1/0 truck tire choices

[GSMnow]

I figured this is as good of a place as any to ask this question. What tires does anyone recomend for a hard packed surface? On club race days they water it before each round, but it is dry and getting dusty by the final heat of each round. They usually run the electrics in the middle, so we get drying and getting dusty. The surface never seems soft enough for pins to get a bite. On big event days, they blow off the dust and it does get a "blue groove" to it, so it is a very hard surface. This usually means very soft rubber and lots of tiny pins. I tried Losi 7635 taper pins in the red medium compound and felt grip fell off bad when it got dusty. Are they better in the softer compound? Last night I tried the Losi 7633 Reptiles in the medium compound and they were great when damp, but again, in the dry it really got loose. And in the dust it just made rooster tails and had no side bite in the slow corners. Has anyone tried the Pro Line HoleShot or SnakeEyes tires? How are they when it gets dusty? I assume I also have to go to the softer compounds. Losi Pink or ProLine M3. How long do they live on an electric modified truck? Has anyone tried the Losi A-7641 "T-2000" tire? They give it the highest "dust" rating in the medium compound. And they still get a good rating (or best in soft compound) on Blue Groove and Wet hard surfaces. Sounds like a good choice. I am open to all options as well as real experiance.

[crazy4wdracer]

proline m3 does not last long in mod, r3 is supposed to last longer

[vaderbxman]

The Holeshots are great for hardpacked surfaces. I got the harder compound and it's lasted me 5 months of racing on the weekends.

If the track is loamy and has alot of sand-like dirt on the top, Bowties are pretty good. I haven't tried snakeeyes or any other type of tire, but the two I've tried so far are great.

I always thought the losi tires had little tread on them to begin with, so I never bothered with them.

[GSMnow]

Of course, my LHS didn't have any of the recomended Pro Lines in stock. They got cleaned out by the racers going up to Bakersfield for the JBRL round 2. The T-2000 Losi's actually have a bit more tread to them than the other hard surface treads, and Losi's site places the medium compound version of them as the best for dusty surfaces. I mounted up a pair, but have not tried them yet. I will look into the Holeshots. They look like a good compromise from dry/dusty. I am running a Mamba Max 5700, and I need grip to take the power. I was being pulled by stock motors when my tires would just spin.

[GSMnow]

Just back from a race on the T-2000's. Of course it was cooler and the water lasted much longer and it didn't get near as dusty. I had excellent grip on them, to the point of slipping my poor diff out of a couple slower turns. I was able to use full throttle for most of the straight. I have not had gip like this on any other tire, but the surface prep was also about the best we have had. It won't be like this when it is hotter this summer.

I think I will also pick up a set of ProLine HoleShots. Has anyone tried the "inside job" tires?

[vaderbxman]

Inside job tires look they have smaller pins and less depth to them. If the track is really dusty, I don't think they'll hook up; However, I could be wrong. Holeshots work great for tracks with little to moderate dust. I used to run holeshots all winter because the track was a little wet all the time, but now that 1/8 scalers tear it up on the weekends, I've switched back over to bowties because they grip good in loamy dirt.

[GSMnow]

When the surface is totally dry and blown clean, it is almost like asphault. Soft tiny pins work, but they only do that for big events. The club nights are getting prett rough. Last night they watered it good and racked it a bit. My 7633's might even have worked. No wonder the big time guys that showed up for the Reedy race all had tubs full of tires.

The other thing I noticed racing last night was that as the surface is getting beat up, yeah 8th scalers, there are alot of rocks coming up. While working course, I ended up kicking several big rocks off to the side. There are holes in the landing areas off of a couple of the doubles. Suspensions are getting a big workout. They will be changing the layout, but not for a few weeks still. They dug pretty deep on this layout to make the big table top and 6 doubles. I think that is why they got down to rocks. I heard them talking to guy about bringing a truckload of fresh dirt. I hope it is the god stuff.

Hopefully I will have a Losi MF2 fairly soon. Just need to save up a little more in the toy fund. I love my 20 year old truck, but it is suspension challenged comared to the new trucks out there.

[vaderbxman]

I feel the same way with my evader in that the big guys are running T4's and triple-Xt's. I can beat both trucks, but I want a T4 of my own! :D

[GSMnow]

On Tues. with the "right" tires for the surface conditions, I had a stock motored XXX-T (not sure which level, but not an RTR) take a line inside of me on a full 180 degree turn at a higher speed than me and pull off a nice clean pass. I caught and could have easilly re-passed on the straight, but when we got the turn at the end, another 180. I just tried to match his speed and I traction rolled while he stayed planted and accelerated to the next turn. After I was marshalled and took up the chase, it took two laps and I was right on him again. I finally got by on the straight again, but once in the infield, he could take every corner at a fair speed faster than me. I got up on two wheels as he was driving inside of me again. I caught it, got it back on all four, and trounced him down the straight. I did beat him by a lap, but it was all horsepower on the straights. I was toast in the turns. And this time I could ot blame my tires. I am hoping to et another shot again on Tuesday. I am actually leading the points for mod class, since I was only beat by stock motored buggies. I was still faster down the straight than the XXX-CR's, but not by enough to make up their serious handling advantage in the infield. I was basically a match for the fastest nitro 1/10th truck. I think they may have had a tiny bit of cornering on me, but I killed them on low rpm torque, and still matched them down the fastest straight. I am learing to drive the MM and I am addicted to the power. Now I want a chassis to handle with it.

