TIRE PREPARATION:  THE BASICS

     In a few installments we are going to layout a basic guide for dirt track tire preparation.  This guide will cover everything from tire and rim selection to prepping trackside.

THE TIRES

    For this guide we will use the widely popular HT3 Maxxis tires.  A typical oval dirt kart tire configuration would use two 9.00” X 6.00” right side, one 6.00” X 6.00” left rear, and one 4.50” X 6.00” left front.

RIM SELECTION

    We commonly use 10” X 6” rims for the right side tires, 8.5” x 6” for the left rear tire, and a 6.5” x 6” for the left front tire.  This tire and rim setup will give approximately 1.25” to 1.5” front stagger, and .750” to 1” rear stagger.

	Tire Size	Rim Size
Right Front	9.00” X 6.00”	10” X 6”
Right Rear	9.00” X 6.00”	10” X 6”
Left Front	4.50” X 6.00”	6.5” X 6”
Left Rear	6.00” X 6.00”	8.5” X 6”

 

ON TO THE PREPS

    Now that we have covered tire and rim selection we will move to preps.  We will cover inside preps, outside preps, and how to prep tires trackside.

INSIDE PREP

    Inside prep is used to break down the rubber so that the slick tread tires will grip the dirt/clay track surface.  There are several inside preps on the market to choose from.  We suggest you go with an inside and outside prep from the same manufacturer, this will assure the preps are compatible.  When choosing a prep combination call the manufacturer to make sure it is recommended for your track conditions. 

    Now that you have chosen the prep you feel is best suited for your track conditions let’s discuss the amounts to use.  Generally, we use 30cc to 60cc inside prep in the summer months, 60cc to 90cc in the spring and fall, and 90cc to 120cc in the winter.  With the inside prep in place you should roll the tires for a minimum of 12 hours for the prep to completely go into the tire.  Keep in mind it takes most inside prep 2-3 days to completely pull through the tire.  Therefore, we would recommend rolling the tires Monday or Tuesday of the race week.

    Stay tuned next month where we continue to cover the basics of tire preparation.  In the meantime you can check us out on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Google+.  If you ever have questions about any of our products, please give us a call!  We appreciate your continued support of DynoCams.

Thank you,

Randy Garner