Question to all...tire issues thus far this year?

[VMS]

Hi everyone,

Question: Did goodyear just miss the mark this past weekend by bringing a tire that is more durable which will inevitably be less "sticky" or could much of the spins/etc. be put on the drivers by having to actually drive a car that requires more "touch"?

Buddy Baker mentioned we would see tire issues with the new car...a bunch of right front tires being worn or blown due to the characteristics of the car.... This was in a question/answer session I was able to attened while in Daytona the night before the race..

I'm very curious to everyone's thoughts here. I'm not so sure that everything can be blamed on tires. Not all that long ago, cars were not as adjustable as they are today and the drivers had to endure (save those tires....)

Thoughts?

Steve

[LMITOUT]

Jr. had a quote about the tires where he said in Vegas they were blowing them out because they were soft, but in Atlanta the center rib wasn't even wore off because they were so hard. His question is why isn't there some middle ground between those two extremes to work with. Good question.

[HOF#13]

I agree....

I personally think it's both the car and the tire though. I read where Chad Knaus said that these cars have less adjustability than the old cup car design had, and as such, they are much more limited in the adjustments they can make to get the tires to "work" better.

I also think that after Las Vegas, Goodyear was so worried about tires getting used up too fast and blowing, that they got way too conservative with the tire they brought to Atlanta.

Like Dale Jr. said, there has to be some middle ground somewhere. Maybe having more tire tests than what is normally scheduled would help them find that middle ground sooner.

[lawdog]

Its still very much a learning process with this new car on the big high speed tracks. Remember we really only raced it on the short tracks last year (and Talledega where tire wear doesn't seem to be an issue). Goodyear is working on it just like the teams are and I heard what Knaus said too, he said its more the fault of the car than anything because they have no aerodynamic downforce so you need to ride that right side tire so hard to make them work.

[metrojoe]

All I know is Tony hated the tires. Goodyear is going to send him wagon wheels next week.

[mnfishman]

I find it kind of funny that some are complaining about tires and others are not saying a thing. If the tire was so bad how come there are not 43 drivers out there bashing Goodyear? Not everyone spun out so I think maybe this is a way to weed out the poor drivers from the good ones and also who is the better team that can adapt.

I guess the next thing is for Goodyear to make a sticky tire that will last a full tank on each and every track for each and every driving style. Then when that is done we can pull the drivers out of the car and remote control them so that they can't complain.

Bunch of complainers. Drive the car and shut up quit blaming the car for poor driving.

[LMITOUT]

Jeff Gordon, Jr, Stewart, Biffle, Edwards, and Newman all criticized the tires at Atlanta in one way or another. Most of those guys finished pretty decent (Edwards may have won if not for engine issues) so it's interesting they are the ones doing the complaining. I think most people would say these guys are fairly good drivers and driving for pretty good teams. I feel bad for some of the drivers on bad teams if the good guys were having issues!

[NAPAFISH]

Chad Knaus mentioned that the COT has 35% less downforce than the COY.

[LMITOUT]

Add Jarrett to the list of disgruntled drivers also.

"We're talking about race drivers that have a huge amount of talent and very seldom complain about things like that."

[Papa Grump]

 Originally Posted By: NAPAFISH

Chad Knaus mentioned that the COT has 35% less downforce than the COY.

And that is the answer to the tire questions IMO. The COT was invented to bring more of the driver into the equation, less so on the car itself, or so the theory goes. Because these cars don't turn so good, they have to put more camber into the right front and try to drive off the corners with the right rear. Funny how this was happening back in the early 90's too when the Lumina came out. Just a thought, but the BBSS ( big bar, soft springs)set-ups may not be the answer now and they have to go back to some of the old school set ups or somewhere in between.

I don't really care for Goodyear,but they are on a learning curve too.

[1lkstage]

Was it not Goodyears rebuttle to Tonys statement before the race, that they basically had different tire feedbacks/testings that the tires needed to change from week to week from testings prior to the race? Seems they were not real a clear as to what tire they should have brought.

Food for though: on Tonys statement that Hoozier/Firestone will step right up. Just how much R&D for each track does he exspect. They don't fully know the COT, yet alone the tire. If Goodyear gave Nascar the bird over this. What would they race on the next week? "Leave'm sit boys, we have no tires"

[Uncle Bill]

 Originally Posted By: LMITOUT

Edwards criticized the tires at Atlanta in one way or another.

He did ??

Also, toyota is angry with Goodyear for

not inviting them to test tires at Atlanta.

Perhaps Tony is just carrying water for toyota.

Meaning his over the top bell aching has less

to do with the tires and more to do with the

feeling that Goodyear snubbed toyota.

[LMITOUT]

Yes, he did.

[Uncle Bill]

"Carl Edwards said his shoulders were aching from struggling with the wheel all day"

Mild criticism at best.

Pales in comparison to Tony's belly aching and

the now weekly whining of gordini.

[LMITOUT]

As I said, criticized the tires in one way or another.

[Uncle Bill]

I concede.

When your right, you're right.

[Wade Joseph]

We had hoosiers a few years ago, then Goodyear muscled them out to become the "official" tire of nascar. Does Firestone, bridgestone, bf goodrich or toyo have some kind of "do not touch" clause? Competition brings about a better product. I'd kinda like to see someone else throw their hat into the ring.

[Black_Bay]

Actually the tire war between Hoosier and Good Year resulted in softer tires being introduced and concerns about safety came up. Two drivers, Neil Bonnett and Rodney Orr, died in crashes and Ernie Irvan was seriously injured. Hoosier, being a small family owned company, finally pulled out due to financial issues.

I agree competition usually brings a better product, but this was more of an arms race with who could bring the fastest tire.