23/05/2024
Weird pic for attention.
We tested the 3 most popular tires for sanctioned shifter racing:
1-MG yellow/Evinco Red (Skusa,Stars,USPKS and several others)
2-Levanto (Rok Cup USA, Sonoma, and racing in the PNW)
3-Vega XH4 (UTAH, Challenge of the Americas, Atlanta, some places in Canada)
The kart was a CompKart 30mm w/ unrestricted Iame 175. All laps were "push laps." 12.5-13 psi hot. Cold pressure started around 7-8psi. Tires were run until the the diagonal fabric overlap shown through on the tread.
Results:
Levanto-37.8 sec 70 laps
Vega-38.0 sec 50 laps
MG yel.-37.5 sec 30 laps
Notes:
I found it quite interesting that restricted vs unrestricted yielded pretty drastic differences in tire wear. Levanto and Vega are option tires. The MG is a prime tire. None of these tires had enough sidewall for the track and application we are testing on. We tested the MG option tire as well but I did not include them in these particular results, as it is not a tire commonly used for shifter. The MG option tire performed just like the vega in this test. ALL the MG tires have a narrower window of operating tire temp... too low of a temp, (like for 60cc or lo206 classes), the tire will not fire off. Get them too hot, and the tread disappears quick. I did not include the Hoosier as it is not very common in shifter racing, and its a known non-performer in the shifter class. It would likely be around ~38.0 sec and get 30 laps total. The biggest thing I'd like to point out is that the tire with the most tread depth (Levanto) was the one that seemed to be able to handle overheating the best. With the right technology, I know tires for shifter can use SIGNIFICANTLY more rubber on them without overheating problems. Even this LeVanto tire could probably handle another 1-2mm of tread depth without issues.
This is just data for "commonly raced on tires in the USA for shifter."
Data on all the prime tires tested together is coming. Stay tuned.
