Bill Pemberton
0ld Ford Automotive Racing Terror
I starting Autocrossing in 1981 in Salina,Ks. ( I lived one mile from the Nationals site at that time ) and in those days before wide Internet usage it seemed those of us from the Midwest often found out about the hot ticket tires from the folks on the West Coast who came to the event. Many of us called ( I burned up my rotary dial phone ) friends in different parts of the Country, looked up any articles in AutoX magazine when it hit the mailbox and we even called folks at the TireRack or the actual Tire Companies. What we found out is you needed to be pro-active and work at keeping up with the Rubber Rumble that got quite active in the 80s primarily with BFG and Yokohama. It was as fun then as it is now, but tires were even more of the winning factor because the Stock Classes were extremely stock and there was not the proliferation of mods available in the aftermarket today. With all this as a backdrop for a new Autocrosser I spent alot of times asking Winning Drivers questions while observing any changes being made whether it was tire size , pressure, tread design changes, announcements and more. Later when I started Road Racing and doing Time Trials I continued to try to be a student of tire compound changes, design , tire life, etc. in these areas also. The end result is I am by no means a tire engineer but I am a damn solid observer. In that vein I am reporting some observations and deductions I garnered from the 2024 SCCA Solo Nationals , as well as some recent track events on a couple of tires many of you are well acquainted with. The primary focus is on those who are Autocrossing , though, and I do hope this is helpful to many of you?
The quick view of the Event Results suggests the only 200 TWR rubber to race on is either a set of Yokes or Bridgerocks. There was a perceivable shift towards A052s on some of the ground pounders which seems to be partially attributed to the wider range of large tires compared to the RE71RSs. Falken seemed to be pretty absent except in the Spec Classes where it is the required tire. but ironically they were the only 200 TWR tire Manufacturer there with a booth. This is where things got interesting as they not only showed up in Lincoln, they brought a new RT660 and it was easy to see a new tread design, and after one gentleman told me the compound was a bit different , another one stated , " That is not true , the compound is the same we jus changed some of the internal structure , even removing one band." My conclusion , though I am sure rumors will come out regardless , is either the compound has a minor change and Falken does not want to come under scrutiny of SCCA, or the gentleman who spoke was just a hired worker to help man the booth. The guy who made the statement that they were happy with the compound for both autocross and road course use seemed to be an Engineer and I took more credibility from him, but in the back of your mind you wonder if that was a slip that should not have occurred. In reality all the Major Manufacturers are making slight changes in compounding all the time no real surprise regardless if such is true. Sorry for the long paragraph because the main point is Falken is getting back into the battle with a change on the RT660 and like the change with the RE71RSs just a few years back, Trackrats should be looking for tests from Grassroots Motorsports and Tire Rack when Falken launches the new version in early 2025.
The mystery with the DOT ( which has been resolved ) and Nankang CR-S V2s, meant there was not supply of this possible contender at the Championships, and the rumors of the issue are all over the board so there is little reason to get wrapped up in all the drama, 2025 means the Taiwan built rubber donuts will be back in the fray. The Continental/Hoosier 200 Treadwear Conekiller tire does not seem to be a 2025 product, so that delay continues. Of course for the Classes where the A7 competes the only competition is the ...................er...................there is no competition for " Purple Crack Rubber!" Hoosier did have R&S Racing ( Ron and Sonja Ver Mulm ) at the Championships for support and tire deliveries with our own Dave Whitworth helping out with the SPS trailer parked right next door . What was really cool is Hoosier's own Jeff Speer was there for almost the entire event and he was the only High Level Corporate Executive who came and assisted with their product.
Finally, for those who autocross and track their cars , after talking with some of the very talented drivers I have known for years , it seems the choices for a very competitive dual purpose tire would place the top tires in this order:
1. Bridgestone RE71RSs. -- fast in both venues with a longer run on a road course before getting greasy than the Yokes.
2. Falkens ?? -- shown to be fast on road courses and reasonable for an autocross, though there have been some reports of a line across the tire carcass. The new tire likely had this addressed and if so this is a good choice with the many sizes.
3. Yokohama - a dominant Autocross tire, but if used on a Road Course it's strength is for Time Trailers as it gets greasy quite quickly.
4. Nankang CR-S V2 - you only want the V2 version and these seem to last the longest on a road course and have had some success on the autocross circuit. I am placing them last since there is too much weird speculation ongoing about the DOT concerns and them being held out of the US.
