FOAM TIRES, This laymens points to consider Options

[The Cow]

My thoughts on foam tires....... from my laymens way of looking at things

Rubber tires utilize an insert and glue beads around each wall allowing the wheel to expand during acceleration and roll in turns. These two things are considered the absolute enemy when running on a flat reliably contoured surface. Granted there is a time and a place for rubbers even when running on road, some good situations would be a rocky, cracked, or dirty lot or track situation. Even if you are all out pavement bashing and still learning to keep all for wheels on the ground in high speed turns it would be a good time to keep those rubber wheels on your ride (training wheels of sorts ). It"s important to remember a good set of rubbers for sure equals a fatter wallet for us road obsessed as you will be less prone to broken or worn parts due to the cushion and shock absorbing effects the tires will provide. Also while the Drastic increase in center of gravity due to the expansion may lead you to believe there is an equal increase in roll this is usually not the case as the vehicle tends to slide or drift since its contact patch is effectively decreased to ¼ or even less then intended especially in the more high powered BL systems we run today when expanded. While their ability to absorb impact, be forgiving, drastically lessen the abuse of a well bashed vehicle they just are not conducive in any way to a well tuned, sharp handling, or stable veh on road….
Being the committed pavement pounder I am, there is no better option then a good foam tire for me. Tired of expansion destroying your tires bond? Not a problem with foams however for me one of the most noticeable points is thier super ultra lightweight in comparison! I have seen single 1/10 scale rubbers that weigh more then four (that's right a whole set) of 1/10 scale foams…. Have you ever held the Jaco prisms (my personal favorite) in your hands??? They almost seem fake they are so light. The less weight your r/c is carrying on each corner the better handling you will be rewarded with assuming the traction is the same. Its important to keep in mind the drastic impact rotating mass has on so many aspects of your r/c. As the weight you are trying to rotate increases you effectively lessen your acceleration, top speed, and most importantly this is a major factor in the cause of overheated electronics!!! This is the same concept with a real vehicle... the very reason racers eliminate fans, belts, a/c, heavy rims all in the search to utilize every last bit of power to go fast and handle good.
Another important concern to consider is as you increase your traction while you may think extra weight at each corner will aid in planting the car, this is not the case. you want the weight centered to the mid line of the chassis to aid in keeping the wheels on the ground otherwise assuming the weight is equal overall the further it shifts towards the outside of the vehicle the easier you make it to roll the vehicle. This is also the reason in the larger scales where there is more freedom to lay things out with out the extreme height and width limitations of 1/18 and below you will notice the more well designed vehicle center the weight along the midline of the car. It's done this way because it works no matter what your goals are! For instance when entering a high speed left hand turn you are effectively generating an inward force on the left side tires…. As this force increases you right side suspension compresses while the left side extends... This causes an upwards force on your left side that while simultaneously causing a downward force on your right side....now if you put all this together it is very easy to see how even the slightest increase in weight at the corners rather then the center significantly increase the desire of the vehicle to roll rather then slide especially in high traction situations. Simply put you if you want to feel like your on rails then ditch the bling bling dead weight wheels and you will be surprised at the difference you will see. We are not talking minor here!!!
Another very important point to make is in the inevitable high speed roll. I have done more 50mph rolls then I care to admit but I have done them with all sorts of tires. Ultra light jacos, 1/18 and 1/10 rubbers, even 1/10 bling bling dead weights.. Lol. I can tell you with certainty that the lighter the rolling stock the less suspension arms, axles, cvd's, hinge pins, shocks, bones, and even outdrives you will have the unfortunate opportunity to break. As we all know busted and broken parts suck!
Another important factor to keep in mind is that the hotter the surface the more performance foam will display while actually strengthening the durability of the foam!!! It is far easier to push the envelope and stay on your desired path with foams as well since they will recover traction in a much more predictable and efficient manner then rubbers once traction is lost.
Yes foams cost more…… yes when running foams with the purpose of all out performance they last far shorter but this is an easy trade of for any racer I would think and for us lot bashers the nitro foams are a great compromise for a long lasting well performing foam that is still very light in comparison to a similar sized rubber!

