Burris 33's vs Cobra tires

A track that we are planning to race at once a month, Ashway in Tennessee, has opened up the tire rule from any compound Burris 33 to also allow Cobra tires in the Predator class. We have a rookie driver that will most likely race in the 350 and 375 Predator classes. The racing groove is about 1000' and low bite. Our team has limited experience with tires outside of Burris. I'm seeking advice on a few things:
1) Under what conditions would you choose one brand over the other?
2) Would air pressures be comparable between brands?
3) Specific to Burris SS33A, would I want to run the same wheel width's in Predator as we do on clones?
4) Would I run the same wheel width's on SS33A and Cobra's?
 
A track that we are planning to race at once a month, Ashway in Tennessee, has opened up the tire rule from any compound Burris 33 to also allow Cobra tires in the Predator class. We have a rookie driver that will most likely race in the 350 and 375 Predator classes. The racing groove is about 1000' and low bite. Our team has limited experience with tires outside of Burris. I'm seeking advice on a few things:
1) Under what conditions would you choose one brand over the other?
2) Would air pressures be comparable between brands?
3) Specific to Burris SS33A, would I want to run the same wheel width's in Predator as we do on clones?
4) Would I run the same wheel width's on SS33A and Cobra's?
I'll only speak to what I have experience with SO I'll answer question # 3, YES
 
We ran a track at the end of last season that allowed both, certain nights Cobras won, other nights Burris won. Now you gotta have both in the trailer.
 
We ran a track at the end of last season that allowed both, certain nights Cobras won, other nights Burris won. Now you gotta have both in the trailer.
I was hoping you would chime in as I see you have experience with both. When were the Cobra's faster?
The only way that I see a cobra faster than a Burris at Ashway is if it has lots of moisture and the track is heavy..
I understand it's rare for that track to have lots of moisture. I'm glad I asked the question as I thought Cobra's would be faster on a hard surface
 
If Ashway gets hard and clean, properly worked Cobras will be faster.
This is what the guys in New York have had to learn this year as tracks allowed Cobras to run at historically Burris tracks.
The speed is in the stiffer sidewalls, especially on bigger tracks.
Ashway is big enough that the roll speed will be an advantage on Cobras over Burris 33s.
Both tires require some working -- the upside is that the import Cobras are $100/set cheaper.
For guys that gave a garage full of 33s and a head full of knowledge working them and racing them, it'll be frustrating and expensive to change out to learn another brand now.


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Last person who showed up at Ashway in the predator 375 with cobras almost got lapped.
Yes, but was he up on his tires and the rest of his program - or was there other issues?
That's why I qualified my statement with "properly worked."
All other variables aside (all things equal,) I suspect you'll see my point proven out.
 
I don't know a whole lot about the "tire Game" But Ashway is a Burris Track and so are the other tracks around the east Tennessee Area. I know Burris tires are expensive compared to most but I'm not spending money on three sets of tires every week to be competitive and don't want to That will just price me out of karting. . Burris is made in The USA and i'd rather spend my money here than overseas and that includes those made in Malaysia maxxis tires . That person we almost lapped was probably not the best racer out there. but I'm not looking to promote anything that's gonna drive my costs up. If Burris really wanted to take over maybe they should look into making tires that fit today's rims or maybe come up with a stiffer side wall. If anyone want's to keep people out of karting then yes they should go and throw monkey wrenches into their program like allowing another tire brand or allowing mods to predators. Sounds like an awesome idea
 
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I don't know a whole lot about the "tire Game" But Ashway is a Burris Track and so are the other tracks around the east Tennessee Area. I know Burris tires are expensive compared to most but I'm not spending money on three sets of tires every week to be competitive and don't want to That will just price me out of karting. . Burris is made in The USA and i'd rather spend my money here than overseas and that includes those made in Malaysia maxxis tires . That person we almost lapped was probably not the best racer out there. but I'm not looking to promote anything that's gonna drive my costs up. If Burris really wanted to take over maybe they should look into making tires that fit today's rims or maybe come up with a stiffer side wall. If anyone want's to keep people out of karting then yes they should go and throw monkey wrenches into their program like allowing another tire brand or allowing mods to predators. Sounds like an awesome idea
So the guy has little tire experience and you don’t like change.
 
