Additional VTA tire info
(note: in this post inside refers to the side of the tire closest to the chassis and outside refers to the side of the tire furthest from the chassis)
One of the unique things about HPI Vintage wheels/tires is that they have a a thinner inside sidewall and a larger outside sidewall. One of the results of having different sidewalls is that when first mounted, the tires will have built in negative camber. Or to put it another way the diameter of the outside edge of the tire will be smaller than the diameter of the inside edge of the tire.
Because of the "built-in" camber of new VTA tires, you may need to adjust the settings on your camber links to achieve an optimal tire contact patch with the track surface. If you are using a camber gauge on a car with new VTA tires, you can notice that at zero degrees camber there will still be an air gap between the outside edge of the tire and the surface the car is sitting on (negative camber).
The reason I'm pointing this out is that I've seen racers switch from older/broken-in tires to new tires and have watched the handling on their cars change. I used to believe that this was caused by new tires not being broken in (which to a small degree can be). However, after noticing the difference in static camber of new tires vs. older/broken-in tires it was obvious that the camber change was affecting the handling.
I wanted to post this information in case any new/existing VTA racers have not noticed this before. It would be important to note if you are copying another racer's setup to check if they were running new or older/broken-in tires before using their camber settings. It is also important to note if you are using a setup station to setup the camber on your car.
Even though the HPI Vintage Tires are unique (when compared to typical 1/10 rubber TC tires), there is no reason why they won't perform well. Just remember to keep an eye on your tires and how they are wearing/breaking-in. You may have to adjust your camber settings to get the best performance (and life) out of your VTA tires.
In the end, VTA tires are a great value. For average club racing on carpet, you should be able to get at least 3-4 months of racing on 1 set (racing once a week). At large events I've seen new, used, and somewhere in between tires being run in the A-main heats. Compared to other rubber touring car tires (where you need a new set to be competitive), I'm glad to run a tire in VTA that has great longevity and performance.