Braving the Element

[mash914]

I've never seen those Thornbirds before - man are those cool looking. I got on the email list with RC4WD for when they get more to get a chance to get a set. I'm assuming they perform pretty well?

[durok]

Originally Posted by mash914

I've never seen those Thornbirds before - man are those cool looking. I got on the email list with RC4WD for when they get more to get a chance to get a set. I'm assuming they perform pretty well?

Mine have thus far been unused - I've been saving them for when the Enduro has more mods installed, but I have been amazed at how well they work for my friends TRX-4 Bronco.

His has very few mods, no brass, and he beats the heck out of it. They stick quite well to the rocks in our area, which tend to be pretty abrasive.

I'd say the best performing parts of the tire are the sidewalls and corner lugs. Definitely are getting better and better as they break in!

The Enduro might not work as well on them because it is lighter than a TRX-4 - if you study the carcass (especially the center of the tread) they look like they would work better with a heavy rig (bigger blocks that run in the direction of travel, so they don't flex as much - but if you can also get the tire edges on your obstacle, they really grab hold).

However, I will probably add brass SSD knuckles and axle weights, as they work so incredibly well on my old beater Ascender!

I do have many, many other tiresets that I can experiment with - I have an extreme fascination with different tread designs.

If the Thornbirds don't suit the Enduro I've always got the Defender (or maybe the C2X) to try them on...

[mash914]

Originally Posted by durok

Mine have thus far been unused - I've been saving them for when the Enduro has more mods installed, but I have been amazed at how well they work for my friends TRX-4 Bronco.

His has very few mods, no brass, and he beats the heck out of it. They stick quite well to the rocks in our area, which tend to be pretty abrasive.

I'd say the best performing parts of the tire are the sidewalls and corner lugs. Definitely are getting better and better as they break in!

The Enduro might not work as well on them because it is lighter than a TRX-4 - if you study the carcass (especially the center of the tread) they look like they would work better with a heavy rig (bigger blocks that run in the direction of travel, so they don't flex as much - but if you can also get the tire edges on your obstacle, they really grab hold).

However, I will probably add brass SSD knuckles and axle weights, as they work so incredibly well on my old beater Ascender!

I do have many, many other tiresets that I can experiment with - I have an extreme fascination with different tread designs.

If the Thornbirds don't suit the Enduro I've always got the Defender (or maybe the C2X) to try them on...

That's actually a great response - I was thinking of putting them on my TRX4 Bronco. I could use a slightly smaller diameter than the Flat Irons XLs I have on there now.

[smog]

Sounds like you guys had a fun eve on the crawl. Was a good day for it up here as well. We are getting an early melt.

I am much the same way when it comes to tires. I have my favorites, but kinda geek-out on the different tread patterns. The Thornbirds are a bit nutty looking, I must say. Intuitively, the North-South tread blocks up the middle would seem a poor idea. I look forward to hearing your experience with them. Now on the other hand, those Mickey Thompsons look like a classic M/T. From your pics it looks like RC4WD did a great job scaling them down. They definitely have my attention. How is the depth on the lugs? I kinda want a set.

[durok]

Originally Posted by smog

Sounds like you guys had a fun eve on the crawl. Was a good day for it up here as well. We are getting an early melt.

I am much the same way when it comes to tires. I have my favorites, but kinda geek-out on the different tread patterns. The Thornbirds are a bit nutty looking, I must say. Intuitively, the North-South tread blocks up the middle would seem a poor idea. I look forward to hearing your experience with them. Now on the other hand, those Mickey Thompsons look like a classic M/T. From your pics it looks like RC4WD did a great job scaling them down. They definitely have my attention. How is the depth on the lugs? I kinda want a set.

They don't have the deepest lugs, but the tire carcass is very flexible - I will say that for some reason I notice that I occasionally get sidewall twist on them, but with running backwards and then forwards a few revolutions it goes back to normal. NO other tire and wheel combo that I have does this...(?)

I have wondered if it is something other than the tire at fault as all reviews of the C2X seemed to have the same issue. If I looked at stills or YouTube clips, there was that wrinkled sidewall! Also, mine came with the newer and stiffer white RC4WD foams, the images on their website show the older gray foams - so if they are bought separately (not as part of the C2X) they may not have the better foam. Next time I get really bored, I may swap these from the RC4WD steel spokers to my SSD black spokers that currently have Choodoos mounted on them, won't change the look but I'm curious if the sidewall wrinkle issue continues.

Their compound is the X2 SS Compound (Super Soft & Super Sticky), which is one level down from the X2S³ Compound - of which I have experience with their Goodyear MT/R. I'll say that newest compound is not the most durable, my Goodyears have a LOT of wear from being mounted up on my Ascender (which is pretty heavy, having SSD brass at all corners and a thick steel BPC transverse battery tray, and a HH Trailmaster 550 motor). The MTZ tires are the opposite - VERY durable, next to no visible wear as of yet.

