Avon Tires Cr6zz

[Scott Hatcher]

I promised you a report regarding the Avon Tires on the track.

We arrived at Willow Springs late Thursday night in preparation for the "Test and Tune Day" on Friday. The plan was to test the Avons Friday morning compared with the Goodyear Slicks and spend the rest of the day practicing with the Godyear slicks for the COCOA event on Saturday and Sunday.

Well, here is the report but not with the outcome I personnally wanted.

We pulled the car off the trailer at 8:30 am Friday morning. The Avons were already on the Cobra. The tire pressures were checked. 29lbs in the rears and 29.5lbs in the fronts. Because these tires are still a street tire and not a track only tire, we felt that the tire pressure should not be less that that.

The Cobra was on the track by 9:00 am with a six (6) lap warm-up. On the second lap, the Cobra spun-out at the bottom of Turn #5. For those who have not been to Willow Springs, this is a rather sharp downhill with a turn to the left at the bottom. You can develop some good speed down the hill with braking as you approach the bottom of the hill to make the turn. Tires were still a little cold and the car did a 360 but never left the pavement. Back in first gear and up the next hill to Turn #6 and the continuation of the test. Top speeds on the back and front straight-aways were about 125. The remainder of the first session was uneventful.

Upon arrival in the pits we examined the tires. They showed some scuffing but not excessive. Tires were warm but not hot. Tire pressure went up a couple of pounds. Did not check temps for this session. It was planned to do that after the next session.

About 10:00 am we left the pits for the second session. On the third lap after coming out of the wide sweeping Turn #2, I shifted into fourth, lost power and had smoke billowing out from under the hood. Had the tow truck pull me back in to the pits. We pulled the plugs to examine them. The first two had water on them. OK, so maybe it was only a blown head gasket. Nope! The third plug was broken with half of the center porcelian gone.

Long story short...........we pulled it back on the trailer and headed back to Las Vegas. Drove straight to Tom's Motorsports and pulled it off the trailer. Tom took his scope and we looked throught the spark plug hole to see the piston and cylinder walls. Much to our surprise, there was no piston. Just the connecting rod and the piston pin. Looks like it's time for a new engine. We'll get more information after we tear down the motor.

OK, so back to the tires. Here are some of my impressions of the Avons.

1. On the street, these tires are very smooth, do not track every rut in the road and have very good grip. My rear end has not slipped sideways like it did when I had the BFGs on.

2. I have no trouoble with the 245s on the front and 295s on the rear.

3. Although I did not get a chance to run the Goodyears this weekend, I have run them on this track numerous times.

4. On the track, the Avons have good grip, however, if the tire looses it's grip there is no warning. The car will slide out quicker than you can adjust or catch it. The Goodyear slicks will give you an indication that they are going just before they leave. In some cases, you can compensate and save the car from the skid. Part of this is that the Avons are a radial tire and the Goodyears are bias.

5. Because these tires do grip and get scuffed, the longevity of the tire and the tread will be greatly reduced. And at the price these tires cost, you need to consider the track tire you will use.

6. To a point, the comparison is not fair because the Avons has 29lbs and I run the Goodyears at 23lbs.

7. My conclusions are that if you have the money and storage space, you should have two sets of tires. One for the street and one for the track. If this is not feasible, then the Avons could be a good compromise for the one set of tires.

Thats' my two cents!!