If you have decided to go the foam route you will want to familiarize yourself shore ratings and their meaning just as you would with the degree of a rubber tire. I have included a cut and pasted explanation from Tower that explains this quite well. For those new to shore ratings it is no different then degrees for rubber. As performance goes up durability and wear go down except the deterioration of foams are much more pronounced the rubber as you move to the most traction geared shores.. Keep in mind foams suffer from chunking as well! If you see a split or the beginning of chunking it is always smart to stop and ad some light ca to the area. Be careful not to use any more then necessary as the foam will absorb the ca and cause hard spots that will be extra susceptible to chunking as well if you’re not careful. Should this happen and you are left with a protruding area this can easily be sanded down with some ordinary sand paper!


"The hardness of materials is most commonly measured by the Shore Durometer
Test, this method measures the resistance of foam toward indentation and
Provide a hardness value. A Shore Durometer is the international standard for
Measuring the hardness of materials. The symbol for shore coincides with that
of degrees. In reference to foam tires, the lower the shore rating, the softer
the tire is thus yielding more traction. The higher the shore rating, the
firmer the tire is thus yielding less rolling resistance and more speed"

If any of you carpet or asphalt racers care to share some of your secrets this might be a good place to do it!!

Hope this helps some of you!!!
Heath

[The Cow]

i borrowed the below shore charts from another source containing the more popular brands. I will add more as i have the opportunity to add them.... any questions let me know!

Heath

Jaco

Yellow 20
Green 25
Blue Rear 30
Blue front 40
Aqua 27
White 25
Gray 30
Pink 25
Purple 40
Red 40
Black front 35-36
Black rears 45-50


RC4Less
Pink 35
Magenta 40
Purple 45
Red 55

White 25
Cream 30
Tan 35
Gray 40
Black 45
Hard Black 50

TRC
Green 29-30
Blue 39-40
Dbl Blue 50-51
Orange 54-55
White 25-26
Gray 29-30
Black 36-37
Platninum 25
Pink 30
Brown 32
Magneta 35
Tan 37
Purple 40
Lime 42
Dbl Purple 42-45
Red 45

BSR
Green.....30 +/-
Blue......50 +/-
White.....30 +/-
Gray......35/40 +/-
Pink......30 +/-
Double Pink...35 +/-
Purple....40 +/-
Double Purple.45 +/-
Red.......40/45 +/-
Gold......40 +/-
Silver....45 +/-

TM
Green 29-30
Blue 32-34
Double Blue 65-70
White 22-27
Gray 28-32
Black 34-37
Pink 32-33
Magneta 36-37
Purple 44-45
Red 54-55
G1---White with gray edge
G2---Gray with Black edge
G3---White with Black edge
G4---Gray/White/Gray equal amounts
G5---White/Gray/White equal amounts

[Squirrel]

Very nice Heath!

Id like to stickey this but do you have any suggestions as to where to put it?

[The Cow]

Thanks B! To be honest i dont feel we have a section i would say is a correct fit.... i have been thinking of this and was considering suggesting it but maybe this is the time to mention my IDEA!!!! Maybe we could start a Pavement Pounders section (Pavement Bashers section might be better, lol)? I think this would be a great addition and a usable breakdown that may make sence if other members agree........ i wouldnt want to be the only one hangin in there!

hey just noticed, 600 plus posts for me.... that is a personal forum record for me although i dont know if it counts when 1/5 are doubles i think i mught have an issue like the rest of ya!

Heath

[lesclaypool]

You are coming on strong here Heath, and it's awesome. You've posted some really good stuff continually, and this is another example. Great job on this. I really appreciate how extensive/in-depth you are. Thanks!

[fastmax]

Very nice Heath. I couldn't have said it better myself, and I am a die hard foam tire guy from way back. It's all I run, be it on carpet, concrete, or asphalt. Foam tires offer the best of all worlds, and Jaco Prisms have become my absolute favorite tire as well.

[The Cow]

Thanks everyone for the praise!! it is super appreciated! Just trying to help out as so many people have done for me in the past!

Heath

[Squirrel]

Heath-

Im going to move this to the FAQ section but could you please copy both posts 1 and 2 and put it in the onroad section and I will sticky it there? It seems to fit that section with the tire types of foam.

The FAQ section is a place that we move stuff into so that it is the best of the best. It is also one of the sections unlocked to visitors so that they can get a taste as to what the forum has to offer.

