haplm

For tarmac, I really suggest HPI Pirelli S compound.

Another option you have is Speedmind Rally Soft compound (copy of HPI Rally tire, just softer), unfortunately sold out at the moment on RCMart. But they still have the medium compound (Speed Mind, Rally Block Tyre (Medium) ,(RT-28M)). It is pretty much the same thing as HPI, just cheaper.

Third option is Fastrax Rally Block - softer than Tamiya, so it grips much better. You can read more about rally tires in my post here (and couple others in that thread).

4roller

So I got the chance to use the Ride 26mm tires. They have a very square profile which means maximum surface contact, especially at the edges. They have a semi slick pattern with decent amount of v-pattern and siping. The sidewall is pretty low, but not as low as the 24mm USGT spec ride tires. This helps with sidewall deflection while going around hard turns.

The tires hook up very well, the compound is very sticky. We shall see how long they last. I will say I was running my car with my slipper a little loose, and in those cases hammering the throttle I don't get the direct wheel spin. So that should keep the tires from being destroyed too fast. The rims I am running are a 3mm offset so my track width is actually increased. I am not sure to what affect this has on cornering, but I presume it makes the car a little more stable around corners. Rim flex is greater with these deep inset rims. This might be a good or bad thing depending who you ask.

So far, Excellent.
Forward Grip 8+/10 (using slipper)
Durability ?/10
Cornering 8/10 (widened track due to rim offset and TC setup)

LJH

iTrader: (2)

I just received mine yesterday, they do feel soft and the inserts feel really soft as well. It will be interesting to see how they wear. On my staggered set-up for the Porsche body I am running the USGT tires as well, their durability seems to be pretty darn decent.

Has anyone tried the MST "Realistic" Rally tires as of yet? They offer them in two compounds and they are priced right.

Cheers,
Jim

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

My understanding is the RiDE tires will wear-out the inserts before they wear-out the tread.

4roller

It got a little dirt drifty today.

LJH

iTrader: (2)

I hope you guys don't mind this TT02 guy posting in here, you guys are actually use your cars on unprepared surfaces which there is not a lot of in the TT02 thread.

I glued up the 26MM Rides tonight and tried them out this evening. Once you get some heat into them they are sticky....so sticky that I traction rolled twice, something I have never done with the USGT tires. With that said I found the radials much more difficult to modulate during throttle induced oversteer the Rides will swing, catch, and then flick the car hard the other way...it is very pronounced compared to the USGT tires at least on the TT02 chassis. I also do not think they are going to last terribly long, I put two packs through them and the outside shoulders are showing visable wear, especially the rears, but I was doing a lot of hooning.....

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

BURN THE WITCH!

Spec tires aren't really supposed to last very long. People want lots of grip for race-day and to hell with lifespan, and the tire companies are happy to sell more tires rather than spending money developing more advanced rubber compounds. The only exception is if the spec requires you use the same tires for the entire competition, and I'm not sure there are any RC race classes with that requirement. In real-car racing, it creates some interesting paradoxes; in Formula 1, for qualifying they use ridiculously sticky tires and they run their engines so they're practically belching smoke to get the most power out of them, and then for the actual race they dial back the engine programming and switch to (relatively) long-life tires, because regs won't let them use more than a certain amount of fuel and a certain number of tires. This results in cars that win the qualifier and lose the race, because the mechanics can't re-tune the cars thoroughly enough while switching between qualifier configuration and race configuration.

4roller

I actually had to look up what hooning was. It sounds like you could increase your rear camber to allow for some rear end to slide. How tight is your rear diff? With such nice sticky tires, traction rolling sounds amazing, something that only a top heavy, lifted xv-01 will do. The front mounted motor easily allows the rear end to swing out before a roll happens. What kind of surface are you driving on?

LJH

iTrader: (2)

Hey now.....LOL. Where is the love?

I consider the USGT "spec" tires, I did not know the 26MM Ride Radials were also "spec" tires. With that said the USGT tires are wearing very well. Last night I put what I believe was the 13th pack on the USGT tires and they are showing a bit of wear but not bad at all.

Huge F1 fan here. amazing how many laps they got out of the "Super Softs" this past weekend, there were a number of cars that pitted after the first lap debacle and put on SS's and went the full race distance on them.

Back in the mid '80 with the 1.5L turbos they did change the map for qualifying....1000BHP out of a 1.5L motor in qualifying trim . Currently I believe they run the same map in qualifying as they do in the race. I believe this is because of the motor limit that has been instituted in the current sporting regulations, they can't "use up" motors like they did in the old days.

Cheers,
Jim

LJH

iTrader: (2)

The standard TT02 does not allow camber adjustment so no go there currently and to be honest the USGT tires are showing very even wear across the tires.

I am running 500K in the front and just a bit of Tamiya Anti-Wear grease in the rear, the rear is VERY "open".

Last night I was running on the street in front of the house. The tarmac is 12ish years old but the road does not get a lot of traffic so it is in good shape. I blew the road in front of the house over the weekend. With that said it is possible that the traction roll was helped with by pebbles or twigs that are in the road.

I am going to hit the local tennis courts tonight and see how the 26MM rides work there.

Cheers,
Jim

4roller

I've found the USGT spec tired wear excellent. They are very durable tires. I think it is because of the super low sidewall which means little to no sidewall deflection. And thus little shoulder wear. They are also super consistent around corners for that reason.

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

Based on my experience, if you'll traction-roll anywhere, you'll traction-roll on a tennis court. The surface is incredibly grippy.

4roller

Sometimes I traction roll my ankle.

fyrstormer

iTrader: (1)

Ow. >_<

4roller

Oh xv-01.

My car was so dirty from the baseball diamond dirt drift session. I went and cleaned it with pressurised air but it's still dirty. I don't think my car will ever be clean again, it's got so many scratches, the dirt is permanently lodged.

Today I cut out a new HPI Toyota AE86 body for the xv-01. It's boxy looking coupe from the 80s. From what I've read, it is a cult classic amongst drifters. Too bad I am going to make it rally style!

Anyway, more on those Ride 26mm tires. I don't think the 26mm are spec tires. The 24mm ones are USGT spec. So the 26s I took them out for a spin today. I think they needed to be broken in, they seem to stick a little better after the outer layer of rubber has peeled off. So far so good. Plenty of grip.

I also threw on some larger tires. 70+ mm outside diameter things for fun. They have a grid like pattern on them, similar to rally blocks, only finer and only one height of nub. Anyway, these tires seem to be proper fun. They don't fit under any TC body I have, but fit nicely under the Blitzer truck body. They slide and spin just enough. Good traction but break loose in a predictable manner when you throw down power.

After everyone has been talking about raising their car, I have succumbed to peer pressure. I increased my ride height today, more than my usual on road 8mm. I am somewhere in the 12mm range with stiff springs. Yes. It drives great, more body roll, more ground clearance. It squats and dives all day. I even took it at speed over some medium length grass on my driveway. I usually only rip that section with my buggy. But because of the ride height and super power of the motor, I ran down that strip with ease.

At the end of the driveway I flipped my car because of a tuff of grass and sidewalk.

I've been thinking about making a metal skid plate. Heavier it will be on the front, but it will allow the xv-01 to launch onto curbs without worry.

I still only get maximum 19mm in the front and like 22mm in the rear.

Rally on.