Looking for Tips on Silicone tire Preparation!

[Fumey]

Bob, for the PM and Razor type truer's, we've found 3M's 413Q to be the most effective sandpaper for silicone tires. I tend to "babysit" my tires, constantly shifting the bar/sandpaper back and forth, and use water to keep the tires cool. As far as heat causing any performance loss, maybe... I've trued up identicle sets of tires, so shiny they looked like little rolls of black electrical tape. One set would feel like it could stick to a wall, and one set... not so much :think: Might be the difference a batch of silicone can make?

[Audi1]

[Almafan 55]

Dickie, you are scaring me! :o your shopping in the beauty dept. it's NOT helping you sir! :lol:
Your filing your feet? You will never fit into Robin's high heals! :laughing-rolling: just buy bigger shoes. Putting fingernail polish on your screws? LISTEN,LISTEN,listen, files are NOT for your feet,fingernail polish is NOT for screws! Then I read your buying rubber sticks to clean your sandpaper? FYI sticks are WOOD! At lease the ones here in Michigan. If you actually do & use all these things. That's why you got deadly sick here! Can you make yourself a doctor appointment? You have totally lost your mind! Next your going to tell us you took Robin to a gun range.
Your Very concerned friend Rob! :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling: :laughing-rolling:

[Fumey]

Sorry, when I say "shiny", I should say "satiny", like the roll of electrical tape in my pitbox :lol: I start with 220 for the rough stuff, 320 to get the scratches out, then 400 starts the polishing, 600 to finish it up. That's constantly "oscillating" the sandpaper. I think anything finer than 600 can be achieved putting laps on the track. I've always thought that the smoother the surface, the better the grip- but some of the guys in our club who use the Hudy claim the scratches don't affect the grip, and run themselves smooth after a few hundred laps...
Almafan55 is the tire guru. Cmon Rob, break out with the technique!

[Audi1]

Sounds right to me. After I come off the Hudy, I go to 220, then 500. If I'm racing locally, it stays there; 500 is the last step. If it's going out into a proxy, I'll go higher in grit, sometimes. I've used 1200, 1500, 2000 and 2500, but I think that the benefit(s), if any, of the higher grits is more psychological than mechanical.

I find urethanes harder to put a final smooth on than silicones or rubbers. Paul Gage mentioned 4000 grit plus isopropyl alcohol as a way to put the skin back on a trued urethane tire. I haven't done that yet, but urethanes are where I do, routinely, go to 2500 grit. And, for me, it does make a difference; in the right direction, lower lap times.

Allan

[nhdungeonracer]

[Slot_It_bob]

Not only did I get good info, There are two clowns making fun of each other. :) :)

[Audi1]

Warning............there may be many more clowns hiding in the wings..................... :lol:

[Modlerbob]

My take on the use of silicone tires. Glue em, true em and keep them clean. The silicone does the rest. Also the track needs to be as clean as the tires.