I need to finish the rest of my builds so I can get impressions of more of my tires, because I have a LOT of them. Just talking RC4WD, I have:

Mickey Thompson Baja Pro X 4.19 1.7 Scale Tires
Interco Super Swamper 1.7" TSL/Bogger "Siped" Scale Tires
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 1.7" Scale Tires

Mickey Thompson 1.9" Baja MTZ P3 4.6" Scale Tires
Interco Ground Hawg II 1.9" Scale Tires
Interco Super Swamper TSL Thornbird 1.9" Scale Tires
Mickey Thompson Baja Pro X 4.75 1.9 Scale Tires

Dune T/A 2.2" Off-Road Tires

They are all mounted except for the 2 different sizes of the newest Baja Pro X tires, which I have RC4WD 1.7" Raceline Monsters and LockedUpRC 1.9" TrailReady HD 8L wheels with widener rings for.

[smog]

Sidewalls on those MTZ sound to be incredibly thin/soft. I often run the CI single stage closed cell foams. Perhaps they would support the tire better. Amazing how RC4WD can produce both the hardest sidewall in their Boggers and then produce what sounds like the complete opposite in their MTZ. I will hand it to them, they make tire shopping an adventure...

[durok]

Originally Posted by smog

Sidewalls on those MTZ sound to be incredibly thin/soft. I often run the CI single stage closed cell foams. Perhaps they would support the tire better. Amazing how RC4WD can produce both the hardest sidewall in their Boggers and then produce what sounds like the complete opposite in their MTZ. I will hand it to them, they make tire shopping an adventure...

True!

But I like all of 'em I've ended up with, including (surprisingly) these MTZ's - but they are my least favorite. Like I said, if I get different results on different wheels, I'll definitely post up about it. I have even thought about tossing a little talcum powder inside to maybe keep the sidewalls from sticking to the foams - which I wonder is another factor!

Ummm... the Dune T/As also are kinda low on the totem pole, but they have been discontinued. A specialty tire, to be sure! I mounted mine on some cheap beadlocks that I wrapped in adhesive weatherstripping - I then forced the stock foams around them, and they have a decent amount of firmness that goes well with the nearly non-existent tread depth. Might as well be road tires. They have a tread pattern very like the custom race-only BFG Baja T/A used on some courses.

[smog]

Originally Posted by durok

True!

But I like all of 'em I've ended up with, including (surprisingly) these MTZ's - but they are my least favorite. Like I said, if I get different results on different wheels, I'll definitely post up about it. I have even thought about tossing a little talcum powder inside to maybe keep the sidewalls from sticking to the foams - which I wonder is another factor!

Ummm... the Dune T/As also are kinda low on the totem pole, but they have been discontinued. A specialty tire, to be sure! I mounted mine on some cheap beadlocks that I wrapped in adhesive weatherstripping - I then forced the stock foams around them, and they have a decent amount of firmness that goes well with the nearly non-existent tread depth. Might as well be road tires. They have a tread pattern very like the custom race-only BFG Baja T/A used on some courses.

RC4WD brings the variety! The talcum idea is interesting, though I wonder how messy it might get if water gets in there. The weatherstripping is another idea of interest, when you have a tire/wheel collection. A guy could spend a small fortune on CI or Proline foams. Ideas for improving the average stock foams are always food for thought. I have had packing foam in my hands on occasion that has had me wondering if I should be shaping and trying it out.

[durok]

I have only vented 1 set of tires in my life... the stock Ascender TSL Swampers - after they got nasty from a mud session I boiled them off the plastic wheels, and I have a (pretty useless) set of TRIPLE(!) layer foams I found on Amazon ages ago stuffed in them. I confess I have not run them since, they sit on the sidelines like the kid that always gets picked last for neighborhood kickball...

So, I'm not really worried about water - I tend to not go in it with my rigs, maybe when they are stock RTRs but after I swap some upgrades in I even do things like tape any holes that might be present in my wheels.

I have found some other cheap foams that are much better than the crap triple layer set, and the next set I will be testing is the red and white Injora foam - they have been sitting there waiting for me to try out for months. The red is heavy polyurethane, and the white just may be even stiffer than the newest RC4WD white foam. Possibly going into the 4.7" set of Baja Pro X, and under my C2X when it is done - as it is gonna be heavy, has a lot of metal body accessories.

Here's the thread with pics of how I did those Dune T/A tires over cheap beadlocks with weatherstripping foam:

DIY half-assed dual-stage foams

and a photo from the thread:

[durok]

First world problems...

[durok]

So yeah, I already had an Enduro Sendero, as this thread indicated.

Since then I've picked up a bunch of bits to upgrade it, then got Green Mountain RC Machete chassis rails, then got a Gatekeeper kit, then got the IFS kit, then got the clear Ecto body.

Then, the other day - I kinda lost my mind and picked up an RTR military green Ecto.

Basically because the color was so perfect?

Yep, I haz problems...

