Your Thoughts on Mandating 200+TW "Street Tires" in Improved Touring?

[lateapex911]

Interesting thoughts.

Good points for making the switch and overall I think they carry the day, except...

The biggest negative is what to do about the smaller diameter guys? Allowing bigger wheels MIGHT help, but it kills their gearing. SO, they need to buy a different final drive. Kills the cost saving benefit. Well, in the short term at least. But, the bigger issue is that some of them can't find the gear they would need. I don't know how many guys are in that boat, I suspect it's a pretty small percentage. I don't know of a workaround.

To those who -cough- Chris, -cough- like going faster around corners, ask youself...is racing in slippery conditions (rain, damp, etc) less fun?? TO me it was a bigger challenge and one that I found to be a HUGE opportunity. The guys who are one dimensional thinkers, they'd be toast. Adapting to changing conditions, figuring out how to go fast with less stick, that's fun. Now I hear you "But it won't be changing, it will always be the same, just slower", true, but....I don't see the delta between the Hoosiers and the better 100tw tires to be that huge. We're talking a second or so on a minute long course like Lime Rock.

To my eye, it's a good concept that needs to have some technicalities worked out.

**** Oh...Spec tire?? In a category with 300+ spec lines (car models)....yea....aint gonna happen. Nor is getting a manufacturer to 'sponsor a program". LOL

Also, ANY change will have winners, and losers, and sometimes the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.

[Greg Amy]

The biggest negative is what to do about the smaller diameter guys? Allowing bigger wheels MIGHT help, but it kills their gearing.

Let's just put this to bed right now: they're irrelevant to the discussion. Sorry, ITC guys, but your class is dead. More dead than even B-Spec.

That one region somewhere in Minnesota that has half a dozen ITC still running can write in the event supps that ITC cars can run whatever tire they want. It's really that easy.

So STOP IT, Jake. Never, ever, EVER make regulations based on how it will affect one person or one sub set. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. The question should not be "but what about these guys?" The question should be "what is best for everyone in aggregrate, as a whole, all around the country?"

Never make regulations centered around one exception. Ever.

[lateapex911]

Let's just put this to bed right now: they're irrelevant to the discussion. Sorry, ITC guys, but your class is dead. More dead than even B-Spec.

That one region somewhere in Minnesota that has half a dozen ITC still running can write in the event supps that ITC cars can run whatever tire they want. It's really that easy.

So STOP IT, Jake. Never, ever, EVER make regulations based on how it will affect one person or one sub set. Wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong. The question should not be "but what about these guys?" The question should be "what is best for everyone in aggregrate, as a whole, all around the country?"

Never make regulations centered around one exception. Ever.

And thats why I ended my post with "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few".....

[jwasilko]

I'm curious how many of your regions place IT cars in with SM? In the Northeast, we're always grouped with SM and SM2.

I'm concerned that running a slower tire will put me right in the middle of the kill-zone of SM, rather than being able to stay ahead of most of the SM-related carnage.

I have an ITA Miata because I don't want to race in SM. I'm not happy that we have to share race groups with SM, but at least now I can stay ahead of them.

My tire savings may be eaten up by body panel purchases.

Thoughts?

[XelderX]

I'm curious how many of your regions place IT cars in with SM? In the Northeast, we're always grouped with SM and SM2.

I'm concerned that running a slower tire will put me right in the middle of the kill-zone of SM, rather than being able to stay ahead of most of the SM-related carnage.

I have an ITA Miata because I don't want to race in SM. I'm not happy that we have to share race groups with SM, but at least now I can stay ahead of them.

My tire savings may be eaten up by body panel purchases.

Thoughts?

In the Southeast we have enough cars to be in our own group usually. That being said....Spec Miata has been behaving pretty good around here.