SPEC TIRE DOES NOT SAVE MONEY!!!

[Plumcrazy]

Don't mind that Levi Crowl dude...  Spec tires MIGHT save you money.  We race, primarily, on dirt.  I've used the same tires since the beginning of this year and our lap times have picked up all year.  They certainly haven't dropped off.  If you take care of them, they'll be fine 6 months from now.  We have people that have run the same tires for a couple of seasons.  So, yeah, it COULD save money.  I wouldn't have to buy Dunlops or YFA's (just an example) if Hoosiers were the spec tirem.  But I would have multiple compounds anyway because  the weather and track surface dictate what will go fast.  I have raced Hoosiers and won.  I have also raced them and been horrible.  Throw on my FA's and away we go.

As for asphalt, the bottom line, from what I've seen, is (especially) the heavy or fast classes are going to need tires for the feature to win consistently.  I've run Vega's with 300 laps on them (because I refused to drop money on them) and finished 2nd in Jr Honda.  Could have been my driver, setup or plain luck.  And maybe the tire didn't matter.  My stocker, however, started dropping lap times after a few runs.

Ultimately, it's the golden rule in racing.  He who has the gold wins the races.  Yes, I know there are people that are successful that don't go over the top, but new equipment and a fresh set of tires are, generally, a good thing.  And yes, a set of scuffs might help you out in certain cases.  I'm not smart enough to know when that is.  One of the reasons we don't run a lot of asphalt is I think it takes tires (among a bunch of other things) to be competitive.  I have 3 cars this year.  Without considering left sides, if I want to go to Oaklane and be competitive, it's going to cost me $300.  It's a big club but I don't think everyone there is running stickers every week.  But I know a lot who do.  And I certainly can't afford to do it.

So, will it save money?  Maybe.  Will it level the playing field?  Maybe.  I know I won't be carrying Dunlops, Vegas, Burris, Maxxis AND Hoosiers, in my trailer when I show up to a track if Hoosiers are the spec.  So I'm already ahead $1000 out of the gate.  For dirt, I am going to have multiple compounds of Hoosiers anyway, including asphalt Hoosiers (work pretty good at our track on a hot day).  So I'd just as soon not have to buy the others.  If there is a different spec tire, say Vega or Firestone, for asphalt, I'll pick and choose the races I attend.  Either way it's tough.  Even asphalt tracks have different tires that perform well.  FA's at Wall and indoor Buckeye, Vega's at Carolina and Oaklane, etc.  Even if the dirt spec is Hoosier, some classes are going to give up some speed for a while.  I'd hate to think I couldn't run my FA's on my Mod.  But if everyone else is in the same boat, I'd do it and hope my car and driver can beat their car and driver.  And that's what we're here to teach.

[PhilHeil]

A good hard tire would save money.  One that lasts more then a couple races (1 race if it's on a World Formula) would be good.

In my opinion Vega tires have ruined QM racing.  It has taken set-up and driver ability out of the equation to some extent.  Some of those cars are out there just stuck to the track.

The racing was much better and less expensive before Vegas came along.  I'll take a hard Dunlop or Firestone, at least then the kids had to learn how to really drive a car.

Phil Heil
Mini-Indy

[usache]

a big 10-4 on that.....

[RBurns17]

It all depends on how you look at it. Making the spec tire a hard compound would mean the times wouldn't fall off as much after a decent amount of wear. It would also mean that the cars are going to slide around a little bit no matter what. This would make those high dollar shocks and brand new tires every week less of an advantage. Inevitably you can never eliminate that advantage, but shrinking the gap would be pretty cool.