Please contact Tire Rack and ask them to add these to their inventory.
I understand that 13" performance tires are "no longer available", but there are 14" still being produced.
Bridgestone is producing the tire requested and I only ask that it be added to the available mix of tires for sale in the US market. The SCCA, as an example, has now adopted the "plus 1" rule in stock classes that now allows competitors to run our older cars on 14" rims and use these current tires. My 1982 BMW 320 is running 14X6 rims and I have been competing locally with the car for the last four years.
Yes, there are two other products available in the market today. I have competed on both. But the "Stones" are going to be the tire of choice this year and I am willing to spend the money, if they were available.
Yes, " chicken or the egg". The SCCA has to add them to their list of approved tires or does someone have to stock them to sell to the customer.
Thank you in advance, and if you know someone who know's the right people even better.
David
I have been campaigning for more smaller tires for years--years. A crafty individual or shop can pound a new fender from a piece of steel, stitch up a fresh interior, or rebuild an old engine, but we cannot knit our own tires from scratch. Without tires, our classics grind to a halt. Coker does a great job on period-correct tires, but they can't cover it all.
A lot of cool, smaller tires just aren't imported to the U.S. So, how to get them here? I have talked to many in the industry. Part of it is the DOT approval. Part of it is the time and money to ship, stock and distribute a tire that has such a limited appeal. How many of copies of this particular SKU will be sold each year?
I know, not a happy thought. Of course, this doesn't mean I haven't stopped lobbying for us.
The build of Tim's Bugeye is going to bring a focus of this issue to an audience of consumers that will take note of what solutions are available in the market. The upgrades to his car will move it into a "prepared" class but owners of "stock" vintage cars have the same ongoing tire issue.
If the fenders on Tim's car are not "worked", preserving the future value of the car, going 14" tires on narrow rims will help a wider range of potential customers with options that the market can supply products to satisfy.
Yes, I am also working the same drum.
David
Hmmm.... Does anyone have any idea on what is required for DOT cert on tires?
And a PS: If these tires were DOT certified and available here, I'm sure that the Tire Rack would stock them. Did you know that they stock the 10-inch Yokohama A008 for the original Mini? http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=A008&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=67HR08&tab=Sizes
