Do I need to have my track tires balanced?
 

I just bought a set of NT01's and I'm also new to the circuit trackworld. So do I need to have track only tires balanced?

Absolutely. Usually who ever installs your tires on the rims, will balance them for you.

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Thanks, what about bead sealer? I am using the OEM wheels.

I've never even heard of that. You've got decent tires going on stout wheels, you should be fine as long as the shop does a decent job, they should be able to just treat them like normal tires.

It's mostly used on tubeless tires and in the 4x4 rock crawling world i'm in. Prevents bead separation due to extreme use.

If you end up in a situation where you are able to separate a tire from the bead you likely have bigger issues. IE you left the track at a high rate of speed.

I don't balance my tires for autox and haven't when I've been to the track in the past.

Couple sessions and your balance will be off on the tire anyways. Unless you like extra weight on the wheel and want to spend more money balancing the tires I don't see the point

Haha, definitely not a plan to do so.

Well I don't do AutoX just circuits with one straight that's 120 mph plus

I've been on Mid-O in my former Z4M going 135+ on the back straight on non-balanced tires.

Track tires, like the ones you're getting will wear unevenly. Unless you believe that a stock tire off of the balancer is going to maintain that SAME balance throughout the life of the tire, then go ahead and keep on assuming that.

I like lots of data and try not to assume, thanks for the info :thumbup:

lol. Okay.

I don't know anything then.

Enjoy your balanced tires and bead sealer then. Stupid for me to comment on a thread you clearly already know the answer to.

Troll? He thanked you for your input. He simply asked the question to see if it was a thing based off previous experiences he has had. Did I miss something here?

You took that totally the wrong way. I posted the thread because I wanted opinion through data and experience. Maybe it will help someone out too. Jeeze

What "Data" do you expect? Vibration analysis?

You realize OPR will quickly off-balance a "balanced tire" right?

There was no reason for that harsh comment. I think you misinterpreted OP's reply.


As for the original question, for AutoX, that's probably ok not to balance, but for track, at 120mph, I would definitely not take the chance and would balance them.


Where I live we get lots of snow, and sometime it gets in the Wheel, and when that happens, the vibration at 60mph can be scary. To the point you have to stop and clean the wheel.
Of course that's a lot more imbalance than a clean wheel that's not been balance, but still...

"Data" he is looking for is people with more experience in the matter then he sharing their personal preferences so that he can see what everyone else is doing and based off majority and his own personal comfort level move forward with a somewhat informed opinion.

Not the harsh responses you give, this is how you treat people when they thank you? Wow

+1

Lot's of help and data, thanks

Don't mind him, hes pretty slow =P.

It also comes down to your rim condition. If the wheel has a slight bend to them, it is worth balancing the setup as it can be really out of balance (+2.50 ounces worth). You don't want that kind of vibration at 100+.

Best advice I can give you is to make sure you mount your tires well in advanced to your track day. I've seen guys mount up the night before and completely throw off their balance as the tire moved on the rim from the lubrication not being allowed to dry first. This is true for balance or not balanced. You'd be surprised how imbalance just a tire can be outside of being mounted to a rim.

lol, I see that he is slow. But thanks for the info, great insight on tires. I'm sure someone else will use this info.

#alternativefacts

A good experiment to do is mark your wheel/tire with some sort of removable marker. You'll be able to see if the wheel has slipped at all and rotated on the wheel itself.

I do not balance my slicks. Once you complete 1/4 of a lap and pick up even a small amount of rubber you'll realize that your time was wasted. We only balance stickers on our Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo.

EXACTLY!


I just had brand new hoosiers mounted & balanced for my track car.
When I loaded them on the trailer after a day of racing each tire had about 2 extra pounds of "Clag" ( rubber picked up from the road) on each one. Balancing a true road tire is good when brand new but doesn't really mean much after a few hot laps.

The other thing is that you only really feel balance when steady cruising at 70-78mph. You're never in that situation on the track, or at least I hope not. Haha

I've been tracking/instructing for 15 years and I have never balanced my track tires. Like others have said your never at a steady speed so you effectively drive thru any vibration.

If you don't put some sort of heat tape or thermal barrier over the wheel weights they have a good chance of falling off at the track anyway.