The top car in the class did not have shaved Pilots. They were bought full
tread depth and left that way. Just a bit of info...
Mike
----------
>From: Loren Williams <Loren@kscable.com>
>To: autox list <autox@autox.team.net>
>Subject: Re: ST tire options
>Date: Sun, Sep 19, 1999, 12:19 AM
>
>
>
>Dan Gamble wrote:
>
>> I kinda figured ST was to be what SP was originally supposed to do. Fill
>> the Gap between bone stock and fully race PREPARED cars. Hince the name
>> STREET prepared. I guess that concept has gone completely out the window so
>> a new class had to be invented. They had to come up with a new name "Street
>> touring" since "Street prepared was already taken. Even though for the
>> most part, SP has nothing to do with street.
>
>That's right, ST (and STR) are intended for street driven cars with
>common bolt-on mods. STU... I won't even get into that, it tends to
>take over a discussion.
>
>-----
>
>I guess now's a good time for my Post-Nationals ST observations.
>Warning: This is a long post! I'm bucking to be the next Dennis Grant
>of ST.
>
>14 entries in ST, one in STL. Not bad for a class that was only
>announced about 2 months prior to the event. The mix of cars was
>wonderful, with the only duplicates being the three Neons, which were
>each prepared quite differently (not to mention wildly different
>colors... Barney purple, neon green and black!). As far as the cars go,
>I really think they were all capable of being equally competitive. What
>decided the trophy positions was mainly tires and driver ability.
>
>The top 3 trophies went to the two most-prepared (we're talking big
>bucks, the best of everything that was allowed), but their biggest
>advantage was the tires. Both cars were wearing Pilot SX tires, with
>the ones on the top car being shaved. The fourth place car was on VERY
>street worn Yokohama AVS tires, the least amount of tread in class by
>far. Everyone else was on various tires, some new, most with a very
>healthy amount of tread.
>
>Here's the breakdown:
>
>1. Mark Allen 97 Integra GSR
> 215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX (shaved)
>2. Wendi Allen 97 Integra GSR
> 215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX (shaved)
>3. Vince Bly 93 VTEC Prelude
> 215/45-16 Michelin Pilot SX
>4. Ron Conrad 86 Civic Si
> 205/50-13 Yokohama AVS (street worn to about 2/32 or less)
>5. Matt Grainger 91 Olds 442
> 225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
>6. Ross Atwell 98 Neon
> 205/45-16 Yokohama AVS Int
>7. George Perinis 9x 200SX SE-R (official results say Sentra)
> 205/50-15 Yokohama AVS Int
>8. Pat Griffith 93 Sentra SE-R (the Sentra)
> 195/55-14 Potenza RE-71
>9. Rob Sprandle 93 Probe GT
> 215/50-16 BFG G-Force T/A KDW
>10. Chris Sharpe 91 Olds 442
> 225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
>11. Lance Shueneman 96 Neon
> 215/40-16 Toyo Proxes T1 (full tread)
>12. Loren Williams 94 Saturn SC2
> 205/50-15 Pirelli P700Z (full tread)
>13. Donald Seyfer 98 Escort ZX2
> 215/40-16 Yokohama A520 (full tread)
>14. David Wallens 95 Neon
> 225/45-17 BFG G-Force T/A KD (full tread)
>
>Tire width is, of course, a factor. But, you'll notice that of the
>trophy positions (1-5) the only car with maximum width tires (we're
>limited to 225) was Grainger's heavy Olds 442. The other cars either
>couldn't fit a tire that wide, or didn't need it.
>
>Tread depth is a factor, as well. I don't think Ron would have finished
>as well with a full-tread set of AVS's. But, since we all have the
>option of shaving tires, or timing our tire purchases such that we have
>perfect tread depth for Nats (or just buying used tires), I'm not going
>to gripe about tread depth.
>
>Diameter is another factor. The average street enthusiast goes with
>what looks "cool", but I think the majority of this particular group
>(experienced autocrossers) is performance-minded, otherwise we'd all
>have shown up on 17-18" wheels. For performance reasons, many of us
>choose to run on 15", 14" or even 13" wheels... which brings me to my
>point.
>
>[Note: The following info is from the Tire Rack website (thanks to the
>great and powerful Oz). **Only tires which are legal for ST** were
>considered (225 or less width).]
>
>The winning tire in the class was the Pilot SX. Aside from being
>obscenely expensive ($179-$229), are primarily only available in 16" &
>17" sizes. (with one 15" size)
>
>In my opinion, the next best tire in the class was the G-Force T/A KD.
>Also quite pricey ($204-$250), and available only in 17" & 18" sizes.
>
>All of the other tires were not quite as good, but still very
>competitive amongst themselves. They were all also much less expensive
>and many were available in a wider range of sizes. Here are some that
>were seen at Nats, plus some others that weren't:
>
>Yokohama AVS Int ($62-159) available in 13" to 17" sizes.
>Potenza RE71 ($68-122) available in 14" to 17" sizes.
>Dunlop SP8000 ($70-152) available in 14" to 17" sizes.
>Sumitomo HTR-Z ($67-113) available in 15" to 17" sizes. (same tire as
>SP8000)
>Pirelli P700Z ($61-125) available in 15" to 16" sizes. (discontinued
>model)
>Dunlop W-10 ($67-142) available in 15" to 18" sizes.
>Yokohama A520 ($99-116) available in 16" to 17" sizes.
>
>-----
>
>Now, I agree that part of the purpose of ST is to give newbies a
>competitive place to play with their tricked out street cars fresh off
>the street. But I believe it also has a secondary purpose, one which
>will most likely decide the ultimate success or failure of the class.
>That is, to allow people like myself and most of the other Nationals ST
>class, who actually LIKE to compete on our street tires a place to
>compete in our daily drivers without spending a lot of money.
>
>That last part is important. ST needs to remain inexpensive. In my
>opinion, we need to do two things:
>
>1. Ensure that the best tires that are legal for the class are
>available to all competitors. The stock class availability rule
>(13.3-f: Each tire model must be sold in at least four diameters with a
>total of at least 6 sizes.) might help, but even that would allow a size
>range of 17" to 20"... which leaves much of the class out in the cold.
>
>2. Eliminate the ultra-expensive tires from the mix. A rule written to
>take care of item #1 could take care of this problem... for now. But an
>annually updated exclusion list based on the market price of a "standard
>size" would be best. (perhaps making the price cap the average price of
>an R-tire in the same size?)
>
>
>Lastly, I'd like to bring up another option (I like this one even
>better):
>
>Forget about availability rules and exclusion lists, let people do what
>they want on the local level. Define one or a few tire models for
>Divisional/National level events as a sort of "spec tire". This may
>seem "different" for Solo, but when you consider that to win any stock
>class you have to have one of the "spec tires", either BFG, Kumho or
>Hoosier... it's not so far fetched. We just need to specify the spec
>tires for the class so that they don't end up being the most expensive
>tires available! (that aren't available in all sizes) I think a good
>"spec tire" set would be the Yokohama AVS Intermediate, Potenza RE71 and
>Dunlop SP8000. That would satisfy everyone's needs and give a little
>bit of choice to most drivers... and most importantly, not break the
>bank!
>
>
>Okay, I'm done. Your turn.
>
>
>
>
>--
>Loren Williams | Homepage - http://home.kscable.com/shad
>'94 Saturn SC2 | Wichita Region SCCA - http://www2.southwind.net/~scca
|