A quote from an email this morning in response to my inquiry regarding the availability of used tire testing machines:
As an alternative to buying a machine; there are some companies that have
test machine capable of 300 mph (our lab capability is only 225 mph).
Perhaps we could help you locate a machine that you could rent for your
trials.
Also, we have in our lab a no-load free-spin machine that can free-spin a
tire up to 500 mph. We have used this machine to qualify tires for use on
the salt flats previously. You would have to check with the governing body
to see if you need to test under load or test without load. If they only
require a tire integrity test at high speed with no load, we can do this in
our lab. Charges for such tests are in the range of $150 to $ 250 per tire.
Forty years ago I worked on building a set of tire test machines for a large company, their name started with a "G." I was hoping, what with the collapse of industry here, that a used machine might be rusting somewhere but available cheap. But at these prices, it may be worth a look. Now, the tire testing in Montana by some LSR competitors, I recall that was free-spin. If it's good enough for the sanctioning orgs, I'd like to shave a few sizes of ZR, buff the nomenclature off the sidewalls, and be the "re-manufacturer" of a set of narrow 18-inch. Spin them up to 300 and see if they crap out. Would documentation on the process, complete w/video, have any "traction" with the governing bodies?