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We are running the Duro tire in the LO206 because it is very low cost.
I’m wondering how many sets of tires you used last season?
What did you expect for a tire budget?
What are you willing to spend on a tire budget.We used 2 sets for Stephanie, so about $225 tire budget for the whole season.
The reason I’m making these queries because we are dissatisfied with the performance of the Duro tire in general with respect to grip. We are however pleased with our LO206 tire budget. In order to change, we would likely have to increase our tire budget for a season. This is about asking if we should consider changing tires for next season, or possibly part way through this season.
I queried the Phoenix Kart Folks to see what they were using in their World Formula and LO206 classes. They use MG HZ (Reds). Their fastest racers use between 2 and 3 sets per season including 10 races, and 40-60 practice days. So, that it a season tire budget of $420 to $650. For Steph and I, this would likely be $420 because we don’t practice that much. They also use 6″ rears in Phoenix believing the torque is not enough for the 7″ rears. They also report that the Reds perform better after some use.
The folks in Florida use Bridgestone YLC’s. They use 7″ rears. I’ve got a query out to them to figure out their tire wear. That’s the hard Bridgestone, so I’m guess 2 sets per season, so a $400 tire budget.
So, would you be willing to double your tire budget in the LO206 class?
Steph and I are going to be running some performance and durability tests on the MG HZ tires to understand a bit better. We are going to use 4/7.1 tire size because we have 210mm rear rims, and don’t want to buy 180mm rims. Is there anybody from the Medium and Heavy classes willing to purchase a set of Reds and report?
I also attached a 20 day poll regarding tire budget. If you do nothing else, please respond to the poll. Please only do so if you are a LO206 racer.
Richard
Richard,
I am starting an LO206 program at my SoCal series and I have spec’ed used MOJO D2 tires for LO206.
The reason for this is that we all (FTK, Nash, 2Wild, and all of our customers.) have piles of used MOJO D2s sitting in our shops or garages gathering dust. I sell these sets of tires for $60-80 (depending on wear) all day long. I have put 4 days on my shop LO206 karts and have very little wear on the tires, but they still provide decent grip for this type of package. In testing, I found that the cheapy Chinese tires, (Duro, Sakamoto…) all make the karts feel too “fun kart-ish”. This should be a step up from K1, Unser, etc. With the used MOJO D2, we achieve this goal.
Andy
I like to duro tire, it’s cheap, doesn’t fall off, nothing is left to interpret (definition of used?). I have 11+ races on my first set and will probably see a couple more. I believe a large part of success of the class can be attributed to the $110 set of tires that will last 1+ seasons. They don’t have the grip like popular spec tires but emphasize driver ability and tuning at a fraction of the cost. If you want to buy tires often why would you be racing a 8.5hp Briggs? Any other opinions?
I voted for the better performance tires, but I’m a moran with more money than sense. Wasting it on tires for one second per lap game. So, I would vote for the duros to keep it cheap and keep the amount of drivers coming, but I do prefer the speed and performance more. What I really don’t like about the Duros is that they are all ranging in half and three quarter differences.
I spoke with some folks, and the biggest thing we face is finding a tire that is slower on the first heat cycle than others. If we have a tire that is faster during the first heat cycle, then folks will buy new tires each race to qualify faster. If we have a tire, like the duro, that does not do that, then we have a tire that won’t require a huge spend.
For instance, the feedback from the Phoenix Kart Racing is that the MG Red’s are better after they are used a bit. So, that might be a good tire. They also get good wear on the tire.
:usa: The most stand off factor when talking to someone entering our sport is the cost of tires and the short use time.
My question is why change a prime attraction to the class with low tire costs. All the tracks know the series tire. My two cents.The entire idea behind this class is LOW COST and ease of use. This is really opening up a can of worms. Are clutches next? My vote is to keep the low end tires that last then entire season (or more). I understand the goal here is to lower lap times a little bit but after being on the other end of racing karts with huge expenses, travel costs, motors, tires that only last 50 laps, mechanics and data guys…sigh…this class is refreshing. Keep it cheap, simple, and easy for the guy off the street to grasp. If someone wants to chase laptimes, they can go to another class and spend some more money.
Also, the voting is broken.
