DCR1TWO

I'm looking for the sugar/water ratio used on track surfaces as traction compound (lbs sugar:gallons of water), and how it compares to using soda.

sparksy

iTrader: (14)

at the drag strip I have raced at, they use about 5kg of sugar to 30 lt of water... its very sticky

DCR1TWO

If I'm converting this correctly that would roughly be 11lbs of sugar to 8 gallons of water, or 1.375 lbs of sugar per every gallon of water.

That sounds like a ton of sugar. I think that might be a little excessive for an RC Car track, but thanks for the info.

sparksy

iTrader: (14)

It would be too sticky for a track... but a drag strip its spot on...

RClover

Since using sugar water as traction compound on track surface...i am wondering if we can do the same to our foam tyres, i.e. soak the tyres in the sugar water to increase traction???

nova racer

when they would dry i think that you would have four rock candy tires lol good idea though

patelladragger

I've had this same question before and experimented around with different ratios. A 5lb bag works well with about 8-10 gallons of water on an asphalt parking lot type surface.

Concrete I've gone a little higher on the sugar, but you don't want to get too much sugar because it gunks up the cars and is a cleaning nightmare. Oil and grease come off pretty ez but dried sugar is a PIA!!!


I wouldn't put sugar water on the foams. It's just like trying to put VHT on your foams, it sounds good but if it worked everybody would be doing it. When it dries is puts a slick film on your foams that you will have to true down to get off (or run many, many laps with no traction).

myclod

In R/C drag racing we generally use 5lb sugar to 5 gal water but like patelladragger says...during a long race it tends to gunk up cars so maybe make it 5lb to 10 gal or so.

ALSO!!!!! I have seen soda used quite effectively ( go to walmart or some dollar stores) and get the CHEAP stuff like no-name brand you can get in 3litre bottles for like $1 punch a hole in the cap and INSTANT APPLICATOR

DCR1TWO

We've been using Walmart soda for quite some time now, and it adds up after awhile (we usually use 20-25 2liter bottles). Sugar water sounded like a cheaper alternative, but I didn't realize the mess associated with the sugar solution. Thanks for the info.

RClover

why didnt i thought of 4 candy tyres on my car...!!!!
how nice if we can have those F1 slick tyres...they are so grippy and sticky once wearing out under hot temp....

popsracer

So what do you guys think?

Is the Sugar Water mix better than straight Fruit Punch or Soda?

We've been using both (not the S-W) and they seem to be poor at best. We also tried Snow Cone syrup and that was more expensive and didn't work any better than soda.

Thanks,

patelladragger

VHT is the best but very expensive at 26 dollars / gallon. You can get a drum of 55 gallons for about 450 though.

Sugar water is the next best. It's only a mess if you try to concentrate the solution way too much. You can get plenty of traction without doing that as long as the surface is blown clean before application.

myclod

got to agree with patelldragger on that one

DCR1TWO

How are you applying the sugar water to the track surface? We've been using compressed sprayers for the soda, but it takes alot of time to spray down the whole track.

patelladragger

Home depot sells a near commercial sprayer that comes with back straps, a convenient lever pump, and holds about 5 gallons for about 70 bucks. It's very easy to spray with one hand and pump with the other and one or two people can coat a track quick.

I have seen tracks where they constructed a custom sprayer and used 12 volt battery to power a pump and a drum to hold the goods on rollers. They'll have one person pulling the drum and the other spraying.

The home depot sprayer works just as good and is relatively cheap too.