tin-man's SPF 2984 build pictures

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Stentor

Which Mickey Thompson tires--drag radials?

You haven't skimped on other areas of the car--tires can make a dramatic difference in the performance of the car (and the degree to which you can harness the power from your 511). I would imagine you should still be able to upgrade to the Avons at this time through your dealer. IMHO, this would be among the best invesments you could make in your car to improve the performance and handling.

The tires suggested were MT Sportsman S/R with flamed tread. Rated up to 130MPH at US$215 front and US$237 rear. How does that compare to Avons?
Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by tin-man

The tires suggested were MT Sportsman S/R with flamed tread. Rated up to 130MPH at US$215 front and US$237 rear. How does that compare to Avons?
Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

About half the price of Avons. However the only tires I will go with at this time with what is available is either the Avons (first choice) or the Goodyear BB's.

Does not mean a better tire will be produced in the future, but those are my choices at this time.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

About half the price of Avons. However the only tires I will go with at this time with what is available is either the Avons (first choice) or the Goodyear BB's.

Does not mean a better tire will be produced in the future, but those are my choices at this time.

Hi John, so seeing that this is not a done deal yet tell me what I can expect with the MT's vs the Avons. I am being told by the folks on the SCOF site that the MT's are well suited for this car and engine if used for general street driving and nobody ever mentioned Avons, but here at Club Cobra Avons are front and center along with Goodyear BB's.

While Goodyear BB without a doubt look cool do they provide equal or better performance than the Mickey T's?

Since I have never experienced driving a Cobra full time other than the test drive at Hillbank and those were Bridgestones, I cannot relate to what is being said here, so can you or any of the other guys on this thread provide some insight on expectations?

End of day I want what is best uh, well, hmm how to say, and safest for me and the Beast. If indeed anyone can be safe driving a Cobra.

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

[Stentor]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Hi John, so seeing that this is not a done deal yet tell me what I can expect with the MT's vs the Avons. I am being told by the folks on the SCOF site that the MT's are well suited for this car and engine if used for general street driving and nobody ever mentioned Avons, but here at Club Cobra Avons are front and center along with Goodyear BB's.

While Goodyear BB without a doubt look cool do they provide equal or better performance than the Mickey T's?

Since I have never experienced driving a Cobra full time other than the test drive at Hillbank and those were Bridgestones, I cannot relate to what is being said here, so can you or any of the other guys on this thread provide some insight on expectations?

End of day I want what is best uh, well, hmm how to say, and safest for me and the Beast. If indeed anyone can be safe driving a Cobra.

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

Then you should upgrade to the Avons. There are several threads on the forum that discuss guys' impressions of the Avons and GY Billboards--you should peruse these and make your own call.

I have a set of Avons and Billboards for my car, and wouldn't run anything else (given other choices in 15" tires). The Avons provide excellent overall performance; and the Billboards look awesome on the car--and deliver very good grip (with the slight negatives associated with a bias-ply tire).

[Stentor]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Since I have never experienced driving a Cobra full time other than the test drive at Hillbank and those were Bridgestones, I cannot relate to what is being said here, so can you or any of the other guys on this thread provide some insight on expectations?

You will need the extra grip provided by Avons, GY Billboards, or possibly drag radials to put all the torque that your 511 FE will be making to the ground.

If you put cheap tires on the car you will be frying the tires--from first through third gear; and the car could be downright dangerous to drive (if you want to stomp on the loud pedal).

Spending the extra money on better tires is an investment in the performance and safety of your car.

[Blas]

Remember, Drag radials = broken axles...Especially with the HP and Torque you will be entertainig....

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Hi John, so seeing that this is not a done deal yet tell me what I can expect with the MT's vs the Avons. I am being told by the folks on the SCOF site that the MT's are well suited for this car and engine if used for general street driving and nobody ever mentioned Avons, but here at Club Cobra Avons are front and center along with Goodyear BB's.

While Goodyear BB without a doubt look cool do they provide equal or better performance than the Mickey T's?

Since I have never experienced driving a Cobra full time other than the test drive at Hillbank and those were Bridgestones, I cannot relate to what is being said here, so can you or any of the other guys on this thread provide some insight on expectations?

End of day I want what is best uh, well, hmm how to say, and safest for me and the Beast. If indeed anyone can be safe driving a Cobra.

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

Sorry John, having never experienced the MT's I cannot compare them.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Sorry John, having never experienced the MT's I cannot compare them.

