It goes without saying that choosing the right tire is one of the most important steps in set up. There are so many brands of different tires to choose from with all sorts of different names it can be confusing, especially since the name of the tire doesn't corralate to its intended use. The only tire I can think of that remotely has a name that hints at what it could be used for are the "Holeshot", but it's doubtful that that tire can be used unilaterally everywhere to get the holeshot. It can be more confusing because marketing shows a certain pro driver using one brand / type of tire and win an event and they let you infer that you will do the same if you used the same tire. Then a different pro driver uses a different brand / type of tire and the cycle repeats. Also known as, the latest and greatest.

I would like to offer up the results of some testing I did over 6 months of club racing 1/8th nitro buggy. On a track that is hard packed dirt (not clay), limited dust (which gets pushed off line), and watered (nice b/c it keeps traction consistant and drastically increases the tires' lifespan), I found that Holeshots, Gridirons, or Tazers are the tire to use. Which is faster? They are all the same! Fast lap, top 5, top 10.... and this is over a lot of qualifiers and races and track configurations. Jconcepts Hybrids are right there too, but the tires feel a little squirmy, but that might be because of the foam. I'm not sure, but that makes me not like them as much. Snipers look almost exactly like Tazers which look almost exactly like Gridirons so I'm expecting similar results when I try them, even if they are from long ago.

Enduros and Blockades don't seem have as much grip on THIS track and their reflexes are slower. If I get off in the loose stuff, the tires don't want to dig in and regain the traction to drive out as easily.

Square Fuzzies give the best grip of any tire I've tried, but the life span of the tire is too short, even on the watered track. That is my only complaint with that tire and as a result I stopped using them long ago and can't really directly compare it with any of the above. My memory tells me it was good for several tenths per lap though.

I'm not saying I'm the know it all tire guru, but this is what I found out from testing. If anyone would like to offer up their experiences with certain tires on certain tracks and why one tire would be better or worse or equal to another please do! I'd love to gain more tire knowledge across the different brands from the experienced that contribute to RCTech and I'm sure others would too!