Spec 1/12 tire for stock?????
 

it seems that there are a lot of newbies to pan car jumping in and running world gt. most of these people that i have talked to say that the appeal is the spec tire for the class. there is no need to ponder over or spend lots of $ searching for the very best tire for the current track condition. could it work in 1/12? could it bring more people to the class? i know it sure would cut down on the amount of stuff someone has to bring to a race, especially a big race. 1/12 tires with the stripe in them just like world gt.

when i jumped into oval last year for snow birds, the class i chose to run was sportsman truck, for the only reason of it being spec tire (world gt spec). it was great for me and i was able to spend time working on my car instead of trying to figure out the magic tire combo.

i would think that black front, grey rear would be a very neutral tire that will work on every track out there and give good enough bite and balance.

what do you think?

the intent of this thread is to have a good discussion on the topic, not to flame on people for their ideas and thoughts, so lets try and keep it civil.

New racers would like a spec tire. Seasoned 1/12 racers probably not. It's a shame, but is what it is.

I don't think a spec tire is the answer. The newbies that joined WGT at our track still had a lot of learning to bring their skills up. They complained that the tires weren't giving them the same traction. Funny thing is that we helped them set up their cars, true the tires and tune the ESCs. I guess you still can't spec learning and skills.

being a noob at the 12th scale scene it would be great to have a neutral tire that works in just about every area.
Having poured over threads the past few weeks i'm still stumped and have gone with a pink double pink and magenta arsenal to start with on an asphalt track with low to medium grip.

I think that is a good idea. It seems like the trend right now is going towards spec classes. On the touring car side, VTA has been aorund for several years and USGT is taking off real good. WGT pan car is going to take off.
I think an actual 1/12 spec class in combination with possibly blinky could draw more racers.
Spec tires, limited body selection and either blinky or spec motors (ie 17.5, 21.5 or even 25.5). It seems like the more level you can get the playing field, the more racers it will draw.

Here's the deal. You may start out the day on one set of tires and as the day goes up so does the traction and you change your tires to compensate. This is where the noobs need to follow the experts. I may start out in the morning on yellows and magentas but finish on pinks and purples.

Remember that not all tracks are equal and what works at track X may not work at track Y and what works in the morning may not work in the afternoon.

As a long time RC veteran getting back into the hobby this year, specifically both TC and 1/12, I think this is an interesting proposal...

To start with, I raced gas onroad for a long time.. so now running electric TC, I am very pleased with how simple the powerplant side of things are in comparison to the gas cars. And since a good amount of club tracks and almost all big races use a spec tire in TC, it simplifies things greatly.

Gone are the days of me bringing a giant tub dedicated solely to tires, to the track. Gone are the days of truing up 3-4 sets just for a club race at a new track/venue. Etc.

While TCs are complicated machines, they are also relatively easy to drive. This makes them appealing to beginners, more so than pan cars. Having a spec tire is great as it is one less thing to worry about. But, with TC, if that spec tire isn't quite right for the surface.... you have a multitude of adjustments to make to balance the car and create traction.

However..... tires are one of the biggest "tuning" options for pan cars. Take that away and what do you have left? Obviously chassis tuning, albeit a limited amount in comparison to a TC. I guess the question is whether or not 1/12 would benefit from a spec tire in 17.5... I dont have the answer. Im not 100% sure I would want a spec tire, but it wouldnt keep me from entering a big race.

Lets take a look at the attendance #s at the IIC this year. 30 total cars in the slowest WGT class. 54ish total cars in stock 1/12?

At the bigger races, WGT #s seem to be sort of stuck in a rut. Not really dwindling, but not going up either. 1/12 17.5 seems to be growing though. By far and away the largest 1/12 class @ the IIC. Is stock 1/12 broken? Does it need fixing? Would we see 70+ entries next year if there was a spec tire package? Or would 13.5/boosted 1/12 grow two-fold and the 17.5 1/12 #s fall down to WGT level?

All questions that Id love to know the answer to.

I would not like a spec tire for 12th stock or mod

Everyone has access to magentas, pinks and the exotic stuff

Also WGT are much easier to set up than 12th because of their size

Using a 12th spec tire would bum me out

Back in the day when we had tire wars I would have had a better chance against everybody if we had the same tire but now all good, fast tires are readily available

But I race mod and in mod I don't want any restrictions

12th mod is just too rad to mess with

Please leave tires open in 12th...lol or I'll just race TC :deathstar

Yes I know the topic was about stock just saying :p

Once the fast guys find a setup that works at a given track, doesn't that combo pretty much become the "spec" combo that everyone at that track runs? :nod:

Plus, 12th scale tires are relatively cheap so spec'ing them really won't save much money if any. Racers are still going to cut them down to nothing and then run them for a few races before they toss. (Lather, rinse, repeat.)

1/12th is just fine as it is, leave it alone.

Their are 1/12 tires that will work at every track (maybe not the best but will work fine) and if everyone is running them then their is no competative edge to anyone anyways. Wgt run the same tires everywhere and they work so why can't 1/12 ? Most people end up running the same tires anyways so to me it wouldn't make a difference

Shorter wheelbase, narrower track width, same power plant.

Tire compounds on 1/12 is the SINGLE most important, and common, tuning adjustment there is.

Don't get spec happy.

1/12 is not broke, so don't try to fix it.

The chassis length to width ratio in WGT is much longer than 1/12th...couple that with a front to rear tire width ratio of 1:2 for WGT instead of 2:3 for 1/12th makes a spec tire for WGT much easier to work with than in 1/12th. 1/12th is good the way it is...leave it alone.

Exactly

Yes leave 12th alone...lol

I can tell you that a black/gray combo will not work very well at my track. I'm with the majority, I'd love to see the class boom again like it was in the 80's but imho a spec tire is not the way to go.