200 treadwear BS (Page 1 of 2)

Higher TW rating does not always equate to longer life on the track.  How many stories have been posted about teams running 400 TW tires, and the tread coming off after just a few hours of abuse?

Until TW ratings become standardized, all we can do is try to find the best tire for each teams needs that meets the rules.  If all the racing series in America went to a minimum of 250 TW, then all these tires that are now 190-200 would magically become 250.

I think they got it right.  I know people who've run higher TW rated tires. and they fall apart after a half day on the track.  All the 200 rated tires we've run have given great performance, take an incredible amount of abuse, and last us 5-6 full race days.  To me, that's pretty impressive.

bs

A durometer test would be one way to keep the tires in some specific range. Alternatively, a list of approved tires regardless of treadwear rating.

Also a good tire for say a Honda Civic, may be a chunky greazy heap of exposed cords on say a malaise era LTD in under an hour.

The 200 minimum works well since people just buy what works for them and their budget.

A "softer" re-rated tire isn't necessarily a good thing in an endurance race where alignment tolerances are measured by thumb withs.

If I had my way, everyone would be running nothing but Douglas Xtra Tracs.

You can't make a blanket statement for the whole series. A tire that works well on one car wont' work well on the next, just like brake pads. It's up to you to find the tire that works the best on your car. A huge land yaught is going to need a harder tire than a small light car.

Durometer tests are insane, and not accurate either. Take the same tire, take a reading brand new, after a 20 minute lapping session, and after 10 heat cycles, you're going to get 3 different readings. The series has it right. 190TW min, do your own homework from there.

200 TW is good, my son is running the same  Falken AZENIS RT615K's that we run on the track on his DD and now has 25k miles on them. They still have lots of tread and he feels he can get a lot more use out of them.

Good idea!  When do we buy our tires, after BS inspection? 

bs

If you run D-Class, your car must also have hubcaps.  And, if you loose more than 3 of them, you must pit and replace them.

Hubcaps FTW!

I see you your Douglas Xtra Tracs and raise you this -

I was out walking the dog one day and noticed a modern Nissan where the front and back tires weren't matched. . . and then noticed the rears were from. . . .

and am still laughing about it.

Imagine keeping a straight face at the tire store when you get asked, "What kinda tires you want?"

and you get to answer, "hey, put those Triangles on all four corners!"