23x5.0-15 Hoosiers?

[Matt King]

I just purchased a Citation XTC that came with a couple sets of spare tires/wheels and one oddball, a Hoosier 23x5.0-15 slick. I don't see this listed as any longer available from Hooiser but the previous owner told me it was a tall size that could be used to dublicate longbox gearing with a shortbox transmission. That's something that would be useful for me, so I was wondering what the deal was/is with these tires. Are they obsolete?

[hardingfv32-1]

Find yourself a long box because this size tire is no longer available. OR you could have the rules changed to specify a tall box only if you don't like the idea of changing gearboxes.

Brian

[clubford00]

A few months ago i would have killed to have those tires. They were widely used here in the midwest by guys that didnt have a long box to use at road America. It was a really nice combo with a short box on the 4 mile track. It has been quite some time since anyone made the 23" tires so i imagine they are pretty hard and maybe not even usable any more. If hey have been stored properly (i doubt it) and can still be used, you might still find a buyer here in the Road America area.

[hardingfv32-1]

No chance.....Tires are a living chemical organism, they grow old like the rest of us.

Brian

[Matt King]

I only have one tire and it's got a receipt taped to it from 1998! But that is exactly the combo the previous owner told me he had them for, short box at RA. Since the car still has a short box and I plan to run as often as possible at RA (37 miles from my house) I was hoping they were still available, but I guess I will just have to look for a long box.

[Matt King]

No chance.....Tires are a living chemical organism, they grow old like the rest of us.

Brian

Don't tell that to the guys still running 250-plus mph at Bonneville on 50 year old Goodyears.

[hardingfv32-1]

Are these special because they are hard on is it a size issue? What is the story??

Brian

[Matt King]

Size, weight, construction, and speed rating are all unique for land speed racing. There aren't very many tall, skinny tires rated to 300 mph. Goodyear hasn't made Bonneville-spec tires in many years and the existing supply of tires is all there is.

[sharplikestump]

I actually spoke with some of the guys at "The Flats" who were running those Goodyears about 4 years ago. They are all weather-checked on the sidewalls and looking scary. I believe the newest ones were 27 or 28 years old at the time! Here is the other part of it: Some are worn to the cord, so what they do is bondo over that and hide it under flat black paint, then rolling them around on the salt. When I asked it that doesn't cause an inbalance, the reply was: "Naw, it flys off at around 150"! I was told that if I could furnish them with new tires, they would be willing to pay $750 each! I thought I had found my retirement plan, but when I talked with Bruce, I found out how specialized the tires are, requiring testing to something like 700 mph under heavy pressure. The numbers used are so small that it just isn't worth making them. One of the teams had a couple of tires made by Mickey Thompson, and they were guarding them pretty close. Ya gotta know that those old Goodyears were not likely to be the latest in technology. No kevlar there......probably closer to hemp. The fastest run I saw made on them that day was 422 mph.
Mike