Tire Break In??

[BMFOTP]

Originally Posted by dirtyal

All three.

thanks for the reply to my question

[BMFOTP]

Originally Posted by Reflection

Simple Green just cleans the rubber of all dirt,grease and debris. Applying to a used tire,you just get a "new" clean tire that's pre scuffed.

okay now that we have discussed what to use to clean and break in a tire. what technique, if any, do people use to break in their tires? How do i know when a tire is broken? When is a tire past its prime? when should i get replacement tires?

The reason i am asking these question is because it seems tires/ foam/ weights and rims are very important in this hobby. maybe even more important than the engine in a crawler. so i want to know how to get the optimum performance out of my tires.

last quetion? are those vp rims really worth the money? i am not a comp competitor, but i would like to get some good rims.

thx everyone for putting up with my quetions and replying to this thread

[2500hdon37s]

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

why and for how long??? doesnt that just wear out your tire tread more than make the rubber softer???

it wears them a tad but just enough i only do it for up to 30-40 seconds it scuffs them up to get good grip and letting the tire flex on the rocks brakes them in. but the softer= more grip

[War Pig]

Wow guys, all I do is drive my truck to break in the tires, no chemicals for me. Seems that the more I drive, the better my truck performs. When the tires seem to be losing performance, I replace them.

[Reflection]

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

what technique, if any, do people use to break in their tires?

Personally,I just mount them up and run them. Having allot of wheel speed helps "break in" a tire faster. A few blips of the throttle and they are "scuffed"

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

How do i know when a tire is broken?

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

When is a tire past its prime?

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

when should i get replacement tires?

Kinda like wheel weights IMO....it's personal preference. I've seen guys that run near bald Mashers and claim they are just starting to hook the best. I've seen guys take tires with 3-4 comps on them and claim they are wore out and pitch them. Personally,I try to run them till they are nearly bald.

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

The reason i am asking these question is because it seems tires/ foam/ weights and rims are very important in this hobby. maybe even more important than the engine in a crawler. so i want to know how to get the optimum performance out of my tires.

Tires,yes,they are important. There's allot of good options on the market right now. They all have their beneficial traits and difference in compounds. Which compound or tread is better is a moot point in my opinion. IMHO,Finding a tread and compound that works best in your back yard is key. Guys doing tire test in the desert and areas where they crawl on sand stone with optimum traction does no good IMO. Any tire will do good when traction is at it's best. Test a bunch of tires in a patch of moss covered limestone with water around....THAT'S where you'll see which tire will shine.

Foams are very important. A bad foam set up can kill even the best tire. IMHO,foams are a personal preference as well. Some like memory foams. I think they are overrated myself. Some like a tall,skinny and stiff foam,some like a short wide soft foam. Right now,I'm running Cougars with the stock 400 foams and like it very well. Before I went to the 400 foam,I was running 2 stock Axial foams in each tire and it seems to work very well also. Kind of a pain to get them both in there,but they worked good.

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

last question? are those vp rims really worth the money? i am not a comp competitor, but i would like to get some good rims.

The VP wheels are VERY nice wheels. The machine work in them is very clean and the weight system they provide is a very slick feature. I'm a bit biased on the wheel thing though,I'm proud of my 1911 bead locks. Adding weight is easy with stick on weights. Right now I'm running no added weight and like it very well.

[BMFOTP]

Originally Posted by 2500hdon37s

it wears them a tad but just enough i only do it for up to 30-40 seconds it scuffs them up to get good grip and letting the tire flex on the rocks brakes them in. but the softer= more grip

thanks for the reply.

[BMFOTP]

Originally Posted by Reflection

Personally,I just mount them up and run them. Having allot of wheel speed helps "break in" a tire faster. A few blips of the throttle and they are "scuffed"







Kinda like wheel weights IMO....it's personal preference. I've seen guys that run near bald Mashers and claim they are just starting to hook the best. I've seen guys take tires with 3-4 comps on them and claim they are wore out and pitch them. Personally,I try to run them till they are nearly bald.



Tires,yes,they are important. There's allot of good options on the market right now. They all have their beneficial traits and difference in compounds. Which compound or tread is better is a moot point in my opinion. IMHO,Finding a tread and compound that works best in your back yard is key. Guys doing tire test in the desert and areas where they crawl on sand stone with optimum traction does no good IMO. Any tire will do good when traction is at it's best. Test a bunch of tires in a patch of moss covered limestone with water around....THAT'S where you'll see which tire will shine.

Foams are very important. A bad foam set up can kill even the best tire. IMHO,foams are a personal preference as well. Some like memory foams. I think they are overrated myself. Some like a tall,skinny and stiff foam,some like a short wide soft foam. Right now,I'm running Cougars with the stock 400 foams and like it very well. Before I went to the 400 foam,I was running 2 stock Axial foams in each tire and it seems to work very well also. Kind of a pain to get them both in there,but they worked good.