[The Cow]

Sounds cool B!! that is great!! so you want me to creat a new tread in the on road section and cut and past these in there?

thanks

Heath

[aarik]

can someone help me pick out some foam tires, please?
i can never figure out the right size, thickness and adapter needed.
tried searching on the toyz but no jaco prizm. found them on amainhobbies but can't tell which is which.

I have a rc18t with mamba25/8000kvm motor
gears are 16/55
current tires are proline dirt hawgs and also proline street something??? The car fishtails uncontrollably in takeoff at full throttle and can't turn at high speed. I need to tame the beast but i am not going to tune it down

I would like foams premounted, black or grey rims preferable, no wheel adapters if possible, highest treadwear possible for long lasting fun

thanks in advance.

-H

[The Cow]

can someone help me pick out some foam tires, please?
i can never figure out the right size, thickness and adapter needed.
tried searching on the toyz but no jaco prizm. found them on amainhobbies but can't tell which is which.

I have a rc18t with mamba25/8000kvm motor
gears are 16/55
current tires are proline dirt hawgs and also proline street something??? The car fishtails uncontrollably in takeoff at full throttle and can't turn at high speed. I need to tame the beast but i am not going to tune it down

I would like foams premounted, black or grey rims preferable, no wheel adapters if possible, highest treadwear possible for long lasting fun

thanks in advance.

-H

Hello my friend

Heres something that fits all your criteria my friend!

THey are premounted, BLack in color, no wheel adapters needed, 35shore (nice and hard to last)

And there at the toyz! >>>>> http://thetoyz.com/cart/thetoyz_details.la...;cat_name=RC18R

Heath

[aarik]

Hello my friend

Heres something that fits all your criteria my friend!

THey are premounted, BLack in color, no wheel adapters needed, 35shore (nice and hard to last)

And there at the toyz! >>>>> http://thetoyz.com/cart/thetoyz_details.la...;cat_name=RC18R

Heath

Cheap too
i will gather a list of items i need and place the order, thanks a bunch.

-H

[aarik]

Cheap too
i will gather a list of items i need and place the order, thanks a bunch.

-H

wait a minute got too exited.

these are for the 18r, and i believe they will not fit the 18t. The rim is either smaller or something. I remember asking about those at the hobby store and they told me NO.

-H

[The Cow]

Cheap too
i will gather a list of items i need and place the order, thanks a bunch.

-H

Anytime...

Heath

[Jay]

wait a minute got too exited.

these are for the 18r, and i believe they will not fit the 18t. The rim is either smaller or something. I remember asking about those at the hobby store and they told me NO.

-H

Why wouldn't they fit? Even if the rim is smaller, they'll still fit...surely...

[The Cow]

Why wouldn't they fit? Even if the rim is smaller, they'll still fit...surely...

They should fit ... they are a little smaller but you can gear heavier if you wish to keep the FDR final drive ratio the same.

Heath

[WrenchHead]

In order to run 18R rims on a 18T you have to get the18R stub axels. The 18R stubs are shorter than the 18T's.I tryes to run my 18T foams on my 18R and it was a no go on the fit. But if you change out the stubs it will work. L8R,Wrench.

[The Cow]

Excellent piont Wrench, thanks for catching my mistake not having an 18r I wasnt aware of this... My apologies aarik i dont want to spread incorrect info, My bad. I will go to my corner now and where my pionty hat

Heath

[aarik]

Excellent piont Wrench, thanks for catching my mistake not having an 18r I wasnt aware of this... My apologies aarik i dont want to spread incorrect info, My bad. I will go to my corner now and where my pionty hat

Heath

No problem at all, i appreciate everyone's input.
I had to go to the LHS today to pickup a small part and ended up with 1/10 HPI foam tires and adapters. They are 40 and 45 hardness.
So now i am sitting here trying to figure out whether i want those or some smaller tires to keep the car CG lower. My son says all he wants is a speed deamon.

In looking at your car, the white one in your icon, what did you do to lower it, if anything?

-H

[WrenchHead]

No need to go anywhere how now our cow. We take you flaws and all. I just have been there and done that. I got your back,no probs here. Just trying to be of some assistance and not just an ass. L8R,Wrench.