Noooo...say It Ain't So

[Ant97GTR]

Taken from EVO and obviously relates to Europe....but how long before Aus follows suit... "New safety regulations spell the end for extreme road-legal rubber

By Roger Green23rd June 2009New legislation on tyre labelling and accompanying minimum standards to be introduced simultaneously in November 2012 will effectively end the production of road-legal trackday tyres. Tyres likely to be axed include the Dunlop Direzza, Toyo 888 (currently available on the Renaultsport Mégane R26.R), Michelin Pilot Sport Cup (Porsche GT3 and GT2) and Avon ACB10 (Caterham), along with a host of others.

The aim of the new regulations is to both raise all-round performance standards and to give buyers a greater understanding of the performance and environmental impact of each particular tyre before purchase. All road-legal tyres will have to display rating figures for rolling resistance (fuel efficiency), external noise and wet grip, and while the rating system and minimum levels have yet to be set, it is unlikely that track-biased tyres will be able to pass on all counts.

Tyre manufacturers are currently lobbying the European Parliament, but it will be very difficult for them to make a successful argument for tyres that allow drivers to corner faster in the dry but which offer a significantly lower level of performance the moment the surface becomes damp.

It is expected that trackday tyres will fall foul of the other parameters too, so their demise is something their manufacturers are already preparing for. James Bailey, Dunlop’s PR chief, believes it highly unlikely that trackday tyres will continue in their current form, although the company’s official position is that these regulations are positive as they will also remove poor performing cheap road tyres from the market. In its own braking tests the difference between the best and worst tyres fitted to a Mondeo stopping from 50mph on a wet surface was as much as five car lengths…

Porsche feels it’s too early to comment and that at this stage it is still a matter for the tyre companies. Once the regulations have been set, the German car maker will still request an appropriate level of performance from Michelin for its top models.

So what does the future hold? There will still be high-performance tyres made from a race-style compound though they are likely to have regular road-car tread patterns. However, they won’t be as fast or responsive as the current crop of trackday tyres, and for those of us who enjoy the extra performance and challenge presented by this specialist rubber that’s a real shame."

Time to start stocking up on RE55's and the like....thoughts?

[Tektrader69]

They will probably have wear ratings like the Federal 595RSR

[zebra]

Might be time to invest in slicks for track days.

Im pretty sure the owners of said tyres know what to expect in the rain, and who really drives around town in the pouring rain on Semis?

[hrd-hr30]

I can't see the Japanese tyre manufacturers giving a fark about the UK's tyre laws. They still have ultra high performance road tyre offerings that will meet those criteria.

There's also a big enough market in the rest of the world to not bother changing their production line.

Aus might follow suit if USA did it, but I doubt the UK's changes will have any influence here.

Toyo might bring the RA01 back (assuming they're still tooled up for it). At full depth it would be the best performing street legal tyre bar none in the wet. And it wasn't noisey. Should easily pass the tests. Buff it down for track use, and its a completely different tyre - everyone's happy.

[Roy]

Cool, this will mean we get road tyres with the performance of semis Scary cost tough,

[Ant97GTR]

I can understand the law makers having issues with the safety aspects of them in regard to the wet grip, but to ban them because of noise and rolling resistance is just BS.

It will be interesting to see what the tyre manufacturer's come up with though

[Kranker]

Just anothe example of the way the UK is becoming a nanny state, and lets hope Aus doesnt follow suit

Yes semi-slick tyres perform worse in the wet, but what about the improved performance in the dry?

Yes they could be dangerous for a driver that doesnt know this, but every track car enthusiast knows that they dont stick as well in the wet and drives accordingly, or keeps it in the garage on a wet day.

Dont ban them, just make sure that when someone buys a car with these tyres that the are fully aware of the reduction in wet performance.

Id like to see a comparison of an RE55 in the wet with a Ling Long tyre from China. Should they also ban budget tyres?

or how bout the fact that we still have to adhere to the same (or lower) speed limits that were initially applied to cars 30+ years ago, when even the best tyre on the market at that time, performed worse in the wet, than a modern semi-slick?

Like pretty much every issue that comes up these days, the answer isnt tougher laws or bans, but in education and training.

either that or we should have a world wide extermination of stupid people...i like that idea most

[Sydneykid]

The aim of the new regulations is to both raise all-round performance standards and to give buyers a greater understanding of the performance and environmental impact of each particular tyre before purchase. All road-legal tyres will have to display rating figures for rolling resistance (fuel efficiency), external noise and wet grip, and while the rating system and minimum levels have yet to be set, it is unlikely that track-biased tyres will be able to pass on all counts.

Pass? There is no pass or fail, it's a rating, printed on the sidewall. Just like the current treadwear, traction, temperature, load carrying etc. All that happens is there are a few more ratings printed on the side of the tyre so the dumb asses have no excuse for complaining that they didn't know that their new tyres where noisy, or used more petrol etc.

Nothing to worry about, move on.

Cheers

Gary