The following leads me to believe that humidity plays a large role in a
competition tire's useful life.
Before treating slicks with Formula V a thumbnail test is done to check the
rubber's softness. For the first two autox's of this year the rubber was
extremely hard before applying FV. The rubber hardness' of the first test can
be
understood because the slicks sat idle for over a year. On that first occasion
the slicks softened up with FV and gripped beyond expectations. Again, the
rubber was really hard before the FV treating for the second event and again
softened up with FV to grip beyond expectations.
When the slicks were just thumbnail tested before this week's treatment the
rubber was suprisingly soft. Since it has been raining for the four days
following the last autox it appears the softening agent in the rubber hasn't
been
allowed to evaporate to the extent it did in a dry climate.
Since FV has been used for the past five years with the typical rubber
hardening over a weeks time before the next treatment, the FV retention via
humidity
appears logical.
Has anyone tried keeping their competition tires in a high humidity
environment between events, if so, what effect did that have? Would it make
sense to
add increasing amounts of FV to that high humidity environment as the tire got
used up?
Kevin Wallace
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