Hi John, since I have no experience of driving a Cobra with either MT's or Avons and if i understand the reasons why people choose the Avons for better "stickiness" and level of traction performance before breaking loose I am of the opinion I should take a lesser sticky tire and experience some form of "signal" before they break loose, allowing me a better degree of reaction time to get the car under control.

Once I have taken the 3 day Bondurant Performance Driver Training course, that includes autocross, slalom, accident avoidance and on track driving I figure I am going to have a whole lot more experience than I do now and will be able to better judge the merits of Mickey T's. That said, there is no doubt I will transition to Avons when I have more miles under my belt and a better judgement value and after the Mickey T's have worn out.

IMHO I believe this is the best approach for me at this time

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

.

[azfordman]

John, I will most likely take a lashing for saying this, but I agree with you. My car had very cheap (read hard) tires installed when I got it. The thing that limits me from pushing the car too hard is the tires let go before the car itself does. Basically, my car is limited by it's tires. When taking twisty roads at a "slightly " elevated speed the tires will start to squeal and slip long before the car will. Of course, I grew up driving dirt roads, so I am used to a car letting loose in the rear and it is something I am very comfortable with. The kids call it drifting....... As I am learning the cars handling characteristics I am getting to the point of wanting to get nicer tires, but I am glad for the learning curve. I think for me personally it is better to loose traction, get a little out of control, and get scared at a lower speed than to have sticky as glue tires and and loose it at a more dangerous high speed. Just my .02 cents worth. FWIW your car looks stunning!!!!! Mark

[Silverback51]

Originally Posted by tin-man

Hi John, since I have no experience of driving a Cobra with either MT's or Avons and if i understand the reasons why people choose the Avons for better "stickiness" and level of traction performance before breaking loose I am of the opinion I should take a lesser sticky tire and experience some form of "signal" before they break loose, allowing me a better degree of reaction time to get the car under control.

Once I have taken the 3 day Bondurant Performance Driver Training course, that includes autocross, slalom, accident avoidance and on track driving I figure I am going to have a whole lot more experience than I do now and will be able to better judge the merits of Mickey T's. That said, there is no doubt I will transition to Avons when I have more miles under my belt and a better judgement value and after the Mickey T's have worn out.

IMHO I believe this is the best approach for me at this time

Cheers, John, AKA, tin-man

.

Wrong approach in my opinion.

When I bought my car it had Goodyear GTII's on it. Very little traction in a straight line, and in the corners you could be going along fat, dumb and happy one second, and the next you were sideways. They gave you absolutely no warning that you were approaching the limit. To me that is the most dangerous situation you can have with tires.

The Goodyear BB's were wonderful. Not only were the cornering limits higher, but they not only let you know you were approaching the limits, but the breakaway was gradual and very forgiving. In other words you could still control the car as long as you were not stupid with the throttle.

The Avons are less forgiving, but only slightly so. The advantages of radials verse the bias ply tires offset the better performance of the BB's verse the Avons.

Don't think for one minute that cheap slick tires will save your bacon. In my opinion it's the exact opposite.

[tin-man]

Originally Posted by Silverback51

Wrong approach in my opinion.

When I bought my car it had Goodyear GTII's on it. Very little traction in a straight line, and in the corners you could be going along fat, dumb and happy one second, and the next you were sideways. They gave you absolutely no warning that you were approaching the limit. To me that is the most dangerous situation you can have with tires.

The Goodyear BB's were wonderful. Not only were the cornering limits higher, but they not only let you know you were approaching the limits, but the breakaway was gradual and very forgiving. In other words you could still control the car as long as you were not stupid with the throttle.

The Avons are less forgiving, but only slightly so. The advantages of radials verse the bias ply tires offset the better performance of the BB's verse the Avons.

Don't think for one minute that cheap slick tires will save your bacon. In my opinion it's the exact opposite.

Hi John, I understand the M/T SR tires are made by AVON and distributed by Cooper to M/T. thus are we not getting the same type of original compound in the tires and the name is just a branding strategy? I don't know enough about the composition of tires but I do know marketing strategies and manufacturing. The conceptualization that Avons are the high end tires seems like this may be the case. Assuming there are different tire moulds that get exchanged when running the different "brands" it would mean the front end basic compound mix would be have to be re-mixed to provide a lesser "stickyness" compound but the original basic composition should remain the same. I can see that being the case however it would mean the entire front end would have to undergo cleaning during the set-up stage and that's a none value added operation. Conversly they could just transition to a new premixed compound without stopping the line, but that would be in violation of batch control principles as outined in ISO standards.

It would be interesting to hear from anyone in the industy who could shed like on this and how the different tire "brands" got made.

My two cents. John, AKA, tin-man