Brian, I can absolutely, positively assure you that for STS
to be a National class, an inclusion list will NOT work.
I have seen manufacturers cheat in ways that you cannot
comprehend. And contrary to what many feel, you will
NOT know when someone is running a 'cheater' tire.
There are 4 solutions to this problem. And ONLY four:
-Keep STS as a local-only class. No National participation.
-Switch all of the STS drivers/cars to STR. (Not good!)
-Spec Tire. One tire, from one manufacturer. Done with decent
success in Club Racing.
-Spec Vendor.
Actually, Team Net has done a good job with this topic - 10
days ago, there were only 2 options on the 'solution' list.
Gotta trust me on this - if Dennis is the resident Subject Matter Expert
on ECU's, I'm gonna claim SME for tires. Any arguments?
Roger 2
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Berryhill <brianberryhill@flashmail.com>
To: Autox <autox@autox.team.net>
Sent: Tuesday, October 31, 2000 4:16 PM
Subject: Re: STS Tires - best way!!!
> > -Use a Spec street tire. Or maybe one for each manufacture who wants to
> > play.
>
> I think using one tire is crazy. I know some cars prefer different tires
> than others. This is all dependent on suspension, balance, weight, etc...
a
> stiff sidewall might be good for one car, but bad for another. Using a
spec
> tire would take away this selectability, and would show *favortism*
towards
> some cars.
>
> One from each manufacturer is a slightly better idea. But, I still uphold
> having an inclusion list of tires that are legal. If the tire isn't on
the
> list, too bad. This makes a lot more people happy and is just as
> enforceable as having a spec tire.
>
> > -have an "official distributor" like TireRack who you must by the tires
> > from (can you put a mark on the tire that proves is came through
> > TireRack?). Or just stick with one Spec Tire if this is the only
> > way...but keep TireRack as the distributor.
>
> Nothing against the TireRack, I've bought a 3 sets of tires from them.
But,
> once again, we're limiting people. People don't like to be limited. What
> if someone is goodie-goodie with that hometown tire store and always buy
> their tires there? I assume the reason for buying tires from the Tire
Rack
> would be to certify that the tires are legal, and not V700 rubber in 712
> molds because of a guy that knows a guy at the plant where the tires are
> made and can do that for a small under-the-table fee.
>
> > -Everyone wins....SCCA wins, the racer wins, the protest committe wins
> > and one of SCCA's best sponsors wins!!!!! What a great combo!
>
> I have to buy only one brand of tire to use on my street car that may not
> want a tire that wears out quick, or a tire that doesn't grip enough.
...No
> way! That's why its nice to choose!
>
> > .....and the barriers to entry into Nationals for an STS guy is raised
> > slightly, but certainly not anywhere near enough to strangle the class.
> > And the local scene is left alone. I love this idea.
>
> In my case, I would see no point in racing in the local scene unless I
were
> going to use the same tire I planned to use at a higher event (like
Nat's).
> So, for me, if I were ever going to Nat's, I would probably have to buy
new
> wheels for the spec tires, and I wouldn't get the same practice that I can
> get on the street by using my daily driver tires/wheels/car as my autox
car.
>
> The answer: A tire inclusion list.
>
> Brian
>
> --
> Brian Berryhill
> http://www.angelfire.com/ms/brianberryhill/
>
>
>
>
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