Federal Tires

[JGRacing]

If they have pretty big tread blocks, 600 should be able to come up with some reasonable groove pattern to allow.  I would think a few sets of tires, a grooving iron, and an afternoon at a dirt track should get them something reasonable.  Not crazy about having to deal with more tire prep, but they have the new tire unless they go to something else, it is what it is.     

[JGRacing]

Is this more like what the new tire looks like?

http://www.federaltire.com/en/html/pdetail.php?DB=motosports&pdline=3&ID=3

[VMS Motorsports]

Im sure, no matter what, it will be a comedy of errors if they try to enforce a do-it-yourself tire siping rule. I just hope that they find a different tire for the dirt...the delay in mandating the new Federal tire for dirt has me optimistic that things are still evolving.

[joeracer22]

i agree with jim in hopes that the new tire will not be used on dirt not much of a racing tread. I think a hoosier tire would do the job but dont think that would ever happen.

[IraceLegends77]

I have to give it to 600 on this one. They at least sent a set of tires to a really good dirt team to have them try them and give them some feedback. After getting some feedback, they then ask a bunch of “dirt guys” for some opinion. We all have opinion some good and some bad but we all have them. 600 could just said “this is what you have now deal with it” (which they have done in the past). We all know that they have no idea what they are doing when it comes to dirt but at least they are asking question before the make a decision. As they say, you can make some of the people happy some of the time but never all the people happy all the time. They are working and asking for info from us and until they make a final decision on a tire maybe we should call and give our input.  If you haven’t called and talked with 600 it is kind of not voting and bitching about your President. OK, now I have to go get ready for next year.

Scott

[rickmiller48]

In regards to the hoosier comment.  The last car I raced ran hoosiers and that gets really expensive because they don't last at all.  Also, without beadlocks all the way around, flats are violent.  They are basically tubes with tread on them.  Just my 2 cents, you may not agree.

[VMS Motorsports]

It all depends on the compound used. Obviously, you can change your right rear after every session if you run Sprint cars like Joeys family, but Hoosier makes (or used to make) DOT tires also.
I dont care what brand, I just want something I can use, and the Federal they have picked out right now doesnt fall into that category from what I have heard.

[joeracer22]

i was refering to  the hoosier tire like the modlites run which comes in two different compounds i believe which is a medium and a soft.  I think it is the Hoosier Dirt Bozz. Hoosier also does have a dot line of tire which has the dirt bozz tread pattern.  Mainly i was trying to say that we need a tire for dirt that actually has a tread pattern that would work in dirt.

[VMS Motorsports]

Hoosier DOT oval track dirt tires are available in 215/60/13 in soft and medium compund. They also have a Midget dirt tire in our size, along with the aforementioned Dirt Bozz style

[IraceLegends77]

Jim,

I like that tire and it looks like it would work. I still believe that if we "dirt guys" start calling Darrell he will listen if we come to a conclusion on what tire we want. He was not sure himself that the federal tire would work. He also knows now that he doesn't understand dirt racing. I think that if we get involved early enough in the tire picking process we could have influence in it. We should use caution on what we ask for because you might get it but I like the looks of the Hoosier.

Scott

[NJRacer510]

Whatever they do I hope they figure it all out soon and not wait until that last minute. For dirt if they approve a specific groove pattern, how would they monitor this?

[VMS Motorsports]

The thing that bothers me the most is having different tires for asphalt and dirt. With the BFG's, if I felt like going to the tar track on a friday night, I could just show up. I they have 2 different tires, thats not going to happen. Im not going to spend $400 on tires to go race once or twice a year.
Maybe thats the grand plan, to keep the dirt guys and asphalt guys seperate, but I dont think thats in the best interest of anyone.

As for monitoring and officiating self grooved tires, the only way I could see this is to, say for example, have a sheet of plastic with an 8X8 square out of it, and count the cuts/grooves/sipes inside the square. Could be measured anywhere on the tire if they had a specific "12 cuts per 8 square inch" rule or something arbitrary like that, but there is no way they could regulate a tread pattern if its up to each individual to groove their own tire. What if you sneeze and one sipe is 2mm off for 3mm on the third groove from the outside? Throw away the tire or risk being DQ'd?

I don't think 600 would put us in a situation like that.

I'm glad they are taking the time to decide what to do,  but I was really hoping to get a couple asphalt shows in this year...guess not

[NJRacer510]

I think 600 Racing has a lot of good ideas but lots of times they go about it in the wrong way. Like you said, who is going to want to spend the money on a set of tires for maybe two races being either dirt or asphalt. It also hurts people who are trying to sell cars, like right now my brother and I are trying to sell our '37 Dodge Coupe. It is an excellent car which people have given us a lot of interest in the car but things are hurting us with the sale. The car has a great 1200 engine built by LHS Engines and it is very strong but it is an unsealed engine which certain people are looking for a car with a sealed engine because of 600 Racing pushing the sealed engines. Now the car has 4 cut BFG asphalt tires on it which are in decent shape but now because of this tire rule they are useless for whomever would purchase the car.

Why couldn't they take the BFG mold and just have another company like Federal or Cooper make it the same? So it would be the same tire, just different name. Then you could of used either tire on asphalt or dirt until the current BFG tires are gone.

[thunder938]

From what I hear is the molds for the BFGs are old and worn out.  BFG want the big dollars to remake the molds.  Remember the HR4 T/A is a very old tire I sold those back in 1990.  So the molds were no good thats why there had to be a change or pay BFG more to remake them for a tire that they dont sell to the public anymore

[thunder938]

on other thing I know 600 was testing Cooper Tires too, does anyone here know if they were closer to the BFGs for paved and dirt?