8 replies to this topic

[mab01uk]

Historic moment as last ever tyre is built at Avon ending production after 118 years:-

https://melkshamnews...fter-118-years/

 

 

 

[Spider]

Very sad to see the demise of manufacturing.

[nicklouse]

Buggerd for Tyres next year.

[Bobbins]

Stash of ZZS rears delivered, now waiting for the fronts … clearly not for the Mini:

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Bobbins, 18 December 2023 - 10:16 AM.

[Shooter63]

Have they actually stopped making the tyres or are they just transferring the manufacture to a different plant? If they are stopping that's a big hole in the motorsport world.

Shooter

[Bobbins]

As far as I’m aware they’re stopping. It affects us less with Minis but it’s a big hole in the market for 13” competition/performance tyres.

[imack]

Stash of ZZS rears delivered, now waiting for the fronts … clearly not for the Mini:

Look a bit Caterham sized

[Bobbins]

Stash of ZZS rears delivered, now waiting for the fronts … clearly not for the Mini:

Look a bit Caterham sized

They are …

[DeadSquare]

After an Avon Shareholders Annual General Meeting, during a conversation over coffee, I was told about and offered a set of experimental doughnuts', that because the rubber somehow absorbed more energy on compression than it released on rebound, dampers didn't need to be fitted.

Apparently, one of the reasons that BMC weren't taking them up, was that the rear radius arm had to have the damper anyway, to hold it up.

I fitted them, with dampers all round, to my 1071, and the road holding in my 1275 was noticeably less good after driving the 1071.

A couple of years later, I met the same chap, and asked if there was any chance of another set, or two ?, sadly, NO,--- BUT, having told me about the disappointing wear rate of the new 'wet grip rubber' in their proposed "SP44", he asked, would I like a set ?

A week later, the postman delivered two bags. The tyres, which were a Weathermaster rather than an SP44 tread, had SCRAP painted in several places, so it was the following autumn before I cleaned a pair and fitted them, and WoW, the grip in the rain was amazing. So amazing, that after a little modification with a tyre cutter to let water escape through the outer 'waves' of the tread, I raced on them in the wet for two years.

Edited by DeadSquare, 18 December 2023 - 11:13 PM.