How to get heat into the tyres

[turbo9111]

Hi guys,
As per my other couple of posts im new to caterham ownership having recently purchasing a new 620r, And been having thoughts on how to get heat into the tyres for road use the 620 comes with zzr tyres which i belive are softer than the zzs but the zzs has more tread blocks so should move about more helping to create heat, my therory is to get the zzr cut to create more rubber blocks and as there softer should heat up quicker, also perhaps use some hotlap on the tyres to soften them up more again for more grip as i have read a few times that getting heat into the 620 tyres is such hard work, Anyone have any advice on this ??

[turbo9111]

DCL said:

Although a high power-to-weight ratio, the 620 is still a light and relatively low BHP car. So you'll always struggle to get hot tyre temperatures on the road. You could try switching to a 'road legal' sprint tyre such as a supersoft Kumho V70 which will work from cold, but tyre life will suffer. However, if the car is well balanced, then I would have thought temperatures would not be a problem as you tend to drive to the level of grip available.

Thanks thats a very good reply and gives me something to think about,

[turbo9111]

Thanks for all the advice, looks like my idea of custom cutting some ZZRs would help, I've still to get the car setup as the weather is so crap this will prob happen in new year now, i,m trying not to go down the adjustable route if i can help it but always looking to improve my driving experience to say i,m wary of the 620 on cold roads is a tad of a understatement

[turbo9111]

I was told differant when i bought my car, I was told the zzs are harder compound and this came from a good source, why would i buy a caterham with less power??, if i had wanted a roadsport i would have or will buy one i,m just looking for advice how to make mine work on cold tarmac, and i dont take it out on damp or wet roads cus i want to live a bit longer ...

[turbo9111]

Thanks for all the input, i,m not trying to take away what the 620 does i was just thinking if anyone had experimented with tyres and compounds to try to find a little more grip or had come across a way of getting a bit more heat into the zz tyres on the road which would perhaps give a little more confidence when in the lets go for a spirited drive mode, it very much reminds me of my super bike owning days where you had to be so careful that you had to get heat into the tyres before you even thought about riding it like you stole it, i have to say i have never driven anything like it and I've had my fair share of very fast motors....

[turbo9111]

I've treated my tyres to about 7 Coats of hot lap and the rubber appears to be softer even tho the average temp is well downtown a before and after, I,m pretty friendly with a local Motorsport team who have a rubber measuring stiffness device I should have done a before and after, I'm also going to have a custom cut applied to the zzr and see how that goes after all the tyres are so cheap it's worth a try along with a proper set up when it warms up a tad Spring is coming I saw some new born lambs jumping around in the fields last week that's a real pointer were going in the right direction.....

[turbo9111]

Thats some real good info thanks.