Stickies are stickies. There is a reason they are called stickies. I've competed (either spotting or driving) in every Delta competition since 2008 and my experience says sticky tires are a huge advantage over a DOT tire. A perfect example is the line to the left of the tower of Doom, three years ago there was a course set up that basically started you from a dead stop part way up the incline. Tyler Harper: who has a very similar rig to mine, but with a higher lift, short leaf springs and stickies would crawl it. My rig: with links, a much lower height and harder DOT's would not.
Please show me where I can buy a 37" sticky at a similar price to a DOT. I'm genuinely interested; I'm not being sarcastic at all, I'd love to get my hands on a set. Short course tires take-offs are almost always 35's. Stickies are not readily available to everyone, unless you run a 35" take-off or can swing that kind of budget.
(Also not to get too tangential: some desert or cut blank take-offs; while the not actually DOT approved, aren't always actually a "sticky" (based on durometer), often they can be a harder compound for longevity in longer races or races with rocky terrain to prevent chunking). I've personally seen someone complaining that their take-off General Grabbers didn't hookup like a friends' set of Grabbers: upon closer inspection he had indeed purchased a set of "desert compound" tires. Another example is a KRT versus a KRT-B.
Nate, I don't think anyone is arguing apples to oranges (that a quality 37" is worse than a sticky 35": mostly because that's ridiculous),
but apple to apples:
Please start a thread on Pirate explaining how DOT tires have better traction than Stickies and see how many people agree with you...
Drag strips have a high amount of traction; if traction is the crux of your argument, why would a competitor use a sticky tire there instead of a DOT?
The logic doesn't hold up.
Consider this as factual evidence: Competitors simply would not shell out sometimes double the price of a DOT tire if the traction was similar.
Lastly, there are countless scientific articles explaining in great detail how tire durometer effects coefficient of friction in various temperatures and surfaces.
Sure, lower the penalty, maybe even toss it, but don't ignore physics.
Even if you don't agree with me; you can see the position of someone writing the rules: stock mod is meant to bring people into the sport and most people just starting can't afford or don't care to run stickies on their weekend wheeler/ daily driver. Keeping the rules tight on the class makes it more competitive. More competition is more fun for the new guy and for spectators. Rock Crawling regains popularity as the everymans' motorsport and not the wallet wheelers'. More smiles more good times.
Peace.
