Foam Tyres

[jungleistmassiv]

Hi guys and girls

Could somebody please tell me what the advantage of using foam tyres over usual rubber ones is?

Thanks in advance

Rich

[twisty]

Generally foams are lighter ,so less rotating mass,more load from the car = more grip.(just a guess)

[94eg!]

Foam also have much more wear material, which means it will either last longer or be more customizable (via lathing)...

Here in Vegas at the IIC race, The rubber cars were just as fast as the foam cars (both on carpet).

[jungleistmassiv]

ok guys thanks for that. So would they have any benefit on smooth concrete surfaces?

Cheers

[Singapore_959]

ok guys thanks for that. So would they have any benefit on smooth concrete surfaces?

Cheers

I could be completely wrong but I thought sponge had better grip on carpet and asphalt except in rain-wet surface conditions?

[terry.sc]

Foams are different to rubber, not better or worse.

Foams can generate more grip than rubbers on the right surface but there are other factors to deal with. The right rubbers can give more grip than foams, but usually the rubbers will break away quickly on the limit of traction where foams start to slide more controllably so you have a better chance of catching the spin before it happens.

For racing foams are easier to deal with in finding the best combination. If you need more grip you use a softer foam/more additive treatment, too much grip you use a harder foam/less additive. With rubbers need to find the best combination of tyre, insert, wheel and additive to get the best grip with reasonable life. An advantage of rubbers is that they don't chunk, catch a foam tyre on something and it will rip a chunk of foam out of the tyre, tyres will even lose chunks if there are weak areas in the tyre. Doesn't effect the handling too much, but it will effect the handling as the tyre is now out of balance and no longer round.

Rubbers have a limited life, at national standard meetings the tyres used can be expected to last all of 15 minutes before the performance drops off. Foams keep on going for weeks of racing if they aren't too soft, but you do need a tyre truer to even out the wear so the handling isn't affected as the tyres wear down. You also have to take the tyre diameter into account when calculating gear ratios, something you don't have to worry about with rubbers.

Foams and rubbers work on different surfaces, foams are better than rubbers on carpet and clean asphalt, rubbers work better on concrete. Rubbers work better on dusty, dirty surfaces as foams will pick up the dirt and lose grip.

[94eg!]

At the IIC, the foam and rubber cars were turning nearly identical lap times. Rubber was turning all the quickest hot-lap numbers as well. This was on carpet of course...

[infernox]

At the IIC, the foam and rubber cars were turning nearly identical lap times. Rubber was turning all the quickest hot-lap numbers as well. This was on carpet of course...

n smooth cement or tar, foams will eat rubbers.

but rubber is sexy, thats why you use it