0010

iTrader: (4)

I am trying to figure out where the tire compounds from different manufacturers are similar but I don’t have enough experience to draw my own conclusions. For example, in outdoor 1/8 buggy, Proline has an M3, M4, S3 and S4 compound for many of their tires. AKA has Super Soft, Super soft long wear, soft and super soft long wear. How do those tire compounds relate to each other, if they do? Does the M3 equate to the Soft compound from AKA? Is the Super soft long wear similar to the S4? What about J Concepts or Sweep compounds? Where do those fit in?

Any info greatly appreciated. You know the manufacturers have this info, it would be great if they were willing to share, but I highly doubt that would happen.

billdelong

iTrader: (33)

The ProLine M series is similar to AKA standard compounds where the S series correlates to the Long Wear lineup respectively. Although each brand shares similar shore ratings they will not be exact and the difference is only compounded (no pun intended) when you are using different tread patterns. Other factors to consider are carcass under the tread pattern, mass of rubber used, stiffness of foam insert, some will punch holes in the inserts to soften them as an example, to the amount of flexibility in the wheels. Tire compound alone is just a small fraction of a very wide array of tuning options.

Losiracer12

iTrader: (1)

Tire compound is the single most working aspect of the tire. As stated above no 2 are exactly the same from different manufacturers but can be very close. For this reason I choose to have no tire sponsorships and can find an extra 2-3 tenths at most places by using the actual best tire for the surface instead of what I would be obligated to run otherwise many times. Clay compounds are synthetic rubber and very similar but I usually find on these indoor surfaces that one is usually a little better than the others for the characteristics of the clay. S3 and Aqua 2 are very similar and used in many of the same conditions. Then your softs,super softs and ultra softs can usually find that one prevails a little more in certain situations. Compound first then carcass and tread pattern in the level of importance imo

billdelong

iTrader: (33)

If you truly want to compare compounds between brands, then you should consider investing in a durometer and then you can measure how hard each brands respective shore rating actually is

Only problem is that you won't be able to compare the blend of synthetic rubber to understand how each behaves in various track conditions, wet/dry or hard pack, loamy, etc... the data points would generate an insurmountable collection of information that could not be easily displayed without a database tool.

Losiracer12

iTrader: (1)

yea,for me running properly broken in tires back to back on the clock is the only data that matters. I don’t go with the brand that necessarily gives the fastest single time but the tire that is easiest to drive the hardest for multiple laps