Originally Posted by
rc_square24
I've been reading the tire discussion a few pages back and would like to get some tips.
1) I true my tires to start 42mm fronts / 43mm rears. Both inside and outside tire walls were rounded (not beveled), and front outer sidewalls glued with thin CA. I'm getting this split between the front foam and the back of the sidewall as pictured. What might be the cause? I'm guessing its the way I'm dong my sidewall glueing? I mount the tires on the car and spin the wheels while I apply two coats of the thin CA. The edges of the glue seemed round-ish and I didn't sand /smoothen the surface of the glue afterwards. Maybe thin CA got soaked in too much and was overly stiff for the foam so it rips off?
2) I'm gonna try the bevelled edges on my other tires, do you bevel the inside edges as well or bevel the outside and just round the inside?
3) If I go through the hassle of repairing the tire in the photo above by grinding maybe 1/4 width of the foam off and gluing (contact cement) a spare ring of donut on then true it, would it last or its a waste of time?
Thanks in advance! I'm hooked on the driving feel of 12th scale now as going back to my touring cars I feel like I'm turning a boat around the track.
I found that the bevel method was best, also you should have your sidewall glue overlap onto the rim. I use thin glue but I apply it with a little brush bottle that's a bit like a fingernail polish brush with shorter bristles.
As for trying to save that tire, I would use it to practice the cut. Having the bevel on both sides may not be necessary, but i do it anyway, when I true down tires you can see a bit of the rim on both sides of the tire when you look down on it in the tire truer jig. I haven't found any real downside to removing too much material, as long as you don't go nuts, but too little and you can get what you see in your picture.
This isn't meant to be a method of tire prep to maximize grip, the car has plenty of that, this is meant to better the handling and make the car predicable. If I lost a millimeter of track width I am not concerned.