There are a slew of good tires for HPDEs and that could be another long, windy, Pemberton paragraph, and my only real curiousity is about the new Toyo R, which will be out soon and is intended to be faster than the RR, better directional stability and still long lasting, as this may be a new choice for the Time Trialers and HPDE drivers since we all believe NASA will give it concessions for Classing.
One of my secret weapons over the years ( 25 to be exact ) is to contact Luke Pavlik ( ext. 4362 ) at the Tire Rack. He was our Performance Tire wholesaler when I was at Woodhouse Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Woodhouse Ford and he kept me up on many changes. It helps that he is an avid Trackrat himself, competing in Time Trials, Autocosses and even " One Lap of America!" Use the link to TireRack on this site and then get to Luke!
The quick view of the Event Results suggests the only 200 TWR rubber to race on is either a set of Yokes or Bridgerocks. There was a perceivable shift towards A052s on some of the ground pounders which seems to be partially attributed to the wider range of large tires compared to the RE71RSs. Falken seemed to be pretty absent except in the Spec Classes where it is the required tire. but ironically they were the only 200 TWR tire Manufacturer there with a booth. This is where things got interesting as they not only showed up in Lincoln, they brought a new RT660 and it was easy to see a new tread design, and after one gentleman told me the compound was a bit different , another one stated , " That is not true , the compound is the same we jus changed some of the internal structure , even removing one band." My conclusion , though I am sure rumors will come out regardless , is either the compound has a minor change and Falken does not want to come under scrutiny of SCCA, or the gentleman who spoke was just a hired worker to help man the booth. The guy who made the statement that they were happy with the compound for both autocross and road course use seemed to be an Engineer and I took more credibility from him, but in the back of your mind you wonder if that was a slip that should not have occurred. In reality all the Major Manufacturers are making slight changes in compounding all the time no real surprise regardless if such is true. Sorry for the long paragraph because the main point is Falken is getting back into the battle with a change on the RT660 and like the change with the RE71RSs just a few years back, Trackrats should be looking for tests from Grassroots Motorsports and Tire Rack when Falken launches the new version in early 2025.
The mystery with the DOT ( which has been resolved ) and Nankang CR-S V2s, meant there was not supply of this possible contender at the Championships, and the rumors of the issue are all over the board so there is little reason to get wrapped up in all the drama, 2025 means the Taiwan built rubber donuts will be back in the fray. The Continental/Hoosier 200 Treadwear Conekiller tire does not seem to be a 2025 product, so that delay continues. Of course for the Classes where the A7 competes the only competition is the ...................er...................there is no competition for " Purple Crack Rubber!" Hoosier did have R&S Racing ( Ron and Sonja Ver Mulm ) at the Championships for support and tire deliveries with our own Dave Whitworth helping out with the SPS trailer parked right next door . What was really cool is Hoosier's own Jeff Speer was there for almost the entire event and he was the only High Level Corporate Executive who came and assisted with their product.
Finally, for those who autocross and track their cars , after talking with some of the very talented drivers I have known for years , it seems the choices for a very competitive dual purpose tire would place the top tires in this order:
1. Bridgestone RE71RSs. -- fast in both venues with a longer run on a road course before getting greasy than the Yokes.
2. Falkens ?? -- shown to be fast on road courses and reasonable for an autocross, though there have been some reports of a line across the tire carcass. The new tire likely had this addressed and if so this is a good choice with the many sizes.
3. Yokohama - a dominant Autocross tire, but if used on a Road Course it's strength is for Time Trailers as it gets greasy quite quickly.
4. Nankang CR-S V2 - you only want the V2 version and these seem to last the longest on a road course and have had some success on the autocross circuit. I am placing them last since there is too much weird speculation ongoing about the DOT concerns and them being held out of the US.
There are a slew of good tires for HPDEs and that could be another long, windy, Pemberton paragraph, and my only real curiousity is about the new Toyo R, which will be out soon and is intended to be faster than the RR, better directional stability and still long lasting, as this may be a new choice for the Time Trialers and HPDE drivers since we all believe NASA will give it concessions for Classing.
One of my secret weapons over the years ( 25 to be exact ) is to contact Luke Pavlik ( ext. 4362 ) at the Tire Rack. He was our Performance Tire wholesaler when I was at Woodhouse Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Woodhouse Ford and he kept me up on many changes. It helps that he is an avid Trackrat himself, competing in Time Trials, Autocosses and even " One Lap of America!" Use the link to TireRack on this site and then get to Luke!
