Ummm Wow. Goodyear NLA for 13" though the Runoffs....

Matt Brannon

Matt Brannon

Well-known member
There has been a drumbeat of potential bad news for us 13" bias-ply users from Goodyear all
season, with limited availability here, there, everywhere else but up till now we've been lucky
and gotten the tires we've needed.

Now it appears official. No distributor anywhere has 13x8 or 13x9.5 canti slicks.

According to a call with Goodyear this AM....

GY: Yeah, sorry man, these 13" tires are all out of stock, both in 8 and 9.5", nationwide.
ME: I knew the 9.5s were out, but thought the 8's were in good supply".
GY: Unfortunately the 8s have run dry as well, and we aren't scheduled for these tires
to be back in production until "around the Runoffs".
ME: "but they'll be available for the Runoffs", right?
GY: "Uh, probably not".
ME: "Hang on, did I hear you correctly, these tires won't be available until AFTER the Runoffs?".
GY: "Yep".

:roll:

Better start making friends with your local Hoosier rep....

-M
 
I ran into an issue with this right before the Sprints. I had to go from the 9.5's to the 8's. Can't say that I noticed any difference between the two actually. At that time they said that the 8's were plentiful and should be good for the rest of the year... Guess not.

Someone really screwed the pooch at GY on this one.
 
I have a basement full of 20 X 9.5 X 13 R475 Goodyear Tires both
mounted and un mounted stored in bags since 2007. 1 and 2 heat
cycles. If anybody is interested.
dennis....... 80........ @.......... rochester.rr.com
 
Stiner0931":3sju9rn8 said:
Here was the official press release on the scca site... http://www.scca.com/news/index.cfm?cid=51081

The good news is that they are expected to resume production in 2013, and contingencies won in 2012 will apply to 2013 orders.
Click to expand...

Assuming you guys still have customers.

This REALLY sucks. They're in my backyard at MIS and have always used them. But I invested a shitpile of time and capital in my car this year in an effort to be more competitive at the Runoffs. I have no time or inclination to try radial tires at this point (only one race left). So what am I supposed to do? I have two sets that I bought this summer so I guess that'll have to do. Not feeling the love......

Dayle
 
This sucks.

I was under the impression that Hoosier still makes 13" bias ply racing slicks in addition to the radials. Has this changed? Their web site still lists tires in this size.

If they are still available I would think the characteristics of the Hoosier bias ply is similar enough to the Goodyear that the transition would be pretty easy to deal with as an alternative...
 
Greg - They do still make them, but who knows for how much longer... The transition should be easy, with only minor differences in warm up, break in, and how the tire evolves during the race. Corner will feel the same, and the drop off should be comparable. No setup changes should be needed on the chassis, which is a huge plus vs. the radials (especially this late in the season).

Hopefully this is just a short term fix due to an unforeseen shortage, and that we don't permanently lose customers.
 
Greg Gauper":9jf77q6s said:
This sucks.

I was under the impression that Hoosier still makes 13" bias ply racing slicks in addition to the radials. Has this changed? Their web site still lists tires in this size.

If they are still available I would think the characteristics of the Hoosier bias ply is similar enough to the Goodyear that the transition would be pretty easy to deal with as an alternative...
Click to expand...

Hoosier still builds both sizes of the 13" Bias slick for the Prod cars. I have been in contact with both Tim and Bruce at Hoosier to make sure we have adequate inventories for the Run Off's. If you need tires, please call and order ahead of time to make sure we can try and cover every ones needs. 574.936.8344

Thanks! Terry
 
I have used both GY & Hoosier 13" bias and saw no difference in set up. I thought the Hoosier came in faster after a couple of heat cycles and lasted longer. YMMV.
 
Assuming that you can handle the improvement in performance :lol: , you should have no trouble making the transition from GY to Hoosier with the same size bias ply tire.

Seriously though, I am sure that some of the characteristics are different in terms of how quickly they come in, how long they last, etc, but they have been competing against each other with this cantilevered bias ply tire for many years now, so the differences are minimal, and I have never felt that I was at a disadvantage with the bias ply Hoosiers.

Whether they can handle the demand if everyone switches is another question, but Bruce and Tim apparently know what is going on now per Terry's post, so they should be geared up for it.
 
I'm going to generate a short letter asking for help on this. Once I fashion the appropriate text, I'll post it here so we can have some strength in numbers. Once I figure out who to send this to, I'll post that as well.

