Dunlop tire question

[Ralph Z.]

We are looking at the possibility of doing some vintage racing. A Formula Ford is a likely choice since we have some experience there.

I understand that the early vintage FF's require the Dunlop treaded tire. I am curious about the wear of these tires. Can anyone give me some idea of the life on these tires?

We are currently running GY 160's on a modern FF and they last about two weekends if your lucky.

Appreciate any and all input.

Thanks,

Ralph

[PaulT]

These tires last a long time. They do drop off a little after the first couple of heat cycles, but most people run them a LONG time.

Paul

[Roux]

I ran them in Club Ford for two years and put about 30 sessions on each set. they don't really change in speed and are a lot more fun to race on. The car will slide a lot more, but be very predictable and you can tell when they are working hard. They start making howling noises. They are much lighter in weight than slicks so are easy on the rod ends etc. (partly because of the lower grip as well). I still keep the two sets I have (2007 and 2008) for test days and sessions where I am not in need of the extra 2 seconds from the slicks. You might like them. I do

[Hawke]

In Australia we have been racing on these for many years, and while I cant compare to other tyres, they seem to last for some time. I usually dont replace them for 2 years - or 8-10 meetings. But then, I'm not at the front.

[Brian]

I run them until I get bored of them and want new ones. I'm usually faster on the old ones until the new ones have a few sessions on them. I suspect that says a lot more about my relative lack of driving skill than the usefulness of new tires. Older tires are useless in rain, while brand new tires are quite good, relatively speaking.

From observation, a modern car like a current VD is aggressive enough to use up a set of Dunlops in three weekends, say 12 sessions. The tires I just took off (bought in 06, ran for a year in 07, ran twice in 08) on my Lola T440 you can still see the mold parting line on the tread. I really need to drive faster...

Brian

[formulasuper]

Just some info:

The treaded Dunlops are required on Vintage FF pre-73'. The vintage CFF cars 73'-83' run on slicks.

[Daryl DeArman]

We are looking at the possibility of doing some vintage racing. A Formula Ford is a likely choice since we have some experience there.

I understand that the early vintage FF's require the Dunlop treaded tire. I am curious about the wear of these tires. Can anyone give me some idea of the life on these tires?

We are currently running GY 160's on a modern FF and they last about two weekends if your lucky.

Appreciate any and all input.

Thanks,

Ralph

They will last exactly as long as the guy(s) you are racing against tires. If he is willing to go 6 weekends on a set, you can too.

At some point it becomes silly and you may decide it isn't worth it. A set of Dunlops, last time I checked were in the $800 range. If he is replacing them every other weekend, you need to decide if there are other places you can find that other 1/2 second a lap that aren't so consumable. While some may soon chime in and tell of their fastest lap on some 20 cycle tires, or whatever....I'd suggest that with all of the same conditions they would have been even faster on new tires.
I've never come across a tire that wasn't fastest in the first couple of heat cycles.

[flat broke]

We run the Dunlop as a spec tyre in the OFFC. For a vintage or club ford (not allot of camber and toe) they can and do last a full season.

As Brian says, it is good to keep a fresh set for rain. No harm in keeping them over the winter so they become dry tyres for next season.

The first heat cycle is important as with any racing tyre.

I did did find Roebling Road hard on the Dunlops but I have not run a slick in comparison.

[Ralph Z.]

While we are currently running an RF 98 (Van Diemen) on slicks, My question about the Dunlops is really for pre-1973 cars. We have no intention of running Dunlops on the RF 98.

Just wondering what the tire life is for the pre-1973 cars on the Dunlops in the event that we decide to do some vintage racing with a pre-1973 car.

Ralph

[Henrik]

Hi,
We run Dunlops in our series FF1600 1968-90
Most people buy 2 sets and keep one set for wet conditions and the other set for dry. The dry set is finished with virtually no thread on the rears for the faster guys after 4-5 dry double header race weeknends.
As our series is just 4-5 raceweekends the second year you buy just one set and use last years wet as a dry set.

Henrik

[88dblifestyle]

These tires last a long time. They do drop off a little after the first couple of heat cycles, but most people run them a LONG time.

Paul

Yes I agree,.. I'm using this brand too and it's great...