Are Tire Rules Good or Bad for Karting?

One of the biggest problems in karting today seems to be the cost of tires and how
many we, as racers, use in a weekend of racing.
So I have been asked by the higher powers to
go over some pros and cons of a tire rule. Is a
tire rule good or bad for karting?
To me this all seems very simple, but
some still try to justify running more than one
type of tire at a series or an event. Let’s say it
is an open tire rule and you can run brand of
tire. Let’s just say Vega, Maxxis and Firestone
(by far and away the “big three” when it comes
to kart tires) and you’re going to be running two
classes for that day. In this scenario in order to
be “prepared”, you would need two set of Vegas
(in case the track was wet) and at least two to
three sets of Maxxis. Also don’t forget the three
set of Firestones you would need. That is eight
sets of tires that you would need before you
even begin racing. In my opinion, that just does
not make any sense, because you would need
eight sets of tires but would only have been on
the race track six times (assuming that you practiced twice, qualified twice and raced twice). But
if you do not carry all of these tires, you can bet
someone will beat you on the tires that you did
not have.
Now I know there are racers out there
that are good on a certain type of tire, so they
will come up with all kinds of reasons to run an
open tire rule but, these people normally have
a big racing budget. So a tire rule is no doubt
cheaper. Now which tire to go with is the question?
Well, just about all tire manufacturers
have their own series, so you can pick which
one you want to run based on the tire rules the
series have.
Some tire manufacturers have multiple
tires to choose from, so even if there is a tire
rule, to be effective, they would have to state
which of their tires to run. For example, Vega
has a yellow and a red Vega. In summer time
racing, I would think the red would be the better
choice of the two.
Burris has five brands to choose from,
but I believe most of their tire rules go with the
33, which is one of the best all-around tires on
the market.
Maxxis has three types: the EL, blues,
and the pinks. Now if people really want to save
money, the EL tire would be the tire to run. It is a
very good tire on wear and they are most likely
the cheapest tire on the market. If you didn’t cut
it and didn’t get carried away on prepping them,
I don’t think you could ever wear a set out. As
for the thin blues and pinks, it is fairly simple.
If it is cold or a local show, the pinks would be
the tires to go with. In the summer time, it gets
a little tricky because in order to make the pinks
fast, you will have to cut them or have them cut
by a kart shop. Of course this will raise the price
of the tires. I bet you are wondering why run cut
pinks when you could just run thin blues. That
does sound good, but they are so thin that you
would be lucky to get qualifying and a race on
them before they wear out. This mean s you
have to buy two sets of thin blues for every one
set of cut pinks depending on how thin you cut
them. The worst thing you could do is try to run
both the blues and pinks. This will guarantee
double you cost of tires.
So pretty much it is up to the racer to
decide where you run and what tires you want to
run .There are many choices out there, so find
places that fit your budget and your tire program
and go race. Remember this though, the decision is ultimately up to you, the racer. Promoters
will follow what the racers dictate. If you want a
tire rule, let your promoter know.
As the weather gets warmer and most
of the series across the country get “cranked
up”, I hope you all have a great month of racing.
As always, remember that some may tell you
the truth, but I will tell you the ENTIRE truth.