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Formula Ford Tires

   EuroFormula Ford Challenge Series Tires.

     The tires being used on our Formula Fords, in the EuroFormula Ford Challenge, came through a number of discussions between Jim Doughty and Steve Tremonti of Carroll Shelby Enterprises with series creator Jens Ploughman.

     Jens had an idea for a series that could run on a cost effective D.O.T. tire that would fit existing wheels and maintain the current geometry of a formula ford race car. 

     The first goal of Carroll Shelby Ent., the western states Goodyear racing distributor, was to utilize a current tire from the Goodyear  D.O.T. product line.  This however was not possible to match both the front and rear tire sizes.  One of our limiting factors was the car’s 13inch-rim size.

     From here we started to look within the Goodyear family of brands starting with Dunlop.  We could find a rear tire that met our requirements, but still no front.  We were going to have to look deeper into the Goodyear family tree.

     In the late 1990’s Goodyear acquired the Dunlop brand which brought the street tire manufacturer Sumitomo label with it.

     Sumitomo offers a number of tires in the 13inch range.  Since the tire was being used in Formula Ford competition, we needed a high performance designed tire.  We chose the Sumitomo HTR 200 High Performance Summer Radial. 

     Within the HTR 200 Tire line Carroll Shelby Ent. chose the 175/50/HR13 for the front and the 205/60/HR13 for the rear because of their size relationship to the current Goodyear racing slicks.  Both sizes fit nicely on the spec 5.5inch rim and the overall diameter of the tires are nearly a perfect match.  The new Sumitomo front diameter measured 20” compared to 20.3” for the Goodyear D2273 Race Slick and in the rear it was 22.8” compared to 22.4” for the Goodyear D1671 rear Racing slick.

     This match allows a Formula Ford Driver to bolt on a new set of Sumitomo tires for less than $300.00 and get multiple race weekends on them, opposed to a new set of Goodyear race slicks for almost $700.00 a weekend.

     The Sumitomo’s have already proven themselves to be a fun, durable and driver friendly tire, that tolerates abuse, and hold there own while in a competitive environment.

     Expect to see close Formula Ford racing within the EuroFormula Ford Challenge series!

  For the EuroFormula Ford Class, we're using the following Sumitomo Tires.

Front
HTR200 175/50R13 72H

Rear
HTR200 205/60R13 87H

     The Sumitomo HTR 200 High Performance Summer radial was developed to meet the needs of today's sports car, coupe and sedan drivers by blending dry and wet road performance with enhanced comfort and wear resistance.

     The Sumitomo HTR 200 features a silica and natural rubber enhanced tread compound molded into a symmetric tread design with stable independent shoulder and intermediate tread blocks to provide dry road handling and enhance wear resistance. The HTR 200 radial's wide circumferential and curved grooves team up to enhance wet traction and reduce the risk of hydroplaning.

     Internally, the HTR 200's twin steel belts are reinforced by JointLess Band (JLB) technology which uses spirally wound nylon belt edge strips to provide long term integrity under high speed conditions while it reduces weight and helps provide more uniform ride quality.

     The Sumitomo HTR 200 tire’s styling features subtle black letters (with the exception of a narrow white stripe on the P225/70R15 size). Sumitomo HTR 200 tires are available in 70-, 65-, 60- and 50-series; H-speed rated sizes for 13" to 15" wheel diameters.