Now thats what Im screaming! When all things are considered and proper comparisons are made, the tire bill for on road racing is nothing compared to off road racing.
I believe there are some common miss-conceptions on this topic due to the large variances of people who race off road compared to the people who race on road. In off road racing there are huge numbers of people who are likely to be considered bashers who happen to race. I believe this group far out numbers the group considered to be serious or competitive racers. These "racers" who are realy just bashers at a track are the people who dont replace their tires when needed . These guys likely will run only a couple sets for a whole season if they can get away with it. Its the serious off road racers though that see the true cost of tires as they are the ones keeping the freshest inserts and rubber (and winning the races). On the other side of this topic lyes the on road racers. I believe that the ratio of bashers to true racers is far different in on road racing than off road racing. On road automatically appeals to the type of person who is likely to stay on top of his tire management and such. Seems to me that where ever I race on road the majority of the racers know that to have a shot on the box they have to have good rubber. The average off road basher/racer just cant wrap there heads around the importance of proper maintainance (chassis and tire). They just need more motor so they can clear the quad like the fast guy.
1/8th scale off road at the level I strive to maintain = $100 - $200 for tires per weekend,?,?,?
Screw that! I'll take my $35 Sorex or some $25 Much More's any time,
its a shame when your local hobby shop can't even make a buck or 2 off rubber tires! what will these companys do when they completly kill touring car racing all together?
Now thats what Im screaming! When all things are considered and proper comparisons are made, the tire bill for on road racing is nothing compared to off road racing.
I believe there are some common miss-conceptions on this topic due to the large variances of people who race off road compared to the people who race on road. In off road racing there are huge numbers of people who are likely to be considered bashers who happen to race. I believe this group far out numbers the group considered to be serious or competitive racers. These "racers" who are realy just bashers at a track are the people who dont replace their tires when needed . These guys likely will run only a couple sets for a whole season if they can get away with it. Its the serious off road racers though that see the true cost of tires as they are the ones keeping the freshest inserts and rubber (and winning the races). On the other side of this topic lyes the on road racers. I believe that the ratio of bashers to true racers is far different in on road racing than off road racing. On road automatically appeals to the type of person who is likely to stay on top of his tire management and such. Seems to me that where ever I race on road the majority of the racers know that to have a shot on the box they have to have good rubber. The average off road basher/racer just cant wrap there heads around the importance of proper maintainance (chassis and tire). They just need more motor so they can clear the quad like the fast guy.
1/8th scale off road at the level I strive to maintain = $100 - $200 for tires per weekend,?,?,?
Screw that! I'll take my $35 Sorex or some $25 Much More's any time,
I agree 110 %
rubber touring car is the cheapest class for tires, IMO. If your track owner is clever enough to impose a hard compound ( we in Switzerland have orion "A" 36 shore) you'll end up using 3 sets of tires for one season MAX, and that includes practise, of course (carpet). Compared to this, foams or Off road is a lot more expensive when raced "seriously".
mick, how many runs are you getting on a set of tires? I'm getting like 50 runs on a set of Jaco blues, running TC 17.5 carpet, 6 minute runs.
I gotta call shenanigans on this...true the tire may physically last 50 runs, but there is no way it will remain competitive that long. After about a dozen heat cycles the rubber loses it's stickiness and your laptimes show it. At my local carpet track, new tires are 2-3 tenths quicker per lap than tires that are only three race meets old. I don't ENJOY paying through the nose for fresh rubber, but I like being fast so I suppose I will continue to do it. Like CarbonJoe said, go price some 1/8 offroad tires if you really want to be sick...between tire cost, fuel cost, and replacing a motor (that you have to wear out I mean break in before it even hits the track) every 6-8 gallons, I say no thanks...I sold my nitro offroad stuff last year and went lipo/brushless in my TC with the cash
I gotta call shenanigans on this...true the tire may physically last 50 runs, but there is no way it will remain competitive that long. After about a dozen heat cycles the rubber loses it's stickiness and your laptimes show it. At my local carpet track, new tires are 2-3 tenths quicker per lap than tires that are only three race meets old. I don't ENJOY paying through the nose for fresh rubber, but I like being fast so I suppose I will continue to do it. Like CarbonJoe said, go price some 1/8 offroad tires if you really want to be sick...between tire cost, fuel cost, and replacing a motor (that you have to wear out I mean break in before it even hits the track) every 6-8 gallons, I say no thanks...I sold my nitro offroad stuff last year and went lipo/brushless in my TC with the cash
-rocky b
Like adamge, we're running the Jaco Blues on high traction carpet here, and we don't seem them fall off at all. Nobody is going faster with a newer set. We usually just run them until they tear, or start to feel inconsistent on the track. I don't know about 50 runs, but it's a lot. I'm not saying we're all world-class racers around here, but it's pretty damn competitive, and you can bet we'd be throwing on new rubbers if there was any perceived difference. If anything, it's a disadvantage, 'cause they take forever to scrub in.
