Tyres for tarmac

[BuggyDad]

I've got on well enough with rally blocks for mixed surfaces but I'd like also to explore grip on tarmac. However, for touring car size, tyres confuse me somewhat. So many products it's a bit of a minefield (and I already have some cheap ones that are less grippy than rally blocks).

My tarmac spot is a good smooth surface but it's UK winter/spring so cold and never really dry. So what grips best on cold tarmac that's maybe also a little damp? 

I'm not really concerned about longevity here - in the name of learning I wouldn't object to a set wearing out quickly. Needs also to be available (UK sellers ideally). 

I guess it's something super soft but so many claim to be "soft compound" that I would really value specific product recommendations. So what's your favourite? 

[Superluminal]

Are you looking for tyres to suit 24mm med narrow wide wheels or 26mm wide wheels or will you get new wheels to suit the tyres?

Theres some race specific wet weather tyres at one end of the spectrum

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/125225/

Or you could try something like ebay type semi slick tyres with some grooves in them like them. Ive got some of these

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/285049992962?hash=item425e4db702:g:6-kAAOSwr5Ng6Erk&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4JIGOBjpSIE2tFp%2FDSGtMUZetf7d1jmcjhIrNi6kGAF1yeSE%2B703JHzchfRRvNXN64YYrN2dQucsch9J6Pj7mxDCb%2B0Cn6lOmfnGRYQ%2FAZbOg70vbbknV1w0VK3DZlnEJKOga2yBXa0FzwoXzHJo5PLGr98SsEhqHsOzFpGaHl%2FNjpup2a18rZ7qjcDpOsMNkoitE5bKXXuCXoNc4%2FrXCRqBp%2BguB41eoYNBoRnrBvSh4ET4srZ97PK23SOjSaFJfLGUMbE1X8s%2FeavOQ4QheT%2FhO91AQnE1s0SPl%2Bd%2FMrW2|tkp%3ABFBMlp_D-LVh

I havent run them yet but they nice and soft and have more tread than a regular radial tyre.

Or the Tamiya M2 radials which are a much nicer compound than their normal kit supplied slicks and radials and look great too. I use these on a TT01 and they perform really nicely on tarmac.

[Andreas W]

Hehe. I was thinking the same thing yesterday. It seems like most of the onroad tires come preglued on dish wheels, which I do not like. 

[BuggyDad]

1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

Are you looking for tyres to suit 24mm med narrow wide wheels or 26mm wide wheels or will you get new wheels to suit the tyres?

Any of the above - I definitely have some 26mm wheels, so that'd be the natural choice, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've got some narrower ones in there too, plus preglued sets are an option. 

1 hour ago, Superluminal said:

Theres some race specific wet weather tyres at one end of the spectrum

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/125225/

Ooh. Thanks. I wouldn't be doing them justice at that price but as luck would have it, there's a lightly used set of those on ebay for not much more than half the new price, so I've bought those. This way they're also a decent value option. 👍👍

[BuggyDad]

15 minutes ago, Andreas W said:

Hehe. I was thinking the same thing yesterday. It seems like most of the onroad tires come preglued on dish wheels, which I do not like. 

I am with you, but decided to ignore all aesthetic preferences for the purposes of a first go at this, at least. 

NB I note the ones I've just bought are also available without wheels. 

[Andreas W]

1 hour ago, BuggyDad said:

I am with you, but decided to ignore all aesthetic preferences for the purposes of a first go at this, at least. 

NB I note the ones I've just bought are also available without wheels. 

I have seen it, so that is maybe worth a try. 

 

When it dries up I think the Contract A34 could be good. This is a Schumacher-product, so quality is garanteed. They are easy to get here in Norway as well. 

[alvinlwh]

Racing or bashing? I had read somewhere that groves on RC tyres don't really make that much of a difference in the wet, especially for bashing. I had tried groved and slicks on my M chassis and really can't tell a difference until the rubber is completely gone with just the foam left, but that is for bashing though. YMMY...

[Andreas W]

For me and possibly BuggyDad we are talking Postal Racing. So some sort of seriousness . 

[M 800STD]

You can get foam tyres for wet/damp conditions.

[BuggyDad]

6 hours ago, Andreas W said:

For me and possibly BuggyDad we are talking Postal Racing. So some sort of seriousness . 

That's me. The extent of my current ambition is postal racing. And I don't mean getting on the leaderboard, I mean a submission into the spreadsheet of any kind! 😅

[Jonathon Gillham]

For cold tarmac look at the lower temperature range tyres, like 20 or 24deg. Also, increase the temp as the motor gets faster. I run 24deg all year around in 21.5T blinky class, but the 13.5T blinky and mod will use higher temp tyres (I think mod class use 36deg but don't quote me). These work when the track is cold and damp (our middle of winter may be as cold as you would run in?) although it can get a bit squirrelly. You can certainly still drive though, its not like driving on ice.

I use schumacher (Sorex I think, but made by schumacher) and its what every one runs and they last a season of racing easily. So the price may seem a lot, but they last a long time. Good if you know what you need, expensive if you have to buy a lot to try out. Pit Shizumu are good too (use them in F1, I think they're also made by Schumacher now)

I found that the Rush wheels didn't last well (control tyre and didnt last an event, the wheel hex rounded out for a lot of us) but the tyres were fine.

I have also used these and found they work fine, they were cheap enough to pad an order and I got them for my TA07Pro which came with wheels and no tyres. My son has run them in TT02 for a couple of years and they still have tread left and work fine at lower speeds. They aren't as good as the sorex 24s though

https://www.rcmart.com/ride-24mm-pre-cut-slick-tires-4-pcs-w-lt-inner-foam-for-1-10-rc-touring-car-24125-00120591

If its wet then foams would work too, when I started racing outdoors the foam tyres seemed to work ok in damp conditions. I have only used Contact premounts and that was a few years ago now. I think they were around 37 but I dont really know how the rating system works for foams.

[ThunderDragonCy]

These are my go to street running wheels

https://www.racing-cars.com/ride-1-10-belted-tyres-preglued-silver-wheel-ri--26073

Work OK in low temps, seem to last OK if you aren't racing or putting tyre juice on them.