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Confused Wheel/Tire Selection seems difficult

Confused Wheel/Tire Selection seems difficult

Old 10-02-2013, 10:35 PM
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Default Confused Wheel/Tire Selection seems difficult

Can anyone shed some light of this subject: It's possible that we are just to new with the onroad platforms to understand it.

Me and several friends within the past month have purchased HPI's Sprint to Flux 1/10 touring cars to race against each other. We are offroad guys, this is our first venture in the onroad cars so we don't know that much about them. We seem to be running into much difficulty trying to determine which tire/wheel combinations and offsets to run for a particular body style. Offsets we can probably figure out, but the wheels and tires are proving to be a bit more difficult.

Here's several of the problems that we are having:

Tire compounds HPI doesn't seem to list what compounds are at least extensively on their website: I have been able to derive that the "D" compound is for long life and good traction.

"S" compound?? Pro compound?? Can't find any information on these compounds listed on their website, maybe I am overlooking it.

Steel belted tires? Can't find any information on when these tires would be a good choice to use. Our style of racing is that we find an empty asphalt lot, setup racing cones and just race against each other, nothing too serious, so tread life is most important, but we don't want them so hard that we spin out we are not trying to drift at this point. So having knowledge of tire compounds to us is important.

Often times the tires only state what I believe to be the width dimensions: example 26mm, but leave out the OD and ID dimensions, which I believe is necessary in trying to determine what wheels will work with what tire.

Many times what we are finding when trying to determine proper wheel selection is that the companies (not HPI) that sell wheels for these cars that many don't list basic information like the offset, wheel OD and ID. But HPI often leaves out the OD and ID dimensions on their tires.

As a consumer how in the heck are you suppose to know what to buy? Is this a common thing with onroad cars? I would think this confusion could be avoided if they were to list not only the wheel and tire width, but also list the OD, ID, of both the wheel and tires and concerning wheels it's good to know the offsets.

Any guidance would be much appreciated.

Thanks again.
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Old 10-02-2013, 11:12 PM
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Are you racing, or parking lot bashing? (since you said you find a parking lot I assume just bashing) ---

Generally if you are racing - talk to guys at the track you race at to see what is the best (or legal) tires for the class you wish to race. ie: Some tracks require certain types or brands of tires like the US VTA (Vintage Trans Am) which requires specific tires, with a short list of legal wheels. Where other places require a non-dish type wheel w/ premounted tires.

If you are just parking lot bashing w/ friends - I'd suggest some of the Pre-Mount (Set of 4) sets. There are several types/brands available at a really good price.

Something like these - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...=Product-Feeds

or these

http://www.tqrcracing.com/shop/produ....asp?p_id=4767
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Old 10-03-2013, 03:58 AM
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Originally Posted by tk1931
Tire compounds HPI doesn't seem to list what compounds are at least extensively on their website: I have been able to derive that the "D" compound is for long life and good traction.

"S" compound?? Pro compound?? Can't find any information on these compounds listed on their website, maybe I am overlooking it.
D is Durable. Harder compound but more consistent and longer lasting.
S is Soft. Softer compound so more grip at first but it goes off over time and wears faster.
Pro. Designed more for racing, more grip but even less durability.
The differences are all relative to each other, so the durable compound isn't hard and lasts forever, and the pro is not so soft it only lasts an hour.

Steel belted tires? Can't find any information on when these tires would be a good choice to use.
Nylon belted tyres are used for every race tyre these days. It stops the tyre ballooning when at speed for more consistent handling and better grip, and with a bigger and more consistent contact patch it also lasts longer than a non belted version.

Regarding tyre wear, because there are so many factors involved you can find quite often a softer tyre can last longer, because it is gripping the ground instead of sliding over it or wheelspinning. The only way to work out which lasts longer is to try different tyres and see.

Often times the tires only state what I believe to be the width dimensions: example 26mm, but leave out the OD and ID dimensions, which I believe is necessary in trying to determine what wheels will work with what tire.
Wheel diameters are a standard dimension, all wheels and tyres are designed around industry standards, the only difference is wheel and tyre width, which has standardised on 24 and 26mm. Buy any 26mm wheel from any manufacturer and any 26mm tyre will fit on it. Tyre diameters are also pretty consistent, the racing slicks are usually slightly smaller, but they are all more or less the same, just like treaded tyres are all more or less the same diameter. There are a few exceptions, such as the HPI Super Low tyres, and they usually come premounted because they couldn't sell them individually.

If you want to know overall dimensions the simplest way to look for something on Tower Hobbies website, they actually measure just about everything they sell.
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Old 10-03-2013, 04:24 PM
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Originally Posted by SWTour
Are you racing, or parking lot bashing? (since you said you find a parking lot I assume just bashing) ---

Generally if you are racing - talk to guys at the track you race at to see what is the best (or legal) tires for the class you wish to race. ie: Some tracks require certain types or brands of tires like the US VTA (Vintage Trans Am) which requires specific tires, with a short list of legal wheels. Where other places require a non-dish type wheel w/ premounted tires.

If you are just parking lot bashing w/ friends - I'd suggest some of the Pre-Mount (Set of 4) sets. There are several types/brands available at a really good price.

Something like these - http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...=Product-Feeds

or these

http://www.tqrcracing.com/shop/produ....asp?p_id=4767

No formal racing just bash racing with buddies. Maybe we just don't look in the correct place but it seems that finding various companies tire data is elusive. Each company uses their own number/lettering system and often times little description is given.
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Old 10-03-2013, 04:27 PM
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Originally Posted by terry.sc
D is Durable. Harder compound but more consistent and longer lasting.
S is Soft. Softer compound so more grip at first but it goes off over time and wears faster.
Pro. Designed more for racing, more grip but even less durability.
The differences are all relative to each other, so the durable compound isn't hard and lasts forever, and the pro is not so soft it only lasts an hour.

Nylon belted tyres are used for every race tyre these days. It stops the tyre ballooning when at speed for more consistent handling and better grip, and with a bigger and more consistent contact patch it also lasts longer than a non belted version.

Regarding tyre wear, because there are so many factors involved you can find quite often a softer tyre can last longer, because it is gripping the ground instead of sliding over it or wheelspinning. The only way to work out which lasts longer is to try different tyres and see.

Wheel diameters are a standard dimension, all wheels and tyres are designed around industry standards, the only difference is wheel and tyre width, which has standardised on 24 and 26mm. Buy any 26mm wheel from any manufacturer and any 26mm tyre will fit on it. Tyre diameters are also pretty consistent, the racing slicks are usually slightly smaller, but they are all more or less the same, just like treaded tyres are all more or less the same diameter. There are a few exceptions, such as the HPI Super Low tyres, and they usually come premounted because they couldn't sell them individually.

If you want to know overall dimensions the simplest way to look for something on Tower Hobbies website, they actually measure just about everything they sell.
Thank you for taking the time to respond. Learned more in your response than hours on various company sites.
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