Well, thought I would try something new this past Saturday. Typically I race my 18T with 2 ball diffs and foam tires (1/12 adapters).
I found a set of the stock rubber pin-tires that are basically slicks now from being worn down. I cleaned them off with Greased Lightning, re-glued the rims, then let them soak through 3 coats of Paragon.
I also put in my MIP fixed one-way. For those who don't know what that is, basically off-throttle it allows the front wheels to free-spin, but on throttle it is a locked axle. Fast 1/10 rubber TC's use spools and fixed one-ways.
I swapped springs and put blue on the front, gold on the rear.
I was worried about the tires losing their "stickiness" near the end of a 5-minute heat, but they didn't. I never had any problems with them losing traction, slipping, getting loose, etc. and our carpet is only about medium traction.
I was running faster times with my new rubber setup than I ever have with a foam setup. The AE rubber tires also made jumping much more forgiving.
BTW, the powertrain is Mamba 6800 and 1600 NiMh Orion pack.
I placed 2nd to my friend's very fast 18R on foams, but it wasn't due to lack of speed. I ran the fastest lap of the night in the A-main by about a full second over anyone else. I was having problems with the ball cups stripping from the turnbuckle so I probably sat out 3 laps because of it.
Definitely give the setup a try if you have the parts. I was running 60 wt. oil in the front, 40 wt. oil in the back, with arms level all around, 1* toe-out front, 0* toe rear. Camber is 1* all around, but I plan to try 2* in the front due to the rubber tires rolling more.
You could possibly just "lock" the front diff for the same effect, but you would have to adjust the setup accordingly to get more off-throttle steering since you lose some rotation without the one-way action.
Just thought I'd share some tips and a setup I found over the weekend!
Similar Threads