LASSA Rally Tyre Review

[UP2MTNS]

I've been meaning to do this for a while, sorry for the delay.

I've run LASSAs for my last 2 events, and I've been REALLY happy with them. the price is right, they can take a beating, and as you'll see in these pics, they don't wear out super fast.


These are the Rally 2's. 205/65/15 and currently go for $132/tire

Brand New:
http://img44.imageshack.us/img44/6449/1001455o.jpg


After 2 events (Prescott and Seed 9, aprox 140 stage miles)

http://img7.imageshack.us/img7/1303/1051483.jpg

still a LOT of tread left, blocks didn't chunk, and are still pretty sharp!

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9985/1051484.jpg

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/5484/1051487.jpg



This tire didn't go the same distance, after a hard off at Prescott, the tire was completely debeaded:

(took a bit more abuse than my TD rim!)
http://img16.imageshack.us/img16/1165/1051485.jpg


we were pretty much at the finish after the off, but we were still 9 miles from the next service. I expected the tire to be destroyed....but it wasn't.....same tire:

http://img686.imageshack.us/img686/9793/1051486.jpg


I re-beaded it myself using the flammable aerosol/match trick....and ran Seed 9 just like that.


Needless to say, I'll be running LASSA's for 2010 too :)



I've attached their pricing flyer....let me know if you have any questions. I'm currently working with them on a potential sponsorship/west coast vendor deal, so please let me know if you're interested in anything they have. Aaron is aware, and if this thing works out, hopefully we can get some pretty good deals for DI members.

Jon

[williaty]

Have you been able to get any good descriptions out of them vis a vis the Rally 2 vs Rally 3?

[Carl S]

What about availability?
I know a few guys that were keen on buying a number of sets of tires only to get no response from whoever is selling these, even after trying for a couple months. One went with michelins instead and he liked those so much I dont know if he'll ever try anything else again.
What do they have for compounds?

[UP2MTNS]

Have you been able to get any good descriptions out of them vis a vis the Rally 2 vs Rally 3?

AFAIK, its mainly different tread patters, which you can see in the PDF. BUT, I've never specifically asked, so I'll see what I can find out.

and the Rally3 has 2 different sizes available as well.


They don't have different compounds, I would categorize to be a medium/hard.

Seed 9 Rally was pretty cold (not winter cold, but definitely in the low 40's) and they did fine traction-wise, and like I said, no 'chunking' or bad wear patterns.


I know a few guys that were keen on buying a number of sets of tires only to get no response from whoever is selling these, even after trying for a couple months. One went with michelins instead and he liked those so much I dont know if he'll ever try anything else again.well, I'm hoping I can help them out with that ;) the guys that sells there here in the states, have regular full-time jobs and they travel a lot.

[lminette]

Thanks John!! I think I'd definitely be interested. Guess I'd have to pick up some 205's though! Sucks that they don't offer the Rally 2's in 195's!!!

[Rally OBXT]

I am VERY interested in this. I need some rally tires for my 2010 R4 championship run. :tongue:

[lorenkb]

Color me interested as well.

[KevinWelker]

Jon, you already know I am interested.

Thanks.

[Rally OBXT]

We want tires!! Give them to us now!! :mrgreen:

[409industries]

Keep us posted J!

[thewizard]

What about availability?
I know a few guys that were keen on buying a number of sets of tires only to get no response from whoever is selling these, even after trying for a couple months. One went with michelins instead and he liked those so much I dont know if he'll ever try anything else again.
What do they have for compounds?

Just spoke to the importer who is also a friend of mine and he told me there are plenty of tires and sizes with the improved compound in stock. Apparently the older compounds wore off easier. They are categorized as soft-mediums (hard compounds are not imported and are designed for abrasive events like Turkey, Cyprus and Acropolis). The reason they were not getting back was because;
-they had problems with e-mail servers
-they were in the process of moving the warehouse
Also, these tyres are imported by people that do not do this for a living-so it would be best to be patient.

Last year the Lassa 2s did well in the snowy/cold conditions at 100Acre Wood. The compound imported is what would suit 90% of the rallies in the US.

[RA Limited]

This sounds pretty awesome. I'm very interested as well, for whatever distro info we can get.

[subyspawn]

They are categorized as soft-mediums (hard compounds are not imported and are designed for abrasive events like Turkey, Cyprus and Acropolis).

Does this mean they won't import them in the future either? The surface in CA (and most of the western deserts) is very abrasive, if you watch WRC Mexico, we rally on similar surface here.

[thewizard]

Does this mean they won't import them in the future either? The surface in CA (and most of the western deserts) is very abrasive, if you watch WRC Mexico, we rally on similar surface here.

I don;t think they plan to since most of CA events are no longer running. The hard compounds are for abrasive gravel with big rocks. The new compound is supposed to be more durable...

[KevinWelker]

I don;t think they plan to since most of CA events are no longer running. The hard compounds are for abrasive gravel with big rocks. The new compound is supposed to be more durable...


Wait, CRS events are no longer running?! Keith, what have we been doing the past couple of years??

The events have changed locations but the series is still alive and the conditions are still the same. Gorman has been quoted by McRae and Grist as being very similar to Acropolis. Desert Storm, prescott, North Nevada, Plan B, High Desert Trails, Seed9. All run on similarly abrasive surfaces. There's even a rumor that if one of the RA national events can't get it's road permits that Desert Storm will be promoted to a national event.

