I used a tape to clean it but is that the best way to do it and can prolong the life of the tire? is there another way of doing it?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks
Wes

I'd imagine soap & water would work best, wouldn't it?

I'd imagine soap & water would work best, wouldn't it?

Hmm I never knew that. you mean even with old tires too?

Wes

Couldn't hurt, could it?

I meant to reuse the tires for races.

Wes

I use tape. If your racing, wouldn't the soap and water be a little impractical? I do agree soap and water would clean them pretty well. When we race we're on a clock between heats so we gotta get them clean asap. There are many different varieties of tape. I prefer masking tape, but some of my friends use duct tape which is real sticky and may leave a little sticky on the tire (i've heard). I like the idea of tape that's just sticky enough to remove dust, that's why I don't use the duct tape. If you wanna clean the tires right off the wheel you could try some of that double stick stuff they use to hold carpet in place. Ok bad idea. We use windex to clean the track before we race which helps keep the tire from getting dirty as quick. Occasionally we add a very light coat of wd40 on the track to keep the rails from getting too rusty and it also makes the track a little stickier. When I say light coat I mean spray a little on a rag then apply. Too much is hard on the plastic and makes the track slippery. Ramble ramble ramble ramble :tongue:

get a rag and just put some simple green on it then just roll your tires threw it we use it for not only the silicones but the stock tires also we havent found anything that works better . tape leaves some sticky film on them and they pick up everything the simple green does not and they stay clean longer and have much more bite

I cut up old t-shirts into 3"x3" or so squares and stuff a bunch of them into my pit box in a spare slot. Before the race I slightly wet part of a mini-rag and put it in my pocket. During lane changes I wipe the tires with the mini-rag. After the races I throw the mini-rag away.

I degloss my silicone and silicone-on-sponge tires using a scotch bright pad or ultra fine emery cloth with almost zero pressure before using them for the first time. Just take the shine off, don't sand off any material. They won't be quite as sticky for the initial drag race down the first straightaway, but 3 laps later you won't have nearly the same build-up on them when they've been deglossed than what you'd have with virgin out of the box tires.

Another trick for new silicone-on-sponge tires. After you've mounted them up, smear a very thin layer of RTV or thinned RTV on the inside and outside sidewalls of the tires where they are bonded to the wheel. After they cure overnight, remove any RTV globs that are interfering with the tire footprint and then degloss the tires as you normally would. The extra RTV on the sidewalls will prolong the life of the tires quite a bit. Thin thin thin - no globs!

wow.. thanks guys for all info. i will try it all and experiment. I had no idea there was so many ways to do it and I m glad that I asked!

Thanks Again
Wes