Lone Drifter

Yeah first outdoor raceday at Timewarp L.I.T.H. may Saturday May 5th, First practice day at Leisure hours Raceway May 6th. Ill see what happens then

Billy Kelly

iTrader: (9)

ValkariaRC

Hey Eric,
How about you make SLICKS for the ROAR VTA cars?? Then WE would NOT need USVTA approval, and there would be NO WAY the tires could be mixed and matched.
USVTA can have their tires, and the REST of us could have a usable tire for ROAR Carpet, and Asphalt Events..
Comments?

theproffesor

iTrader: (66)

belewis01

iTrader: (5)

Was wondering if anyone has tried a front diff with the PF tires on asphalt? I spent most of the weekend working on a setup and still have a ways to go.

EricPF

iTrader: (1)

They don't run VTA at ROAR national events anymore.

mleemor60

iTrader: (28)

After softening up everything and removing the front and rear bars there is a bit of a push on turn in and through the corner with a diff. Haven't been able to try different diff setting yet. I will test this Saturday in Valkaria Florida with a spool installed.

ValkariaRC

Eric,
You have done so much for our hobby/sport, are you stating here now publicly that you will not make any other tires for NON-USVTA events/clubs/tracks? If you were to make SLICKS, which would be completely different from the threaded USVTA tires, do you think you would sell them?

Every TRACK is ROAR sanctioned, and every racer running on a ROAR track is a ROAR MEMBER, in the USA.
Is this a true statement?
How many USVTA tracks are there in the World?
How many USVTA racers are ROAR members?
I don't recall stating anything about VTA ROAR national events, but I have personally run VTA at ROAR Nationals, and Regional events.

This will be my last post on this subject, and I hope those of you having to use chemicals to treat the tires, are not using cancer causing liquids.

Peace out.......

mleemor60

iTrader: (28)

Eric, Personally I am having no serious difficulty with the tires you have so graciously agreed to manufacture for the official US/GT/VTA/F1 non ROAR affiliated(?) sanctioning body(group?). Without your efforts we would be shoeless in our pursuit of(on paper) a lower speed exhibition of older less competitive(?) chassis and scale bodies from a period when drivers were fat and tires were skinny but the actual competition was second to none. In those days events and Championships were really won by the tire manufacturers(Goodyear and Firestone) by producing products that gave an edge to a particular team or driver by contributing to the old "win on Sunday sell on Monday" theory.

However, even though I personally don't think it is necessary, is it too much to ask if you could or would approach the powers that be and see if they are at least willing to examine the possibility of an additional or alternate compound for specific use on non carpeted surfaces? Would approaching them alter in any way your relationship and possibly the fees you may be paying to the body politic that is US/etc/etc/etc?

Better yet, Would it be possible for the actual head(s) of the group that is US/yada/ yada/ yada to come forward with a statement or plan that states a wait and see(for one season) or a why it needs to be the way it is(from here on out). In the meantime I will continue to enjoy competing within the classes that in my personal estimation are the best out there for the beginner or the racer that is in the competitive twilight of participation and in fact everybody in between.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

For cryin' out loud, this tire thing has reached the level of insanity.

Let's review some facts. HPI got into trouble with lagging sales and increasing debt. They cut way back on production to save money. Since the tires used for VTA were not a big seller, they stopped making them. The result was the tires became rarer than hen's teeth. So Protoform stepped up and decided to make a VTA tire, as close as possible to the HPI tire. They worked with the USVTA (no relation to ROAR) and after considerable testing, released their VTA tire. Since 90% of organized VTA races are on carpet, the tire was designed for carpet. The thought was the tire would work on asphalt as well, since most tires can be used on both. All this at considerable cost and risk by PF. Instead of complaining that PF doesn't make an asphalt tire, you should be thanking them they made a tire at all. If your club runs on an outdoor track where you can't get the tires to work, then you and your fellow club members should go out and find a tire that works!!! Stop whining.

