Originally Posted by
Mark Stiles
I was hoping someone might say that in response to my question! Whilst I am not really in favour of rubber tyres (mainly because I don't think they'd actually work very well on our cars) I do think that as a class we should think seriously about spec tires in order to limit the costs for the average racer. If a newcomer knew that he could buy a couple of sets of spec tires and be on what everyone else is, the class becomes more attractive to him because the costs are more evident and it's easier to achieve a level playing field if everyone's running the same stuff.
I think a lot of it is a problem with perception - guys see people cutting tires down to almost nothing and only running them a couple of times, think that it is what's required in order to be competitive. They also think you need a hauler bag full of tires of varying compounds, sizes etc.
We all know that's not really true, unless perhaps you're competing at the very top of the class at national or international level. However, like it or not, it is the way our class is perceived by a lot of people on the outside.
If there was a 'spec' tire, colour banded, hard-ish wearing and readily available for a reasonable price then I think it has mileage. The difficulty is in getting the ball rolling. I think that if one of the major series or races (IIC, Snowbirds, BRCA Nationals, JMRCA Nationals etc...) adopted a control tyre, perhaps only for its stock class, then the concept would quickly gather steam and propagate to club level which is perhaps where it is most needed.
In the UK the above has been discussed at length, but strangely most folk seem opoosed to the idea, and some won't even entertain it as an option.
It's a difficult one, and I'm not sure what the answer is, if there even is one!
I agree totally with Mark's comments. Oddly, each time that any discussion of a potential spec tire for stock 1/12th scale comes up, there's always a few vocal guys who strongly express their opinions that it should never happen. My point is this......if a spec 1/12th scale tire is never tried, then we'll really never know if it can be successful or beneficial. However, if one of the prominent events were to try out the concept even just once........then the question will be answered and the results will be available for all to see and to consider. IMO, the spec tire idea does offer enough potential benefits to merit running it as an experiment at one or two of the major events. If it flops, then it flops and so ends the discussion. But if the potential benefits that have been discussed at length do actually come to fruition.......the spec tire concept could potentially go a long way towards making stock 1/12th scale racing more attractive to those who are hesitant about joining in on the otherwise super affordable fun of 1/12th scale. For the faster classes, tire choice should almost certainly remain open. But for stock.......well, we already limit the motors and the speedos........so why not the tires too? One last thing......it's a pretty safe bet that the tire makers would probably jump at the chance of being chosen as the spec tire supplier for a given event, and they would probably offer the tires to the race organizers at a really good price.......just as they do with rubber tires for the sedans. Again, there do seem to be enough potential benefits to merit giving the spec 1/12th scale idea a trial run at least once or twice.