What The Hell Is Blue Groove?
 

Hey, just want to get some new tyres ( proline edge )

It says they are good for high bite blue groove tracks...wtf is bluegroove??

Is it anything like BMX track surface?

If you don't know what it is then I guess you've never driven in it!!!!:lol: :lol:

Just kidding, its the driving line that appears on a track from other cars tire rubber after few practice sessions, qualifiers or mains. It has always looked more black to me than blue. Usually that is wear the most traction is. You will generally see it around the exit points of each corner and at the entry and exit of the straight-away! This term is generally used for on-road tracks, I've never heard it used for off-road:confused:

Its kind of subtle...the blue/black isn't going to be incredibly noticible, but after a hard days racing, if you look at the middle of the turn, it will appear dark. just like in nascar how the track changes colors in teh turns. That area is usually full of traction, which makes it important to stay in the groove.

I'm no Off-roader but is'nt Blue Groove the kind of clay that's used at many tracks?

The term blue groove comes from dirt oval racing. When the dirt is very hard, the tire rubber wears into it and the dark groove you see is just that-tire rubber. It's where the best grip is. For an R/C track to get this there must be several decent drivers so that there is a lot of traffic on the same line, thus creating the "groove".

OH! as for tires, you want a pin or fuzzie type tire with R3(Proline) or Pink (Losi). compound. Losi red is good but it can wear very fast if the surface is abrasive. Ask around at your local track, the fast guys will have the best combination figured out and will most likely be glad to share it with you.

Most outdoor tracks that blue-groove, you will need to run Losi Red to get any traction (at least from what I've seen).

Blue-groove is the most dialed surface there is for R/C car racing..sooo much traction that stock truck pulls wheelies (at least mine did :p)

Also..if you go to some of the larger races in the country, the blue-groove will be all the way around the track. It's amazing!

Blue Groove Pics...
 

I've posted some pics of the blue groove that developed at my local track during the ROAR Region 7 Fuel Offroad Championship race back in September. Go directly to the photos here . By many accounts the track was in perfect shape for this race. We estimated that there were at least 15000 race laps run on the track (mostly 1/8th buggies) over this two day race weekend. The grove started to appear mid-day Saturday. By the mains on Sunday the grove was virtually everywhere on the track.

Anyway, the photos should give you an idea of what it looks like.

<shameless_plug>There are also lots of club racing photos too.</shameless_plug>

'nuff said,
MX4

WOW....did you guys download those vidoes on that site? The Kyosho 777 and On-road vidoes were freakin' amazing!

Yeah, you know the track is grooved when the guys grooming it are using brooms instead of rakes and shovels. It's popular for the reason Aaron stated plus when the surface is that hard, it doesn't deteriorate, it improves!. Personally, I prefer a track with a little loam. The track develops ruts, braking bumps and washboards on corner exits and the racing line changes so you can pass creatively as the day goes on. (Been a long time since I drove well enough to exploit that last part :-))
Plus tires last longer and you don't always need huge power to keep up.

Like everyone else has said, blue-groove is where the rubber from tires have formed. It's usually the hot line because that is normally where the only traction is.

Tire-wise, you will want an Proline M3 Holeshot, or M3 Square Fuzzy. Losi Red is good also, X-2000s work great, & if the track is VERY blue-groove, you may even might want to try Red Taper pins. It's a hard surface, so anything fairly soft will work. For foams, I like the Trinity Bomb 1's, stock foams will work 9 out of 10 times though.

We generally always have a groove at our track and the preferred tire of most here is pink x-2000 or Tapers. Sqaure Fuzzies are run by a few but don't seem to last very long at our track.

I think its a sports drink j/k :lol:

West Coast "Dirt"
 

Most off-road tracks are built from material available locally, and what passes for dirt in southern California, Arizona, New Mexico, etc. is really desert sand and rocks. Sand, by its nature, is highly abrasive. (See "sandpaper.") Therefore, once the sand is packed down hard enough it begins wearing tires like crazy, and the "blue groove" appears courtesy of the racers' wallets. One run and the tire's toast.

Come to one of the indoor midwest tracks once, like Planet or CRCRC and you'll understand what high-traction dirt is. Before anybody runs on the track we have as much traction as the "blue groove," but the track is not nearly as abrasive or hard-packed. When you case a jump, you'll dig a divot, not wreck the car. We actually use a Dremel to take some tread off the tires for max traction, and tires will last several race weekends before losing peak grip.

Many outdoor tracks are built of yellow clay which doesn't have quite as much traction and presents some problem with dust, but careful watering will produce an excellent racing surface. Uncle Joe's is a prime example.

Because these surfaces are not as hard-packed as the desert sand tracks out west, they will develop small holes and/or bumps which, in my opinion, add to the challenge and fun. Careful watering holds this to a minimum. Tracks like the concrete-with-jumps used for the '04 Mod Nats have more to do with on-road than off-. This isn't to knock ARCOR -- they did a great job with the dirt available. I can't wait for the Mod Nats next year at R/C Madness -- you west coast guys are in for something different!

I thought blue groove was something you did on the dance floor in the 70's. LOL