Maybe this flash of brilliance is due to all of the recent summer heat or maybe it’s just because it’s a Friday? I also haven’t raced since the beginning of July so maybe that’s it? I’m sure this is a pretty silly idea but here it goes anyways…

I’ve been giving thought as to how I can heat cycle my tires. There are several reasons why I will continue to buy tires from the local Hoosier distributor including their contingency program, free mount & balance, much cheaper, ectcera versus having Tire Rack heat cycle them. I also don’t want to get into a discussion of why I can’t do it at the track. I am really hoping I can figure out a Do it at Home method. My first attempt was to take the car (was registered and insured) to a road that no longer has any open businesses on it and no homes near it. It also had a cul-de-sac where I attempted the roundly round method. Other then getting really dizzy and experiencing one other “minor” issue, it just didn’t get the tires hot enough. So on to the next idea.

From Tire Rack’s web site: “Looking at the heat cycling system, it positions a mounted and inflated tire between rollers which apply pressure while the tire is rolled up to speed. It is very important to note that this allows heat to be generated as a result of deflecting (stretching) the tire within its normal operating range. There is no "artificial" heat added (no oven, no forced air, etc).”


The Tire Rack method of heat cycling tires made me stop and think. Why couldn’t someone build a home version of this? Get a 5 hp engine, a little welding creativity, and metal rollers for the tires to be in contact with and voila! O.k. So maybe not quite that easy but like I said, it’s a Friday. It could be an interesting wintertime experiment.