Tire wear (both On/Off road)

[DJ BlendeR]

Just wondering how often you guys change your tires. Like both when you do racing and just bashing. I know that backyard bashing doesnt necessarily need tons of grip like racing does. I've been running the same slicks on my 4-tec since about aug. and they still have good bite.

[gubbs3]

I race on a very hard packed track so tires wear out fairly quicly. I run them until the tread is gone in one area. They work awsome right up untill there in no more tread then they start to slide(sometimes in the middle of a race).

[NitroDrew]

Good Question!
I have another one: How do you know when your slicks are worn out? Do they show certain signs, wear through, or do you just start to lose grip?

[Grizzbob]

It varies with the tire. With ProLine's S3 compound TC tires, for example, they can go one of 2 ways. They can look fine all day, but lose grip throughout the day due to it heating up & cooling, which hardens it, just like full-scale racing tires, or simply get shredded by the surface, which becomes quite obvious(I've even had a pair wear through to the inserts in one run). Now that's an extreme example, but other tires do similar things, particulaly losing grip from the heat cycling, but most take a lot longer to get to that point. Also, the surface makes a big difference in tire wear, smoother ones usually allow the tire to last noticeably longer & retain grip longer(carpet is a great example of this), & more abrasive ones tend to accelerate wear..... http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Grant Tokumi]

I've been a backyard basher for the first 10 years of being in RC. I NEVER changed tires. I guess I used to enjoy spinouts, and to create spinouts, you don't want traction. I had a Yokomo SE and I wore those tires to the point where they became brittle and cracked apart, around 3 years of wear? Sure I never used to play with them that much either, maybe once a month.

Now that I race, my rear tires on my Rc10GT last maybe 20 tanks before I get sick of them being so loose and change them. But I'm suspecting they might be losing traction due to the foam more than the tire itself. My front tires last LONG time. I have the same one (Losi Edge) since 2 years ago, maybe 6-7 gallons of gas. I'm pushing like crazy nowadays, but I still use them, too cheap to buy new ones I guess.

[Smitty]

I knew the tires on 4TEC were worn out when it pulled hard to the left. Turns out the rubber split in half and few of the rim. Good thing the inserts were there to save the rims.

[DJ BlendeR]

Oh, yeah I ditched the stock v-rage tires and stock foams after about 2 weeks when I was about to enter an upcoming race. Unfortunately the person giving me the ride up there, my pop, got sick so I never got to cream the competition http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/biggrin.gif ok, wishful thinking I know. I bought some good slicks, dont remember what kind with I think some HPI yellow molded inserts.I love 'em

[pp13b]

my tires last a while if i dont go on the road,but some times i just cant resist>lol http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/biggrin.gif