Tubeless tires

I was going over the judges guidelines for 2013 . It states that tubeless tires first appeared in 1955. Only 2 weeks ago did I read on line that BF Goodrich applied for a patent in May 1947, but did not offer them until Feb 1952 when the Govt issued a go on the patent. Rims were made to accept tubeless tires some years before in anticipation of the eventual production. It's on line in the history of tubeless tires and BF Goodrich. Can I get an explanation why AACA does not accept cars from 1952? I am aware that thy became standard on most cars in 1955, but were available before that, I believe. Ron

rons49,

With documentation, AACA accepts any original equipment or options, regardless of what may or may not be published in the "Judging Guidelines". They are Guidelines, not Gospel. Nothing anywhere indicates that AACA does not accept tubeless tires before any particular date. The guidelines simply indicate the best available information about when a particular feature became generally available.

The most important part of the guidelines regarding tires is the first statement, "Tires on all vehicles must be as specified by the manufacturer." If you have a car with original equipment that does not appear to match the information in the judging guidelines, you just need to have appropriate documentation to show the team captain.

Ron,

I questioned the same thing and did quite a bit of research. All the major US makes went to tubeless tires for 1955 as original equipment, based on sales catalog. They all specified "tubeless tires" in the specification section of the sales catalogs. I saw no mention of tubeless tires as an option in earlier years. Based on my research, tubeless tires were available as aftermarket replacements before 1955, but they were not offered by the manufactures' until 1955. The car companies were proud of this advancement, so the word "tubeless" was always used in the description of the tire equipment. If you believe that tubeless tires are correct on an earlier vehicle, the sales brochure should list it. This is much like the industry switching universally to sealed beam headlights in 1940.

I won't swear to it but I believe Hudson offered them in '54. It is of course redundant since the guidelines state "tubeless" can remain on the lettering of the sidewall. Goodrich supplied Hudson on many cars but Goodyear was prevalent. I have never seen a judge ask for "docs" on 53 -54 cars. Of course radials are a whole 'nother issue. Cadillac offered Vogue tires as a factory authorized upgrade, even if US Royals & Firestone were standard. Anyway, Tubeless are safer. Thanks guys.

This is very interesting. It had never ocurred to me that my tubeless tires (or anyone else's for that matter) might be incorrect for my vehicle. Is there anything specific in the judges manual regarding this? I realize that things like seat belts and turn signals are acceptable for safety reasons - would tubeless tires fit into that description? Judges?

I can't answer if your car should or should not have tubeless tires, but I suspect that it would have come with tubes originally. I believe that if your car should have tubes, the wheel covers make it so that a judge would be unable to tell if you had tubes or if your tires on the ground were tubeless. If that is the case, the only potential loss of a point would be for the spare, which I don't think would have a wheel cover. People who are very serious about competition would probably put a tube in the spare tire, so that the spare tire is 100% correct, but you would not have to worry about the ones with wheel covers, as the wheel cover makes it impossible to see if the tube is missing.

From the Judging Guidelines; " Tires on all vehicles must be as specified by the manufacturer. Specific brand is unimportant"..."Tubeless tires with a tube will be allowed without removing the word 'Tubeless' on vehicles that did not come with tubeless tires"...First use of tubeless tires 1955".

Just found the 1954 Ford tubeless tire brochure which shows the advantages of them and additionally shows a photo of a '54 with them. So, we can now move that '55 number back to '54 at least (for Fords).

Is it literature distributed by Ford or by the tire company?

It's put out by Ford - small brochure glove compartment size with pictures of 54 Ford wearing them. I just bought it for documentation. Will post photos when I receive.