cut slicks

[cross-eyed-twit]

OK purely hypothetically and apologies if this has been before.

get a set of slick tyres, non road legal of course. Cut the minimum legal required tread into them. Drive them on yer trackday monster to the track and get pulled by plod on the way for a little checkup. Plod notices tyres!!!

What would be said and done least and worst case scenario?

I seem to remember someone mention a court case when this happened and the defendant called a technical expert from the tyre company to defend the product as better than the equivalent road tyre.


Cet

[GreenV8S]

It's a bad idea because slicks soft enough to be any good on the track will soon be knackered on the road. Presumably the slicks aren't E-marked so they would be illegal too.

[cross-eyed-twit]

yeah but I was assuming it was only for the trip to and from the track, disregarding wear rates etc

[GreenV8S]

Presumably you'd plan to get there, spend the day and drive home without running out of tread? If you manage that I think it would be illegal, but I think you might be able to argue that it wasn't dangerous, so presumably you'd only have to worry about charges of driving an illegal car with no insurance rather than dangerous driving etc.

[trackcar]

Why not just run a proper road legal barely treaded tyre?

I run dunlop formula R on my S .. they're 17% treaded (the legal minimum) no no issues there. Not cheap but very grippy. You'll also get about 6-10 track days from them depending how wild you are.

[cross-eyed-twit]

Now I assumed that it was the E-mark that made them road legal. I was assuming that a slick cut to the legal minimum would still be illegal because it aint e-marked
Am I wrong?

As long as there is tread cut into it does it become road legal?

[grahamdance]

Tyres dont have to be E-marked to be road legal.

[cross-eyed-twit]

COOL

[BigBob]

Used to be a common practice on multi-venue Tarmac stage rallies - not sure now because I haven't been involved for a few years.

Need slicks to get the ultimate on the stage but need them road legal to travel between stages on the highway.

[Tonyrec]

Will they not have a code somewhere on the tyre wall which will mean not for road use?

It just seems sensible to me that a manufacturer would do this to absolve himself of any comeback and subsequent claims.

[BigBob]

Tonyrec said:

Will they not have a code somewhere on the tyre wall which will mean not for road use? It just seems sensible to me that a manufacturer would do this to absolve himself of any comeback and subsequent claims.

Some used to be marked not for road use but not all - depended on the brand/model of the tyre.

[Tonyrec]

BigBob said:

Tonyrec said: Will they not have a code somewhere on the tyre wall which will mean not for road use? It just seems sensible to me that a manufacturer would do this to absolve himself of any comeback and subsequent claims. Some used to be marked not for road use but not all - depended on the brand/model of the tyre.

I would say that a tyre that was not intended for road use by a manufacturer would be illegal to use on a public road if it was tampered with by anyone other than the original manufacturer.

[cptsideways]

What you need are F2 slicks, with a minimum 17% tread or slots more to be precise.

They do not work in the wet full stop, they are very noisy (zingy is the way I'd describe the noise) but are perfectly road legal

[Richard C]

As Grahamdance says tyres do not have to be E marked for USE, only sale unless they are for special purposes such as competition. Reference The Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994. Slicks whether - those have tread cut ( cut slicks) or moulded slicks usually are marked 'for racing only'
Whereas gravel tyres whetrher e-marked or notare marked 'for competion purposes' or 'for competion purposes only' It could be said that under The Motor Vehicle (Construction and Use) Regulations as amended, the slicks are not fit for purpose whereas those marked 'for competion purposes' or 'for competion purposes only' while fitted to a vehicle that could be involved in competion are road legal. It is a point open to interpretation and I know of one competitor in Wales driving his rally car near his home who was stopped by a policewoman. She gleefully warned him that he would be reported for a C&U offence. I advised him of the above and he contacted the station and it was dropped. It seems that her sergeant told her not to be so stupid or words to that effect.

[mmm-five]

cptsideways said:

What you need are F2 slicks, with a minimum 17% tread or slots more to be precise. They do not work in the wet full stop, they are very noisy (zingy is the way I'd describe the noise) but are perfectly road legal

The noise was described to me as "You got a supercharger fitted mate?"?

[Shaun_E]

Or how about a set of Avon ACB10s:

[Cooperman]

There was a case a few years ago when a well-known rally driver named Jan Churchill was driving his Carrera 2.8 to the start of a rally and was on intermediate racing tyres (not hand-cut slicks) supplied by Dunlop. He was stopped on the M6 and reported for having 4 illegal tyres. The prosecution produced an expert witness in the form of a department manager from the mainstream production tyre division of Dunlop. However, the defence called up the Director of Competitions for Dunlop who confirmed that he had supplied the tyres in question, that they were entirely suitable for road use, despite being marked 'For Competion Use'. The marking 'For Competiton Use' simply confirmed that they were made to a higher standard of strength, grip and safety than a lower cost production tyre. He also said that they were probably the safest tyre on any car on the M6 that day. Case dismissed with costs awarded to the defendant.

[cross-eyed-twit]

Thanks Cooperman, that was the court case I was on about.

Anyway, as far as I can see as long as the tyre is in good nick, has the minimum tread depth and 17% minimum cut I can't see any reason why motorsport tyres can't be used to get to the track.

thanks for the suggested ACB10, don't think they do them in my sizes 235/40-17 fronts and 285/35-18 rears (also 285/30 18 would fit too.)

ones I have found that are road legal
Dunlop SSR (no longer made, Soon to be DZ03 ? )
Pirelli Pzero Corsa
Dunlop D01J fronts
Yokohama AO48 rears (EXPENSIVE )
Kumho Ecsta V70A
Hankook RS2 fronts
Avon ZZR fronts

And the suggested Dunlop R but haven't seen these at all as you need a Motorsport account with dunlop to get them apparently!!!
CET



>> Edited by cross-eyed-twit on Monday 27th February 10:56

>> Edited by cross-eyed-twit on Monday 27th February 11:01

>> Edited by cross-eyed-twit on Monday 27th February 11:02

[Zod]

These are legal and on my car now:



They are really a combination road/track tyre. You need to be careful in the cold and with standing water. You can forget trying to drive the car in snow.

[thetruemackie]

What about Toyo R888s? I've heard good things about them and I believe they are the control tyre for various race series.