I just wanted to add my observation to this discussion.
I started autocrossing back in 1987. I did my first full season on plain old
street tires. The Goodyear Eagle GT's my car came on totally stunk when pushed
hard, but the sliding around was good for learning, and I still recomend new
drivers start on tires with less than ideal grip. I replaced them with BFG
HR4's, still a street tire,. but much better. They still howled in turns, but
the
transitions were crisp. When I started to drive better, I started to realize
all the guys beating me were changing tires at the event. The Hot tire for
1989 was the Yok A008 RTU's. I finally gave in and bought a set on rims from
Tire
Rack. WOW, what a difference. It was like driving a new car. Turn in was
solid, braking no longer squirmed around, and steady cornering that felt
unbelievable. These tires were under $100 each back then, I think they had a
120 or 180
tread wear rating and I drove them to and from every event for 2 full
seasons. I sold them to a guy for the cost of the rims, and he drove on them
for
another full season. I am sure the grip was falling off some, but they still
had
tread on them.
It would be great to have those back as the hot tire again, but those days
are over. The BFG Comp T/A R1 started the trend, and Hoosier just pushed it
over
the edge. SCCA talked about putting the then new R1's on the exclusion list,
but decided not to. The bias ply Hoosiers were on the list. For some reason
(unknown to me) they took the bias ply Hoosiers off the exclusion list and
allowed the Hoosier radials soon after. I know the Tire Rack sponsored events,
and
I'll bet tire makers pressured SCCA, butback around 1991 is when the tire
bubble seemed to burst.
They way it is now, if you want a chance to win in stock, you need a couple
sets of tires a season. The budget has gotten a bit wild.
I just bought a set of BFG G-Force sport tires for my daily driver 04 Camry.
These have a tread wear rating of 340 and they stick great. The entrance ramp
I use every day to go to work used to be a big squeal on the stock Michelins
at 40-45 mph. Sorry I don't know the radius, and it is banked a little. With
the BFG's it is dead stable with no squeal at 50-55 mph. I also had to run 44
psi in the original tires to not rubb the sidewalls, where the BFG's run at 35
and have not rubbed past the shoulder at all. My point is, even street tires
have come a long way. It seems maybe SCCA and the tire makers need to talk
about
some limitations on R tires. The problem now is that all the tire makers push
the limits to be the tire to have, even if it only lasts one event.
Gary M.
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