How many tracks are sanctioned by ROAR? None. Zip, Zero. Zilch. Nada. Why? ROAR isn't a sanctioning body! It's a club that organizes other clubs to run a certain set of rules. It may act as a sanctioning body, but it falls way short of being one. And I would venture to say that 80% of people who run VTA are not ROAR members. There are lots of good reasons to join ROAR, but running VTA isn't one of them.

chiefj48

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

i dont know about HPI or Protoform , but i know that Al Bundy scored 4 touchdowns in 1 single game at Polk High , the same night after he hooked up with Peggy

ASM

iTrader: (30)

I have always run a spool in my car since day 1 without exception in VTA. In an effort to see if I can get the car to work better (more predictable), I had to search high and low to find a SPEC-R spool so that I could run one in my Schumacher Mi5 Evo. It is installed and will be tested this weekend. The car was pretty good with the spool and I was able to turn consistent lap times to the tenth on very big track. The problem is the car will just come around further than a 4 wheel drift and is unpredictable at times. I can run 6 or 7 laps to the tenth, then the next lap it will want to come around in a turn where it was fine the previous 7 laps. Basically, because our track is large and flowing, the car is at high speeds most everywhere and it's on edge all the time. I have put the spool in and made a couple more changes to the rear of the car and will test again this Saturday.

As I have stated before, I can get the tires to work and I can get them to work pretty well too. However, others cannot and have not so far. We've had multiple guys trying to help these racers out but will continue to try an overcome the challenge. My concern as I have stated all along, the tires being on edge has created the loss of the fun factor for some. We're trying to save the class here on asphalt and tire simply isn't help us, in fact it's hindering us. jiml - that is not whining, it is not complaining, it simply stating an observed fact. So, I ask you or the professor, what skin is it off your back if another tire was allowed? Please explain to me how that would negatively impact you? Fact is, it wouldn't. So, please stop confusing a "request" with a complaint or whining. If a 2nd compound were created and allowed for asphalt, you can safely bet the original tire would still be the obvious choice for black carpet and a softer compound would be the obvious choice for asphalt. Only those on gray carpet MAY want set of each. Again, what would you actually lose? That would be nothing, correct?

We have personally thanked PF until we're blue in the face. In fact, this tire has led to an over 100% increase in class growth just an hour and half drive north to Daytona. We're seeing national caliber drivers getting back into the class up there that haven't ran it for years and in some have never ran it. It's awesome! But this request is asphalt so that we can try and get the number back up outdoors to where we used to be if not greater. Fact is, some new guys are of the hobby approach and we have a few of them who just built up cars. They are new. They are not chassis experts and they don't want to be. Their attraction to the class was two-fold, it's fairly simple & basic, and it also takes them back to days when they were younger and muscle cars dominated their daily lives. These guys don't have a lot of driving talent and they don't really wish to be the best. They want to show up, HAVE FUN, chat with the other guys, maybe learn a little, not have to do a lot wrenching, and just go race door to door with their muscle cars. They know they aren't going to win, and they don't expect too. You have to remember, there is a faction that wants this to be relatively easy to do. There's nothing wrong with that. It doesn't make them lazy, it's simply the pure hobbyist approach of some guys. We're trying to be their voice. We're trying to help the class stay around on asphalt for them.....because if it does, it will stay around for those of us here who take it 110% serious.

As has been said, it is getting to be a bit old of a topic but what are you to do when you believe in reasoning behind the request? I'm not doing this for me although the end result may directly impact me on asphalt. We are the only group to has ever attempted and held a USVTA Paved Nationals to my knowledge. We have run this at our track's ROAR Nat event in 2016 and we have continued to keep it a class at our ROAR Regionals races. We are an advocate for the class, the intent and spirit of the class, and wish to try and keep it alive here in Florida on asphalt. It's that simple. For most of you, this is a non-issue and therefore I ask you to stop looking at things from just your own personal perspective....take a step back and realize we're asking for something to help make this class grow and remain attractive to those who have just joined us and for those who have yet to join us. I've already won my share.....this isn't for "me". None of us - ALL USVTA AND VTA alike would be any worse off with a second tire option. That my friends is a true fact....

scirocco14

iTrader: (5)

Then why not just run USGT tires? Since you're going to run a different tire anyway, and you already know it works on your track. Instead of having a manufacturer make up a batch of special tires.

That would accomplish your goal, looks like.

Mark C

ASM

iTrader: (30)

Mark - thanks for the positive suggestion. That idea among others has been discussed. As you have read, we're not the only ones that would like to see a second compound. Guys from other parts of the country would like it as well. It's worth trying this idea first but we're rapidly reaching the point of failure. The silence is deafening and that's quite unfortunate.

We'd never suggest the idea if we were the only ones that could benefit and we'd never expect that PF, Rob, Kevin or anyone else would or should entertain the idea if it was just us. The USGT tires just don't do the "look" of the class justice. Besides, who likes a skinny tire trying to fill out the back of a Camaro or Mustang lol. Looks a bit dorky