[durok]

Beat on it pretty good today, only issue was I got some of that damn landscaping mesh wrapped around the rear wheels and after cutting it away and continuing, I eventually realized it had pulled the bead out of the rear passenger tire - no big deal, I'll fix it and will shortly be running aluminum beadlocks and non-stock tires anyway.

This thing drives like a dream. Granted, it's only been to one of my crawling spots - a dry granite creek bed - very flowing, mostly large dry and somewhat abrasive rocks. When it's not summertime, it can be slippery and there's moss because it's shady - but right now it's been baked dry.

Bone stock it's just a tad tippy, but that's on plastic wheels and everything. I'll try to do my upgrades in stages this time, and back off if I ruin the handling!

[twade984]

Very cool man

I’ve been eyeing the ecto since it was released.


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[B-MOW71]

Originally Posted by durok

First world problems...

Originally Posted by durok

So yeah, I already had an Enduro Sendero, as this thread indicated.

Since then I've picked up a bunch of bits to upgrade it, then got Green Mountain RC Machete chassis rails, then got a Gatekeeper kit, then got the IFS kit, then got the clear Ecto body.

Then, the other day - I kinda lost my mind and picked up an RTR military green Ecto.

Basically because the color was so perfect?

Yep, I haz problems...

My kinda problems! Sounds like a page out of my playbook!!

I do like the looks of that new green Ecto!

[durok]

Washed the dust off the body, first test fit of some new wheels (the only Treal wheels I have seen that I really liked) - cheap and much better quality than a lot of off-brand parts. SUPER easy to mount up! RC4WD 4.75" Milestar Patagonias - been sitting around my apartment just waiting for a truck that they would suit!

[twade984]

Originally Posted by durok

Washed the dust off the body, first test fit of some new wheels (the only Treal wheels I have seen that I really liked) - cheap and much better quality than a lot of off-brand parts. SUPER easy to mount up! RC4WD 4.75" Milestar Patagonias - been sitting around my apartment just waiting for a truck that they would suit!

Might be the angle of the picture, but do those actually measure out to 4.75”? They look pretty large

Pretty good looking tire


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[durok]

Originally Posted by twade984

Might be the angle of the picture, but do those actually measure out to 4.75”? They look pretty large

Pretty good looking tire


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I think it's the damn fisheye effect from a lot of smartphone cameras...



I just checked, and yep - 4.75...

I'm ending up taking them off and installing some different hubs and hexes, using SSD brake disc hubs to get a few mm more track width because the wheel offset is different than stock, and the tire is a hair wider as well - trying to keep from rubbing my links at near full-lock steering.

Also realized that the stock hexes are plastic, which of course needs rectifying.

That pic was really just a test - in a few days it should have them all mounted, with a bit more track width, and I'll take a pic with it off the foam block to show the actual stance.

LOADS more upgrades coming, they've been in boxes for months - just need installing.

Looks like I'm selling my Gatekeeper kit, IFS kit, and Ecto clear body to my crawlin' buddy because he wants one now - I have all the upgrades to make my RTR into exactly what I want it to be anyway.

[durok]

Ages ago I bough 20 Nord-Lock Wedge Locking Washers for my wheels because of how swapping wheelsets on RC vehicles just wears out Nyloc nuts in no time whatsoever...

I am expecting to finally bust those out for this truck, as I want to run through a bunch of the tires I've collected over the last few years.

Big fan of tread patterns and rubber compounds, as long as the tread is relatively scale looking - although my faves are licensed.

Also have some oddball foams that I've sourced here and there, and am going to try the self-adhesive closed cell weatherstripping trick I did once before on one of the stock Element wheel and tire sets.

Hopefully the Nord-Lock washers live up to their rep!

[smog]

Nice Durok, love that green Ecto. Easy to see how that fell into your shopping cart. I too have accrued Element RC stuff. It seems to happen easily. My kid and I had a couple of them out last week. They were similarly built with the exception of one being on a g-speed v3 chassis. We were definitely getting that one up and around some steeper grades. It was fun having them side by side. Such a cool platform with all the modularity and growing aftermarket.

Good to see your thread up and active. Look forward to getting your insights on various foams and tires

[durok]

Hah... I ended up liking the looks of the Sendero bronze plastic wheels so much that I bought Element brass replacement hex hubs and SSD heavy stainless brake disc rotors for 'em.

Bolted everything up with SSD acorn hardware and took it for a test spin in a dried creek bed in San Antonio over the weekend with my crawlin' buddy.

He bought the Gatekeeper and IFS kits, and the clear Ecto body from me.

I am so in love with the Ecto - even with RTR tires and zero mods other than a bit of weight added to each wheel close to the hubs, it drives like a dream and I can't get over how great it looks.

Especially in the military green, with the bronze.

Wish someone made the exact Method 701 wheel in aluminum in the same shade of bronze as the plastic wheels!

The Treals are nice, but not quite the right color - although I will certainly run them at some point.