UK road legality of trackday tyres?

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RobT

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Nov 30, 2001
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Hi Folks

I would be interested to know what your opinions are of the UK road legality of the following tyres:

Miata_Flares_Hoosier.jpg


two_clean_600_Hoosier.jpg


hoosier_a3s03.jpg


Feedback gratefully received

Cheers

Rob
 
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Fl@pper

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Jun 19, 2001
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firstly is there any service description moudled in to the sidewalls ?

size / spec / load / speed index / max psi etc

and are those 2 grooves the only tread ?

the draggers 'JUST' get away with these because of the side cuts if it helps ya case

et_street_radial_a.jpg
 

Fl@pper

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thinking back didn't colway do a 'road legal' slick tyre a few years back ?

Maxsport%20RB5%20F2%20Moulded%20Slick.jpg
 

old 'uns

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thinking back didn't colway do a 'road legal' slick tyre a few years back ?

Maxsport%20RB5%20F2%20Moulded%20Slick.jpg


at Ypres at the IRC tarmac rally, BF Goodrich had tyres with a similar looking pattern to that, to run on stage & liason sections

i'd guess that there is a ratio of grooves required to tread area? or side cuts needed to take water away?
 

RobT

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not sure whats on the sidewalls but the two main grooves are the only real tread

Those Colways are FIA-homologated tyre who's tread must be a minimum of 17% of the tyre area. All the major manufacturers make them for rallying in various compounds. The large tyre retailer EARS tell me that only some of them are UK road legal - only the ones that are e-marked - Dunlop recently got some of them e-marked but only the ones that are in the harder compounds as apparently the softer ones wont pass an abrasive drum test that is part of the the e-mark testing

http://www.ears.co.uk/motorsport/acatalog/Online_Catalogue_13___Road_Legal_CR311_323.html

Details also at Demon Tweeks

http://www.demon-tweeks.co.uk/produ...cls=MSPORT&pcode=DMS2154513R08&vat=exc&cc=eur
 

Fl@pper

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the sidecut ones i would imagine would be ok if correctly e-marked as it's depth across 75% of the width for mot etc but does FIA homolgamation automatically make them road legal? or is that just competition spec allowable as and when specified ?

the dunlops look like a modern take on the colways but as you said only some colours/compounds were allowed in past - double yellow rings a bell but been 10+yrs i can't remember


who do you need to convince with the stripers Rob ? Scrutineering or Mot ? :)
 

RobT

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its just a discussion I have been having

FIA homologation does not mean they are road legal apparently, only some of them are, EARS tell me this is dictated by the presence of an e-mark and the data from dunlop seems to support this
 

Fl@pper

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last time tyres were 'discussed' in street eliminator there was nearly world war 3 lol
 

Fl@pper

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/me scuttles off to see what sizes Michelin TB5R's come in and i bet they are all too low profile - mmmm
 

EmDee

Omnishambolic
Well I don't know how many of you read Evo magazine, but I was devastated when I opened my subscription this month and found out about plans to outlaw trackday tyres.

The law won't come in for a while (Nov 2012), so you can probably get through a set or two before it kicks in, but it's yet another example of how the government hates us petrolheads. Having said that, it is hard to argue a case for tyres that are so bad in the wet.

Read the article here

Discuss!
 

ibizacupra

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Jul 25, 2001
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E-marked was the predominant factor at castle combe saloons and msa's blue book, list 1a and list 1b tyres.. if its not on the list it was not deemed legal.
some contradiction and confusion ensued however, as the then "tyre to have" was a bridgestone re071, but only available in E marked in a single 225-45-17 size (imprezza sti new cars at the time std fitment), BUT you could buy the re071 in other sizes outside of uk, but they were not E marked and thus not legal.

same thing goes for the ad07 yoko's here, available in the usa in all sorts of sizes but only in the same single size, so no E mark, and not legal here. Dot approved in USA is not legal uk approved.

all quite confusing..
 

Fl@pper

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outlawing road legal extreme ones

so will it affect it that much ? trackday tyres for on track such as slicks etc would be now but i guess it would make a massive market void for dual-purpose stuff

just means some of the sportscars makers will have to design cars that can do the 'magic' with all round tyres instead
 

R French

Full Member
Tis Europe that is pushing for the exclusion of semi slick tyres. Only problem is we are the only state likely to adopt it as most here have still not got the idea of summer and winter tyres.
I've always found that a hot piece of metal with a reverse E inside a iccle circle usually does the trick for my gravel tyres and MOT's., grumpy traffic officers etc.

Far from ideal but when in schtuck - get inventive.
 

depresion

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When I was speeking to hoosier at autosport they said that they don't have any UK road legal tyres.
 

