To answer your question - yes, I think warmers are worth buying because they mitigate the risk of cold tires and they bolster first lap confidence. However, I defer to CRs like
@bmart,
@tdelegram @meanstrk etc since they’ve probably forgotten more about tires than I know. Here’s what I’ve gathered:
1) DOT tires + no warmers = fine, ride like a yellow flag is out for a lap or two, advantage with DOT tires is you don’t have to sit out rainy sessions
2) DOT track day (TD) tires + no warmers = good, one yellow flag lap to warm them up and then start picking up the pace, TD tires are DOT legal but may have less siping than regular DOT tires
3) DOT TD tires + warmers = better, attack with confidence, may see faster wear than the street-duty DOT tires
4) Race slicks + warmers = best, you’re probably obsessing over pressures and track conditions now, analyzing your line and corner speed, thinking about consistency, how to shave off the tenths each lap, now probably scouting out classifieds for a second set of wheels to mount dedicated racing rain tires
5) Race slicks + no warmers = red flag, trash truck is on its way, maybe ambulance, too.
Pirelli makes great tires but so do Dunlop and Michelin. All three sponsor world-class racing so hard to pick a bad tire. Might get the stink eye if you show up with Shinkos.