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General >> Rally >> Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
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Message started by Robinson Kelly on 11/25/2 at 21:41:26

Title: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Robinson Kelly on 11/25/2 at 21:41:26

With the varied conditions and performances at Pines last weekend - and the frenzied discussions at Parc Expose about tire choice, I wonder (to those who entered the event)...

What tires did you choose and why?
Were they right?
Did you change later, and if so to what?
Was that the better choice?

To start the debate, I ran Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's instead of Silverstone 525 Medium soft gravel tires.

I think this was a good choice (thanks to Andrew Miller for his conviction on this!) since we encountered a fair bit of ice and some snow. They also seemed to perform fairly well on Old Hastings Road - which was beautiful smooth gravel.

I look forward to other peoples' input.

RK

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by ACP on 11/25/2 at 22:07:35

Yoko WR26s, made of unobtainium (out of production and no new A034 to replace them yet). I literally had to buy single tires off people who had them in the back of their shops to come up with enough. Ran them the whole event although we had ice tires, tractionized ice tires, Hakka C2s, and the excellent Silverstone S525s ready.

Paynters and Erickson also ran them (or A034 obtained direct) the whole time. Pat and Tom mostly on the A034 although both tried Guardex 720 tractionized on different groups of stages.

I think the ice tire would only have been just right on the last two stages B3 and B4 when they froze up. Before that you could run off the grooves in the snow ridges.

I love the Silverstones but I once learned the hard way that gravel tires do not perform at low temperatures - the tradeoff is wear vs. traction against heat ie if you want it to work well in slippery stuff it is a tire that will wear completely away on a gravel stage viz. not a gravel tire. It's about the compound rather than the tread pattern.

ACP.

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by AlanO on 11/25/2 at 22:57:44

We gambled and started out on Michelin gravel tires. They weren't too bad on A1/A3, but we paid dearly on the 32km second stage, losing over four minutes to the leaders in our class.

At the first service, we switched over to our only other option - some Hakka 1 snows, IIRC - which worked well for us during the rest of the rally. We didn't have any flats, too.

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Do It Sidewayz on 12/02/2 at 22:50:03

Tractionized tires wouldn't have worked very well except for possibly the second running of Castledine's.

I prolly would have tried Hakka 1's or possibly Q's.

Toyo Observes would have also been good.

Gaurdex 720's suck on ice.

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by mike c on 12/05/2 at 08:53:24

One of the Justys I looked at appeared to be using Michelin snow/ice tires.I think they were street ,not race tires.Is that possible?

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Craig_Hamm on 12/07/2 at 17:15:48

wrote on 12/02/2 at 22:50:03:

Gaurdex 720's suck on ice.

I have never heard anyone say this. Erm, until now I guess. Maybe I don't get out enough??

Ice is ice. It's real slippery, it is the nature of ice. But I run Yokos on a street car, and I am amazed by the grip on slippery days. Brady and Frankovitch (winners OPRC P4) borrowed/stole a set of street Yoko 720's from Jim Morrow's Impreza at Pines after blowing two tires early in the rally. They never complained about the grip of the 720's, off a street car (which had to run on gravels after the swap).

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Do It Sidewayz on 12/08/2 at 20:44:36

I been ice racing for 2 years, and we gave them a shot when they first came out.

what we found was that on glare ice, they were diabolical. But if you drove the outside line in the snow, they had good amounts of grip.

Due to the lack of ice traction we removed them after the first session and never looked back on them.

With the frozen gravel, i think you will have been ok because of the snow/gravel/sand.

but i guess i'm talking glare....glare....glare ice.

but then again, i could talk forever on winter tires, seeing we tired them all.

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by ACP on 12/09/2 at 13:06:55

Did you tractionize them?

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Do It Sidewayz on 12/09/2 at 14:38:40

yeah they were tractionized....we may be dumb but not suicidal.

Title: Re: Which tires did yoiu use for Pines?
Post by Craig_Hamm on 12/09/2 at 22:00:11

wrote on 12/08/2 at 20:44:36:

what we found was that on glare ice, they were diabolical. But if you drove the outside line in the snow, they had good amounts of grip.

Due to the lack of ice traction we removed them after the first session and never looked back on them.

You'd know then! Me, I hate "ice" . . . . give me a fresh snowy road anyday!