John Whitling writes:
>Politically Ray, durometer readings and such will never be accepted.
>Technically it's possible and the ASA racing series has used durometers
>to measure/test tires for a long long time.
Here's what I see is wrong with a durometer based system:
1) Does ambient temperature play a role in the durometer readings?
2) Are the durometer readings taken on cold tires or warm tires?
3) If a competitor abuses their tires and they should overheat (go gooey),
then are they disqualified for having too soft of a compound?
>A "Z" rated tire has to be built to withstand the heat of long periods of
high
>speed (over 149 mph for 1 hour, I believe).
Z-ratings are not available for all sizes. 10", 12", & 13" tires, even
roadracing DOT tires, are typically H-rating at best. If you look at the
"public" tire market, you'll note that most 13" tires aren't even H-rated.
Doesn't do much good for attracting the public to autocrossing if their tires
are automatically illegal!
>Those that say that a Z rating only affects the carcass are not correct.
So why do some brands of 13" R-compound tire not have Z-ratings while the
same compound on a 15" tire will be Z-rated?
> Autocross would get more tire participation (something that a dominant tire
> company might not want) and club racers could sell their takeoffs to
autoxers
Autocross allows DOT tires from virtually all manufacturers... how could we
possibly get more participation from them by EXCLUDING more tires?
Club racers can already sell their takeoffs to autoxers. Been there, done
that.
>and tire companies would have just one set of rules and a development arena
>that would relate to street tire development.
No they wouldn't! The dragstrip and dirt track crowd have wholly different
set of rules and tire technical requirements. I'm not about to run an
autocross on wrinkle-wall DOT tires and a drag enthusiast isn't going to care
about cornering traction.
>What we're seeing with the early reports of the G Force aren't any different
>than what we saw in '89 when BFG produced it's solo only edition of the R1.
First thing you've said that we can agree on!
>In two years after, we lost Yoko and their Nationals sponsorship, and all
>other tire companies in stock class solo.
Bullshit! I'm with Jay. Yoko didn't leave autocross until after the '94
Nationals, in terms of a support truck. And, as I recall, it was still the
Yokohama Solo II Nationals in '94 (last Salina year, my first Nationals)...
I'm certain that they were still sponsoring the National Tour and Divisional
series in '94 as I've got a '94 trophy sitting on my desk with "Yokohama"
written across the top.
At that time, Toyo was joining the party, Kuhmo wasn't available yet, and
Hoosier was available as ever. Today, one can still buy Yokohama DOT race
rubber, so they haven't fully left the market yet. Contingencies are offered
by BFG, Kuhmo, and Hoosier. We've got more variety of autox tire choices
available today than ever before and at least the same number of contingency
monies... certainly not a step backwards in my book.
George Emery
gemery@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/gemery
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