HCCA Member,

The Board of the Horseless Carriage Club has been working with tire suppliers for Brass Era vehicles to see what obsolete sizes can be re-introduced to the market.

The commercial reality of the matter is that a production run of 50-100 is a bare minimum to be able to supply tires to the hobby at any sort of reasonable pricing. There are several molds that these suppliers hold that could, if there was a confirmed demand, be made available in a reasonably short period. Other sizes may require a dedicated mould to be produced which would add to the cost of the tire and lead time required to supply them into the market.

Other concerns raised by members are the longevity of the current tires from a wear perspective, and inner tubes from a durability perspective, and those are subjects that we, as a Board, have taken up with the major suppliers. We all recognize that selling tires is a volume business and as soon as they wear out, there is a “re-sell” process that assists these manufacturers to remain in business.

This is your opportunity as a member to provide feedback to the Board on what tires you would like to see introduced. The key point of this survey will be to provide a clear indication to the manufacturers of how many of these sizes you would potentially purchase if they were to be made.

We have also passed on feedback from members regarding the need for a greater balance between the compounds that were used 20-30 years ago which wore well for tens of thousands of miles and the new compounds which sit on the road very well, but wear out in significantly more quickly (hundreds of miles), therefore not representing good value for money to our members, which after all, belong to a touring car club.