My tire gluing section. Yee fricking Haa, huh?

If you're like me, you hate to glue up tires. But... you're not like me because I absolutely fricken  HATE to glue up tires. (and my fingers, and the table, and the......)

 

Well here it goes. Remember I had to work fast so the pictures aren't exactly the best or even show what I intended to show so I'll try to explain as we go.

First, wash the tires and rims with soapy water, or the cleaner of your choice to wash off any of the release agents that will be left on the tires and rims. Let them dry completely before you start gluing. Failure to wash off the release agents will result in your tires separating from the rims in places after a race or two.

***NOTE*** Do not wash the foams

I unpackage the tires and let them sit for a few days to give them a chance to form to their original shapes.

I try to get the foam set perfectly in the tire. If you look at the edge of the foam compared to the tire you'll see what I mean. *VERY important*

This foam isn't perfect in the tire.

ARGG!!..... neither is this one. :-(

Once I feel the foam is uniform in the tire, I knead the tire to make sure.

Then I inspect and knead some more. *Very important to me*

Once I'm satisfied with the resualts, I insert the rim on an angle while rotating the rim untill the groove is past the tires bead.

I leave both sides of the tires bead towards the center of the rim then setup for the dry run.

The dry run is where I make sure I got the foam in the tire perfect by spinning the tire to see if it's out of balance or lumpy.

Once I'm satisfied, I generously glue the groove's outside lip all the way around the rim.

Then I do the inside of the groove's lip.

I do a real fast inspection to make sure I didn't miss any areas expecially on the outside lip.

This is important too, I make sure the tires inside bead is past the edge of the groove's inside lip. I'll seat the tires outside bead later.

A nanosecond later I seat the outside bead. The tires bead MUST be completely set in the rim's groove squarely!!!

To insure that, with the glue still wet... I rub the bead along the groove leaving it rest where it needs to be. Make sense?

After this side sets up some then I'll do the other side of the tire/rim. *Allow them to dry overnight if possible, before use.*

 

I must give credit where credit is due, the IC2000 glue is the best I've ever used. It's medium thick and gives you that extra few seconds to get the tire seated perfectly before it sets up. This glue may not be the best glue for gluing tires in between qualifiers at the track, but it's great for the *night before* glue jobs.

 

This is the way *I* glue up tires, so you may find your own way that works best for you. This isn't the only way to glue tires.... just my way.

 

Ok.... does anyone know how to unglue this digital camera from my fingers?