Greg,
All good advice but may be easier said than done. I raced my MGA with a
stock 1500 engine, and open diff, for a few years. I found it very, very
difficult to maintain a discernable drift, even with the skinny 5.00-15
hard-compound Dunlops (which are bias ply). Just not enough torque
available, for a relatively well-balanced chassis. I used to get some
rubber build-up on the tires, but not as bad as you're experiencing.
I suspect your Hoosiers might be wider than my Dunlops, maybe softer, and
offer even more grip on a car with even less power, making it that much
harder to drift.
You might want to take your tires to a local retreading shop, or race tire
shop, and have them shaved just a tad to remove the gloppy bits.
You'll find it much easier to drift the car once you have a bit more
horsepower for the chassis, and (especially) a limited slip.
John will now lend me the Lister while I demonstrate ... right?
Regards,
Mark Palmer
MGA #185 (but still not as sideways as I wanna be!)
>From: "JOHN HARDEN" <JOHN.HARDEN@worldnet.att.net>
>Reply-To: "JOHN HARDEN" <JOHN.HARDEN@worldnet.att.net>
>To: <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
>Subject: Fw: Hoosier characteristics (bias)
>Date: Tue, 9 Nov 1999 13:55:49 -0600
>
>Brian is correct. We have the same problem with Dunlops on heavier cars.
>You
>must drift the car thru the corners if you want to keep the buildup off the
>tires. regards, John
>
>
>
>----- Original Message -----
>From: Brian Evans <brian@uunet.ca>
>To: <Gregory_Schulz@mil-elect-tool.com>; <vintage-race@autox.team.net>
>Sent: Tuesday, November 09, 1999 1:33 PM
>Subject: Re: Hoosier characteristics (bias)
>
>
> > This may or may not be what you want to hear, but...you're probably not
> > driving fast enough! Racing tires do tend to pick up rubber, but if you
> > get to where you're cornering consistently with a reasonable slip angle
>on
> > the tire, the build up won't build up, so to speak. The tires will
>start
> > to show an even graining across the tread instead. The rears are
>probably
> > better than the fronts now because you're spinning the inside rear
>coming
> > out of corners.
> >
> > Another indication is that you've got 7 events on them and still have
> > "healthy" tread. Many guys will be buying new tires before 7 events
>have
> > gone by! So next year, you have a new goal - wear out your tires! Even
>a
> > lower powered Spridget can still have quite respectable cornering speeds
>-
> > just don't use the brake as much ;)
> >
> > Cheers, Brian
> >
> >
> > At 01:42 PM 11/09/1999 -0500, Gregory_Schulz@mil-elect-tool.com wrote:
> >
> >
> >
> > >Well, the bugeye is just about ready for winter storage. My first year
>of
> > >vintage racing with VSCDA up here in the Midwest was better than
>expected: 7
> > >events with no "dnf's" and only one "dns". I wasn't very fast running a
> > >modestly
> > >prepped 948, and I kept an open 4.22 rear in the car at every track.
>But
> > >we got
> > >what there was out of the car by season's end, had a blast living out a
> > >childhood dream, met alot of good folks, and that adds up to a
>successful
> > >season
> > >for me.
> > >
> > >But, there's always something a (new) guy just doesn't get.
> > >
> > >I ran Hoosier A70-13 Street TD bias tires this year. I was pleased with
>their
> > >general on-track performance, but it was the condition of the tires
>after
>the
> > >race sessions that distressed me the most. It never failed that by the
>time I
> > >got back to the paddock I had a terrible build-up of rubber on the
>tread
> > >surface. At Road America, where there are 3 brutally long straights,
>vibration
> > >was a definite problem. Even at shorter tracks with modest straights,
>similar
> > >unwelcomed vibration was a problem due to this build-up. It seemed that
>I
> > >could
> > >scuff most of it off the rears during a session, but the fronts never
>really
> > >cleaned up very well. In-between sessions a knife worked well for the
>bigger
> > >chunks, but that persistent layering...
> > >
> > >I looked at them last weekend as I carried them down to the basement:
>complete
> > >rings of this stuff go around the entire circumference of the tires in
>erratic
> > >thicknesses from 1/16 to over 1/8". I thought to myself 'these suckers
>aren't
> > >even round anymore'. They were brand new this spring and have healthy
>tread. I
> > >can't imagine anything I could do to them would be worthwhile. Do I
>need
>to
> > >rotate front to rear/rear to front between sessions next year (since
>the
>rears
> > >do clean-up a bit)?
> > >Any thoughts from experienced Hoosier users?
> > >
> > >Thanks,
> > >Greg
> > >'58 A-H Bugeye #517
> > >Cedarburg, WI
> > >
> >
> > Brian Evans
> > Director, Global Sales
> > UUNET, An MCI WorldCom Company
> >
>
>
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