In a message dated 2/24/2006 3:54:40 PM Eastern Standard Time,
hillman@planet-torque.com writes:
What if, say, Toyo were to make a new tire that's otherwise identical
to an RA-1, with a 140 rating? Now, that's not going to cause a big
problem by itself, because I'm not sure the RA-1 is faster than an Azenis,
and it for damn sure lasts longer, at least on my car. But then if
another company makes a tire just a little faster and softer than that,
also with a 140 rating. And again, and again. Before you know it, we'll
have 20-run "street tires"... just like we have 20-run DOT tires.
Give it a few years maybe, but don't expect an exclusion list to save
the day. As you note, the SEB has been tremendously reluctant to use that
tool. They could've kept R-comps a lot more reasonable than they are, but
they didn't, for whatever reasons.
For the same reason you just stated above. There was a big debate
over the very first R-comps and whether to allow them in Stock class.
Once the decision was made (and one of the reasons for the decision
was the acknowledged difficulty of writing and enforcing rules to exclude
those tires) the subsequent improvements have been incremental. Just
as with your example of 140-treadwear tires, where and how do you draw
a line, and how do you enforce it? If you arbitrarily exclude any tire that
is faster, say, than an Azenis, you will eventually have a spec-tire class
in which there may or may not be sizes to fit all cars from that mfr.
Everyone's wish....to have multiple tire companies competing for our
business (and therefore holding down prices), while at the same time
asking the SEB to write and enforce rules that somehow keep those
same tire companies from crossing some arbitrary performance "line"
that puts the speed/price/wear ratio in an uncomfortable place for
some portion of the membership, is, quite simply, a pipe dream. And
eliminating R-comps won't change that situation. The Street Tire
classes are already starting to experience this. If all the Stock classes
went to street tires, the trend for that particular category of tire would
only accelerate.
GH
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