wheelieman

iTrader: (1)

I am not sure blu_dude, I think so. I like to buy the pre-mounted tires because they stay put. I haven not had a tire come off my pre-mounted aka's and they have come off other wheels. I am sure others have opinions on this subject.

FLHX1550

iTrader: (11)

They will fit just fine. The key to getting tires to bond well is in the prep. I scuff the bead on the rims with a Xacto Knife or a sanding drum on a dremel, wash both the rim and the beads on the tires with acetone or motor spray, and use good, fresh glue (aka, pro-line, etc......).

As far as what tires work at Ricks. It is kind of a crap shoot. The general every day surface is hard with usually a good layer of sand/dust on top and it is hard to get a real solid grip on that surface. Something like a City Block or a JConcepts Sub-Culture are what I prefer there, but if there is enough traffic on it, it will get down to the hard stuff, and even at the MNRC race last year is started to groove up (rubber from the tires make a "blue groove". At that race I was running JConcepts Double Dee's in Blue compoung. Others were running other mini-pins like holeshots or aka gridirons.

There are two new tires out this year, the Pro-Line Sniper and AKA Impact that I think will be very good day-to-day tires at ricks, either in med (M2) or soft (m3) compounds.

blu_dude

I was actually looking at the Subcultures from Jconcepts. They look pretty good. I might give those a shot.

wheelieman

iTrader: (1)

its nice to have a few options for tires at RIck's because the conditions change. When we water, there is a lot more traction.

blu_dude

What's good for high traction?

FLHX1550

iTrader: (11)

To be honest the Sub-Cultures will be a good tire all away around at Ricks, all the way up to border-line Muddy, where a Crimefighter / Bowtie will be better.

One thing about Rick's is that is can be fairly hard on tires, that top layer of loose sand really can wear on them. You can get by there with a Medium compound tire in those conditions because there is not allot of "hard pack" for a softer compound to really work well.

That being said, you can run the JC Yellow (Medium) just about all the time.

The Sub-Cutlure is IMO one of the best tires out threre right now, it is very versitle, from loose, blown out conditions all the way down to a grooved track they work good. (now on a grooved track, a mini-pin will excel, but the Sub-C is pretty decent)

Another new tire that I think would work good at Rick's, but nobody has tired yet are the Losi Digits and Ultra-Digits.

wheelieman

iTrader: (1)

for 1/8 scale buggy, one guy loves the combination of crime fighters and eclipse. Another combination that seems to work well is Ibeam and city block. Most run medium but super soft is nice, just hard on the wallet, lol. There are some new tires out there but still to soon to see how they will work at Rick's or other tracks around the area.

blu_dude

I have some Crimefighters mounted on some AE rims back from my RC8. I'll use those to break in my engine, and just generally get my buggy going.

It is real apparent that I need to try a few different tires. But to start with I am going to try the CityBeam combo. It sounds like a solid starting point.

I have been doing WAY too much research, and asking questions, and such trying to figure out how I want to go about putting my first kit together. I finally decided to do the new 8ight 2.0 kit coming out in March from TLR. I'm borderline o.c.d. with how minute I am getting with the details and what I'm going to order. But I guess that is a good thing. I hope to learn more from the guys at the track.

wheelieman

iTrader: (1)

well there are a few Losi guys at the track including me I just upgraded to the 2.0 last fall from a friend and just doing some setup work on it right now. Are you getting an rtr or roller? My old 8ight liked the city block I-beam combo pretty well but I am far from a pro, mor like an orp (backward pro haha)

blu_dude

I'm getting the Losi 8ight kit that is coming out in March.
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-4WD-Buggy-Kit

I have the RC8 (NOT RC8B), but instead of buying the b, which is a roller, I decided to take on a kit, and it just so happens that Team Losi is coming out with the kit in march. I am not even a "orp", I am a beginner. I have bashed the RC8 around, but outside of that, I have never raced an RC car.

StillH20 Racer

iTrader: (26)

Glad to have someone new to the track. As for the RC8B being a roller, it is not. The only things built for it are the turnbuckles , diffs, and shocks. Otherwise it is a build-it yourself kit. The RC8B is an awesome car. But the Losi is a good one also. It all depends on what one you want to get.

As for the tires, the City-Beam combo is a good starting point. If you find the rear end is real loose, you can run City Blocks all the way around. But if I were you and your ordering new tires, I would do a set of both the City Blocks and the I-Beams. That way you are ready for anything. If you have any other questions, just ask away.

blu_dude

I didn't know that about the RC8B. Makes me want to think about that as an option. I'd enjoy building the diffs and shocks though.

wheelieman

iTrader: (1)

well building the kit is a great way to get to know your buggy, being pretty new at it, I learned that sometimes we break and have to repair. I think I can put my buggy together in my sleep right now, haha. One thing that I am on the fence about is getting the center smart diff. From talking with other losi guys, the ones that have the center smart diff really seem to think it helps a lot. Just not sure if my skill set would notice yet But ya got to have fun right!

FLHX1550

iTrader: (11)

Though the Diffs and shocks are "built", you have to dissasemble the diffs to put the fluids in them, and the shocks I would recomend drilling out the stock pistons to 1.5mm, or replacing them with the Factory Team Tapered ones.

I raced the RC8B last year, and that is one attribute I will give it, is that everything is in the box to win with. You don't have to buy a ton of parts to get it "race ready", it comes with all the stuff you need to adjust the car to dial it in. It is night and day vs. the origonal RC8.

The pluses of the RC8B is that it has allot of steering, but it can be a little bit of a handful on rough tracks. Not saying it is bad, just takes some setup work to get it to handle in the rough. If you did go down that road, I have a VERY good setup for the 8B, StillH20 has that setup information also.

The Losi is a light, responsive chassis, but they are not very aggresive steering wise. It makes the car easy to drive, but on smoother tracks it hurts them quite a bit. You can get the push out of it, but it will be harder to drive. Even Kendall struggled with the 2.0 for awhile till he changed enough to make it steer how he liked.

Both cars are great racers, just fit different driving styles.

As far as the City Block or City Beam setup. CitiBlocks work well, but mind you they wear fast too. They have real small pins and they wear away quick.

FYI - I think HobbyTown in Oakdale might have them on the wall, and their prices on 1/8 tires is pretty good.

blu_dude

That's really nice to know about the 8ight and and RC8B. I do have the older RC8. If I were to go the route of buying the RC8B, how much of the parts from the RC8 would work as replacement parts for the RC8B in case of breakage? That's be a nice incentive to stay with AE. Plus I have a body that I had custom painted for the RC8 a couple of years ago that has hardly a scratch on it.