9LikesAstro Turf Racing
10-26-2017, 01:26 PM
#1
Astro Turf Racing
Local track is running astro turf now. What I'm finding is that for the most part, its eating tires, even running 17.5 blinky 2wd class. Have benn running proline pyramid and pinpoints, I think they are medium compound but they have a silver dot on them?
Anyways, any suggestions? This is a indoor dry track, one long straightaway. I swear I went through 1 race week, some practice and 1 qualifier and the rears were done.
Anyways, any suggestions? This is a indoor dry track, one long straightaway. I swear I went through 1 race week, some practice and 1 qualifier and the rears were done.
10-26-2017, 02:17 PM
#2
PL's buggy tires are not very good on most Astro. Before the Schumacher Cactus came out, I used to use Pinpoint rears on an extreme grip carpet track because they were so bad, in that case, they didn't traction roll or wear. On Astro, they were seconds a lap off the pace. It's plausible that even in 17.5, your tire life is being diminished by wheelspin or a slide/grab scenario. Try these rears instead. You'll need to go to this front tire at the same time or the grip offset from those rears will make the car push on just about anything else.
The track itself will also improve in both wear and grip as the turf gets layed down, aka driven on a lot more after the switch.
The track itself will also improve in both wear and grip as the turf gets layed down, aka driven on a lot more after the switch.
10-26-2017, 02:29 PM
#4
Local track is running astro turf now. What I'm finding is that for the most part, its eating tires, even running 17.5 blinky 2wd class. Have benn running proline pyramid and pinpoints, I think they are medium compound but they have a silver dot on them?
Anyways, any suggestions? This is a indoor dry track, one long straightaway. I swear I went through 1 race week, some practice and 1 qualifier and the rears were done.
Anyways, any suggestions? This is a indoor dry track, one long straightaway. I swear I went through 1 race week, some practice and 1 qualifier and the rears were done.
10-26-2017, 10:30 PM
#5
Tech Regular
On astro, I run yellow Schumacher mini darts in the rear and LP Cut Staggers up front. With a mod motor, the mini darts usually lasts 2-3 race days and the cut Staggers are usually double that. If you run blue compund rears instead you could probably get a couple of more days out of them.
10-26-2017, 11:10 PM
#6
sure you can continue to use the tire as it will still have tread, but you will be massively off the pace
10-27-2017, 05:24 AM
#7
PL's buggy tires are not very good on most Astro. Before the Schumacher Cactus came out, I used to use Pinpoint rears on an extreme grip carpet track because they were so bad, in that case, they didn't traction roll or wear. On Astro, they were seconds a lap off the pace. It's plausible that even in 17.5, your tire life is being diminished by wheelspin or a slide/grab scenario. Try these rears instead. You'll need to go to this front tire at the same time or the grip offset from those rears will make the car push on just about anything else.
The track itself will also improve in both wear and grip as the turf gets layed down, aka driven on a lot more after the switch.
The track itself will also improve in both wear and grip as the turf gets layed down, aka driven on a lot more after the switch.
I'm already running those fronts or something extremely similar, but it seemed to push a bit at the end of the straight, so I think they are getting worn down. I've never changed the fronts, and I'm on my 3rd set of rear tires.
Saw someone running those rears...or at least they had a stack of them there, but I think he was using them on his 4wd car. Seems 4wd or not, most are using PL pyramids or prisms.
10-27-2017, 05:27 AM
#8
It could be. I have a set of pinpoints that I'm still debating on whether to strip them off the rims or not. I do recall that when I switched from them to the pyramids, my lap times went down a full second. Though I didn't feel as out of control as I did when the pyramids wore down.
10-27-2017, 06:58 AM
#9
Our local club recently switched to Turf and it's been awesome on tire wear!
I've been using Z3 Pinpoints on my 4WD SC and they aren't showing any signs of wear after 3 race days.
