Bill Pemberton
0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
Many tire sizes and even performance tire models are virtually disappearing as we speak. This has happened over and over in the past 4= decades and the situation for those of us who road race or autocross our cars is one has to be constantly vigilant. Some have bemoaned the fact that the RS-4 was going away, but then so is the BFG gforce R1S, numerous sizes of the RE71R, and often tire brands that made wider tires in 18 and 19 sizes have just dropped them. Say for instance, you want to run a 315/30/18 , 200 TWR tire, well now you have the two Falkens, ( RT615K, RT 660 ) , BFG Rival S 1.5, and Yokohama A052. Drop down to 100 TWR or full DOT Comp Tires and you are looking at Toyo R888R, Nankang AR-1, Nitto NT01, and Hoosiers R7/A7. Toyo had a few NASA drivers looking to run their RR series tires in 315/30/18s, as there were huge bonus points for their use that meant one could increase HP and lose weight. Well, bingo they are gone already after making a serious competitive marketing move that should have helped them. There are numerous examples for 19 inch tires too, where all of a sudden a 285 or 295 is the largest size , when a 305 was available in the recent past. This is just a heads up, since the last thing any of us wants is to buy a set for our car only to find out if we ruin a couple there are no replacements. Since TireRack has a link on our site, and it benefits the Forum, do your research there.You can also call Luke Pavlik ( ext. 4362 ) since he is a fellow TrackRat and has been at the Rack for over 20+ years. He warned me about the demise of the gforce BFGs and the Bridgestones well ahead of time , but things are changing quickly.
With things evolving it is likely many of us will be on different tires in the near future ,so reports from members on what is working well will become more important. The thing that would help all of us is if someone posts about a tire they like , make sure you state what you are using them for - i.e. serious competition Time Trials, autocross, W2W or just fun HPDEs. Pretty likely there will be some new brands that end up shining in areas we don't expect because they have changed compounds , increased tread width, or brought out a new design. The sizes are in a state of rapid flux and whether it is a marketing change due to the Pandemic or just economics, some Rubber Donut makers are deciding to vacate the performance arena. Let's all try to keep our fellow TMO members as up to date as possible by contributing.
I just listed a few examples , there are many more sizing changes that will affect all of us, so hopefully those trying new brands because they can no longer find their size, please post your impressions.
I will go back to the " Gold Standard " this year , Hoosier R7/A7s!
With things evolving it is likely many of us will be on different tires in the near future ,so reports from members on what is working well will become more important. The thing that would help all of us is if someone posts about a tire they like , make sure you state what you are using them for - i.e. serious competition Time Trials, autocross, W2W or just fun HPDEs. Pretty likely there will be some new brands that end up shining in areas we don't expect because they have changed compounds , increased tread width, or brought out a new design. The sizes are in a state of rapid flux and whether it is a marketing change due to the Pandemic or just economics, some Rubber Donut makers are deciding to vacate the performance arena. Let's all try to keep our fellow TMO members as up to date as possible by contributing.
I just listed a few examples , there are many more sizing changes that will affect all of us, so hopefully those trying new brands because they can no longer find their size, please post your impressions.
I will go back to the " Gold Standard " this year , Hoosier R7/A7s!