Rubber Tires

[War Eagle River]

This is a question for the rubber tire racers.
After a race, do you treat your tires with, for example, NSR tire treatment, before storing them for the next race? In between heats, I use a little lighter fluid to clean, and make them sticky. And have found, that will eventually dry out the rubber, and make them hard. So, I have made it a habit to put a small dab of NSR treatment on them before they go back in the cabinet. Keeps them relatively fresh for the next race.

[frank9129]

I don't treat my rubber, urethane, tires with anything.
I don't allow any tire treatment on my routed track.
Just my preference.

[RichD]

It has been our experience that rubber tires can become glazed and lose most of their grip. Some rubber tires may turn hard or even fall apart while others last a long time, for that reason the quality control of rubber tires may be suspect. One pair of tires may respond well to some sort of treatment, while another pair of the same type, but from another batch may respond differently. If a club wants to have a level playing field rubber tires can pose problems. My club has hosted a number of proxy races that used rubber tires and the performance of the cars has often changed from race to race, I believe that is mostly because of the tires.
A person that holds races on his track may not want people to put weird glop on their tires for fear that it might damage the track, however it is difficult to control what a person might do at home before the race.

[chrisguyw]

Hi Scott, RichD gave you the answer, which while absolutely correct, is, likely not the answer you were hoping for, but to second his response.......I have had treated rubber tires that have lasted for 2+ years now, and some that have gone hard (bad) after less than a year,....all treated/used/cared for (I think) the same way.........how long is a piece of string??
Different compounds will react differently, and even identical tires may react differently depending on the batch they came from.....then there is the treatment,.....how much, how often, with what, how long , were the tires treated.

Treating/cleaning with lighter fluid is a good thing, and will not prematurely "dry out" your tires as lighter fluid is oil based, and, will only soften the tire. Many racers have adopted its use exclusively vs. traditional "tire oil", so don't be afraid of using it.

It is a good idea to store your treated rubber tire cars on their side/roof when not on the track......the "soft" treated tires often have a habit of "flat spotting" after sitting for extended periods of time.

Wish there was a miracle answer, but, no one has found it yet.

Cheers
Chris Walker

[War Eagle River]

Chris, Basically just asking how folks treat their rubber tires, before, during, after racing. I know, wore out subject. But one worth revisiting for the newbies, and those that still wish to let theirs dry out! Of course each tire is different, and should be treated as such. As you saw in my cabinets, the tires do not touch anything, no flat spots, as per the raised rib stretching through the cabinets, so no worries there. I felt for the longevity and pliability of the rubber, it was a necessity to clean and treat them before putting them up. We always ask that racers clean their tires and braids before racing, to remove any oils that may be present. And our track is clean as a whistle because of it, definitely makes for a better racing experience.

And know lots of racers that take their tires off, treat them and store them in the fridge. That’s all well and good if you don’t mind your car smelling like a lunchmeat and pickle sandwich!

[wanabgts]

I typically just use liquid wrench to keep my tires soft and ready to roll. I use it during the initial finishing process, and also for storage. Cars I am racing regularly I sometimes treat the tires and then store the car in a sandwich bag so they won't dry out.

This is a technique I took away from RC racing, as Liquid wrench is commonly used to treat both onroad and offroad rubber rc car tires. It seems to work pretty well here also.

Zack

[MikeB]

I run PG , Super Tire urethane's , BRM rubber , and NSR rubber on a routed track.
I clean my tires by rolling them across painters tape and use no chemical treatment on the tires.
The closest to a chemical would be Sally Hanson's hard as nails as an adhesive.

Mike

[RichD]

Rolling silicone tires on sticky tape works well because only dust seems to stick to them. Urethane and rubber tires can be a different case in my experience. Rubber tires can become glazed and tape will not remove the glaze. The safest way to remove the glaze would be by using a water based surface cleaner, that would not be likely to cause the tires to dry out. Things like lighter fluid and other mild solvents will certainly remove the glaze at the risk of causing the tires to turn hard, or maybe not. Rubber tires that have not been treated can also turn hard. Urethane tires can also get coated and tape probably will not remove the coating. Surface cleaner works well with urethane tires.

