Crawler Innovations Foams: How firm are they?

[Ghost Koi]

Hey guys, I am looking into purchasing these with a set of Mickey Thompson Baja Claw tires.

From what I understand, it seems that the tires themselves are really soft and I was wondering how firm I could expect these foam inserts to be.

Will the tires appear deflated if I go with the "firm" option? I am trying to prevent this as my battery sits at the back of my SCX10, causing an uneven distribution of weight.

Any pics would be greatly appreciated!

Here are the foams. I am interested in the "Firm" outer.

Lil' Nova 1.9 Dual Stage 4.75T Foam Pair (2)

[Stormin2u]

As hard as you want the closed cell CI uses is very firm you may choose that in sizes 1.9 - 2.2 with or without the Comp cut (the grooving) or the Double Duce with a closed cell inner foam with or without the Comp cut and a outer foam in three densities soft medium and hard.

What works for your tires exactly you'll need to do a search.

CI foam is spendy but currently provides the best performance for crawling and everything else is sadly inferior.

Good luck
Norm

[Ghost Koi]

Originally Posted by Stormin2u

As hard as you want the closed cell CI uses is very firm you may choose that in sizes 1.9 - 2.2 with or without the Comp cut (the grooving) or the Double Duce with a closed cell inner foam with or without the Comp cut and a outer foam in three densities soft medium and hard.

What works for your tires exactly you'll need to do a search.

CI foam is spendy but currently provides the best performance for crawling and everything else is sadly inferior.

Good luck
Norm

Thanks! I have looked into it but would really appreciate a confirmation. Will the foams I have linked work with BFGoodrich Krawler TA tires. I'm looking at the 4.75 inch size foams but the tire alone is only 4.70 inches. Will the this be a problem?

I am trying to eliminate that "deflated" look in the tires.

[SteveC6R]

Keep in mind that certain tires don't play well with different foams. While you may accomplish getting rid of the flat tire look, your rig may suffer performance wise. I used 1.9 TSL XL Double Deuce foams with a set of BFGs and wasn't happy performance wise, the foam completely filled the tire and didn't allow the tire to flex at all. A touch shorter foam would solve this problem.

For what your after I'd use the 4.50" Lil Novas, medium or firm outer rear with a medium or soft outer front, with the BFGs.

[Stormin2u]

If you don't want the aired down look adjust it out using stiffer outer foams but like Steve just said your rock crawling*grip will suffer.

[Maxwedge]

Originally Posted by Ghost Koi

Will the tires appear deflated if I go with the "firm" option? I am trying to prevent this as my battery sits at the back of my SCX10, causing an uneven distribution

Lil' Nova 1.9 Dual Stage 4.75T Foam Pair (2)

For starters, move your battery foreward. You want your weight either central or foreward biased (most all prefer foreward biased), not in the back. Now if you're going with dual stage foams most use a slightly softer (outer) foam up front. When you're going up an obstacle or hill the weight will shift onto the back wheels, so you should have soft front/med rear or med front/firm rear. A slightly deflated look just means the tire can wrap around the rock better and have a larger contact patch. Then again, flat-looking means your foams are too soft. It depends on the weight of your truck and how you drive it (fast basher, slow crawler,etc).

[Reflektr]

I just bought a set of medium nova 4.5 foams to stuff in some 1.9 Iroks and they seem to fit the bill just fine. They seemed pretty firm at first compared to my old foams, but after you massage them in place and let them rest for a bit they kind of soften up. They definitely hold the tires shape that's for sure. No more slouchy truck, she'll stand up straight.

[DrewHammer]

After buying CI foams a few years ago I am definitely a believer. All of my trucks are fairly heavy so I run Medium or Firm outer double duces in both 1.9 and 2.2. IMO any loss of forward traction from a firmer foam is more than made up for in tire control and other abilities such as side hilling. There's a lot to be said for having something that performs predictably on a consistent basis.

Call up Eddie/Eddy (however he spells it) at Crawler Innovations and talk to him about your driving conditions and how the truck is set up and he'll steer you in the right direction.

As a general rule of thumb, I'd get softs with a mostly stock 1.9 truck that's a bunch of plastic and isn't fast/high powered. As you start to add metal bits or power consider mediums. If its a heavy truck loaded down with scale bits and metal parts, and makes resonable power your you drive on smoother/flatter surfaces I'd get firms.

[Ghost Koi]

To answer my question, these "Firm" foams are firm!

Here is a picture of the 4.75 tires and Firm CI Foams setup.

Before- running stock foams and slightly smaller tires



After- running firm foams and slightly larger tires