For my wheeler, I've been experimenting various tread patterns from 6MIK and dBoots... I have to agree that the softer compounds are only lasting 1 day of racing, but oddly, the medium compounds are performing better with more grip and are lasting considerably longer, more like 2-3 race days of wear. I'm starting to adopt a strategy of saving a fresh set for the mains and running the older sets in the quals... I find it odd that the SC tires aren't wearing as fast as the wheeler tires
I've been using Z3 Pinpoints on my 4WD SC and they aren't showing any signs of wear after 3 race days.
For my wheeler, I've been experimenting various tread patterns from 6MIK and dBoots... I have to agree that the softer compounds are only lasting 1 day of racing, but oddly, the medium compounds are performing better with more grip and are lasting considerably longer, more like 2-3 race days of wear. I'm starting to adopt a strategy of saving a fresh set for the mains and running the older sets in the quals... I find it odd that the SC tires aren't wearing as fast as the wheeler tires
10-27-2017, 07:18 AM
#10
@{tpc} Are you referring to the new turf at Larry's in Shelby Twp? I have been experimenting with tires there a lot. In 2wd, for the rears I like the Pyramids but they are not too much better than the Prisms or the Pinpoints (which are both very much alike). They have tremendous forward bite, which sets them apart from the other two. I am finding that the smaller and more dense pin tires have a more gradual wear rate. The tires with larger less dense pins are really good but when they drop off they do so quickly.
I have some Cactus rears in blue compound I have been practicing on and they are lasting a long time. They do not have the forward bite that the Pyramids have but otherwise are comparable. They are hard to find right now in blue but I recommend you give them a try. Cactus rears in yellow may be a good compromise between wear/performance as I expect they would grip better than blue but I have not tried them yet.
As for fronts in 2wd I have tried everything and I have settled on the Schumacher Stagger Rib LP in yellow. These are NOT the "cut" staggers that are commonly used. They have a little too much bite IMO and the regular stagger rib feels just right to me. Very smooth and precise feel. The Pro-line wedge tires feel pushy and dead in comparison, especially in mid-corner. Although I have only tried them in Z3 / Silver (their harder compound).
Hope this helps!
I have some Cactus rears in blue compound I have been practicing on and they are lasting a long time. They do not have the forward bite that the Pyramids have but otherwise are comparable. They are hard to find right now in blue but I recommend you give them a try. Cactus rears in yellow may be a good compromise between wear/performance as I expect they would grip better than blue but I have not tried them yet.
As for fronts in 2wd I have tried everything and I have settled on the Schumacher Stagger Rib LP in yellow. These are NOT the "cut" staggers that are commonly used. They have a little too much bite IMO and the regular stagger rib feels just right to me. Very smooth and precise feel. The Pro-line wedge tires feel pushy and dead in comparison, especially in mid-corner. Although I have only tried them in Z3 / Silver (their harder compound).
Hope this helps!
10-27-2017, 07:27 AM
#11
Our local club recently switched to Turf and it's been awesome on tire wear!
I've been using Z3 Pinpoints on my 4WD SC and they aren't showing any signs of wear after 3 race days.
For my wheeler, I've been experimenting various tread patterns from 6MIK and dBoots... I have to agree that the softer compounds are only lasting 1 day of racing, but oddly, the medium compounds are performing better with more grip and are lasting considerably longer, more like 2-3 race days of wear. I'm starting to adopt a strategy of saving a fresh set for the mains and running the older sets in the quals... I find it odd that the SC tires aren't wearing as fast as the wheeler tires
I've been using Z3 Pinpoints on my 4WD SC and they aren't showing any signs of wear after 3 race days.
For my wheeler, I've been experimenting various tread patterns from 6MIK and dBoots... I have to agree that the softer compounds are only lasting 1 day of racing, but oddly, the medium compounds are performing better with more grip and are lasting considerably longer, more like 2-3 race days of wear. I'm starting to adopt a strategy of saving a fresh set for the mains and running the older sets in the quals... I find it odd that the SC tires aren't wearing as fast as the wheeler tires
10-27-2017, 10:16 AM
#12
@{tpc} Are you referring to the new turf at Larry's in Shelby Twp? I have been experimenting with tires there a lot. In 2wd, for the rears I like the Pyramids but they are not too much better than the Prisms or the Pinpoints (which are both very much alike). They have tremendous forward bite, which sets them apart from the other two. I am finding that the smaller and more dense pin tires have a more gradual wear rate. The tires with larger less dense pins are really good but when they drop off they do so quickly.
