In a message dated 1/13/03 7:13:48 AM Eastern Standard Time,
bpariza@yahoo.com writes:
> I'm thinking that if a recapping company thought there was enough volume
> (money) to justify the effort, they could probably get the powers that be
> to change that rule and they could sell sticky 'caps. My guess is that low
> quality (read that safety) is why the rule got put there in the first
> place, and that nobody has cared enough about 'caps to try and change it
> since. You do have to wonder what would happen when a "frugal" autocrosser
> tried to run a set of 'caps 'til they corded tho...
> Bob in ABQ
One also wonders how easy it would be to fiddle with compounds on a
regular basis. I'm not sure how much this potential problem may have
had to do with the creation of the rule.
>
> Rocky Entriken <rocky@tri.net> wrote:My impression is that Paul's guess #1
> is basically it.
>
> The recap rule has been around ever since the rulebook was a stone tablet.
>
> It did not exist everywhere. I seem to recall a race team in the '70s (IMSA
> Camel GT?) that ran on, and was sponsored by, Bandag recaps.
One of John Greenwood's early IMSA Corvette efforts, IIRC. His team
was later sponsored by BFG, which led to BFG's sponsorship of IMSA's
"Radial Sedan" Series in which I participated from 1976-1979.....small
import and American sedans that ran on the first BFG Radial T/A tire.
>
> Guess #2 is probably still a valid reason, but how many people have access
> not only to a recap machine (not all that hard) but also the materials to
> create a gooey cap (much harder). It would about have to be a manufacturer
> (a la Bandag), and what good would it do them to sneak their sticky recaps
> onto a Hoosier or BFG carcass? If they cannot market their product, why
> bother?
>
> --Rocky
>
Back in that same timeframe (mid-to-late '70's) there was a small tire
recapping shop in Crewe, VA that was recapping tires for some of the local
roundy-round racers, I believe. This was discovered by some members of
the Porsche Club, and for a few years the hot lick for autocrossing in PCA
was a Michelin or Pirelli carcass with a "Crewe recap". They were *really*
sticky in the dry, pretty much useless when it got wet, VERY heavy, and
not very round. Some people actually drove long distances to events on
them, not an enjoyable experience. :-( When R-compound radials
appeared from BFG and Yokohama, which offered similar or better levels
of performance without the drawbacks, the recaps disappeared, at least
among the autocrossers.
GH
/// unsubscribe/change address requests to majordomo@autox.team.net or try
/// http://www.team.net/mailman/listinfo
/// Partial archives at http://www.team.net/archive
|