I'm a salesman....who WANTS their customers to go to another vendor....they might not come back.

Dayle
 
Dayle,

I think it's a good idea to write them, but just to set your expectations .... many folks inducing myself and Jeff Danhert have spoken to various GY management about this at length.

They are aware of what they are doing. They just don't seem to care. When I asked "I'm a GY guy, what should I do?" the answer was "buy Hoosiers".

-Kyle
 
Believe me, I have no illusions. I just want my (our) voices to be heard. Has GY been good to me? Yes. Do I consider this a deal breaker? Maybe. We'll see how they react to this.

Dayle
 
Don't waste your time Dayle...........it's a simple business decsision. Emotion has nothing to do with it. Move on and be happy you didn't get hosed at a worse time.
 
I'm trying to remember Econ. 101 supply and demand stuff. Let's see...tire supply decreases;demand stays the same,so prices will drop.
No wait, did I get that wrong...?
 
On the supply and demand note. I just ordered a set of Hoosier bias ply 20x8x13. Hoosier is out of stock and won't be making any to send to my local distributor until at least 3rd week of August. While that does mean Runoffs tires in that size should be fresh, it doesn't help us run our regional car that needs tires. Nothing like being the small fish for these tire companies. Too bad BFG who sponsors the SuperTour doesn't make tires for most of our classes.
 
Ever wonder how the arrogance that these tire manufacturers routinely exhibit would change if there was a serious movement to ban slicks and require DOT radials in prod?

Every time I hear of shortages, price increases etc, I make it a point to email American Racing with an update.
 
Reality check – the future of amateur production car racing in America

Goodyear hasn’t made any 13” tires lately, doesn’t have any production scheduled. Wonder why? Well the SCCA is the largest sanctioning body currently holding amateur races for production sports cars with 13 and 15 inch wheels. Goodyear’s chief competitor for this small market just successfully developed and markets a superior radial tire for cars needing 13 or 15 inch tires. If Goodyear wants to compete in this narrow niche it must quickly invest a large sum of money to stay an active player (radial tire development) or concede this niche to Hoosier. Goodyear isn’t making money now, its’ NASCAR participation is unlikely to generate a sales revival in the retail tire market and the long term impact of Obamanomics on the sports car racing community is bleak at best. If you were a Goodyear BOD member would you commit to the R+D dollars in the face of a declining market, or cut your losses and leave the market to Hoosier.

What does this have to do with the future of SCCA and amateur road racing in America? Well the SCCA BOD members have the same vantage point as the Goodyear guys. To ward off the impending demise they have created newer classes that use larger street tread tires (SM STU, STL, STO etc.). Over the next couple of years they will have to merge the few remaining Prod classes with the ST/SM classes until the Prod cars are clearly uncompetitive so as to end their further use.

Well I’m not saying the Emperor has no clothes on but he damn sure is limited to only 1 pair of shoes, his horses are largely out of date, his knights are getting old and tired, and the new class of peasants aren’t really interested in seeing him any more, naked or not!

I don't claim to be as smart as the folks making decisions for us dumb racers these days. I could never have imagined the additional participation and membership brought to us by the "Majors" program or the current thinking behind the "Runoff Racing vs Regional racing" competition. All I'm saying is, if you want to race long term in the SCCA better familiarize yourself with a spec class, or a ST or Touring class.

Keith Church
 
Keith, I know you speak from years of experience. In this case, I think you may be a little too neagative on the tire front. Goodyear is actually looking at an improved year this year as a company. They already have access to small diameter radial tire technology through the Dunlop brand they own a large stake in. Also Hoosier does not seen to have hit the mark yet on their radial slicks due to observed air loss and tire failures and the fact that the 13" slick has an effective tire spring rate that seems to me to be unreasonable for the light prod cars that run 13" sizes.

That said, the BOD pushing ST classes, with an un regulated rule book that constantly gets more and more costly potential car/engine combinations is its own problem. Instead of integrating some new combinations into prod and/or GT, a new set of classes that seem to cost as much or more to develop a front running car does not make sense to me at this time. Of course the horses are already out of the barn. The fact that uncompetitive double dippers fill the classes does not seem to matter. I could afford to develop my old SS car to IT and an IT car to Prod. I personally cannot afford to build a competitive ST car now.
 
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