Actually, Bill, cantilever tires are still available. I just don't know
if they are available in treaded or not. I have easy access to Goodyear
and Yoko cantilevers, and that is what I have been running on Tristan (8
1/2" slicks on 6" wheels -- not too great for autocross!). I have been
getting my tires from John Berget (advertises in the back of SportsCar
as a used Goodyear tire dealer) and I get this year's tires with at
least 3/4 rubber left, usually lots more.
Hope this helps!
Susan :)
bwarner@mediaone.net wrote:
> The answer is that flares started in the early 70's on production cars.
> The SCCA tried to control the width of the tire patch by controlling the
> rim width. However, clever racers, of which there were many, realized
> that there were ways to skin that cat and that was to use a cantilevered
> tire, i.e., one that would fit on a narrow rim but still yield a 10"+
> (width) footprint, hence the need to flare. Today, you cannot find a
> cantilevered tire, and in many cases the Hoosier or Goodyear that is
> available is as much as 3/4" narrower than the tire available in the
> early seventies. However, the technology is so much better that these
> "vintage tires" are better than the race tire available back then,
> albeit slightly narrower. Bill Warner
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