Originally Posted by
MikeXray
Almost every other track in the US is using either Sweep QTS 32 "true blue" or the Solaris Medium.
This. If not the 32, then SOMETHING Sweep or Solaris. Cheaper, readily available for the forseeable future, durable rubber, tough as nails rims, and predictible traction.
Originally Posted by
syndr0me
Jaco has been "coming next week" for over a year now. It's time to move on.
...and this.
All of which begs the question Is Jaco effectively dead (or dying a slow death) as a rubber tire supplier?
I have some 'blues' from SnowBirds from last year on the Yokomo rims, and they're certainly not the blues of old! The tires on the Prism rims had more sidewall flex and airgap than the ones on the Yokomo rims, and there was a rubber change (or at least a very publically noted performance change in something) between early prism rim blues and late prism rim blues.
Then there was that whole "What's up with Jaco blues" thread where tires were crapping out in less than one race day pretty much wholesale. Never really saw a definitive answer on that one. I was just getting back into rubber tire racing when that happened and got 2 sets that died. Emails, threads, PMs, even sent them a paper letter with a real stamp on it.....no response, so I chalked it up to "Lessons learned" and moved on. Happened to a few of the guys at my track, too, and not just newbies with "....probably messed up toe/camber settings".
Several of the guys at my local track have some greens, and they run those like they're made of gold, as the supply of those died out even before the blues dried up.
Heck, their WGT spec tires haven't been available for over a year now, either! Many online retailers have even pulled them from their catalog instead of constantly moving the expected restock date. I wonder if they know something we don't? 12th scale foams still seem to be available, but I wonder for how long? Last year midway through the winter season you couldn't have paid $100 for a new set of Jaco 12th foams from just about anywhere and gotten anything useable for indoor carpet. I wonder if this year will be the same? Thank goodness CRCs are readily available, but that's a whole other debate.
For my money for rubber TC tires/wheels, the Sweep nylon EXP rims and their rubber tires in general are pretty good de facto form/fit/function replacements for anything Jaco on a touring car.
Oh, as to Muchmore tires....good rubber for asphalt, not so much for carpet....and their rims are about as durable as eggshells under an elephant stampede.