Control tyres on 4wd and 2wd Front wheels!!!

[Mike2222]

There are two proposals for discussion at this years 1/10 Off Road AGM on the 27th Oct. They are to introduce a control tyre for 2wd and 4wd front wheels at BRCA sanctioned events where control tyres are used. If passed then the choice of tyre will be down to a wet, and a dry tyre. No more choice between Staggered rib or minispike at the Nationals. Is this a good idea or not ?

[Big G]

strictly my own opinion, but a control tyre is a old rule which serves no purpose in today's racing. As long as the tyre is widely available to the general public it's allowed.

anything else goes.

This would stop the monopoly Schumacher has on the tyre industry.

[TARTMAN]

Personally I hate control tyre meetings.

yes it technically means the field is more equal but in reality that's horse poop.

unless its a sponsored events, but Schumacher, DBoots, BB etc, then tyres should be open to your own choice, most would run what works anyway.

I don't like the afore mentioned control by one make or another at events across the country.

Unless its a purely sponsored event then no, control tyres should NOT be used.

[NeilRalph77]

Running low pro stag's on the front of a 4wd is gay! not to mention gay! simplest rule is standard profile on 4wd, least that still allows for high wall staggers and block pass

[Benh]

Over here in the EoE, without a control tyre, I am convinced we'll murder the series. 2013 saw Ballistic greens, whites, Schu mini pins and spikes in yellows and silvers; dBoot nano, terra and multi bytes in 'a', and Proline all do well. And sometimes not a clue what was best until you got there.

Oh, and those blocky astro things. Fronts were the above plus, Schu staggers, cut staggers; dBoot blockpass, and something Spindles dug out from 1782.

Whilst I can't pretend to know what's good for all, I am convinced its a good thing for us.

[AfroP]

I may not agree with the wording but i agree in principle with the above poster.
If you want to control tires then control it in a manner that states 4wd tires for 4wd cars and 2wd tires for 2wd cars.

I would however support anything to reduce the cost of tires.
If you got control tires at a discount i'd happily support them

[MikePimlott]

Originally Posted by Big G

strictly my own opinion, but a control tyre is a old rule which serves no purpose in today's racing. As long as the tyre is widely available to the general public it's allowed.

anything else goes.

This would stop the monopoly Schumacher has on the tyre industry.

The hosting club nominates the tyre choice, so if you want to break the monopoly its down to them.

[Danny Harrison]

Keep it open imo, but only tyres in current production.

The available tyre rule is a bit of a grey area, some shops have old stock of tyres that are no longer made.

[spennyy2k]

You should be able to run any tyre you want, what should be limited if it isn't already is the number of sets you can use in a day

[SlowOne]

It is ten years since tyres were an open choice, so I am not sure if most drivers have experience of open tyres. I do. I used to carry four large containers of tyres to every meeting. For at least two Nationals of the six each year there was a new tyre I didn't have so I lost out and had to buy them after the event for the next one.

Tyres became obsolete before they wore out, and usually new tyres meant new wheels too as they were glued on and you never knew if the older tyres mught not suit the next track so you didn't take them off.

If you go back to open tyres history tells us that your costs will go up substantially, and the gap between the haves and have-nots will be even wider. Be careful what you wish (and vote) for...

[OneKiwi]

We use a controlled tyre, on turf its minispike yellow and tubby inserts. In 2wd the fronts are free choice.

We also have a limit of 2-3 sets per race. All marked and recorded.

Im newish (4 years in racing) and personally think that having a limited choice is pretty good. This reduced costs and you are able to plan a little more, packing and purchase etc.

I think its a good idea, saves money especially for the new people. Knowing that even the A finals are driven on the same sort of tyres as the rest and its a little more down to driving. One less thing to think about.

[Dudders]

The UK seem to have 3 main supplies, Schumacher, Ballistic and DBoots. Just name those in their Mini Spike Form.

[tony12795]

I actually think control tyres is the best rule that has come out in ages! If you stop and think about it 6 years ago my tyre box was massive full of wonderful array of tyres, now I only have really two types mainly (for the driven axel), this saves me money, time gluing, space and brings the competition closer.

I also agree with Mike above its the BRCA/Club that nominates tyres not the tyre manufacture. I actually think tyres should be limited to one compound and quantity per event, the same as most other motor sports. I think this will help level the competition even more and make for closer racing. It will also make people think that running a stupidly fast motor or driving balls out is necessary the best way to drive a track.

If these rules where brought in or thought about the BRCA could purchase one of bulk tyres order from a manufacture or shop, then this could be sold to the racer at a much better discount price (I actually think that the supplier could do all the distribution if they wanted the business). If the BRCA put a small mark-up on the purchase then this money could be put back into the sport/hobby.

just my 50p worth.

[trekkerkk]

personally I don't see this as a good thing to be honest
this is a great way to tune the front end off your buggy and to have it taken away is not great I would vote against it,


trekkker

[Big G]

Originally Posted by tony12795

I actually think tyres should be limited to one compound and quantity per event, the same as most other motor sports. I think this will help level the competition even more and make for closer racing. It will also make people think that running a stupidly fast motor or driving balls out is necessary the best way to drive a track.

Would be good to do this as some people have been known to run 8 sets throughout the day! As a non-sponsored driver without deep pockets I'm lucky if I got a new set for every meeting above club level.

[sly]

I like foam tires, cheap and lasted me ages, but a club I went to a couple years back wouldn't let me run them as they have a tire sponsor for that series.

So if a club chooses control tires or to ban tires then the drivers have to respect the decision.

[Getpip]

+1 @ Tony & Slow ... Wise words.
I also like the idea of limiting the number of sets allowed.

[JohnM]

Originally Posted by SlowOne

It is ten years since tyres were an open choice, so I am not sure if most drivers have experience of open tyres. I do. I used to carry four large containers of tyres to every meeting. For at least two Nationals of the six each year there was a new tyre I didn't have so I lost out and had to buy them after the event for the next one.

Tyres became obsolete before they wore out, and usually new tyres meant new wheels too as they were glued on and you never knew if the older tyres mught not suit the next track so you didn't take them off.

If you go back to open tyres history tells us that your costs will go up substantially, and the gap between the haves and have-nots will be even wider. Be careful what you wish (and vote) for...

I remember those days very well! I think most of the space in the boot of my car was filled with boxes of tyres back then.

Like BenH, I race in the East of England region & this year the tyres that were used in 4wd was just stupid at some meetings, at one I'm sure there were at least 8 different sorts of tyres on 10 cars in one of our heats Success that day came down to if you had the right tyres & enough of them to last the day.

So I'd say yes to control tyres in the shape of a small list, but no to saying what you have to run on the front, for example, some peeps don't like mini spikes on the front of a car weather it's 2 or 4wd, others won't want to be told to run a stagger rib either.

[chrispattinson]

Originally Posted by trekkerkk

personally I don't see this as a good thing to be honest
this is a great way to tune the front end off your buggy and to have it taken away is not great I would vote against it,


trekkker

I agree with the above.
In my years of racing, I've never considered the current rule to be a problem. It allows a narrow selection of rear tyres (almost controlled tyre), but the ability to tune the car to how you like it to drive with the front tyre (usually personal preference).
What has changed in the past year to require this change?
I don't think the rule is broken, so no need to fix?

[Mike2222]

Perhaps I should have made it clearer in my first post, we already have control tyres at Nationals, for the rear wheels only (except front wheel drive!)
The new proposals are to extend the rules to cover front wheels.
As JohnM points out the choice of front tyre could be very controversial.