Larry:
I was aware that BFGs tire marketing had been taken over by Michelin years
ago. I thought we were continuing the Team T/A program, however...I guess
the Monterey announcement slipped by me.
Last year, I spoke with BFG people at the SEMA/Tire Expo show in Vegas. At
the time, it seemed clear that they were promoting the G-Force tire design
and slowly replacing the R1 models.
For those interested, I believe the T/A R1s, if available in your size, would
be a bargain performance tire. It has a larger outside diameter, introducing
its own "negative camber", and I found them to be very sticky, predictable,
and reasonably long lasting. They are certainly comparable to Yokohama
A008Rs, Toyo Proxes RA1, Bridgestone RE71R, and Kuhmos. They are probably a
little "less sticky" than Hoosier radials, BFG G-Force, or Goodyear GS/CSs
(which are not allowed in many venues).
FYI, the Tire Rack has some T/A R1 "rains" for $49 each in some sizes!
Unfortunately, according to Tire Rack, these are a VERY soft compound, and
will not last in the dry...but if you need wet tires...what a deal! Also,
there are some T/A R1As which are auto-x tires and are also quite soft. And
finally, there are some T/A R1 semi-treaded drag race tires...They sound
interesting, but I have no idea how they'd work on a road course??? Anybody
have any info on these??
I just bought a set of Yoko A008s for the Cortina (yes, they're available
again, thanks to the spec racing series..but only in 185 and 205 13"
sizes....PERFECT for me!!). I also have a set of 205 Kuhmos...which I didn't
like at first, but have now come to like almost as much as the TAs.
I also just bought a set of Kuhmos in 14" for track tires for the Ferrari for
track events to replace some worn out A008Rs....they're slightly smaller (not
many choices for 14" users). We'll see how they work out.
Question for anyone using Kuhmo's....what sort of tire pressures have you
used succesfully? Kuhmo recommends much lower pressure than I'm used to. I
tried it and blistered one...So, I went back to my normal pressures and they
seem to be working better...curious what other's experience is with Kuhmos.
Regards,
Myles H. Kitchen
1965 Lotus Cortina Mk1 #128
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