaukee even though most people hate us :(

-John

 

Sorry if it's a dumb question but why do you say most folks hate us?

 

Hate's probably the wrong word...

A lot of people are miffed that the MCS is in G-Stock. It has made GS a spec-class. Looking at the times that it usually pulls, it really should be in D-Stock but what's worse: a spec-MCS class or a spec-SpecV class?

I, for one, actually got an MCS to partake in a spec class. I wanted to see how good I actually was as a driver instead of guessing. I almost got an RX8 (for spec B-Stock action), but its horrendous gas mileage made me think twice...I still really like those cars, though.

For the record, I didn't mean that most local/regional people hate minis...Milwaukee's very friendly. I was thinking more on the national scale like on the sccaforums.com site. A lot of people complain about the MCS there, justified or not. The funny thing is that most people that complain there probably wouldn't even consider being in GS regardless of what's in it

 

I've have seen the MLS tire blankets they are nice and they are well made and of good quality materials. The guy that makes them runs in my region, but I have had good luck using water heater insulating foil. ($25-$30 a roll @ Menards or Home Depot) It will take about an hour and half to make your own with scissors and some duct tape. The only drawback is they tend to be fragile (they don't fold up well) especially when you are trying to load 4 tires plus tools into an already small car. I am from the Chicago Region and you really only need them for the April and October events. Or any time the temperature is under 55 degrees and its windy.