Originally Posted by
axle182
Thats of course true, and the percentage of racers here, who have access to a lathe? Id say low lol. Sure anything can be done with the right tools, but for most racers, I've seen some bad glue jobs on reused wheels. Also from my experience on the rug, I wouldn't want to reuse wheels anyhow, as with constant knocks on the boards, getting them true again isn't possible. Id rather put my faith in a clean set of wheels.
I agree.
And it's only quick after you've figured out the process. But I always wanted a lathe and it was bought for other stuff. This is just a perk, but I would say with all the stuff I've done for my R/C stuff alone, it has paid for itself many times over.
I would be surprised if you couldn't use an old tire truer for the same purpose which might be cheaper and easier to carry around.
Tamiya wheels are indeed a pain in the butt, they're too brittle. Contrary to Granpa's taste, I find the softer nylon rims much better (for TC and minis). Yes, they do sometimes bend out of shape and get chucked, but you'll see that sometimes even without a lathe (just chuck the rim on a car hub and spin it). I have a few sets of a particular type of nylon Yokomo TC wheels from the late nineties which are still holding up. Little wonder they don't make them anymore.