[got2bqik]

I don't think there is a 2wd truck that can handle or utiliaze the torque and horsepower a brushless puts out. We play with 1/10th S/T at work at lunch time in a asphalt parking lot that has sealer applied to it. Running mostly a "D" shaped oval. We have had to tune down and gear down to get any kind of handling. Straight line drag racing or speed runs I can break out the lipo and gear up and fly, but makin it turn and stick in corners on pavement is tricky. My 1 time at the dirt track my setup was way off and haven't been able to get back yet, even though I believe it will still take a light finger to get around it fast. I really want to go to The Farm II to see the lipo/brushless class run.If you can turn laps as fast as a 19T or 27T stock class truck on a dirt track I think your doing very well.I totally agree with the hooked on the power thing. I don't want to run brushed any more even if they can beat me. There has got to be a way to control that torque ( there is just not in my finger).Just my thoughts on the subject as a whole. Tire choice this may sound wierd but try the proline Glaiditor II's they seem to spin some but dig down and bite the hard stuff.
Good luck and keep us posted on results.
Tim

[Rufus]

Just back from a race on the T-2000's. Of course it was cooler and the water lasted much longer and it didn't get near as dusty. I had excellent grip on them, to the point of slipping my poor diff out of a couple slower turns. I was able to use full throttle for most of the straight. I have not had gip like this on any other tire, but the surface prep was also about the best we have had. It won't be like this when it is hotter this summer.

I think I will also pick up a set of ProLine HoleShots. Has anyone tried the "inside job" tires?

Losi tires can be very nice.. If you liked the T2000 I recommend you try out the T-bone (A 7642) in red compound, it may even have better grip for your racing conditions. Here I usually run in soccer fields (no grass) that have very abrasive conditions, the fields are not maintained at all so some parts are hard packed and dusty, then others have small rocks and ruts, some are almost alphalt... then sometime it rains and everything changes... anyway total chaos. I was surprised how durable and consistent the T-bones are across that entire range of conditions (and Im also running a mamba max on 8cells or more). I chose the Tbones since in the losi chart they look good on almost everything from soft or hard. The red compound seems to have similar performance to the T2000 reds on hard surfaces.

Also, for pavement, the Losi Smashers are great, almost as durable as a set of proline mashers2000 (the big tires), those and the moabs are probably the most durable stuff you can get and with supreme grip... the smashers didn't make it to the Losi chart but they're also good for offroad, just that they wear faster there.

Good luck!

[GSMnow]

I think I wore the edges off of my directional rib fronts. I started getting bad push in the main, and the sharp edge is gone, all rounded off. I guess I need another set of fronts.

[vaderbxman]

I've only used Proline Edges myself, but I see racers put holeshots all around the truck.

[GSMnow]

Last time I ran the dry, blown clean, blue groove surface, I ran Losi step pins all around, and I thought they worked pretty good, but I didn't quite have as strong of turn in as the soft compound 8 ribs others were running. It was a forgiving easy to drive setup, but it does not work in dusty conditions at all. I will have to take a trip out to Hobby People again, they have a better selection of Pro Line on the shelves. But they don't carry any Losi poarts at all.

[vaderbxman]

I'm still sorry that I can't help at all with losi tires. I still do like my holeshots, but they have a limited lifespan.....

[GSMnow]

Vader, I just picked up a set of Pro Lines. I got M2 Edge tires for the front and Hole Shots in R3 for the rear. They claim the R3 should last at least 3 times longer than the M3 on abrasive "blue groove" surfaces. They still feel as soft as the Losi Red compound I have been running. I hope to get some track time in before Tueday to try out different tire combos now. I had the Losi directionals up front last and they worked great, but I wore off the sharp edges, and it really started to push by the end of the night.

As a side note, I also picked up a set of XTM Accelerater rims to mount them on. The dimensions match the Losi's, for a little less money, and they have thicker webs, so I am hoping they hold true better. All of my Losi XXX-T rear rims are now out of true. Just slip the rim on a piece of drill rod and give it a spin, the Losi's all wobble bad after any moderate hit. I sent them an E-mail, but have not heard back yet. The fronts hold true just fine, but the rears really take a set and won't come back. The only bad thing I see on the XTM wheels is that they seem a bit heavier.