Eric Linnhoff wrote:
> That'd be the BFG G-Force KD (killer dry) Street tires. They only come in
> 17" & larger sizes and are even more expensive than the G-Force R1 race
> tires, if you can believe that.
Oh yeah. Forgot about that one... being as it won't fit my car and
all. BFG isn't exactly trying to corner the small car performance tire
market, are they?
> So, so much for any sort of argument that the ST classes, at least at a
> national level, are any cheaper to run than the equivalent open classes with
> regards to tires.
If one HAD to buy 17" wheels and KD's to be competitive, you might have
an argument. As has been proven in classes like ESP, DSP and CSP,
larger diameter wheels are not necessarily the hot ticket.
You also have to consider that ST isn't JUST about being cheaper. Some
of us just LIKE to autocross on our street tires. More accurately, I'd
say that some of us like to be able to drive our autocross setup on the
street. I won't spend any more replacing a set of street tires every
year than I would on a set of competition tires every season... and I
get a lot more smiles for my money when I put it into good street tires.
> I dunno why everyone went with the BFG's (well, yes I do. It's called
> contingency money) when they only come in 17" and larger sizes which mandate
> big old heavy 17" wheels. No way around it, 17" wheels are gonna be heavy
> with lots of rotational mass very far from the center of the wheel.
To fit a 17" wheel on the typical "ST" type car, you also have to run a
tire with about a 2" sidewall and have very little room to play with
tire diameter. My car likes to run shorter diameter tires (the better
gearing thing), and it's very easy to do with 15" wheels.
> If it
> were me I'd have gone with the old Toyo T1 which was recently replaced with
> a newer design.
My "money no object" choice would have been the Michelin MXX$ or the
Pirelli P-Zero. I believe those are the two best options for true
street tires.
> Anyway it came in a 225/40-14 and 195/45-14 sizes which
> when coupled with ST class legal 14x7" cheapo Diamond Racing steel wheels
> (just 13 lbs) still would have cost "only" about $200/corner (about what the
> BFGs cost apiece) and would offer much better final gearing than the 17"
> wheel/tire combos.
Careful now, Diamond's race wheels are NOT approved by the DOT for
street use. To be technically legal for ST, I think you'd have to use
their DOT wheels, which are quite a bit heavier. (still lighter than
most steel wheels, though)
> But then again, I'm crazy. ;^)
No, crazy is running in CSP with street tires.
--
Loren Williams | Homepage - http://home.kscable.com/shad
'94 Saturn SC2 | Wichita Region SCCA - http://www2.southwind.net/~scca
|