RobT

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When I was speeking to hoosier at autosport they said that they don't have any UK road legal tyres.

thats what they have told me also - unfortunately there are some people who think they are UK road legal, despite the manufacturers of the tyre saying otherwise......:whistle:
 

Chris Eyre

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From above:

When I was speeking to hoosier at autosport they said that they don't have any UK road legal tyres.
thats what they have told me also - unfortunately there are some people who think they are UK road legal, despite the manufacturers of the tyre saying otherwise......:whistle:

From past event discussion (this all relates to an event in 2003):

RobT said:
you have to use road legal tyres (i.e not Hoosiers ;) )
RobT said:
And while we are at it, Hoosiers are not road legal in the UK but they have been used by people who shall remain nameless in the past.



There's a lot of opinion on this topic, but there's no substitute for facts.

This is the official position, posted here as a matter of record:



Department for Transport

Sent:

Chris Eyre said:
Enquiry regarding the use of non e-marked tyres in the UK - cars

Dear Sir or Madam,

I would like to confirm that it is legal to use non e-marked tyres on the UK roads, and be fully compliant with 'Construction and Use' regulations and the Road Traffic Act.

The supply of tyres is clearly governed by the Motor Vehicle Tyres (Safety) Regulations 1994, under which any UK tyre retailer must fulfil their legal obligations by not selling non e-marked tyres intended for road use.

Non e-marked tyres however can become present on the UK roads via imported cars, or via direct overseas purchases, or sourced from a UK retailer selling tyres for non-road use.

Once a non e-marked tyre is fitted to a car, irrespective of how sourced, the tyre obligations of the vehicle user fall firmly under the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986.

I am unaware of any references within Construction and Use regulations which stipulate ECE regulation adherence (specifically to UN/ECE Regulation 30).

The tyre in question is a non e-marked USA road legal 'DOT' (USA Dept of Transport) stamped tyre*, with UK road legal tread depth, tread wear markers, and in all respects, complies with the Construction and Use regulations.

This is simply to understand a position which has occurred in the past, and may or may not be repeated in the future.

Yours faithfully,

Chris Eyre
* Not one of those pictured at the top of this thread


Reply in:

Department for Transport said:
Dear Mr Eyre

If the passenger car tyre in question complies with the appropriate requirements of the Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended, it is considered safe for use on the road.

Yours sincerely

DfT – Transport Technology and Standards



The Event Rules in question

'Cars must be roadworthy, incl. lights, MOT'd, taxed and insured'.


QED (and vindication).
 

Chris Eyre

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Further detailed information:


Road Vehicles (Construction and Use) Regulations 1986, as amended (hereinafter: 'C&U')

All tyres must have:

  • a service description (i.e. load and speed index).
  • nominal size and aspect ratio, marked on at least one sidewall of each tyre.
  • cars and light trailers must have a minimum of 1.6mm in a continuous band throughout the central three-quarters of the tread width, throughout the whole of the circumference.

Treaddepth.jpg


This justifies the road legality of a Michelin TB5 tread.



Tread pattern design

Aside from the tread depth requirements above (also reflected in ECE 30):
  • C&U or UN/ECE 30 has no requirement for grooves of a specific percentage surface area, eg 20% mentioned earlier in this thread.
  • C&U or UN/ECE 30 does not dictate tread design.
  • The FIA's 17% tread pattern moulded slick is their own self-derived percentage, and is not UK / EU legislation.


The MOT Test (car tyres)

No checks for tread design or e-marks:

  • VOSA MOT Inspection manual, tyre section 4.1, page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.

- the wording of the checks is clearly based on C&U.

Page 4: e-marks are required on tyres marked 'NHS', 'Not for Highway Use' or similar, in the sidewall (introduced 1 Dec 2008 onwards). Notably no e-mark requirement listed for road tyres.



Insurance requirements

UK insurers of imported cars cover vehicles from other continents on a day-to-day basis, with the tyres they arrive on.

Extract from a UK insurance policy booklet from an insurer specialising in American cars.

NIGUSpolicyterms.jpg


  • This insurer is fully aware that tyres may not necessarily be e-marked.
  • The terminology is 'roadworthy' - aka 'safe for use on the road' (see DfT response).


Individual Vehicle Approval Scheme

(low volume, kitcars, imports, etc - replaced SVA)

IVA Manual

IVA Manual said:
It is acceptable that tyres displaying a ‘VR’ or ‘ZR’ rating do not display an ‘E’ or ‘e’ marking.


VOSA Categorisation of Defects

If a vehicle were to be deemed unroadworthy by the Police or other highway officials and subjected to inspection, the defect(s) would be found listed in the VOSA Categorisation of Defects manual.

No references to design or e-marks are made in respect of tyres. The manual is again based on C&U.

HTH.
 
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