Should slicks be outlawed?
02-02-2015, 07:20 AM
#1
Should slicks be outlawed?
This is a great article.......since I hate slicks.
http://www.rccaraction.com/newslette...or%20Racing%3F
My favorite quote is, "...In the end, the advice given by these elite drivers gets translated in to tracks that alienate the common customer."
http://www.rccaraction.com/newslette...or%20Racing%3F
My favorite quote is, "...In the end, the advice given by these elite drivers gets translated in to tracks that alienate the common customer."
02-02-2015, 07:30 AM
#2
"If you’ve ever driven on slicks, you are probably aware that these tires make a vehicle very twitchy and hard to drive and places a bigger emphasis on set-up and tuning."
I don't necessarily agree with this statement as it assumes that tracks where slicks can be run are automatically maximum traction.
If a track can run slicks then it removes the voodoo science of attaining max traction. Are your foams good? Do you have the right rubber compound (usually clay)? Then you're done with your tire selection.
I think there's a better argument for banning traction additives. They're toxic, messy, and cause tires to wear faster, resulting in higher costs, not to mention amplifying the voodoo-prep thing.
I don't necessarily agree with this statement as it assumes that tracks where slicks can be run are automatically maximum traction.
If a track can run slicks then it removes the voodoo science of attaining max traction. Are your foams good? Do you have the right rubber compound (usually clay)? Then you're done with your tire selection.
I think there's a better argument for banning traction additives. They're toxic, messy, and cause tires to wear faster, resulting in higher costs, not to mention amplifying the voodoo-prep thing.
02-02-2015, 07:32 AM
#3
I can agree with that statement...I'm kind of weird about additives and I'm almost positive that it's probably not healthy getting it on your skin or breathing it in.
02-02-2015, 07:37 AM
#4
We're somewhat lucky at my track that the additive du-jour is WD40 or LW blue (both cheap, easy to apply) but the end result is still the same.
02-02-2015, 07:40 AM
#5
I run on tracks with slicks. Either M4 or Clay slicks. I dont feel as though the car is twitchy at all. Well, not MM anyway. RM is a bit twitchy. I think this artical is trying to point at SRS. SRS has cactus and Nationals this year, and if you try to run threaded tires, you will regret it. I am not talking about 10th of a second. I am talking donuts and undrivable on treaded tires. For those of you coming here to run cactus or nats, dont even consider anything but clay slicks.
ALso, SRS is a NO sauce track. Get caught and go home. And it is not required anyway. Standing wheelies are so easy without it.
ALso, SRS is a NO sauce track. Get caught and go home. And it is not required anyway. Standing wheelies are so easy without it.
02-02-2015, 07:46 AM
#6
I dont get where in the artictle it says you need to do extra tuning.
From my experience running on them i dint need to do any big changes in tuning .
Where they twichy kind of but its not hard to tame it down.
From my experience running on them i dint need to do any big changes in tuning .
Where they twichy kind of but its not hard to tame it down.
02-02-2015, 07:57 AM
#7
The only downfall to the slicks is the lack of them at the moment. If a track such as SRS needs them, I feel it may be unfair for manufacturers to hold on to the tire for their drivers only and not have them available for the normal public. I have a few friends that are worried about running cactus without the access to slicks.
02-02-2015, 08:02 AM
#9
The only time my car was twitch, is when I tried M4 slicks at SRS. Clay compound really tamed it down. My person "issue" with slicks, is that it can be hard for the novice (me) to know when they need to be replaced, lol. When I ran holeshots on outdoor tracks, it was easy to "see" when the tires were done. Slick show no tread wear, but....the foams take a beating. And as the foams wear, the car just gets harder to tune. Refoaming tires is not hard, but newer drivers may struggle in this area. I am on a quest myself to find a foam with more life to it. I love AKA red foams when new, but after 3 weekends, they dont feel good anymore. But if you dont have much time at an "away" race, AKA foams are great, because they come in fast. Anyway, with slicks, I find you end up doing more foams tuning. And this is something that is harder to get down for newer drivers IMO.
02-02-2015, 08:05 AM
#10
The only downfall to the slicks is the lack of them at the moment. If a track such as SRS needs them, I feel it may be unfair for manufacturers to hold on to the tire for their drivers only and not have them available for the normal public. I have a few friends that are worried about running cactus without the access to slicks.
02-02-2015, 08:10 AM
#11
They will be covering that clay with artificial turf soon enough that slicks wont be an issue.
02-02-2015, 08:20 AM
#13
My understanding is that all the major tire companies plan to have slicks out by cactus. AKA is about to drop some, proline has theirs out and JC...well they completely dropped the ball and under ordered. I am sure their team drivers will have some for cactus, but the rest may suffer. Proline seems to have stepped up and is pumping them out. I am told AKA will have theirs out soon.
02-02-2015, 08:23 AM
#14
02-02-2015, 08:24 AM
#15
Tech Addict
iTrader: (10)
At the track I run if you don't have slicks than you are not going to have any traction, I like the slicks thy last a long time we will generally wipe out our foams long before tire failure and it is just the simple fact that running the slick equals great traction and better handling all around.
There is another track not far from the one I generally run at and until very recently they did not allow slicks now at this track in order to get traction the drivers would sand there tires down to ghost treads, soak them in different kinds of wd40 concoctions and have to warm their tires and use traction saue to get traction to compete this is a lot of hassle and money spent in tires and sauces to get that perfect tire and time in setup.
Given the option of buying a tires and spending all the time and effort to get them to hook up and wearing out and replacing again, or buying slicks or making slicks and running them I think most drivers would prefer slicks including newer drivers.
There is another track not far from the one I generally run at and until very recently they did not allow slicks now at this track in order to get traction the drivers would sand there tires down to ghost treads, soak them in different kinds of wd40 concoctions and have to warm their tires and use traction saue to get traction to compete this is a lot of hassle and money spent in tires and sauces to get that perfect tire and time in setup.
Given the option of buying a tires and spending all the time and effort to get them to hook up and wearing out and replacing again, or buying slicks or making slicks and running them I think most drivers would prefer slicks including newer drivers.