More durable/affordable tire option?

[RichardP]

I knew I loved American Thunder V8s, but I'd probably be happy in spec miata too and the costs are less.

It probably costs less to run a Miata but more to be in the top half of the field in a Miata. They run the same tires we do and replace them just as much or more than we do. It's way cheaper and easier to be a race winner in our class. And we're much cooler to hang out with... :-)

How did we end up here with RRs? Did the whole CMC community cast their votes for RRs? Supply problems? Or was NASA and Toyo suck starting this blow torch pushing some agenda?

Tires for our class are mandated by NASA in conjunction with Toyo and their sponsorship contract. We were on RA1's, then R888 (which went poorly), then back on RA1's and then RR's.

Toyo is a business trying to make money by selling tires. Selling more race tires helps the money part of their racing program. The advertising from the NASA program is supposed to help them sell more street tires. We don't have any information on how the numbers work out. It's completely possible that even with the current setup, the racing side of the house loses money and is considered part of Toyo's advertising budget. Or not???

On the other side, NASA is a business trying to make money. They get money from Toyo for the tire program. From the tire program, NASA gets to entice racers with the promise of big money payouts (in the form of tire coupons) for winning. The more racers that sign up to race, the more money they make. If everyone is happy with the tire situation, it's a big win for NASA. If people aren't happy with the tire situation, people don't sign up. The big question (that's almost impossible to answer even if we had access to the numbers, which we don't) is at what point do the losses from people going away because of tires exceed the net benefit from the money coming in from the tire contract?

The fact that a revolt is in the air gives me some peace that maybe by the time I have my competition license next year, as a class, we will have this resolved.

First, it is pretty unlikely this will be resolved before you get your license. The tire contract is big money (we believe) and is probably signed for multiple years. It will be really challenging to "officially" change the tire rules. Whether we as a local group decide to do something different is maybe another question? On the other hand, there is some hope. Management isn't completely blind to what is going on. Locally, they have instituted a street tire subclass to the TT groups. If that goes well, it will help our cause. TT isn't a spec Toyo class and isn't covered by the big Toyo contract so this was easier to experiment with there.


Also, a bit of perspective is in order. If the tire degradation issue realistically affects your competitiveness within, say, the next two years, you will be considered to be extraordinary. We are all hoping that you are extraordinary cause it's great to have more racers fighting for the pointy end. We will also do whatever help you to get to the pointy end. Even if you don't get there that quickly, we will make sure you have a good time trying. There is really good racing going on even if you aren't on the top of the podium. The amount to learn between where you are now and the pointy end is staggering. Get ready to drink from a fire hose. And have a blast doing it. Don't worry, it's a lot of fun but not addicting. You will be able to stop whenever you want. Probably...


Richard P.