What about an open tire rule?

Nick Weil · Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2002 8:33 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

Rob,

Just to play Devil's Advocate... I don't believe the 'Masters' Class exists at the World Finals. It's one class, one weight, one tire.

Nick Weil
www.speedquestkarting.com

Marshall Mauney · Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2002 8:43 am Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

Interesting discussion...

At our local track, pretty much every class run BS YHCs, including Rotax. 'Piggybacking' on the other class' tire spec provides us a fairly constant, cost-effective supply. All the local vendors keep them in stock, and we have local price competition that keeps anyone from 'gouging'. If we tried to have a separate 'spec' tire for just the Rotaxes, I would expect that we'd start having supply and price problems in a hurry (basic small-business economics).

Now, the YHCs aren't a perfect tire for the Rotax class; they don't last very long, and they're not the cheapest thing on the market. However, it gives us the following benefits:

(1) A level, consistent playing field.
(2) A constant reliable supply.
(3) A known quantity that doesn't change every week, i.e., a very low fool-with factor.

Works for me!

My experience in auto racing is that open tire rules tend to increase cost tangentially. The individual tire cost isn't necessarily higher, but the total operating cost ends up higher due to increased testing costs (you have to spend track time to figure out which tire to run). Also, there's more setup data to collect/maintain/analyze, and every time a new tire compound comes out, you have to chase it to find out if you need to be running it. If you DO have to change to the new tire, then you have to figure out the new setup. All of this takes time and effort, which is better spent on the rest of the racing equation - driving and setup. I don't really care WHICH tire you select for a spec series (although I have my personal opinions about performance vs. cost), but I DO believe that a spec tire leaves everyone more focused on racing and less focused on chasing one more variable component issue.

MM

Chad Stapleton · Joined: 19 Jul 2001 Posts: 4403

quote:
Originally posted by Michael Horley:

The rest of the world isn't running YGK's. The UK probably has the most Max racers and we have to use MG RB's.

But next year will change to ..... VEGA's !!

Marshall Mauney · Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2002 7:28 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

quote:
Originally posted by Roger Roatch:
Anyone who has the fortitude to interject such words as “tangentially” in a discussion deserves the coveted golden bovinus excrementum award. .... Marshall, just a point of clarification please, were you making the point of “exponential” costs or the need to recognize the divergent/peripheral costs associated with open tire rules?

Well, I was clearly referring to the 'divergent/peripheral' costs. Had I been speaking of 'exponential' costs, I probably would have used a slightly more obscure reference to the fact that a true inverse tangent asymptotically approaches infinity.

I guess I just spent too many years in school, followed by too many years writing corporate engineering proposals....

MM
[Now dutifully writing on the board 50 times "I mustn't use words with more than two syllables in web board postings"]

Rob Martin · Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2002 10:14 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

Nick,
I was also aware that there is only a single International class at the World Finals.

I was simply addressing Michael's comment regarding the use of MG's in England.

Ideally, all the Rotax classes raced in the US and elsewere would utilize the same tire used for the World Finals.

As is stands right now Masters drivers are unable to do a simple comparison of times with the International drivers due to a different tire spec. Even though Masters is raced at a significantly higher weight, I'm sure there are several Masters drivers that could smoke the typical International driver.

Roger Roatch · Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2002 10:34 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

Anyone who has the fortitude to interject such words as “tangentially” in a discussion deserves the coveted golden bovinus excrementum award. I could feel the increase in air pressure as the dictionaries began to fan open. Marshall, just a point of clarification please, were you making the point of “exponential” costs or the need to recognize the divergent/peripheral costs associated with open tire rules? There should be a “wordsmith” award on these forums.

Shannon Schmidt · Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2002 10:57 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

I think a lot of you on here are just praching to the choir on this issue. Fact of the matter, we all want a spec tire four our beloved spec engine. We don't don't want to spend tons of money testing and learning different tires. We want to learn one tire and go racing. Thats it!!

Rob Martin · Posted: Wed Sep 11, 2002 3:50 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

Marshall,
Don't the words dutifully and syllables break your new rule?

Please don't try and raise our IQ too much or we may all have to buy bigger helmets.

Warren Currie · Posted: Fri Sep 13, 2002 1:21 pm Post subject: What about an open tire rule?

A little birdie has told me that next year - it will be Vega Blue's for ALL - in the U.S.

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