Running no foams?

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Anybody here run without foams? I do for more tire deformation when crawling to get better grip.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[23drumerboy]

I have found that with added brass, no foams is wayyy tooo soft, to the point where its no longer helpful, as u lose a LOT of ground clearance, especially when it really counts!

However, my stock canyon trails got their foams ruined after several wet sessions bashing around drainage ditches, etc, and i find they are far more up to the task of real crawling, as opposed to the "no-foams-at-all" option...also, i sumtimes tow my rusty 4x4 to my bash spot behind my house, and no foams would result in destroyed tires and/or beadlocks GUARANTEED!

My two cents.

However, on the flipside, i have a danchee ridgerock 4wd, 4ws crawler that is NOT heavy AT ALL out of the box, so i added avout 3.5oz of lead sticky weights inside each beadlock, and pulled the foams. And it'll damn-climb-a-wall!

R.C. means both;Remote control, and Rock Crawler.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by 23drumerboy

I have found that with added brass, no foams is wayyy tooo soft, to the point where its no longer helpful, as u lose a LOT of ground clearance, especially when it really counts!

However, my stock canyon trails got their foams ruined after several wet sessions bashing around drainage ditches, etc, and i find they are far more up to the task of real crawling, as opposed to the "no-foams-at-all" option...also, i sumtimes tow my rusty 4x4 to my bash spot behind my house, and no foams would result in destroyed tires and/or beadlocks GUARANTEED!

My two cents.

However, on the flipside, i have a danchee ridgerock 4wd, 4ws crawler that is NOT heavy AT ALL out of the box, so i added avout 3.5oz of lead sticky weights inside each beadlock, and pulled the foams. And it'll damn-climb-a-wall!

R.C. means both;Remote control, and Rock Crawler.

Yeah, i have about 300kg worth of brass upfront, metal bumper, lead stuffed inside bumper, brass front bumper mount, and more weight on the mount. Also have a full length metal roof rack. Even with all that weight, my tires barely ride flat on the ground.

My canyon trails got wet too, I opened 1 up and the foam was very very bad. I had 2 spares that were brand new, so i used them on my trailer.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[HumboldtEF]

I've never run tires without foams besides the SCX24's, those are too light for it to matter much. The typical single stage foams that come stock with tires are plenty soft and should give you plenty of "crush" depending on the specific tire (Canyons are a bit on the stiff side when new).

I always want a bit more support as these will usually fold over easily and I think the ideal setup is dual stage foams. The outer layer allows some crush but the stiff inner keeps it from collapsing and folding over when turning or side hilling. Crawler innovations has some of the best dual stage foam options IMO. Foam sizing can be another thing you can play with to fine tune them.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by HumboldtEF

I've never run tires without foams besides the SCX24's, those are too light for it to matter much. The typical single stage foams that come stock with tires are plenty soft and should give you plenty of "crush" depending on the specific tire (Canyons are a bit on the stiff side when new).

I always want a bit more support as these will usually fold over easily and I think the ideal setup is dual stage foams. The outer layer allows some crush but the stiff inner keeps it from collapsing and folding over when turning or side hilling. Crawler innovations has some of the best dual stage foam options IMO. Foam sizing can be another thing you can play with to fine tune them.

Ya, I may put them back in a run it to see what I like. I took the foams out before I mounted them and I haven’t even ran with them yet.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Inspector86]

I think you will find that no foams are pretty useless. CI makes arguably the most tuneable foams on the market.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Inspector86

I think you will find that no foams are pretty useless. CI makes arguably the most tuneable foams on the market.

Why do you say useless? I haven’t ran foams for a few months and really like the grip they get.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[Inspector86]

If I were to remove the foams from my Pit Bull Growlers they would have no structure at all. I guess a hard tire compound might allow you to run without foam but you would have no control over how the tire interacts with the terrain. If no foam works for you that's great.

[23drumerboy]

I think we can all agree, that no foams is very much similar to "airing down" our 1:1 rigs when trailing/crawling...however, without SOME air (foam) the tire has NO structure, and with any kind of "heavy" rig, it JUST wont work.

On my 94 4runner, with 31x11.50r15's (BFGoodrich Duratrac tires), *load range E...VERY critical to know your tire specs when driving "aired down"...id run at 11-12psi in the snow, and was UN-FKN-STOPPABLE, even with the ol' 3.slow motor pushing its hardest in 4-low!

Without that kind of footprint i couldnt make it outta my driveway in Colorado some days in winter! Let alone trying to go snow-bashing!

As a wise man online once said "remove the air pressure from your tires until u can "hit" the sidewall with the bottom of a fisted-hand, and make sure the tire"jiggles" like last night's bar prospect...that how u know ur close to the acceptable low pressure to not NEED beadlocks, and simultaneously NOT destroy your tires.

R.C. means both;Remote control, and Rock Crawler.

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by Inspector86

If I were to remove the foams from my Pit Bull Growlers they would have no structure at all. I guess a hard tire compound might allow you to run without foam but you would have no control over how the tire interacts with the terrain. If no foam works for you that's great.

Yeah, that makes since.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[ScaleLifeNewbie]

Originally Posted by 23drumerboy

I think we can all agree, that no foams is very much similar to "airing down" our 1:1 rigs when trailing/crawling...however, without SOME air (foam) the tire has NO structure, and with any kind of "heavy" rig, it JUST wont work.

On my 94 4runner, with 31x11.50r15's (BFGoodrich Duratrac tires), *load range E...VERY critical to know your tire specs when driving "aired down"...id run at 11-12psi in the snow, and was UN-FKN-STOPPABLE, even with the ol' 3.slow motor pushing its hardest in 4-low!

Without that kind of footprint i couldnt make it outta my driveway in Colorado some days in winter! Let alone trying to go snow-bashing!

As a wise man online once said "remove the air pressure from your tires until u can "hit" the sidewall with the bottom of a fisted-hand, and make sure the tire"jiggles" like last night's bar prospect...that how u know ur close to the acceptable low pressure to not NEED beadlocks, and simultaneously NOT destroy your tires.

R.C. means both;Remote control, and Rock Crawler.

Yeah, I’d consider mine heavy, it my tire doesn’t ride flat. I think it’s a win-win.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk