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Does the tire choice change as the dampness of a track changes?

I’m looking to run a race tomorrow and it’s actually lightly raining here. I know they wet the track before races but I would expect that it would be much more damp in the morning and dry out as the race progresses.

Do racers change tire treads during a race? What would the differences be?

From my experience, if the track wasn't swept and is very wet, the lose dirt becomes sticky (like mud) and can fill tires with very tightly spaced rows of spikes, turning them into slicks. Pro-line hole shots are one example. In this case, I go with tires with more widely spaced spikes as they tend to be self-cleaning even at slower speeds. I would take a selection of tires with me and test with my best dry tires first and be prepared to change them to spikes if they fill with mud. As the track dries, I would change back to dry tires.

If you are using Flip Outs, this is from J Concepts.

"When the conditions are wet and green in the morning, traction is sometimes hard to come-by; Flip Outs are the new choice."

The Holeshot which you mentioned the locals using are recommended for hard packed dusty (watered) conditions.

Practice, and try not to crash.

Holeshots will work on about 90% of tracks so they are a good tire to bring, they may not be the fastest tire but they work well.

The flipout is a good tire when traction is low and the holeshot doesn't have enough grip. When traction improves the flipout has a "looser" feel than the holeshot.

Ribs are good but on hard packed tracks worn ribs work better in my opinion as fresh ribs can be a bit grabby and less consistent.


As XLR8 says take a selection of tires and see what the fast guys are using.

As much as I hate hex conversions on vintage cars, being able to swap tires between front/rear is a huge bonus.