Which version of liquid wrench are you using?

lubricating

Have you noticed a difference between the WD40 and Liquid Wrench? One slightly better than the other? One dries faster?

still evaluating

No name brand wd40 at wally world works great as well...dry really fast too.

has anybody used The MIP STICKEEZ.

For 1/8 tires i use firmer compounds and tune with sauce. I primarily run AKA tires, medium and soft. Pre race i clean with Dawn dish detergent and bag until use.

My tire sauce of choice is PJ1 Track Bite. I apply with a dauber and spread with a toothbrush (Similar to tuning foam tires... on specified areas to change bite as needed. Center for forward bite, none on the outer 1/8th of the tire for less side bite, ETC).

1/8 chassis are much heavier than 1/10... so in general i dislike a super soft compound on 1/8 chassis. To me, a treated soft or medium compound feels more responsive and gives better feedback than a super soft compound (comparing same tread pattern and insert). Some of this feel is also chassis/setup generated and will vary with each.

I also pay attention to the 'mechanical' end of tire/track surface relation. Friction IS traction, so technically its all mechanical... but im referring to pin depth and compound combined to penetrate the surface for bite. If the surface is easily broken up by chassis weight and tire pin/block penetration, a firmer compound will almost always provide more forward bite, but can feel 'edgy' when cornering. I have also trimmed every other pin or Dremeled down the outer edge of tires to help reduce that feel.

IMO, track/ambient temp isnt of primary concern unless the surface is hard packed (when slip angle is consistently noticeable)... or you have a throttle control issue. Excessive wheelspin can generate way too much heat in a tire and cause compound failure. Ive seen racers curse a tire tread and/or compound when a lot of the issue was driving style.

Haha great.

Just getting into 10th scale and glued my first sets of 10th scale tires yesterday. Totally put the included foams on my car.

@Devin: Not to worry! Sometimes the stock open cell foam (white stuff?) will work very well as they are usually much softer. Often the softer foam will make the car a little easier to drive and in some cases can increase traction. What kind of track are you on and what kind of tires?

All that being said, generally speaking tires don't last that long so you will get a chance to mount up another set with different foams. It may be worth it to do that now so you can compare directly and see what you like best. Nothing better than switching between packs and timing your laps to see.

@DaveW: Welcome to tire tech talk! Appreciate your input! I agree, driving style is very important. So many drivers seem to just drift around the track spinning the tires as much as possible, then they complain about how they go through tires to quickly. Generally when I see this the car is pushing badly and they are using the throttle to steer. A well setup car shouldn't be spinning the wheels much at all. This is just lost power and traction.

I am on a large outdoor dirt track with big jumps coming and many long sweepers. It starts off the season hard and wet, but becomes very loose and dusty by the end. It is a weird sand/clay mix that never becomes abrasive, our 8th scale tires last forever.

[QUOTE=13Maschine;13257066]@Devin: Not to worry! Sometimes the stock open cell foam (white stuff?) will work very well as they are usually much softer. Often the softer foam will make the car a little easier to drive and in some cases can increase traction. What kind of track are you on and what kind of tires?

I run on a medium bite track that is similar to Trackside Hobbies in Brookfield,WI. It's a dry,bumpy,and hardpack surface that tends to get kinda dusty. I almost always use open cell foams in my front and rear buggy tires. Many other guys always use closed cell at my local tracks and seem to like them. However, For me the open cell foam makes my buggy feel like it has way more side bite, absorbs bumps better, and just gives the car an easy to drive feel. The closed cell foams(especially when new) feel too stiff and just make my car feel like it's skating. Also, I've found that the best and longest lasting open cell foam is the panther white. The Panther foams give a softer feel than closed cell but seem slightly stiffer than most open cells.

Has anyone considered belting for their off road tires? I've been considering this idea for my off road tires for some time now. In some ways it could be good for your tires to expand on the straight if it's long enough as essentially this is like running taller gearing. I know I'm obsessing a bit but it seems like an easy experiment. I think I will try it with a set of Panther switch rears and bobcat fronts in clay compound. I plan to use kevlar thread I picked up from amazon usually used for fly tying. The attached video shows a glue called power poxy which I plan to also pick up.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C_pXPy2rwTY

Thanks for everyone's input!

Also please share your favorite balancing tools. Thanks!

@Richie: That makes sense. My experience with using the harder closed cell foams like AKA reds is that you usually want to run softer suspension to compensate. Probably a bit less pack. The white open cell foams are like running pillows in your tires and running the AKA red type foams are a bit harder. I've found this is helpful when you have tons of traction though as in these situations the tire can tend fold over with softer foams.

side note I've found the pro line blue closed cell and j concepts also has a medium that are a little softer than the AKA. Also the panther orange foams are softer than AKA red it seems.

I've been running at SDRC and OCRC a bunch and finally decided to start looking at my sauce program this week. I wasn't able to get a set of front dirt webs for 2wd (have a set for my 4wd) and like consistency in tires between the two cars so have been on typos for a while now.

Anyhow messed around with the liquid wrench and it was really good, very noticeable on first application (heavy, worked it in and gave it ~25 mins on the 2wd, maybe an hour on 4wd) From here I couldn't notice much difference between liquid wrench and sticky kicks to be honest. I think the liquid wrench is more consistent as you go through a pack, but that may also be due to the amount of time you need to let them sit. Could definitely notice a fall off on the sticky kicks.

I'm going to try letting the SK sit longer, with maybe heavier application. My tires are pretty new I think as well (nothing over 20 packs, but all > 5-10)

Anyhow, thanks for the info! HTH