All
For those of you who know me, know I’m an advocate for managing cost for all the obvious reason, some stated here. However, this subject in my mind has to do with moving the class out of a rental kart tire grip level to a racing kart tire performance level (improvement in overall handling). We all know improving lap times is relative when everyone runs the same tire so its a non issue and should not be a reason to change in my humble opinion.
:coffee
I do know this, I ran some used MG reds off my old TAG Kart at the last 2 “Run What You Brung” races with little to no wear. Most importantly, I wasn’t wondering if I was going to spin out going into corners not knowing the grip level limit.This topic will most likely continue to come up for all the reasons being talked about in the Drivers community and on this thread.
However, in summary, my support goes to stay with the Duros for a minimum this racing season (2015).
Have a great year everyone and welcome to the new racers.
Respectfully,
Eddy
#12 LO206 Med/Sr
:coIf I may cast my vote, I would prefer to stay with the Duro tire. I’m sure that a different tire may lower the lap times by a couple seconds but I don’t believe that it would make the racing any more competitive.
One of the main reasons I decided to get back into racing was Jim’s announcement of the tires and the fact that they would last all season!! Changing those MGs then MOJOs in Rotax was my least favorite part of racing. I think I even came up with a few, new swear words trying to change those tires by myself. So the fact that we can race on one set the whole season and still remain competitive, PERFECT!! In fact, after the first race this season, I replaced the Duros and I have yet to achieve a lap time that I did on the old set??? Maybe we can get two seasons out of them? even better!!
Honestly, along with the excitement, safety, and competitiveness of our sport, cost is one of the main attractions to get more people involved in our sport. The Lo206 and Duro tires are a great way to keep the costs and simplicity under control.
But whatever the tire decision is, I will support it.
Thank you,
AndreEddie said: “I wasn’t wondering if I was going to spin out going into corners not knowing the grip level limit.”
Hey I got some great news for ya Eddie – the number is 1.71 Gs on the Duros. That is what my GPS unit is telling me. Armed with that, you should never spin out again.
:wag
I still want to test a WF on the tires. What a “driver’s class” it would be with double the HP on the same tire!
This is a tricky question…
On one hand, the Duros have been awesome considering the value-per-dollar. Tire budgets in general are out of control in karting, so having a single set that could last an entire season was nothing short of mind-blowing. Also the fact that a used set isn’t any slower than a new set is a breath of fresh air for those of us racing on an actual budget.
On the other hand, the grip levels leave a bit to be desired, and they do make the karts handle like lumbering ‘ol rentals (at least mine does). It’s also frustrating having to deal with tires that are all different circumferences in one set, there’s obviously some QC that you are missing out on with a ‘cheap’ tire. I’d love to inject a bit more corner speed into the class, though with more grip that might make the karts easier to drive. Good or bad?
However, as others have pointed out, the entire ethos of the class is low cost, and the Duros only help drive that point home. I think it shows in the class counts, too. I don’t really have an issue staying on the Duros in the future, but I think it’s probably worth exploring our options. As long as we can find a tire that offers zero performance advantage with a new set, we’ll be ok. The last thing we need is people trying to out-spend the next guy on tires in a class where a new engine is under $1000. :loco
@Leo Ahearn wrote:
I still want to test a WF on the tires. What a “driver’s class” it would be with double the HP on the same tire!
Now we’re talking! I love this class, but man straights sure do take a while. I feel like I probably have enough time to check twitter before I have to start thinking about turning in…
my two cents…
unless there are complaints about lack of grip relating to safety issues, i wouldn’t recommend a change. It would be nice to have more grip, but what would that accomplish besides better lap times?
Even if it’s not a significant cost increase, it’s still a cost increase which usually doesn’t favor growing the sport.
@Leo Ahearn wrote:
Hey I got some great news for ya Eddie – the number is 1.71 Gs on the Duros. That is what my GPS unit is telling me. Armed with that, you should never spin out again.
:wag
Leo, you know how to use a GPS??
@Greg Welch wrote:
@Leo Ahearn wrote:
Hey I got some great news for ya Eddie – the number is 1.71 Gs on the Duros. That is what my GPS unit is telling me. Armed with that, you should never spin out again.
:wag
Leo, you know how to use a GPS??
Sorry I was referring to the lateral acceleration data that comes from the MyChron GPS add on module.
Yea I know how to use a GPS unit.
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