Yes, they were banned, and no it wasn't because of problems with rain. It was an attempt to reduce corenering speeds after the death of Ayrton Senna.
Slicks are still legal in many other classes of motorsport.
And to provide a more level playing field. Choosing slicks over treaded tyres was something of a gamble if the weather was uncertain. And the idea of racing isn't to guess the weather.
Many go on about how awful KwikFit are but I've nothing but praise for my local branch in Balham. Only ever used then for little things like punctures or minor exhaust problems, though. For example I had an MOT fail (not at KwikFit) on the old Rover due to an exhaust hanger missing - just a large rubber ring but difficult to get to. They replaced it for free.
No grooved tyres were introduced to lower grip and thus cornering speed
F1 is returning to slick tyres in 2009
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Similarly they welded an exhaust bracket for me free.
I wouldn't say common... but my next comment applies then.
Andy
Good. They are a more exciting tyre.
I'd ask why anyone would remould an obviously faulty carcass given the oversupply of them?
I'm sure they wouldn't. It's the ones without obvious faults that worry me. You go ahead and buy them, just don't tailgate me.
Andy
What faults are there likely to be on a carcass that an expert inspection wouldn't show?
I have done.
Shouldn't that be the other way round? Or are you claiming now they are lacking in adhesion? If so you're wrong about that too. They are miles better than my previous 'top brand' tyres.
This year they will also all be using a standardised engine ECUs so no Traction or Launch control. Could make things interesting with even a tiny amount of rain, F1 may even be worth watching this year.
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They are competitive, but theyre the only company thats ever fitted dangerous parts to my car, so theres no way Id recommend them. And no, it wasnt a one off defective item, they were dangerous because the quality was so dire they couldnt stand up to normal driving. I'd rate them on a par with poundland, maybe worse.
NT
Thanks for all the responses. For everyone who likes Michelin/remoulds/Avon etc, someone else dislikes them, so I guess there's no "right" answer.
Can't quite bring myself to go down the remould route even if it is environmentally friendly, and I wouldn't want to fit that one iffy item that had slipped through the inspection process to save £20. So I'll investigate a name brand at CostCo, Blackcircles etc.
meow2222 ( snipped-for-privacy@care2.com) gurgled happily, sounding much like they were saying:
Every time I've ever rung around for prices, it's been very very easy to beat K-F by a large margin.
Err, no. They still change to wets if the weather changes. Grooves slicks != wets.
Except that that's part of it.
I stick to continentals on my car, and I bottle out before the car/tyres do :-) Reasonably priced and good quality, reasonably long lasting too. Got
12000 miles out of a pair (that where worn when I bought the car) on the front of a 1.9 TDI passat before they needed replacing. Up to about 20000 miles on the rear (same situation) and they`ll be getting replaced in a week or so.
I got 50,000 miles out of the BF goodrichs on my land rover.
Hopeless dry grip, but no worse than anything else in the wet, which is arguably all the average driver cares about.
Go for hard tyres, and leave long distances..is what most people really need. The fashion towards ridiculuously low profile tyres that smash the rims on potholes, and give you porsche performance on a hatchback., is really only for a minority.
I've had a brand new 'quality' tyre fail in a spectacular way - chunks of the tread came off right down to the 'canvass'. Anything can slip through quality control.
Internal faults in the fabric or steel within the carcass. Damage to these layers will not necessarily result in visible damage. If there is such a problem they could result in a sudden failure under extreme stress, which most likely means emergency braking.
I've had little luck finding anything about car tyres suggesting whether remoulds are, or are not, less safe. About the only thing I've found is:
(ducks expecting lawsuit from tyre remoulders)
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