cleaning tires, then run warmup laps?

[soniccj5]

I have been trying to figure out why people spend so much time cleaning their tires, then run 3-5 warm up laps. Wouldn't this take any possible advantage to having clean tires at the start of the race?

[THEYTOOKMYTHUMB]

Are they cleaning them so they can use tire compound? Or maybe because the dirt dries out on the tires and hurts their traction. Or it's just part of the racing ritual. Kinda like oiling motor bushings. Well, not with brushless I guess.

[Charlie don't surf]

Tacky soft tires in sandy or loose soil get a bunch of dirt that stick to them, especially between the pins, which creates a shallower bite into the surface and it generally takes 5-8 minutes to build up. Cleaning them lessens this, and makes them lighter. On indoor, it allows clay build up to be removed and lets compound be applied directly to the rubber (although compounding a dirty tire slows evaporation on the surface and works well too). I also like to see the wear in tires between runs-

[farmer]

well i do it because i hate having wet dirt on my pit table,my ritual is after a heat is to start with the tires brush and clean than remove,than proceed to remove batts foams etc, than start wiggle things like a-ams spindles etc etc looking for anything loose missing screws etc etc,,as far as going back out and doing warm ups i like to have the clean tire so i have less chance of build up for AWHILE! its going to happen but id rather have a tire with as low amount of a friction and weight as possible when i start, in my opinion tire balancing in off road is a very underestimated tunning option,sometimes i wont even do hot laps if the track is really moist

[Goatless]

I agree 100% with Farmer. I will not warm up on a freshly watered or tacky track either. I always start with fresh tires as well. I have sets I run in practice, another set for the 3 heats, and yet another set for mains only. I have yellow wheels on my mains wheels as it is usually dark, or getting dark and I'm blind anyway, lol. One reason I run a bright, fluorescent body.

[SRTracer121]

my tire ritual is quite complex and well thought out but esentially...









i put the tires on, i run the race. i go home and wait for next week.