Tires

[elimn8u_43]

I buy mine from Ol' Dawg, Mike Smith. http://www.oledawgracing.com/ . Mike is an awesome guy to deal with.

Geoff

[JGRacing]

How much do cut tires run?  Do they need your wheels to cut them?

[thunder938]

500 to 600, and no they do not need your wheels.  You can call  and just order the tires.   OleDawg2 / Little Race Cars, Clay Hair, Synder,  Nick Pistone, etc..

Try your local dealer.  Here I get new cut tires from my dealer

[fastmantom]

It is recommended that you give them your rims when you are getting tires cut.  One set of wheels will always be a little different from another set.

I personally believe INEX should outlaw tire cutting.

[bake82]

It is recommended that you give them your rims when you are getting tires cut.  One set of wheels will always be a little different from another set.

I personally believe INEX should outlaw tire cutting.

Just out of curiosity..why?

I thought tire cutting was a good thing, makes the car faster and doesn't it make the tires last longer, and stops the possibility of gauging the tires???

[fastmantom]

It adds to the cost of racing.  A lot of guys around here cut the tires down to where you can only use them for two races.  500 bucks or so every two races adds up in a hurry.  Removing rubber does not prolong tire life.  It does make the car faster, but that's not always the best thing in a "spec" series. 

Ask any karter what it had done to that sport. 

[bake82]

It adds to the cost of racing.  A lot of guys around here cut the tires down to where you can only use them for two races.  500 bucks or so every two races adds up in a hurry.  Removing rubber does not prolong tire life.  It does make the car faster, but that's not always the best thing in a "spec" series. 

Ask any karter what it had done to that sport. 

Well if people are putting 4 tires on their car every 2-3 races, that's retarded. 

My comment on shaving tires and making them last longer is simply because new tires seem to chunk off if overheated and shaving can help that....but if people are doing what you're saying, that's retarded...

[VMS Motorsports]

Yet another reason that "Dirt's for Racin', Asphalt's for Gettin there!" We don't need none o them there cut tires...just take a grinder to 'em once a week to get the shine off! Tires last a season....another reason I race Legends

[JGRacing]

The problem I see is that if cutting the tires down where they only last 2 races gives you a small advantage, some people will do it regardless of cost.  Out of control tire expenses have killed off more than a few classes of racing and even racetracks over the years.  With dirt modifieds around my area, some people run the soft compound Hoosier tires that might only last 15 laps on a right rear.  The point of street tires on a legends car is to save the racers money.  From what I understand, they decided to allow camber cutting because as the tires wear, the outside will wear faster than the inside giving the tire camber, which was hard to regulate.  Maybe require the tread surface measurements to stay within a certain percentage across the entire surface?    

[fastmantom]

If the tires were never cut, they could be moved from the right side to the left side and vise versa, without flipping them on the rim.  Also another thing to remember is that the shops that cut tires, do not always cut the same profile for everyone.  Each shop has their "special" cut that goes only on their own cars, or on the cars of the people who are good for bringing in business.

[justfreaky]

I gotta disagree with you on that Tom.
Because of the way that radial tire cords are wound, the tires do take a "Set".
Not like kart tires, or bias ply racing tires.
There Are advantages to cutting the tires. As already stated, they do not chunk off (for lack of a better term).
They also change the slip angles that the tires work at; there by changing the temp, and grip, that the tires will work best at. (Even on dirt)

Does it add extra costs.................
Sure it does!

The question is.....
How hard are you willing to playing the game?
Is a spot or two worth the added cost? Maybe if it means a win. 

 I'm just doing it for shear enjoyment these days. I miss being in a race car. I am also enjoying building "My Car" "My Way". Is it the right way?
Only time will tell.

The tire debate is about like the oil debate.
This will go on forever!

Do what you need to do to accomplish your goal. It's not always true that "the guy with the most money wins".
There is room for good ol' fashion engieneering. Lots of younger guys than me, with a whole lot more talent. Still think that the smarter driver  and and crew will get the job done!

My .02 for what anyone thinks it's worth.


Steve

[RickyBobby]

We had a guy here last year that thought he would save some money by not cutting his tires and he soon got the nickname "spinner"  cutting the extra tread off stops all that extra rubber from folding over under pressure.  And I can tell you, we run on an old track here and it is hard on tires and cutting them certainly makes them last longer.

[MegaMang]

Yeah, I can attest to that.  The track here will ruin a nice new set of tires very quickly if you don't cut them.  With a light cut, the tread blocks don't squirm as much, and don't loose large outside edge chunks.  Without, the tires are a mess after one race.  I know our track is at least 35 years old, and it's known as a grinder.  It's a low bank track with a fairly tight corner and longish straights.  That tight corner really tortures the tread if it squirms and folds too much.

With a mini stock, you can loose the outside of the tread in a night.  Change out the front right after every night for a few weeks, and suddenly you start thinking about tire cutting a little more carefully.  Luckily the Legend is light enough that it doesn't chew the tire that fast, but it's still noticeable.

Mike

[JGRacing]

Would it be cheaper if only a flat cut to a set depth (no stagger) was legal?  Then implement a rule where the tread has to be within a certain percentage across the surface.  This would cover the pavement racers, cut down on special custom cutting, and allow the dirt racers to still have full depth tires.  With a flat cut, I would think that any local tire shop that has a tire cutting machine could do them saving on shipping.  The shops already cutting them could crank out alot more tires if they were all the same.  Just a thought.       

[fastmantom]

It is interesting that the tires can't stand up to some of the tracks without being cut.  It still does not sound like cutting is the best solution to the racer.  It sounds like BF Goodrich needs to make a better tire.  Most of the time, when a series has trouble with a tire, they change compounds or manufacturers.  The TRoadsters run a treaded Hoosier tire, i know nothing of them, do they need to be cut?

The Pro Challenge cars run the same size rims as legends, and they run Hoosier Slicks.  However, I would not want to see legends go to such a tire, as it would give so much grip, it would take away the whole point of legends:  Overpowered and under tired. 

My last suggestion would be to go to the Goodyear eagles that the Allison legacy cars run.  They run the same wheel size, and do not cut their tires.