Originally Posted by CristianTabush

Chad, for someone that comes from a Mini-z background, you are quite negative on the rubber tires. :P

I truly believe that a Mini-z style rubber tire would be good and perform nearly as well as foam tires on the 12th scales. You could still true them, they would never chunk, last longer and they would probably have a longer "sweet spot" for usage. They would probably be marginally heavier, which may take some punch away, but top speed would be pretty close.

I love 12th scale, and love foam, but cost starts getting prohibitively expensive when you need to 1-2 run your tires to be competitive. Now, I know this is not what everyone does, and I am not saying change foam, so don't bring out pitchforks. I am just saying that it could be nearly as good as foam, for a much lower running cost. I think the cars would slow down slightly which is probably a benefit too for outsiders. I have a feeling they would work better on most asphalt tracks too. If they work nearly as good, the cost of running is lower and they are easier to use, then I could see them being a good change.

In the end, it could be beneficial for the hobbyists to help enjoy running 12th scale more. Do I think it would increase turnouts? Not necessarily from the tire change, but maybe from being able to run them outside more where people can see them running and inquire about them. But lets face it, changing the tire compound or type is not going to all of the sudden to make RC tracks come back, get more people involved in the hobby and grow racing as a whole.

I'll leave with saying, if someone makes some, I'll give them a fair shot before I make up my mind. If they are based on a design similar to a Mini-z Tire, I guarantee that they'll be pretty good. It is just a matter of getting the compounds figured out.