3Racing 18R tires - Hijacker's Review

[hijacker]

If you are looking for a fast and easy performance upgrade to almost any RC car, most people will tell you: tires.

Recently, at my local track a fellow racer told me he had purchased two sets of 3Racing's tires for the Associated 18R. He only needed one set, I liked the looks of the tires and wheels, so I bought the 2nd set from him.

3Racing's retail price for a full set of these tires and wheels is $13.33, I gave my friend $15.00 for the set and set out to see if I had gotten a good deal, or if I had wasted my money.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0727.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0728.jpg

At first look, I really liked the chrome 5 spoke wheels and the agressive "street racer" tread pattern of the tires.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0719.jpg

However, I was not impressed with the fact that the tires felt as if they had no inserts of any kind in them, and they were a little narrower than the stock 18R tires. I wasn't sure how they would perform on the track.

(stock tire on the left, 3Racing tire on the right)

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0720.jpg

I took one last look at my 18R with the stock tires on...

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0722.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0721.jpg

... and then proceeded to bolt the preglued 3Racing 18R tires and wheels onto my car.

After removing the stock wheels, I found that 3Racing had gone an extra step. Rather than make their wheels a direct fit onto the pin of the 18R, they made the wheels require a hex! Fortunately, 3Racing provided the hex. A round of applause to 3Racing for this additional performance factor.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0725.jpg

The drive hexes just slip right onto the axle shaft and over the stock pin...

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0714.jpg

After bolting the wheels on, I was really digging the "bling" factor they brought to my 18R. I received more than a few compliments from other racers passing by my pit area who noticed the shiny, chrome wheels.

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0709.jpg

http://i124.photobucket.com/albums/p24/hijacker01/rc%20cars/IMG_0712.jpg

But the real test of any tire... how would they perform on the track?

My local track races minis on a high-density foam track, and I have always been happy with the traction and performance of the stock tires. After I bolted on the 3Racing tires, I was pleasantly surprised to find that traction had increased tremendously! I was able to carry more speed through the corners and no longer experienced the sliding that would have occurred with the stock tires on the car at those speeds.

Plus the chrome wheels looked great on the track!

I highly recommend the 3Racing tires and wheels to anybody looking for an instant performance upgrade for their Associated 18R. If your local hobby shop doesn't carry them, they can be purchased at www.3racing.com.hk.

[FESTER2004]

great write up!

[z-man280]

Great write-up, Chad.


i recall you saying " These hook up like crazy!" at the track that night. Good looking to boot! Good thing we dont run in the same class, i think that R would put the hurt on me!


Ron~

[whalebone]

Awsome tire's Chad i havent been able to find them here.:(

[7urb0_c471]

Awesome review!!11om!1g

When I first saw the tread width and apparant texture I thought this would totally drill the 3Racing tires, but apparently they really hook you up! Combined with that body, the rims look really, truly awesome.

+1 on the hex conversion, too.

[ducati777]

I don't get it, why do you want hex's?

[7urb0_c471]

Replaceable, so when the pins wears on the hex, you don't have that wear on all your rims; just replace the hexes. On racing buggies, it doesn't matter much because you're going through like 3 sets of wheels and tires every day.

[hijacker]

The hexes also distribute the power to the wheel better than just a pin. Pins can tear the wheel up if for some reason the nut isn't tightened down properly too.