To anyone who raced at the Qld Titles in Rocky- What's your thoughts/opinions of the control tyre idea, and the choice of tyre used this year?

the tyres gave decent traction. and working to find a better setup was fun for a change (as opposed to foams where its not near as important).

wear was ok to the surface of the tyre.. they wern't being shreaded even with it being as hot as it was.. but one thing i found was that after a few runs the rubber went off and started to go quite hard. so new tyres were imo quicker. the other thing was with them not being belted, despite having 'the right' inserts there was some extra wear just in from the sidewall.

one thing i wasnt sure on was if the rules would let you:
a) use something like 'trinity deathgrip tire cleaner' on them.. it's basicly a tyre cleaner and conditioner that's meant to keep them closer to a new tyre?
b) what about actual 'traction additives' or other similar products?

in the end i didn't get ahold of any before hand so it wasn't an issue.. but i'd be interested to know for future referance.


the biggest cons of these tyres imo were:
proline touring tyres are always the biggest pain to mount.. and to try and get them true..

also quite a few people sounded like they were having troubles working out what brand of insert would fit them properly let alone what was working best.

if you include all the insert testing to find out what fits/works etc the costs involved probably started to get a little high..

something interesting i saw was at the reedy race they used a take off control tyre that came pre glued so stopped having to spend money finding the right inserts etc. i dont know if its a regular thing they have in production or if it was just a once off. or even if takeoff's are able to be told apart from each other (compound wise) maybe they'd be better choice of control tyre as they come with inserts.. which atleast gives you an insert that you know fits and that should work well enough for most people, perhaps something like that would end up being a more cost effective solution?

looks like takeoff do produce those pre-glued tyres..for just over AUD$60 (thats just the price from stormers put thru a currency converter) you get a set of 4 x rim, insert, tyre all pre-assebled and glued up.. when you do the maths that's not half bad

IMO that is the only way that control tures should be implemented, and i believe that Takeoff have the compopund molded into the sidewall.

If these become common place we will just have to find another importer who will actually get supplies of these tires in stock. The current one is certainly not doing the job.

Yep Take offs do have the compound molded (well the 27s do anyways).

Bersercoe, I agree that there are some "problems" there!!

Yeah, who do you buy take off's from? wings is way too expensive!!! radio mong supplies has it for $30 a pair..

Apparently down in Melbourne hobby stores they have plenty and they're only around $20-$22pr, so I've been told.

For the next worlds they are looking at controlled rims and inserts and pre-mounted tires.

.The proline K's I've found work very well on Yokomo inch up rims with HPI red inserts. They also fit perfect and are no troubles gluing or making sure there round. But this is just what I've found. You're definitely right about the wear thou, pity they're not belted.

When we were looking for a control tyre to nominate for this experiment the criteria very much included - 1. Guaranteed availability - Austra;ian distribution. 2.Able to be sold at virtually any hobby store (not selected retailers ) 3. Sidewall marking.
4. Could be announced 6 months out from the title and still be available at Title time.

When we went looking we found out that the Proline Control K was teh only tyre that met these criteria and on that basis teh decision was made.

Now at this time I'm not saying the decision was right or wrong and I am very interested in the opinions of the drivers that attended the Qld Titles and raced on these tyres.

Seems there are two questions
1. What do you think of the control tyre idea for the Qld Titles
2. Was the tyre chosen a fair choice.

to answer those 2 specific points

1. i think it was great having everyone on the same tyres.. (other than inserts) it took out alot of guess work and also put everyone on an even more level playing field, the result being some super close racing.

btw- good racing to all the guys, who kept it clean when it was so close! .

so the control tyre factor is something i'd personally like to see stay... well done to those that came up with and implemented the idea.

2. as for the tyre itself, if the proline tyre was the only tyre that fited that criteria at the time one had to be selected then thats fair enough.

the only real complaints i heard about the control tyre chosen was mainly the costs involved.. which to do all 4 corners were:
~$46 for 2 pair of control K tyres
~$20 for inserts
~$20 for wheels

then that gets multiplyed if you wanted to experiment with inserts.

so say for 2 sets alone (and those who experiemtned would have used more than 2 sets) you're up for ~$170.. which even for a state level race is getting pretty steap.

this is why i mentioned the takeoff pre-mounted tyres in my first post, as i imagine one of the bigger reasons behind using the control tyre was to try and keep costs down and the other would be to get the most even playing field as possible. if the take off tyres could meet the criterias you mentioned then in my opinion i think they'd be better both keeping costs down and keeping the playing field as level as possible.. instead of having those that can afford to experiment getting a slight edge.

I enjoyed the fact of having a control tyre and would happly do it again.I believe it brought out much better racing and a fairly even playing field.The tyres did go off alittle in the heat but provided constant grip through out the day.

I used

tamiya 24 mm rims
corally medium inserts

I hope this helps heavy and im going to try them at meakin on sat.

I believe the control rubber tyre for the QLD's and other selected meetings is a good idea. The only down side to this years was as everyone experienced, the inserts. What ones worked and what didn't. The logical step from here as it sounds like it was a success would be to have control tyre/insert/wheel combo. This would then make the whole process even easier and probably cheaper.

So anyway, if we are all looking for a control tyre, what is wrong with foams as well. Everyone pretty much runs the same now....45/42/40 or red/purple/pink. Chuck em on and you are instantly competitive. Isn't that controlling enough.

That is my thoughts on the subject anyway......also this is not a foam v rubber deal.

Just looking at my Takeoff 22's and they have the compound marked on the sidewall so I think it safe to assume that all compounds are marked in the same way. Also molded inserts are included with the Takeoff's. Makes the tyre sit perfectly on the rim.

One thing I noticed about racing on the controlled rubber tyre at Rocky, was that it was difficult to race close to another competitor without risking turning him around. As we have all experienced racing on foam tyres, you can attack a lot more without it turning to tears.

The overall principle was good, but I felt the racing lack the qualities that we are all use too. Just take a look at the Mod tourer racing. There were some great battles (especially in the Final) in there racing. Was it because they were on foams?

Is there such a thing as a controlled tyre that is foam?

glad to hear so many people had positive experiences with a control tyre event.

We all run takeoffs at TFTR, these tires are da shiznit!, we get them from Metro Hobbies, who in turn pre-order large batches from Bolton. I Feel that the bulk ordering secures us racers fantastic prices and constant availability.

If you are keen to run these tires, they come supplied with a moulded insert, which works fantastic!, and should definately be at the top of anyones list looking to choose an open or control tyre.

Metro hobbies sells the tires for $25 pr (inserts included), and yes the compound is marked on the sidewall, I would suggest for a control tyre the 27r be chosen, as it copes with very broad range of conditions.

We used to run the 27r exclusively in all conditions, and at every track in Vic before the 22r became available. Now we run the 22r in cold weather, and switch to 27 as soon as the sun comes out.

I urge you all to try these tiures, beg with your hobby shop to preorder some from the next shipment, or contact Metro hobbies to do a mail order.
We run them with Tamiya 24mm dish rims and this has proven to be a great combo for stiffness, weight savings and durability.