losewheel

Newbie 1/8 buggy driver. Whats the two best tires for dirt. Two new tracks in the area dont know what they are going to be like. Just wondering all around good tire tread. Thanks for you help

losi_racer

iTrader: (25)

its all going to depend on the track conditions. the tire combo ive seen work 9/10 times are crimefighters up front, bow ties in the rear. m3 compound.

Now i just switched to aka and ibeams all around have worked at a lot of tracks so far

juzza99

iTrader: (1)

+1 on the proline crimefighter&bowtie combo and the other awesome allround tyre is the proline caliber, both in m3...

Ive never tried aka or other brands so can only comment on proline.

ben73

iTrader: (40)

or the losi equivalent XBT on the front and Eclipse on the rear.

Great all round combo in Green

Team_Orange

iTrader: (20)

Ive always had good luck with AKA I Beams seem to work everywhere.

flame56mx

iTrader: (520)

+1 and they have really good forward bite.....

GSMike

iTrader: (4)

I like to run AKA City Blocks up front and I-Beams in the back. Soft compound.

zixxer

iTrader: (61)

+1

+1


also you may try the vp pro axemen i am biased as i am a sponsered driver ...but they are the best all around tire i have ran ...they are very similar to bowties and ibeams ..give them a try

SteveP

The differences can be subtle from one brand to another, but I've tried most and there aren't many that can compare to the AKA rubber, and perhaps Pro-Line. I lean towards AKA because the rubber formulation is the product of 25 years of development from the two best tire guys in the business. There are many elements that go into a good rubber blend, and once it's vulcanized, you can't simply buy a pair of tires and hand it to a rubber supplier and say "use something like this." Rubber formulation is a tricky science and the rubber that you can get in the US and a few other countries isn't available in China. So, simply copying the tread pattern with the best rubber you can get in China won't get the performance, durability and consistency that you can get from AKA and Proline. The Chinese rubber is used for making monster truck tires because it's cheap and performance isn't that much of an issue, relatively speaking. But the rubber used in AKA and ProLine racing tires comes from hand-selected suppliers right here in the US.

The second reason I'd suggest you lean AKA is the insert. It's a game changer in off-road racing and the most significant development in tire technology in 10 years. Previously, all tire brands were happy to deliver pathetic inserts that were far too soft, out of balance, deteriorated before you ran two tanks of fuel, and would break-down even faster if you got them wet. The AKA inserts use a more robust material that is impervious to water and machined using a special process that ensures consistency and near perfect balance. The difference in performance is very noticeable. Others have tried to copy the AKA insert with similar looking materials and processes, but they've yet to match them. The truth is, they're too costly for most tire companies to produce and keep their profit margins, so they'll do everything to convince you that they have something similar by using some of the same words attributed to AKA's technology, but they're not the same. AKA inserts last insanely long, outliving at least 20, perhaps up to 30 sets of tires in high wear environments. They last so long that AKA customers asked to buy tires without inserts so they could save money and simply swap the inserts from tire to tire. Buying tires without inserts was inconceivable prior to the introduction of the AKA inserts, and for the most part, it still is with most other tires brands.

You'll hear a lot from "team" drivers supporting the company that supplies them with free or discounted tires, and perhaps paying customers that have only had the experience of using one or two other brands. I guess the former are supposed to support their sponsors, but it's rare that they're actually giving you good advice. What's more rare is finding someone that's tried many of the various brands (at least those available here in the US) that won't tell you that AKA and ProLine are going to be your best choices.

So that's my advice, backed up by a few relevant facts, for whatever it's worth.

JAMMINKRAZY

iTrader: (17)

AKA and Proline aren't your best choices. There I said it! What do I win???

OK, OK, so AKA and Proline actually are your best choices. That's not to say that there aren't other brands that make good tires(J-concepts, Losi, etc...) but for the most part proline and AKA have the best stuff. I completely agree with SteveP about the inserts. AKA completely changed the game with their inserts. There are some copies out there that are as good or almost as good, but you have to buy them separately as an "upgrade" which to me is a load of crap(cough, cough, PROLINE, cough). The Proline V2 EVO inserts are IMO just as good as the AKA inserts are(performance wise at least, not sure about longevity yet), but they aren't included with the tires, and buying them separately is pretty costly. Even the JC closed cell inserts are pretty good, but again, they aren't included with all of their tires(some have them standard, some don't).

OK now back to the original question. It's really hard to say what the best tire choices would be without knowing anything about the track or conditions. A couple good choices would be... AKA: I-BEAM & Cityblock(soft) or Proline: Caliber(M3). Those three tires are pretty much my top 3 "go to" tires. When one doesn't work one of the others seems to.

losewheel

Thanks guys, sounds like AKA, Proline and Vp Pro Axemen is it, l will try them out

plack75

iTrader: (6)

I agree with these guys about the aka and proline tires.. losi tires are also good.. what you really need to look at are track conditions..is it loose and loamy, hard packed, blue groove.. you wouldnt want to use a huge pin tire on a hard packed surface.. you also wouldnt want to use a small pin tire on a loamy track. ask the guys at the tracks you plan on running at what tires work best and go from there

SteveP

VP Pro is not one that I would recommend. They're one of the Chinese knock-off brands that I mentioned. If you want a cheap tire to bash and have fun, it'll be great and you'll save some money. But, if you're racing, spend your money on AKA or Proline. The Axeman is just a cheap and inferior knock-off of the I-Beam anyway. If that's the type of tire that you're looking for, Get the AKA I-Beam or the Pro-Line Bow Tie. I unfairly left JConcepts out of my original post - they're also a pretty good tire.

Semple

iTrader: (3)

Tires are ridiculous. They seem stupid expensive and wear pretty quickly, but they are crucial. For every situation, there is usually one tire that is better than the rest. For this reason, you will need a selection. Whether you like it or not, it is part of racing. You need a selection of tires.

K_B

iTrader: (70)

I used to be a big AKA fan until Proline finally stepped up their game with the closed-cell foams. Proline tires are also manufactured here in the US, so that's a big plus to me...