[charlesx@xtra.co.nz]

Hi all. I find Slot-it N22 tyres once glued and trued will last for several years if used regularly at least on smooth tracks. They only ever need cleaning on tape and in fact should never be sanded. NSR rubber too once glued and trued should be OK but they do respond to a light sanding. Urethane are similar to NSR rubber but both need the sticky tape treatment unless track absolutely clean. Ferrodor surfaces are possibly different but I have little experience of same. Do not like to use any other treatment generally as it gets transferred to track and can adversely affect other racers.

The only tyres that I have seen to glaze are standard Scaly tyres. They need a light sand at 9volts before each race day.

Regards Chas Le Breton (charlesx)

[BRS Hobbies]

I generally don't treat my rubber tires at all. Just use the sticky side of some masking tape to clean them from time to time. The only time that I do treat them is when a particular set of rear tires seems to be getting harder and losing some grip. In this case, I will try to soften them up with some NSR tire treatment.

Brian

[HomeRacingWorld]

[FC47]

Yeah, so here's one...building drags and big gummy urethane, I wash em real good usually with dawn or something to get the release or sliminess away before I glue em on.

I sent off to the current Can-Am on rubber-
Do you folks clean or wash up rubber tires before mount and glue? Is there anything much on a new one?..

[War Eagle River]

Quote from MRE.
Hands up anyone who thinks that tyre choice is just like random black magic ? Yes, thought so, it is a perplexing mystery to everyone at some time. You probably have a favoured tyre for the cars you race on your regular track, as long as they are available in the right size. But what about other situations ?

If you go to another track, what do you do ? The obvious answer is ask what the locals are running and try to use the same. Not always possible as a supply of different tyres probably won't be available, and then you have to fit them, probably true them up and to the right size for your setup, and you can't do that when you need to get on track as soon as possible.

What is your usual preference ? Do you like wheels with solid ribs, or do you prefer to run air-tyre type hubs ? Although not used much in the UK, our American friends favour silicone tyres but running these and also rubber tyres on the track leads to unpredictable grip and is generally banned in most places. What about tyre treatments ? Most serious racers will soften their tyres to some degree, but there is a multitude of methods, liquids, and variously poisonous concoctions that people have as their own preference. Mostly, as long as the tyres are dry when the car is put on the track there is no problem, but some of these treatments can take weeks to be effective, allowing rubber to absorb tyre treatments can't be done instantly.

Having raced back in the day with sponge tyres of most colours (black, blue, grey, olive, orange, red, yellow, etc) we are now seeing coloured rubber tyres being competitive. Grey and red tyres are now available as spare parts, and found to be effective for many racers. Personally, I would prefer all tyres to be black, but if you want to keep up..........

Then we come to what is possible for some cars. The grippiest tyres are seldom supplied on cars "out of the box" as manufacturers want to give a long life to their products. The fact that many cars are basically undriveable without a magnet when using the standard tyres means that you have to search for alternatives if you want to race on a wooden track or without magnets. This brings up the problem of standardisation - or not, as it seems to be. Try fitting one brand of tyre to a car of another brand - possible in some cases but usually a source of frustation. Yes, the manufacturers logic is simple - we want you to use only our tyres ! But if you can't race that car against other brands because of lousy tyres, you must look for an alternative, either tyres or cars.

What about size ? The grippiest tyres are made for cars with wide wheels and low profiles. But there is a very big section of racers who like classic cars - larger diameter and narrower wheels, but with no suitable racing tyres. Many get around this by buying something that will basically fit and then spending time fixing them securely and then profiling them to the required size and shape. Surely a gap in the market for somebody to produce narrow grippy tyres in larger diameters ?

I think I have raised most of the issues we hear about tyre choice, but can't give anyone a positive answer to your grip problems as there are so many issues and alternatives. I have thought about it a lot, tried lots of ways of getting reliable traction on many types of track, but all I can sy is that it has made me..........tyred out !

[Kevan]

[War Eagle River]

How many track owners have gotten fed up with having to clean their tracks and cars all the time? The rubber and urethane slag can be a mess! I for one am tired of all the maintenance! If you have gone to silicone tires, did you strip/clean the track surface of the rubber and urethane, and start fresh? I’m talking about a wood track with latex enamel semi gloss paint. Just wondering...if it’s worth the work/change to go to the silicone tires. And may not go over so well with all the racers?