Grasshopper Rear Wheels

[Tony S]

Is there an alternative to the terrible rear wheels supplied with the Tamiya Grasshopper kit? The inner wheel section is far too large for the hole in the tyre and is impossible to fit, despite all the tips of warming the tyres and or using soap etc. etc.  There must be an alternative other than giving up and buying a different kit.

[ParticularSky]

Tamiya 22077 one piece option wheels in conjunction with 1/10 rally blocks.

Alternative 2: Kyosho Scorpion/Tomahawk rears SCT002SB

 

Here's how 22077 looks like on a frog

[Tony S]

Thank you.

[El Gecko]

2 hours ago, Tony S said:

There must be an alternative other than giving up and buying a different kit.

seems a bit overkill, no?

The tires do fit, it's all about technique. Shove the inner rim in sideways, then flip it the right way once it's inside the tire. Many thousands of children have installed those tires over the years, so it's definitely not impossible.

[Tony S]

Sorry I don’t believe you. There is no way a child could fit this tyre onto the supplied rim. 

[Twinfan]

It does seem quite awkward at first, but once you get the hang of it it's dead simple.

[alvinlwh]

Just get some hex wheels adaptors and you can fit any other 12mm hex wheels, some even come pre mounted and glued, no need to fight them on.

[Tamiyastef]

15 hours ago, Twinfan said:

it's dead simple

For me it was not. I remember at the age of 14 BITD I needed help from my dad to get these in. Now, having this done more than I care to remember, I can do it on my own.

Do I look forward to it? No I don't.

Do I think it's easy? No I don't.

Do I get the job done? Yes I do.

 

Sorry about that, rant over. (feels like Monday today)

[Twinfan]

Fair enough    I do think you have to find a technique that works though, it's not immediately apparent.  After that it becomes possible rather than impossible!

[Andreas W]

I feel for some reason that the Grasshopper tyres are easier to fit than the Hornet tyres. 

 

Last year we had a thread about the same and I tested fittings a Kyosho Scorpion tyre on a Grasshopper wheel. It was easy, but will require a few dabs of CA each side. 

 

I have also fitted Hornet tyres on Scorpion wheels and that is also a piece of cake (since I run Scorpion wheels on my Grasshornet).

[JimBear]

@Andreas W - just as an aside - what was/is the reason for the Scorpion tyres? The different softness or just the look?

[Andreas W]

24 minutes ago, JimBear said:

@Andreas W - just as an aside - what was/is the reason for the Scorpion tyres? The different softness or just the look?

They are way grippier on loose surface and the soft sidewalls act as an extra damper. On a typical gravel/dirt parking lot my Grasshornet (Grasshopper with Hornet rear axle-solution and Grasshopper 2 front) goes a lot more steady and less hoppy on Scorpion rear tyres than it goes on Hornet tyres. They also wear surpricingly slow. Mine are 3 years now. 

 

Shen RC made a vid about these tyres on his Grasshopper. There you can see how planted the car looks on a ballfield. 

[Bronski Beetus]

On 8/19/2024 at 11:47 AM, Tony S said:

Sorry I don’t believe you. There is no way a child could fit this tyre onto the supplied rim. 

haha that is probably true. I knew they were supposed to be hard but it still surprised me when I built one. OTOH, Lunch Box tires are easy to mount, and the rear wheels bolt right up to the Grasshopper. The front end takes a little more doing, but easier tire mounting isn't the only thing the Monster Grasshopper has going for it. 

[Grumpy pants]

I’ve just used this method, still got a sweat on, but it works -

 

[Losi XXT-CR]

On 8/19/2024 at 4:47 PM, Tony S said:

Sorry I don’t believe you. There is no way a child could fit this tyre onto the supplied rim. 

You just need to read the instructions. 10 to 1 you aren’t actually following the diagrams. Just built some of those wheels on my Fighting Buggy yesterday. But also have a Grasshopper I built a few years back including the sticking with the wheels and tyres. 
 

[one_hit]

On 9/4/2024 at 4:17 AM, Losi XXT-CR said:

You just need to read the instructions. 10 to 1 you aren’t actually following the diagrams. Just built some of those wheels on my Fighting Buggy yesterday. But also have a Grasshopper I built a few years back including the sticking with the wheels and tyres. 
 

