Tire test at ELS for new dirt tires

[Racinjj]

Heres my educated quess on the tire situation.  AR came up with a legends specific tire which is why the cost is high.  New compound and design from anything they were making.

I find it hard to believe that running a bias ply against a radial is going to be a good match.  I think with this new tire we are going to be at least .3-.4sec per lap faster than with the BFG's.  This is just from experience and I havent even seen the new tire in person.

I dont think wear will be an issue at least in our area, our tracks rarely get slick and arent very abrasive.  Even the tires on the modified lasted all season except for the RR.  I wouldnt get to worked up over tire wear, I dont think it will be an issue.

[Gimpster]

 Exactly... quicker. The tire will weigh less too.
Here we have different clay on all the tracks. Minot ND will leave your front fenders nearly sanded and body chipped up from the rocks. I guess the hard compound would be good there.

- Gimp -

[VMS Motorsports]

Can you explain to us how a 53 duro tire will not get cut down on a running board, guard rail, etc.?

[Gimpster]

You read into that on your own... I never said a 53  would not cut down
My reference was for the short life of that cut down tire the traction quality would have been greater during it's life

See ya steve

[VMS Motorsports]

Actually, I didn't read anything but your posted words...

"a softer compound would have promoted better racing and/or improved avoiding the fore mentioned tire ruining accident."

...was just looking for an explanation/clarification of how a 53 compound would avoid the "tire ruining".  Were you referring to better tire reaction due to softer compound in avoidance? I can see that a little, not alot from a 58 to a 53, but I can see a point there...but I see you quit the forum again, so I may or may not get an answer...?

[Legends57x]

I have to agree 100% with Gimpsters's explanation regarding the requirement for extra tires needed for stagger, durabiltiy, and so forth.   An interesting point mentioned was that will we need more than beadlock on the RR to keep these tires on the rims?   Also, I agree with Jeff that I find it hard to believe that the BFG's will even come close to matching up with the AR's regarding  lap times and wear should not be an issue.   Once one car has them and is that much faster, most will purchase the new tires or stay home I guess.   As they say, once one jumps over the cliff, everyone else will too. 

[JGRacing]

That goes back to my point about being able to mix tires.  Hopefully they allow it.  I think that you could run the new tires on the back with BFG's on the front and still be pretty fast (assuming you setup for the extra traction) without having to spend as much money.  Guess we do not make the rules, so just thinking out loud. 

I agree on the extra tires for stagger.  The production will not be as exact as on a street tire, so there will be a wider variation in size from tire to tire.  It will give you more setup options, but you will need more tires to work with.  There is good and bad with going to a race tire, but I think we will be better off. 

[Racinjj]

I know that you wont be able to mix and match tire brands, and you wont want to.  Remeber that we are going from a very stiff steel belted radial to a much softer bias ply carcass.  This is excluding rubber compound, the shell of the tire will be softer.
Beadlocks wont be needed, if a similar tire can hold a bead on a 2500lbs car at 10psi I am sure we can do it on our 1400lbs cars.

[VMS Motorsports]

There will be no mixing and matching.
I'll echo what Jeff and Gimpster said, that is not something I would want to do even if it were permissable.
Analogy....Step on an inflated balloon, then go step on an inflated soccer ball. Much more give to the balloon.
The balloon is the American Racer, the Soccer ball is the BFG. Now imagine how that would upset the car.
You know what a pile of BFG's look like, attached is a pile of American Racers. Note they are not as structured a piece as the BFG is.
Alot more flex, less rigidity, which is what makes it a race tire, not a street tire like we were used to.

[JGRacing]

It looks like we will have to use one or the other, but speaking hypothetically I think that BFG’s on the front and American Racers on the back would work.  They have different spring rates, sidewall construction, etc. but I do not see it as being unworkable as long as you keep the same tires on the same axle and have adjusted the setup for it.  The front tires are not doing as much work as the rear tires on dirt, so I think that you could give live with the stiffer, harder compound tires on the front.  You would not want to mix side to side because of the issues everyone mentioned.  4 American Racers would be best, but I think that 2 AR's on the back would be more competitive than 4 BFG's.  Asphalt would be a whole different story.

[justfreaky]

OK kids, lets all play nice!
Here is my out look on things; AR did not pick a Legends specific tire. The same tires have been used on dwarf cars for years with good results. INEX looked at them for that reason. If you read about Legends Car history, they originated from the Dwarf Car chassis built by the Dwarf Car Company.
Softer tire compounds would be better for grip and speed, but will not last as long on dry slick tracks, or tracks with a lot of rocks. Sharp rocks are a very real hazard to the bias ply tire. Hell, any tire for that matter!
Mixing bias ply tires and radials are not recommended by any manufacturer that I am aware of. I think that INEX will apply the same rules to the dirt tires as the pavement tires... No mixing.
Tire stagger... Bias ply tires will grow more than a radial tire. You can mess with them a bit just by using the old sun trick. Overinflate them a bit, set them out in the sun for awhile and they will stretch some. Works with the radials to a lesser degree because of the heavier construction of the tire.

We can speculate all day long. In the end, it will come down to whatever rules INEX applies to the tires. Since they are not out yet, we will just have to wait.

Steve

[Schmitt20]

This may be a stupid question but are we going to have more side bite with this tire?

[VMS Motorsports]

Does it really matter in your case Brandon?
Mr. I run 3 lbs in my RR with BFG's?

[Racinjj]

This may be a stupid question but are we going to have more side bite with this tire?

Yes, a lot more.

[IraceLegends77]

Just saw a note from the dealer here that the tires will be available in late April. I hope they stick with that date and that is what I expected. 


Scott