I’m definitely not against the cobras, I’m gonna test a few sets soon ( Brian, I’ll be getting with you on these) I can see some roll speed advantages with the cobras, my concern is how long the longevity of the cobra will be, the Burris at ashway seems that 5 year old tires are still winning..
 
So the guy has little tire experience and you don’t like change.
From what I understand people buy 3 sets a month of maxxis at 200 a set plus wheels and all the chemicals you fill them with. and if its a money race you buy three more sets on the off chance you just might beat Nall or Chavous, Mullis Knoph or Yarbourough. Then you get your 24ft trailer to haul them all in. Am I dumb for not wanting to sign up for that? Do I not have as much fun racing as the next guy. or is it just cooler to have $10,000.00 in tires. I can't not feed my kids for a tire budget
 
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From what I understand people buy 3 sets a month of maxxis at 200 a set plus wheels and all the chemicals you fill them with. and if its a money race you buy three more sets on the off chance you just might beat Nall or Chavous, Mullis Knoph or Yarbourough. Then you get your 24ft trailer to haul them all in. Am I dumb for not wanting to sign up for that? Do I not have as much fun racing as the next guy. or is it just cooler to have $10,000.00 in tires. I can't not feed my kids for a tire budget
I agree with you on this post and your previous post. I prefer to buy American as well. What class are you running in? What engine, specifically?

Comparing racing against the names you mentioned at big money races, and weekly racing at your local track is not congruent. No one shows up expecting to win big money races with the one set of tires they've run all season. You can get away with this (sometimes) at the local level because the competition isn't as tough.

It doesn't matter if it's a Burris tire rule, Maxxis rule, etc....If there's money on the line, guys will bring a trailer load of tires to have an advantage.

In fact, I'd suggest that Burris spec tire racing requires the most tires, and is the most costly, because of having to have current date code tires, every different profile cut and amount of roundness, tread depth, duro, and prep amount. That's created due to the tire design and thick rubber tread.
Then, if we go to a Burris race that doesn't require current date code stuff, we'll have tires as old as 10 years with us in the trailer, and they may be the fastest -- which is why most of the bigger Burris races now require newer date code stuff -- to prevent a guy like me who has a library of older tires to choose from having an advantage over someone newer to the sport or has less access to good older tires.

With thin rubber tires, you pretty much have different internal amounts and cure times to deal with.
Sure, on Carolina red clay and large car counts, you'll go through some Maxxis (or Cobras) due to the available grip in the track surface.
You won't have that problem at Ashway. You'll wear out Maxxis (or Cobras) more by sanding them to refinish them each week than you'll ever wear them on the track.

I'm not a big fan of Cobras, to be clear. But when a tire is 1/2 the price of other brands (including those made in the USA - Burris & Hoosier) racers and tracks are going to experiment with them.
 
From what I understand people buy 3 sets a month of maxxis at 200 a set plus wheels and all the chemicals you fill them with. and if its a money race you buy three more sets on the off chance you just might beat Nall or Chavous, Mullis Knoph or Yarbourough. Then you get your 24ft trailer to haul them all in. Am I dumb for not wanting to sign up for that? Do I not have as much fun racing as the next guy. or is it just cooler to have $10,000.00 in tires. I can't not feed my kids for a tire budget
Perhaps at the top of the sport guys are spending like this. I'm not saying it doesn't happen some at the lower levels as well, but I think it is rare, and even more rare, is someone with the knowledge to identify what is the best to be on. I see guys all the time come to the track with 5 or 6 sets of tires that are all different, prepped different, cut different etc. I also see guys that show up with one set, maybe 2 that can outrun those guys with 6 sets because they know what works for them.

Personally, I have 3 sets of Maxxis tires for 2021, and as long as nothing crazy happens, I don't plan to buy anything else except maybe one set of 3 cobras. My 3 sets are all used, and are years old. I am going to have to learn how to prep them, but I didn't like the excessive wear I had with cobras.

I have a notebook on cobras from last year, I will be building my notebook on maxxis this year. If I can't get the maxxis to work, I will be back on Cobras, and the testing cycle will continue.
 
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What I don’t understand is why people spend $1000 on tires to come to a normal Saturday night show to win $150-$200 max. We don’t race for guaranteed money. The payout is based on the amount of entrees. Very rarely do I see the guy that brought 2 or 3 sets win the race. It’s 9 out of 10 times the guy who brought the trailer full of brand new tires and spent more than what most people make a week to get the tires prepped. I’m specifically talking maxxis. But when the Burris series comes to our track it’s the same thing.
 