I'm pretty sure at IIC last year most guys ran one set of blues the entire week, practice and all. Maybe it's just this particular tire, but they really do seem to last forever. In fact, I can't think of any form of R/C racing that's getting better tire life than we are.
I gotta call shenanigans on this...true the tire may physically last 50 runs, but there is no way it will remain competitive that long. After about a dozen heat cycles the rubber loses it's stickiness and your laptimes show it. At my local carpet track, new tires are 2-3 tenths quicker per lap than tires that are only three race meets old. I don't ENJOY paying through the nose for fresh rubber, but I like being fast so I suppose I will continue to do it. Like CarbonJoe said, go price some 1/8 offroad tires if you really want to be sick...between tire cost, fuel cost, and replacing a motor (that you have to wear out I mean break in before it even hits the track) every 6-8 gallons, I say no thanks...I sold my nitro offroad stuff last year and went lipo/brushless in my TC with the cash
You know, I wonder if it's a traction thing. I watched this video you posted, and it doesn't seem like there's much of a groove in the track. The tires are squealing a LOT more than we ever hear around here. I bet they're working harder if there's less grip, which might explain the increased wear you're seeing. Our shoes stick to the carpet when we walk on our track. Seems like that would be easier on tires.
Sheesh!!! I just bought new tires for my Datsun 510 at $85 a pop for 14's and $130 for my 18's on the BMW. Insanity that RC tires cost almost as much as the real deal.
I believe there are some common miss-conceptions on this topic due to the large variances of people who race off road compared to the people who race on road. In off road racing there are huge numbers of people who are likely to be considered bashers who happen to race. I believe this group far out numbers the group considered to be serious or competitive racers. These "racers" who are realy just bashers at a track are the people who dont replace their tires when needed . These guys likely will run only a couple sets for a whole season if they can get away with it. Its the serious off road racers though that see the true cost of tires as they are the ones keeping the freshest inserts and rubber (and winning the races). On the other side of this topic lyes the on road racers. I believe that the ratio of bashers to true racers is far different in on road racing than off road racing. On road automatically appeals to the type of person who is likely to stay on top of his tire management and such. Seems to me that where ever I race on road the majority of the racers know that to have a shot on the box they have to have good rubber. The average off road basher/racer just cant wrap there heads around the importance of proper maintainance (chassis and tire). They just need more motor so they can clear the quad like the fast guy.
That is a damn good observation. Coming from off-road, guilty as charged!
To think that $35 is outrageous for premounts is silly!!!
Sure your real car tires might cost $85 each, but you have buy 4 and they will be total crap passenger tires. If you want to compare apples to apples, how much does a full size race slick cost for your size wheel?
I know Sorex tires cost about $9 a pair if you buy just the tires. That's $4.50 each. Find me a 1:1 scale racing slick that cost $45 each!!! 10x the size should be 10x the price right? Now go find me a set of 4 race slicks that come premounted on racing rims in the $350-400 range brand new!!! Your just kidding yourself here.
If 1:1 racing was as cheap and easy as RC, everyone would do it. I guess they would still complain too though...
You know, I wonder if it's a traction thing. I watched this video you posted, and it doesn't seem like there's much of a groove in the track. The tires are squealing a LOT more than we ever hear around here. I bet they're working harder if there's less grip, which might explain the increased wear you're seeing. Our shoes stick to the carpet when we walk on our track. Seems like that would be easier on tires.
Could be...the track opened the first week of March so it is barely 3 months old, and we have been through 3 layouts to save wear and tear on the carpet. We have six races a month, with 6-10 cars per class average in touring, WGT, and 1/12. The tires you hear squealing are the guys running Sorex's, they are way louder than anything else. I was running RP-30's (orange car), silver car was running blues, and the green/white/orange car (the one tangled in the marshal's shoelaces ) was on CS-27's I think.
QFT! 
Similar Threads