I have some Cactus rears in blue compound I have been practicing on and they are lasting a long time. They do not have the forward bite that the Pyramids have but otherwise are comparable. They are hard to find right now in blue but I recommend you give them a try. Cactus rears in yellow may be a good compromise between wear/performance as I expect they would grip better than blue but I have not tried them yet.
As for fronts in 2wd I have tried everything and I have settled on the Schumacher Stagger Rib LP in yellow. These are NOT the "cut" staggers that are commonly used. They have a little too much bite IMO and the regular stagger rib feels just right to me. Very smooth and precise feel. The Pro-line wedge tires feel pushy and dead in comparison, especially in mid-corner. Although I have only tried them in Z3 / Silver (their harder compound).
Hope this helps!
I have some Cactus rears in blue compound I have been practicing on and they are lasting a long time. They do not have the forward bite that the Pyramids have but otherwise are comparable. They are hard to find right now in blue but I recommend you give them a try. Cactus rears in yellow may be a good compromise between wear/performance as I expect they would grip better than blue but I have not tried them yet.
As for fronts in 2wd I have tried everything and I have settled on the Schumacher Stagger Rib LP in yellow. These are NOT the "cut" staggers that are commonly used. They have a little too much bite IMO and the regular stagger rib feels just right to me. Very smooth and precise feel. The Pro-line wedge tires feel pushy and dead in comparison, especially in mid-corner. Although I have only tried them in Z3 / Silver (their harder compound).
Hope this helps!
Thats kind of what I found with the pyramids, the quick drop off. I was just surprised after about a week and a half of racing with some practice sprinkled in on race days, the pyramids wore down so fast. Just got really squirrelly after they did, so went and bought a new set, since I saw an increase in lap times over the pinpoints.
11-08-2017, 05:24 PM
#13
Our local track made the switch to astroturf about 2 years ago.
95 percent of the racer population there run Schumacher "Block" tires. Tons of rear grip and without a doubt the longest lasting tires in yellow compound. For my 2WD buggy this is the best performing tire, that I don't find the need to replace every race day. For my 4WD buggy it's just too grippy (forward and side bite) and find the Schumacher Mini Spikes to be the best option for overall corner rotation, but need to replace these every 2-3 race days.
95 percent of the racer population there run Schumacher "Block" tires. Tons of rear grip and without a doubt the longest lasting tires in yellow compound. For my 2WD buggy this is the best performing tire, that I don't find the need to replace every race day. For my 4WD buggy it's just too grippy (forward and side bite) and find the Schumacher Mini Spikes to be the best option for overall corner rotation, but need to replace these every 2-3 race days.
11-09-2017, 09:13 AM
#14
I've had good luck with both Pyramids and Prisms in the wear department. Z3 Pinpoints are good when new, but when they go away, they're done....even though they look and feel like they should work well. Same with the Z3 Square Wedge fronts. I want to try the Z4 compound. Not many at my track run the Schumacher tires because they don't last for us at all.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the JConcepts tires. Pindowns have great traction and life. They seem to wear fast, but even when they look like they're completely shot, they're only a tenth or two off, which is perfectly acceptable for club racing.
I go through front tires MUCH faster than I do any rear tire I've tried. I usually get about 4 full race days before tires are relegated to practice duty only.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned the JConcepts tires. Pindowns have great traction and life. They seem to wear fast, but even when they look like they're completely shot, they're only a tenth or two off, which is perfectly acceptable for club racing.
I go through front tires MUCH faster than I do any rear tire I've tried. I usually get about 4 full race days before tires are relegated to practice duty only.
11-09-2017, 06:50 PM
#15
Tech Adept
I wanted a more quantitative answer to this question so i started marking my wheel with a sharpie for each run. I'm comparing Pinpoints and Prisms in rear, and just Swaggers in front. I'll post my results when I have them.