John Whitling says:
<snip>
>It wasn't long ago that the hot tire for autox wasn't good for
much more
>than a weekend Pro.
Whether or not you could get more wear than this, it was not
uncommon for the "serious" competitors to fit a fresh set for
each Pro. I wouldn't be surprised if this were still common
practice.
> And a two driver car would overheat the tires on
>even seventy degree days.
You can still do that, even on street tires. Depends on the car,
the course, and the drivers.
>It wasn't long ago a that a single tire
>company chased all other tire companies out of autox because
they took
>race tires to a level that no other company was willing to go.
Yoko, Hoosier, and Kumho have consistently offered DOT
competition tires that were more or less competitive with BFGs.
I've run Hoosier AutoCrossers ever since BFG discontinued the 226
compound, and it's a better tire than the 226 on my car. I also
get more than 120 autox runs on a set of tires, and I replace
tires because of age, not wear.
It would appear that you're making reference to Yoko's decision
to stop sending a trailer to major autox events. That's not quite
the same as "chasing all other tire companies out of autox."
>Then,
>eventually, tires got harder again so they could use a single
tire for
>autox and club racing.
Hosers have always been available in two compounds, and the
softer one is not necessarily the best autox tire. Depends on the
car, the course conditions, and the driver(s).
>Collectively you (we) have a choice ... pay more money for more
tires
>and deal with all the associated hassles OR push for for a
simple easy
>"Z" speed rating requirement for all race tires.
That won't fix a thing. Yoko A032s have a Z rating, if I remember
correctly, and their average street life on the NSX for which
they were specifically developed seems to average 5k-7k miles.
>Well BS ... find the problem with a simple speed rating.
See above. A speed rating reflects casing design and sidewall
construction, NOT compound hardness or expected wear life.
Requiring Z rated tires for autox WOULD guarantee that the
average autox tire would cost substantially more than is
presently the case, would NOT guarantee increased life, and would
offer no benefit to offset the added cost.
>And an even better idea ... If the SCCA had their act together,
they
>could create consistent tire rules for club racing and solo
alike.
If you're talking about SS and IT, what is the present difference
between SCCA's tire rules for those racing classes and autox? I'm
not aware of any significant differences.
>Dare I say that the tires would be safer
For autox? I've never heard of an incident related to tire
failure in autox competition.
>So again ... why won't this work?
Asked and answered.
>How could it make anything worse?
Asked and answered.
>I don't see the downside.
See above. There definitely is a downside. It's called "higher
tire cost."
Jay
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