Filling up the Moabs

['83 chevy]

i was bored today so i decided to see if i could fill up the moabs with air. instead of the usual method of using tire or ball valves i used an easier method. on the cheyenne beadlocs there are two holes, first thing i did was seal up one of those holes with ultra grey silicone, then the other hole i found a little piece of really small diameter tubing and guled and siliconed that in. then to fill them i used a small Lego pneumatics pump with a ball needle. to my surprise they arent bouncy at all and they hook up really good. i managed to get them up to 8" in diameter. just figured i share this

stock compared to pumped up


and a pic of the way to get air into them


this method can also be used with water, ill try that later

[leorosa]

What is the advantage of that? Inflated tire grip less.Just like real rockcrawling they run with very low air pressure.

['83 chevy]

i know that 1:1 run with low pressures, it was just an idea that i wanted to try. i think im just going to run with water instead (more weight).and if i wanted i could probally drive on water

[rcracer]

so how does the air not travel out of that tube and deflate the tire?

[NIK]

nice lol, i saw a vid a few years back of a savage with jumbo kongs on which had car valve in the rims once he had inflated them he could drive it on water :?

ive noticed on my 2.2 alloy beadlock rims you can get it air tight (ive drilled no holes yet)and you get the same feel as when you have a foam in them (cut foam)

[4link4eva]

There's a thread arund here somewhere of a guy that filled his 2.2 moabs with water, I'll have a look around...

EDIT: My mistake, he filled 'em with air. Linky.

Hey NIK, where abouts are you in the UK?

[NIK]

sunny leicester lol

['83 chevy]

Originally Posted by rcracer

so how does the air not travel out of that tube and deflate the tire?

there are little plastic stops that fit inside the tube tightly keeping the air in.

[highhpcummins]

I wonder how they would handle on a nitro mt?

[Fox]

haha looks cool at least

[obijuan]

probably good for some muddin in another tire. sorta like a floatation effect.

[MafiaxB]

LOVE THE IDEA!

i'm going to be making my own beadlocks for my 2.2 and i plan to fill them with air, (low psi for crawling/adverse terrain, higher for other runs)

can you post a pic of the valve you're using? (ive got a lego pneumatics set w/a pump to though i was planning on the ball needle idea, too..

[rcracer]

I have a setup now with air filled XL's on narrowed beadlocks and it's not as bouncy as would have thought when you add bb's and cut foams. I put just enough foam to hold the side walls and I can adjust the air to tweak that amount of tire wrap or compression, then the bb's help for the weight, reduce bounce and make a solid footprint. I think this will work well for me.

This setup is probably best for heavier rigs.

fyi, I added very little air, just enough to hold itself up.

[Big Mike]

ive noticed on my 2.2 alloy beadlock rims you can get it air tight (ive drilled no holes yet)and you get the same feel as when you have a foam in them (cut foam)

My RC4WD 2.2 beadlocks will get damn near airtight. I run nothing but 2 1/2 oz. of .20 airsoft bb's in my tires w/ no foams (either highly modified Old Mashers or HPI Geolanders) I left them undrilled also. You have to squeeze them pretty hard to get air to come out.
Wow, those got quite a bit bigger. Are they too bouncy filled that much?
I've thought about Shoe-Goo-ing the beads in place and trying water, but the airsoft bb's are working too good to take them out just yet. I don't see water being enough of a performance advantage over bb's to take the time to try it anyway.

[rcracer]

I think the metal bb's are the best volume to weight ratio.

if you wanted to run water you could, if the tire is air tight it will certainly be water tight since water molecules are larger than air.

wish there was a way to check the psi I am running, I have a similar design using a tube and bike pump. my tire stands at just about 1/4 taller than a foam filled.

[chevy42083]

Just like real life.... air up for deep mud and trailing, air down for crawling. ;)

['83 chevy]

i've actually removed the valves since when i would drive on side hills they would tend to roll over on themselves.

[rcracer]

just install some foam and it will be fine.

[P47TBolt]

Originally Posted by '83 chevy

i know that 1:1 run with low pressures, it was just an idea that i wanted to try. i think im just going to run with water instead (more weight).and if i wanted i could probally drive on water

Here is my big block T-Maxx with jumbo kongs with the foams in them.
Wheel airholes are sealed off and the tires are so tight on the wheels they are not glued.Did not have to inflate them at all.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8WYBUUZ-gc

['83 chevy]

Originally Posted by rcracer

just install some foam and it will be fine.

thats what in them, standard foams cut to 1 1/4" wide and star pattern