[DeTomaso] Tires

[Arjun Ghosh-Dastidar]

Mike,

I spoke to both Longstone Tyre in the UK and Michelin Classic customer
support and they both said the same thing - the TB15 is an FIA sanctioned
intermediate rain tire and shouldn't be used in the dry with high
temperatures. They both said if the ambient temperatures are < 20 degree
Celsius they would be fine, but beyond that they start wearing really fast.
Both sources told me to go with the TB5R and predicted a tire life of
4-7,000 miles on street use or 5-6 hard track days.

Full disclosure: I will be trying out a set of TB5Rs this summer in 15' for
street use and should have real world experience to report soon.

Regards,
Arjun


On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:57 AM, <MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

>
> In a message dated 5/6/14 17 55 19, arjun.ghoshdastidar at gmail.com writes:
>
>
> The Michelin TB15 is a rain tire and suffers from very high wear and
> degradation if its dry.
>
> If you want to use a TB tire in the dry, you want the TB5R.
>
>
> >>>Reading the Michelin Classic site, it does say that the TB15 delivers "best
> *performance on wet roads *during vintage racing car rallies."  But I
> wouldn't extrapolate that to mean they are 'rain tires' in the traditional
> sense.
>
> The Michelin Classic catalog has only this to say about them:
>
> Pneu TB:  A race tyre for the road
>
> The Seventies, ever onward... As motor sport technology evolved so a
> special tyre was
> required. For the amateur racer the TB in its intermediate compound form,
> know as
> the 15, provided the best compromise between a race tyre and a
> multi-purpose
> product. It returns with an additional card up its sleeve: today, the TB
> range is road
> legal.
>
> TB 5F and TB 5R
>
> We have now added TB 5 F and B 5 R. This uncompromising tyre has a semi
> slick tread
> pattern for the ultimate in dry performance. The TB 5 F has a soft
> compound and the
> TB 5 R a medium compound. These tyres are fully road legal.
>
> Elsewhere, other sites point out that the TB series (generally) is for dry
> or damp conditions, and the PB series is the rain tire.  (They don't make
> the PB at the moment, apparently).
>
> I think the only difference between the TB15 and TB5 is that the TB15 is a
> full tread tire (such as it is) while the TB5 is a semi-slick.  For
> competition use, yes, presumably the TB5 would work better than the TB15 on
> dry pavement.  For street use, I think the TB15 would be a safer bet.  I
> would imagine tire wear would be about the same, which is to say, very high.
>
> Mike
-------------- next part --------------
   Mike,
   I spoke to both Longstone Tyre in the UK and Michelin Classic customer
   support and they both said the same thing - the TB15 is an FIA
   sanctioned intermediate rain tire and shouldn't be used in the dry with
   high temperatures. They both said if the ambient temperatures are < 20
   degree Celsius they would be fine, but beyond that they start wearing
   really fast. Both sources told me to go with the TB5R and predicted a
   tire life of 4-7,000 miles on street use or 5-6 hard track days.
   Full disclosure: I will be trying out a set of TB5Rs this summer in 15'
   for street use and should have real world experience to report soon.
   Regards,
   Arjun
   On Wed, May 7, 2014 at 9:57 AM, <[1]MikeLDrew at aol.com> wrote:

     In a message dated 5/6/14 17 55 19, [2]arjun.ghoshdastidar at gmail.com
     writes:
     The Michelin TB15 is a rain tire and suffers from very high wear and
     degradation if its dry.
     If you want to use a TB tire in the dry, you want the TB5R.
     >>>Reading the Michelin Classic site, it does say that the TB15
     delivers "best performance on wet roads during vintage racing car
     rallies."A  But I wouldn't extrapolate that to mean they are 'rain
     tires' in the traditional sense.A
     The Michelin Classic catalog has only this to say about them:
     Pneu TB:A  A race tyre for the road
     The Seventies, ever onward... As motor sport technology evolved so a
     special tyre was
     required. For the amateur racer the TB in its intermediate compound
     form, know as
     the 15, provided the best compromise between a race tyre and a
     multi-purpose
     product. It returns with an additional card up its sleeve: today,
     the TB range is road
     legal.
     TB 5F and TB 5R
     We have now added TB 5 F and B 5 R. This uncompromising tyre has a
     semi slick tread
     pattern for the ultimate in dry performance. The TB 5 F has a soft
     compound and the
     TB 5 R a medium compound. These tyres are fully road legal.
     Elsewhere, other sites point out that the TB series (generally) is
     for dry or damp conditions, and the PB series is the rain tire.A
     (They don't make the PB at the moment, apparently).
     I think the only difference between the TB15 and TB5 is that the
     TB15 is a full tread tire (such as it is) while the TB5 is a
     semi-slick.A  For competition use, yes, presumably the TB5 would
     work better than the TB15 on dry pavement.A  For street use, I think
     the TB15 would be a safer bet.A  I would imagine tire wear would be
     about the same, which is to say, very high.
     Mike

References

   1. mailto:MikeLDrew at aol.com
   2. mailto:arjun.ghoshdastidar at gmail.com