The VP wheels are VERY nice wheels. The machine work in them is very clean and the weight system they provide is a very slick feature. I'm a bit biased on the wheel thing though,I'm proud of my 1911 bead locks. Adding weight is easy with stick on weights. Right now I'm running no added weight and like it very well.

thanks for the replys to my many questions. now i can go to sleep. there is just so much to this hobby to learn. some times i get off track trying to figure out one aspect of the hobby. which leads to another aspect and so on and so forth. at least now i have the tire issue out of the way. thanks very much for your time and patience.

[chetly]

Originally Posted by Ripperfi

A lot of people use simple green. Either full strength or diluted. It makes the rubber stickier plus its water soluable unlinke WD40. Just soak the tires then wash them and let them air dry. I dont know if its a chemical or molecular reaction just that it works. It changes/conditions the rubber.

i tried this for the first time today and all i can say is wow, who would have thought simple green would do that to tires. it actually made the tires have the ability to stick to each other. thats one thing ill be doing more often before crawling.

[proraptor]

Originally Posted by chetly

i tried this for the first time today and all i can say is wow, who would have thought simple green would do that to tires. it actually made the tires have the ability to stick to each other. thats one thing ill be doing more often before crawling.

I was thinking of trying this but dont run beadlocks and dont really want to soak them. Can I just spray on the simple green and scrub?

[proraptor]

Originally Posted by BMFOTP

thanks for the replys to my many questions. now i can go to sleep. there is just so much to this hobby to learn. some times i get off track trying to figure out one aspect of the hobby. which leads to another aspect and so on and so forth. at least now i have the tire issue out of the way. thanks very much for your time and patience.

RC rock crawling is nothing! Get yourself a RC helicopter....Talk about complicated

[chetly]

I'm sure that it would work, you just have to be careful not to get any water or liquid inside the tire.

[NeXt559]

when i use paragon i usually
-dab the entire tire till its shiney
-when its dry i hit the tires w/ another coat then wrap it in plastic wrap to let the traction compound soak
-right before i go to my crawl spot i unwrap the tires and let them air dry. w/ my rig on its back so i dont get any extra dirt or dust on the tires

paragon makes the tires really sticky basically you can take a quarter drop it flat on the tire and turn it upside down w/o the quarter falling off

you can also use the wd40 method in where you soak the tires in wd40 for between a day and ahalf to 3 days. i usually dont use this method because it can get pretty messy.

btw i personally dont wear down the tire treads on purpose i like my tread sharp

[spiked3]

Originally Posted by proraptor

RC rock crawling is nothing! Get yourself a RC helicopter....Talk about complicated

Hah, I just got into this rock crawling thing, coming from many years with helicopters. I am thinking about going back, far simpler. For one thing, hop up parts work without fabricating. The heli kits themselves are in the ballpark for beginning, they don't need 90% replaced right off the bat to go fly.

[caymin last]

Originally Posted by proraptor

I was thinking of trying this but dont run beadlocks and dont really want to soak them. Can I just spray on the simple green and scrub?

Get an empty 'Bingo Marker', fill with Simple green and dab over the treads till completely covered, set for a couple minutes then wipe off with a damp cloth/sponge, rinse the cloth/sponge after each tire.

[Nate08]

Originally Posted by War Pig

Wow guys, all I do is drive my truck to break in the tires, no chemicals for me. Seems that the more I drive, the better my truck performs. When the tires seem to be losing performance, I replace them.

I'm with you...just go out drive your tires will take care of themselves.

[Tanis]

Originally Posted by NeXt559

btw i personally dont wear down the tire treads on purpose i like my tread sharp

Why?

Originally Posted by War Pig

Wow guys, all I do is drive my truck to break in the tires, no chemicals for me. Seems that the more I drive, the better my truck performs. When the tires seem to be losing performance, I replace them.

Same here Tim, but I will roast them a good 15-20 seconds on a rock to warm them up on cooler days, right before I set my truck down at the start gate.

[NeXt559]

Originally Posted by Tanis

Why?

i usually crawl granite and sandstone. rounded tread tends slip on a slow steady crawl, even w/ prepped tires.

well, from my experience.

[Tanis]

Originally Posted by NeXt559

i usually crawl granite and sandstone. rounded tread tends slip on a slow steady crawl, even w/ prepped tires.

well, from my experience.

Makes sense, and if that's what works for you, then

[proraptor]

Originally Posted by spiked3

Hah, I just got into this rock crawling thing, coming from many years with helicopters. I am thinking about going back, far simpler. For one thing, hop up parts work without fabricating. The heli kits themselves are in the ballpark for beginning, they don't need 90% replaced right off the bat to go fly.

But if you crash a heli like I do all the time its game over lol

[proraptor]

Originally Posted by caymin last

Get an empty 'Bingo Marker', fill with Simple green and dab over the treads till completely covered, set for a couple minutes then wipe off with a damp cloth/sponge, rinse the cloth/sponge after each tire.

A bingo marker? haha not sure where to get one of those. Thanks for the reply though