Yeah there’s no way a child could fit these tires. Read the instructions eh? There’s only one diagram and it says press in while rotating the wheel inward and pulling on the tire. I’ve done this before when I built my Hornet and I hated it and I’m doing it right now building my Fighting Buggy and I now hate it even more. 

[scoobybooster]

Well, in my opinion, this is almost right at the top of the list of the biggest nightmares of all Tamiya construction steps. Closely followed by assembling the turnbuckles .

[GToddC5]

I don't understand what any of the fuss is, I find these wheels to be very easy to mount and assemble. Just be very confident and don't let it smell any fear, LOL

[Losi XXT-CR]

7 hours ago, one_hit said:

Yeah there’s no way a child could fit these tires. Read the instructions eh? There’s only one diagram and it says press in while rotating the wheel inward and pulling on the tire. I’ve done this before when I built my Hornet and I hated it and I’m doing it right now building my Fighting Buggy and I now hate it even more. 

I don't have my grasshopper manual to hand, but I have the Fighting buggy, I assume the instructions would be the same?

As per the image, put the wheel in 90 degrees to the tyre opening, don't try and slide it over the edge of the rim. It is super easy and far less effort than putting normal buggy tyres on regular 2.2 rims. No real effort required, as the outer sections of the rim clamp the tyre in place, almost a bit like a beadloack, so there is no "stretching" of the tyre required.The inner rim literally pushes straight in with almost no effort, you flip it over inside the tyre, which aligns it. Then fit the outer sections. Which if anything is more fiddly due to the size of the nuts & bolts, but still pretty easy really.

[one_hit]

9 hours ago, Losi XXT-CR said:

 

As per the image, put the wheel in 90 degrees to the tyre opening, don't try and slide it over the edge of the rim. It is super easy and far less effort than putting normal buggy tyres on regular 2.2 rims. No real effort required, as the outer sections of the rim clamp the tyre in place, almost a bit like a beadloack, so there is no "stretching" of the tyre required.The inner rim literally pushes straight in with almost no effort, you flip it over inside the tyre, which aligns it. Then fit the outer sections. Which if anything is more fiddly due to the size of the nuts & bolts, but still pretty easy really.

 

Nah, these are definitely the hardest tires to put on. Otherwise I wouldn’t have spent an hour getting the first one mounted, and another 2 hours trying to get the second tire on. I even let my wife have a go at it. No dice. So yeah, if two adults couldn’t easily mount these, then I don’t see any kids being able to do this. My hands are all blistered and sore, hopefully tonight I can get that second one mounted so I can finally finish this build. 
 

[MadAnt]

On 10/17/2024 at 3:15 AM, one_hit said:

Nah, these are definitely the hardest tires to put on. Otherwise I wouldn’t have spent an hour getting the first one mounted, and another 2 hours trying to get the second tire on

Sounds like a skill issue, lol🤣

[Grumpy pants]

I didn’t pick up on the technic shown in the Tamiya manual, until I read this thread 😂

YT was my ‘Oh that’s how you do it 🤦‍♂️’ teacher, otherwise I be in the ‘skills issue’ camp as well 😳

[BuggyDad]

On 10/17/2024 at 8:15 AM, one_hit said:

Nah, these are definitely the hardest tires to put on. Otherwise I wouldn’t have spent an hour getting the first one mounted, and another 2 hours trying to get the second tire on. I even let my wife have a go at it. No dice. So yeah, if two adults couldn’t easily mount these, then I don’t see any kids being able to do this. My hands are all blistered and sore, hopefully tonight I can get that second one mounted so I can finally finish this build. 
 

The gods are punishing you for building it in the order in the manual. You're supposed to put the tyres on in time for the first moment it looks half like a chassis and you can balance the body on top and push it across the kitchen table making "vrooom" noises. Strictly, that should be before you open the bag with wheel nuts in. You may be able to placate them by buying a Lunchbox and building that in the right order, with feeling. Failing that, try human sacrifice. Bonfire night's coming up. 

[one_hit]

5 hours ago, MadAnt said:

Sounds like a skill issue, lol🤣

I believe it’s more of a strength issue than skill lol. I watched the video posted and still had a difficult time. I don’t remember having a hard time mounting the rear tires on my Buggy Champ but I do remember having a really difficult time with the Hornet’s which are the same spiked tires as the Fighting Buggy. 

Have yet to build my Grasshopper and Sand Scorcher, I’m hoping those tires will be easier to mount