What I don’t understand is why people spend $1000 on tires to come to a normal Saturday night show to win $150-$200 max. We don’t race for guaranteed money. The payout is based on the amount of entrees. Very rarely do I see the guy that brought 2 or 3 sets win the race. It’s 9 out of 10 times the guy who brought the trailer full of brand new tires and spent more than what most people make a week to get the tires prepped. I’m specifically talking maxxis. But when the Burris series comes to our track it’s the same thing.
I dont know where you race at, but I know around here the track champions in every class are the 2 or 3 set guys. I know of a few that bring a lot, but they only use the one set they had planned to use.
 
What I don’t understand is why people spend $1000 on tires to come to a normal Saturday night show to win $150-$200 max. We don’t race for guaranteed money. The payout is based on the amount of entrees. Very rarely do I see the guy that brought 2 or 3 sets win the race. It’s 9 out of 10 times the guy who brought the trailer full of brand new tires and spent more than what most people make a week to get the tires prepped. I’m specifically talking maxxis. But when the Burris series comes to our track it’s the same thing.
This is exactly the point i'm trying to make. Even if you ran in a $20,000.00 huge money race these guys have $16,000.00 in tires. what happens to the 25+ racers who didn't win? Nobody can compete with the big names because they are getting deals on tires and people trying to keep up with them are keeping people in business. I under stand three sets of tires hard medium and a set for aggressive soaked prepped for wet track a run low med hard air pressures in each of the three sets and i think you would be competitive. and if the burris tires last three years that's a heck of a lot cheaper then running 3 sets of maxxis a month. but yes there are several people I race against at a local Saturday night level with walls of tires in their trailers honestly some people think the more they spend the better they will be. But now its not a maxxis or burris rule i need another 3 sets of cobras. this is the original gripe please don't throw monkey wrenches so i need to spend more money. that's not going to bring people into karting. especially in the predator class.
 
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I agree with you on this post and your previous post. I prefer to buy American as well. What class are you running in? What engine, specifically?

Comparing racing against the names you mentioned at big money races, and weekly racing at your local track is not congruent. No one shows up expecting to win big money races with the one set of tires they've run all season. You can get away with this (sometimes) at the local level because the competition isn't as tough.

It doesn't matter if it's a Burris tire rule, Maxxis rule, etc....If there's money on the line, guys will bring a trailer load of tires to have an advantage.

In fact, I'd suggest that Burris spec tire racing requires the most tires, and is the most costly, because of having to have current date code tires, every different profile cut and amount of roundness, tread depth, duro, and prep amount. That's created due to the tire design and thick rubber tread.
Then, if we go to a Burris race that doesn't require current date code stuff, we'll have tires as old as 10 years with us in the trailer, and they may be the fastest -- which is why most of the bigger Burris races now require newer date code stuff -- to prevent a guy like me who has a library of older tires to choose from having an advantage over someone newer to the sport or has less access to good older tires.

With thin rubber tires, you pretty much have different internal amounts and cure times to deal with.
Sure, on Carolina red clay and large car counts, you'll go through some Maxxis (or Cobras) due to the available grip in the track surface.
You won't have that problem at Ashway. You'll wear out Maxxis (or Cobras) more by sanding them to refinish them each week than you'll ever wear them on the track.

I'm not a big fan of Cobras, to be clear. But when a tire is 1/2 the price of other brands (including those made in the USA - Burris & Hoosier) racers and tracks are going to experiment with them.

This is exactly what I found last year when I really looked down deep into going burris racing. Was quite surprised honestly and I am not talking about price alone.

Math doesn't lie and it wasn't really smart to make the change to Burris for me. I've never been a fan of buying used tires especially a tire I am not familiar with and I am not renting tires. Current rental prices are almost equal to half a new set of tires or more. (might as well buy my own at that point)

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"J" If I was in your area and wanted the best bang for my buck. I would be at Kingsport Miniway. You will spend less per race and over the entire season on pavement.
 
its not about going from one tire to another. But i think If you went to the carolina's and made them run burris they would freak just like a track in TN wants to run Maxxis people here would freak . its about a track saying you can run 2 brands of tires. pick one and leave it alone
 
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