Please pass along info that they are very wrong about the state of rally here on the west coast.

Thanks for the info, I will think on this a bit more before I decide on purchasing before Desert Storm.

[Rallycarperson]

Any comparisons to Hankooks? Specifically R201 vs Rally 2...

[BenSlocum]

Here's what I've found running them-

Oregon Trail 2009-
Good grip, wore well, 4 tires lasted us the entire event without any issues (Temps 40-60 depending on elevation, 2002 Ford Focus SVT)

STPR 2009-
Decent grip, started chunking out. We only lasted 4 stages due to a variety of mechanical issues, but I doubt 4 tires would have been sufficient for the temps (Temps 60-80 depending on shade, 2002 Ford Focus SVT)

Ojibwe 2009-
I wasn't in a car that was equiped, but I checked out the team that I had previously run with that used them. They started chunking out pretty bad. (2002 Ford Focus SVT)

Colorado 2009-
Fair grip. NO traction, lateral or head on, in mud. They chunked out decently bad on rough stages. (40-50 depending on elevation, 2002 Ford Focus SVT)

LSPR 2009-
Poor grip. Horrible traction in the wet. No real wear visible after several stages. (25-40, 2002 Ford Focus SVT)

Review-
Great tire if they are in the proper temp range on dry gravel, but the range is too small. The available compound was to way to hard for cold weather, yet oddly too soft for rough/hot stages.

A few compounds could definitely help the line. Worst traction I've experienced in mud on a non cut tire. They improve with cuts, but not as much as competitors.

Sizes available last season were also limited, so the options we were faced with were tall tires, or super tall tires.

If you're pushing hard, there are much better options, but if you're learning, they're great due to price and durability.

Compared to Hankook-
I prefer Hankook, but they won't be available in the US new for quite a while.

BF Goodrich/Michilin
Heads above BF/Mich in durability, but tractions suffers as a result. If you want to win, go for BF/Mich, if you want to learn and save some costs, go with Lassa.

[UP2MTNS]

thanks for that Ben, obviously I'm still new and have limited experience compared to what you just gave us for feedback.

[williaty]

Ben, was that experience with the Rally 2's or the Rally 3's?

[Rallycarperson]

Compared to Hankook-
I prefer Hankook, but they won't be available in the US new for quite a while.

Some nice info there, but where did you hear about this?

[409industries]

BF Goodrich/Michilin
Heads above BF/Mich in durability, but tractions suffers as a result. If you want to win, go for BF/Mich, if you want to learn and save some costs, go with Lassa.

Thanks for the breakdown and feedback.

[thewizard]

The guys that are on a budget yet competitive (like Carl Jardavell) like these tires more compared to the Hankooks. According to tests these tires were faster than the Pirelli's and slower than the Michelin/BFGs by less than half a second per KM. You may not be competitive against KB, TP etc but who cares...

[BenSlocum]

Ben, was that experience with the Rally 2's or the Rally 3's?

The Rally 3, our car only has 170~ hp, 140~ tq. The 2 would be far to much tire for what we could put down.

Some nice info there, but where did you hear about this?

Dave Parps, Checkpoint Racing, Susquehannah Motor Sports, etc. They didn't have the volume in sales that they had hoped on, so Hankook won't send anything less than a container over. That would be enough tires for several seasons even if most teams were running them. No one wants to put up the expense up front and sit on the investment for a few years until the tires sell.

Now, you may get lucky for a few sizes in certain compounds for a specific side of the car, but they'll be a few years old by this point still sitting in a container in California.

The guys that are on a budget yet competitive (like Carl Jardavell) like these tires more compared to the Hankooks. According to tests these tires were faster than the Pirelli's and slower than the Michelin/BFGs by less than half a second per KM. You may not be competitive against KB, TP etc but who cares...

Exactly. Decent tire, but not the best. Depending on your needs/skills/goals they may be perfect, or they may just not have enough.

As for Hankook, I think the variaty of compounds that were available are what won me over. They were acceptable from the heat of STPR/Maine/Ojibwe to the near freezing of LSPR.


I should also mention that each event was run on a fresh set of tires, so the degrading grip through the season wasn't a result of extended use. We only had one flat, after a big off at LSPR where the tire took the brunt of the car hitting a stump at ~40mph. We still were able to drive 4-5 miles before the carcass fully disintegrated.

[UP2MTNS]

bump, I'm now authorized to sell these, feel free to PM me if you're interested.


I'll have a vendor section on DI coming up soon.



Also, I have info/directions on grooving/siping/cutting for wet/muddy conditions if anyone is interested.

[pdxphil42]

Anyone run these that have also run Silverstone S505s? If so, can you provide some comparison info?

Thanks

++phil

[omahasubaru]

anymore opinion on these?

[KevinWelker]

I've run the Rally 3's at Desert Storm and at High Desert Trails. They have WORLDS more grip than Hankooks. They seem to wear very well on the abrasive desert rocks while providing good grip on marbles and in deep soft sandy stuff. They take a beating too. I will definitely be buying more.

[sunnynw]

Anyone run these that have also run Silverstone S505s? If so, can you provide some comparison info?

Thanks

++phil

Phil,
Talk with Brian Svedin. Brian has run Lassa for the last year or so. He has good things to say about them...

Teresa