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Scuff vs heat cycle.
I had a recent discussion with the Michelin rep concerining this. Being from the southeast I have always used the term " scuffing" for any tire that was not a" sticker" tire. That is not a proper description. A tires first 5 laps will always be its fastest, however there are times when a tire needs to run for a longer period of time. So the tire is slowly brought up to operating temperature, without abusing the tread area of the tire. This gradual increase in temperature chemically changes the makeup of the tire, giving up its grip for an increase in long term performance.
A " scuff" tire is basically any tire that has been used prior, and , generally speaking, has had any mold release wax scuffed off and the tire allowed to take a set on the wheel. It is not intended to increase the overall life span of the tire, and may not even see operating temperature. A
" heat cycled" tire is designed to do exactly that.
So.. a scuff tire is any used tire, a heat cycled tire is one that has been introduced to operating temperature and is intended to increase the usefulness of the tire long term, as opposed to a qualifying ( short term) application.
Why does this matter, well as Bruce Foss used to say..
" Old track, new tires, new track old tires" . Application is everything.