No your not alone with this we have seen the same thing locally as well. On the plus side HPI tires are still easy to get. Personally I have run both and there isnt much difference in lap times it was more a cost factor for us locally to allow the use of the Solaris tires.

We are allowing guys to run Jaco Blues now...Im still on HPI Xpatterns...but Ive looked to run the TC tires and I am only about 1 tenth faster...

I like the rims and looks from HPI better...but the black Solaris are pretty cool looking too

I was actually thinking about putting a USGT car together. I was a fan of the VTA class until the whole 25.5 restriction. I like the fact that everyone ran the exact same tires. I thought (at one time) USGT tires had to be a treaded tire. Any tire you want, as long as it was treaded. Running Solaris/Jaco racing tires just makes it a 21.5 (blinky) TC class. Since I already run 17.5 (blinky) TC, I don't see the point. :confused:

The scale bodies still set it apart from the usual TC classes, which is cool to me. At the Hangar, we combine VTA and USGT together with a common 25.5 motor, and the USGT cars run the HPI X-pattern D compound tires. It's a good formula and we have great turnouts every race night, with close to 10 cars in each configuration.

dont run from the 25.5 Novak only motor...it was a great thing for the class...look how much the class grew after the intro of it...more clubs/tracks are running USVTA than ever...you should give it a try..

as far as USGT, Im a big fan...and I run the Xpatterns against a field of Jacos, but its in play due to some guys like the TC tire(pre-mount) thing. I dont, but I see this as a way to help the class grow locally...for the Nationals and official USVTA events, thats a different story.

But watching the GT class at our track, you dont even notice tires/rims...but you do see the bodies and smiles...

We just started a USGT class at our track. So far it has been a larger class than 17.5 or VTA. Typical car counts are 17.5 - 6 to 8 , USGT - 14 to 18, VTA - 12 to 14.

Cannot locate any Solaris tires at all.

Sticking with my HPI X-Patterns, which are also available pre mounted.

Yeah same over here too. I did some more running back to back with Solaris and x-Patterns and lap times were the same. It was actually easier to drive with the x-patterns. Also on a side note some of the guys who were able to get solaris tires and ran them they dont seem to be holding up as well as the tires did last winter. So IMO the cost savings of running them seems to be moot at this point. Just stick with X-patterns cause you know how they work and can find them easy enough.

I am running a 21.5 novak and i race on a large asphalt and i need to know what to gear it. Since the motor timing is not adjustable so i have to get what ever. Speed i can through gearing im going wyth 3.85 fdr to start is that good or should i go higher or lower.

Actually the old SS style motors r adjustable . Loosen the 3 screws on back ,then the black ring with the lines in it right up against the aluminum part will turn . Turn it counter clockwise until it stops moving it don't move much but it does have about 20deg adjustment

Justin can you help with gearing sugestions? I tried to move the timingand it didnt move. I am really more interesred do i gear the motor like i gear 17.5?

Ive noticed that FDR is about the same

I've been running the Solaris tires, and found them to be very consistent, whereas the d compound x patterns start out good but seem to go away as they heat up (IMO). I'm curious if anyone has any experience with HPI's belted pro compound x patterns or belted carpet compound Advan A038's now that belted is allowed?

I think the solaris tires are consistant just the life doesnt seem to be there like we were getting out of them last season/year. Dont know if the tires changed or its another year and we are going faster in the class Im not sure. Belted Pro-Comp X-Patterns are good they can be a little too grippy at times I like the D-comp ones better. I havent ran the Advan's in a long time but last I remember they were really close to the Pro-Comp X-Patterns....dont forget that the Advans are a 24mm tire and the X-patterns are 26mm.

We've been running the belted X's at our track since we started USGT (about the time USVTA switched to 25.5). Our experience is they are best the first few runs then fall off slightly. After that they stay quite consistent until they are pretty much totally worn out. We experimented with some cheaper options but they never seemed to be as consistent through the life of the tire so we went back to the belted x's exclusively.