Jay,
Good points. My comments:
----- Original Message -----
From: "jay & christi" <bjwcjw@surewest.net>
...>You need
> look no further than the ST classes to see my point. It has become a spec
> class(s) for the Falken Azenis RT215/615 tire combo.
...>The less expensive street tires from other makers are not on
> par to the Falken RT series. From my perspective, if you can't get on
RT's
> and you are facing a car that is, they will have a definite advantage.
This year I felt that the Kumho Ecsta MX served me as well as the 215's did
the previous year. It depended on the temperature at the venue, as those
with 215's suffered when it was Central Valley hot. FWIW I placed worse at
one club for the season and better at another, so I feel that the MX's are
at least competitive for my car, and the sizing is more suited. Others have
told me that the Hankook RS2 is fully competitive, and some winners at
Nationals in ST classes listed Yokohamas. So at least there is close
competition.
...>I suspect that some would go
> so far as to order them and have them shaved to 3/32. Tires like the
> Michelin Pilot Sport PS2, Bridgestone S-03, Goodyear F1 supercar, are not
> any cheaper.
Yup, I used the 215's pre-shaved for the last quarter of last year after I
corded my PS2's. And I'd say that in that condition they were perhaps
slightly superior to the Ecsta MX at full tread depth. Depends on where you
want to spend the money.
...>If
> SCCA were to support such a move I would push to have the Falken RT series
> placed on the exclusion list until other tire makers build a competitive
> tire to it.
I see where you're going, but it seems rough to penalize Falken for the
other tire makers' inaction, and it does not seem to promote the other
makers actually producing those tires.
...> Shocks give you
> the abililty to get your car to work as well as other marques in your
class.
Darn, it must have been my failing then that the car wouldn't beat those
Beemers. :-) No, wait, it was SCCA's fault, because the Beemers were
reclassed to D the following year!
> Will we then be asked to give up sway bars as well? I'd like to see a
rule
> change opening up the rear bar as well. This might bring some cars back
> into stock classes that are running elsewhere due to inherent handling
> issues that can't be fixed under stock rules that have sent these cars to
> other classes. I think its bogus logic to argue that eliminating high
> dollar shocks and tires from stock classes will make stock cheap to run.
A rear bar made a big difference on my car, and I can't say whether it would
have been enough of a difference to keep me in Stock.
The really high dollar shocks (triple adjustable) were banned in Stock a
couple of years ago. If a manufacturer puts really good shocks on as OE
then folks won't go to the aftermarket.
And the real cost of R tires is that they require an additional set of
wheels. I found that in Stock a set of Victoracers lasted one racing
season, and in STX using a set of Ecsta MX's for daily driving and
autocrossing that those lasted one season. The costs of the tires weren't
that far apart.
Paul
|