16 replies to this topic

[MarkWill]

Hi,

Can anyone tell me what happened to Dunlop and Firestone as F1 tyre suppliers - when did they pull out, and why? Were tyres a costly item in the fifties and sixties compared with today? I thought that Firestone at one time had been a leader in F1 Tyre technology, so what went wrong?

[Ray Bell]

Just from memory...

I think Firestone backed out because of costs, and they cited a desire IIRC to dominate Indy. Of course, my memory may be failing me...

Dunlop certainly cited costs, the American companies were starting to really make it impossible for them and only Tyrrell were on their tyres in the end.

I wonder if JYS wanted more money to keep it that way?

[WGD706]

Dunlop remained involved in F1 until 1970, during which time it won 83 victories and eight World Championships.
It was taken over by Japan Sumitomo Rubber Industries in 1984 and while there was still an active involvement in motor racing, there was never a return to F1.
In 1998 Sumitomo was taken over by the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company.

Firestone opened a European research center in Brentford, Middlesex, in 1966 and entered Grand Prix racing with Ferrari, Lotus and McLaren. In the course of the six years that followed Firestone won 49 Grand Prix victories and three World Championships (1968-70-72).
In the 1980s the company was forced to restructure and it became a target for takeover. The Japanese car boom of the 1970s turned Bridgestone into a vast company and it began to expand worldwide. In 1983 it bought a Firestone factory in Tennessee and five years later outbid Pirelli to buy the entire Firestone company for $2.6 billion.
Warren

[Ray Bell]

Another small point...

The 1976 GP of Japan saw Dunlop reappear... with tyres made in Japan. There is a dispute about it, but the car involved was credited with fastest lap of the race IIRC. Or was that in one practice session? Anyway, the Japanese Dunlop F1 tyres were spotlighted...

This in turn led John McCormack to turn to them when he started running his M23 McLaren with the 5-litre P76 engine in Australia in 1977.

[HistoricMustang]

Sorry, I do not have a direct link.

Henry


Firestone recently conducted a stock car test in Miami leading to speculation the tire maker is considering a return to stock car racing in the near future.

According to SpeedTV.com, Scott Pruett helped Firestone conduct the test at Homestead-Miami Speedway using one of Chip Ganassi's ARCA cars. Al Speyer, the executive director of Firestone/Bridgestone motorsports, says it was not an official Firestone test nor was it a NASCAR test.

"It was a technical exercise to try and develop current stock car technology," he tells SpeedTV.com.

Firestone has not been involved in stock car racing for more than 34 years. They have been the exclusive tire supplier to the IndyCar series since 1999 when Goodyear left open-wheel racing. Speyer admits they are talking with several sanctioning bodies, including NASCAR, but no one has approached them about developing a stock car tire.

"We've been out of stock cars since 1974 and stock car application is totally different," he said. "If we don't start some fundamental work, we couldn't be prepared if a sanctioning body decides to make a change."

Since 2000, Goodyear has been the exclusive tire supplier to NASCAR and their current deal goes through 2011. However, several high profile incidents this past year saw the tire maker come under heavy fire for its rubber. The Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis - one of NASCAR's premiere events - was reduced to a series of 10-to-12 lap sprints as officials were forced t call "competiton cautions" in order to prevent any serious incidents due to the unusually high tire wear.

A similar incident at Atlanta caused Tony Stewart to say he was going home and "taking everything that has Goodyears off and put Firestones on" so that he could feel a lot safer.

[cosworth bdg]

The DUNLOP tyre brand name is now owned worldwide by GOODYEAR , who only ever use the brand in very select markets and Formlae when Goodyear see the need for such measures....

[canon1753]

Kind of ironic mentioning Goodyear......... They outspent and out engineered everyone with major series tires, and lost all of it but NASCAR, which they may still lose in a year or two.... How the mighty fall

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by canon1753
Kind of ironic mentioning Goodyear......... They outspent and out engineered everyone with major series tires, and lost all of it but NASCAR, which they may still lose in a year or two.... How the mighty fall

How right you are, look at the world today .

[Lee Nicolle]

There is a hell of a difference though in the tyre itself. A Goodyear hardens drastically on every heat cycle, where a Dunlop is more forgiving and the constructions are drastically different for a similar tyre and application. The Japanese Dunlops are a little less susceptible to hot and cold weather also in comparison to the English ones.

[HistoricMustang]

Originally posted by Lee Nicolle
There is a hell of a difference though in the tyre itself. A Goodyear hardens drastically on every heat cycle, where a Dunlop is more forgiving and the constructions are drastically different for a similar tyre and application. The Japanese Dunlops are a little less susceptible to hot and cold weather also in comparison to the English ones.

IMHO Hoosier makes to best race tire.

Henry

[Lee Nicolle]

Originally posted by HistoricMustang


IMHO Hoosier makes to best race tire.

Henry

Personally as a low buck sometime speedway competitor I prefer American Racer as they keep on working and dont go hard as a Hoosier does. Though I think the Hoosier is probably the better tyre new.
The American tyres for road race to me all seem too wide, very square shoulders, and go hard too quick!

[canon1753]

Isn't the American Racer tire the sucessor to McCreary tires? They ran McCrearys on our local Grand National series for awhile, they also ran Hoosiers and then went to Goodyear. At one time they ran M&H's. M&H, I always thought, was a relatively small tire maker who did a bit with drag racing. But they also made F3 tires in the late 70's....

[HistoricMustang]

Originally posted by canon1753
Isn't the American Racer tire the sucessor to McCreary tires?

Yes, in fact most of the top notch oval dirt racers perfered the McCreary over the Hoosier. But, most were tied to a tire brand under contract when they hit the top level of a race series (whatever that series was as there have been so many through the years).

Whenever Hoosier and Goodyear went head to head at the top level of NASCAR the Hoosier tire usually came out on top. NASCAR perferred Goodyear so numerous times they killed the Hoosier effort by enforcing a rule that states if you (a tire manufacture) wanted to compete at the top level you had to bring enough tires to a race to cover all cars entered. Hoosier simply told NASCAR to stick it where the sun don't shine.

Henry

[fines]

Usual practice to avoid escalating costs.

Btw, dirt track racers are wont to use different tyre brands front and rear, sometimes even left to right. Best I have seen was three different makes on one car!!!

[HistoricMustang]

Quick question. :

What manufacturer actually makes the most dedicated race tires?

If I am not mistaken it could be Hoosier, but NASCAR requires a certain amount from Goodyear for each event so perhaps it would be them?

Henry

[Lee Nicolle]

Originally posted by fines
Usual practice to avoid escalating costs.

Btw, dirt track racers are wont to use different tyre brands front and rear, sometimes even left to right. Best I have seen was three different makes on one car!!!

I have used 4 different brands!! Goodyear, Hoosier, Mcreary and a Bridgestone F Vee rear as left front! Even better a 15" R/R, 14"R/F, 13" L/R and 15" L/F
I regularly use both American Racer and Hoosier and do still have a Goodyear on the tyre rack.Whatever still has soft rubber and is cheap.
Even in roadracing I have used 2 different brands on either end fairly regularly. Have used Dunlop, Bridgestone, Goodyear and Avon over the years

[cosworth bdg]

Originally posted by fines
Usual practice to avoid escalating costs.

Btw, dirt track racers are wont to use different tyre brands front and rear, sometimes even left to right. Best I have seen was three different makes on one car!!!

I am not supprised at that with dirt track speedway racing.....