Whats the best tire...

[Doomed User]

1 minute ago, MJFanatic said:

Until they offer you a position and you go crying to them because you want to drive.

FELD would be my absolute last resort. I'd see if I could get into MTT and drive there. If not I'd find SOMETHING else. I'd be an independent.

And no one ever said I wouldn't crew for FELD. I just wouldn't drive.

[bkelly]

I mean if I were an under-funded indie I wouldn't mind staying away from FELD because the tires are too expensive for what they are.

 

Besides, FELD is somewhat lenient about their tire rule. A bunch of indies didn't have BKTs last winter. I'm not sure if they've changed these rules yet though.

[NavySonicShell]

5 hours ago, Mr. Self Destruct said:

BKT's are most likely the reason storage containers, campers, buses, and cars went the way of the Goodyears and Firestones- back to the junkyard. They're so trashy and poorly made that I honestly don't know why FELD uses them and why if I were to drive I WOULDN'T drive for FELD.

Well, the actual reason that they dropped all those things is totally different. Cars and buses are mostly because of how much more expensive it is to get the proper vehicles from junk yards. If they can cut 20+ cars down to under 10, they actually save quite a bit of money. Besides, ever since 2010, Monster Jam's tracks have been utilizing cars less and less up until when the first all dirt tracks started appearing in 2014 (i.e. Oakland), before BKT's had even been made. As far as containers, they haven't been used for anything other than backflip ramps since the first one at World Finals 12, and are still used as of this year for that same reason (Backflip ramps at World Finals 17). Campers are mostly gone because of the danger that they caused. The stray parts that came off when they collapsed had actually flown into the stands a few times so Monster Jam cut them. All this has to do with the safety and cost efficiency of the show, rather than the BKT's. Most all of this actually happened before BKT's came along anyway.

So why do they use them? Yeah they have a weak sidewall, everyone knows that, it could be better. However, they have a contract with BKT requiring them to be used for sponsorship reasons, and they can't just say "no" without having to take large legal steps that aren't worth it.

And just to throw it out there, the reason they have such small treads/handle poorly is because the big cleated tires (Firestones/Ukraines) were actually so grippy that they would throw dirt and rocks into the stands in some instances, and were also causing damage to the stadium floor in a lot of cases. Monster Jam actually disallowed the cleated tires from running before the BKT's became mandatory for this reason. Any cleated tires had to be shaved down. You can tell if you look at the treads of Ukraines toward the end of FELD's use with them. They were significantly shaven down compared to how they used to be.

[Nick Migues]

As a crew guy, the newer BKTs really arent that bad. If you can figure out a good air pressure they work good, and you really dont have to worry about thinness because we arent really hitting cars anymore. And theyre nice because theyre light, alot easier to push around lol Firestones and good years work good too, we run a mix of those on both trucks and they work really well

[Cutlass206]

9 hours ago, NitroMenace said:

As a crew guy, the newer BKTs really arent that bad. If you can figure out a good air pressure they work good, and you really dont have to worry about thinness because we arent really hitting cars anymore. And theyre nice because theyre light, alot easier to push around lol Firestones and good years work good too, we run a mix of those on both trucks and they work really well

How much do you shave on th BKTs? Or do you even shave them at all?

[kmp21093]

It's hilarious seeing everyone so against BKT tires even though its the exact same situation as the Ukraine tires minus all of the advertisement but everyone loves them. Like it or not the level of competition and air they get now is far above anything it ever was.

[Doomed User]

19 hours ago, NavySonicShell said:

-text-

Okay so yeah the camper thing was my bad. I was thinking logically that the BKT's would pop easier from the wood puncturing the tire. And I meant storage containers being used as an actual obstacle, like the Blue Thunder failjump at WF6. And even if cars start getting expensive, start cutting the cost with how much dirt and paint they use and go from there.

And I feel like it would be easier to find a happy medium between too grippy and too loose than to have to deal with one or the other. Shave some off, leave some on, test it out, and repeat if necessary.

[NavySonicShell]

5 hours ago, Mr. Self Destruct said:

Okay so yeah the camper thing was my bad. I was thinking logically that the BKT's would pop easier from the wood puncturing the tire. And I meant storage containers being used as an actual obstacle, like the Blue Thunder failjump at WF6. And even if cars start getting expensive, start cutting the cost with how much dirt and paint they use and go from there.

And I feel like it would be easier to find a happy medium between too grippy and too loose than to have to deal with one or the other. Shave some off, leave some on, test it out, and repeat if necessary.

Like I said about the containers, those haven't been used in the way you're talking about since 2011, so they don't have anything to do with the tires. Getting cars is more expensive than you'd think because a junk yard doesn't want to sell whole cars. They can make way more money parting them out piece-by-piece, so the prices are more than you would think. Cutting back on paint wouldn't nearly account for the cost of adding many more cars, and I doubt that the dirt would because FELD already owns all the dirt that they use and they store it near the venues year round so that they don't have the reoccurring cost.

As for the happy medium, I think that the BKT's are probably close to as grippy as FELD wants them to be without it being too risky about the stadium floors and the dirt flinging. Ukraines were barely any more "grippy" towards the end of their life at FELD than the BKT's. I could be wrong, but I doubt there's any other reason FELD would shave down their tires this significantly.

 

2015 Ukraine Tires (shaved)

 

2016 BKT Tires

[Nick Migues]

No one shaves down BKTs, barely any tread anyways to shave

[enjoyingorc6742]

if what onelonelyfarmer on YT said is true, BKTs are good tires if you let them sit for several months. he said the the rubber was too soft strait from the factory. i think it's curing the tire to make the rubber tougher

[Outlawed]

Not even a contest, Ecowork tires were light years ahead of all every tire offered past and present. They were forced to shave and cut lugs because the traction was just too much (sidewall lugs actually caught the lower 4 links on full steering lock).