Tires for M-class?

[Juggular 4961]

I need some info.  I have 3 kinds, and it seems that I'm in need of some dire tire education (before ordering stuff without knowing what I'm getting).  

[1] (What I have #1)  Tamiya 53254 60D Super Grip seems like tires.  Soft and grippy.  But I'm afraid it will wear out in no time.  $13 per pair.  

[2] (What I have #2)  "42214-39244."  They look exactly the same as Supper Gripper but more plastic-like. (no "S-Grip" on the sidewall)  M06 Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint came with 53254, & 42214-39244.  Super Gripper just for the powered wheels.  I'm starting to think "39244" might be a compound, because the same number is found on M05 NSU TT Prinz.  Which means 42214 might be Tamiya engineer's name of this tread.  A little too slick for my liking.  

[2-A]  Tamiya 50683 60D radial --below-- also looks exactly the same.  No "S-Grip" or "M-Grip" means these are the hardest?  I think the numbers on the tire walls look like "42214-39244."  Then this is not what I want.  $9 per pair.   

 

[3]  50684 says "M-grip," I'm assuming that's medium-grip?  Would this be a good compromise? I like this tread pattern. 

[4]  50568 below is just as cheap as 50683.  So I assume these have the same compound as 50683?  

 

[5] [What I have #3]  M05 NSU Prinz TT came with slick tires. They say "Tamiya 39244."  What are these?  How are they different from below?  Can't be a tread pattern, because there is none.  Which made me think 39244 is a compound.   

[6] The NSU slicks look like below, 54340 60D reinforced Type A (grippy?), and

[7] 54216, 60D reinforced Type B (heat resistant?).  

 

[8]  What are 53215 racing slicks?  

[9] Or 53222 Super slicks?  

[10]  53227 M2 radials any good?  

[11]  And 54374 drift tires, which I'm not interested in.  

I like Super Grip the best when it comes to functions.  But I'm afraid that they'd go bold after 3 packs.  So I'm leaning toward "M-Grip." 

Does Tamiya have other M-Chassis tires?  Are there other tires from other brands that I should look into?  There are a few 62mm Chinese tires, but they don't list how grippy they are.   

Help me fill in some blanks, please.  

 

 

[Superluminal 3750]

M2 radials - although they have an 'M' in the name are a regular size touring car tyre not the smaller size required for an m-chassis. Just to add to the confusion.

Tamiya seem to have so many different tyres but there is very little official  information out there as to what is what (especially as Tamiyas own website doesnt even list spares or accesories)

[WillyChang 1814]

Firstly, 2 Qs...

Do you HAVE to use Tamiya tyres?  like does your racing make them mandatory.

What's the temperature/conditions where you race? Ambient temp, in/outdoors etc.

 

As for tread pattern... nah IMHO it makes no difference! I assume you're not running in the wet... even if you are, negligible grip difference bald or not. Just keep running them. M-tyres will go on gripping until they're worn thru and your inserts start peeking out.

Older tyres might be a little less grippy as they advance in heat cycles but I doubt you'd notice, not at typical Mini speeds anyway. Some tracks good tyres even make too much grip, racers are known to paint their sidewalls with superglue to make them slide more & reduce traction rolling. 

 

Have a a selection of Tamiya m tyres... M-grip are just kit tyres aren't they? Have As and Bs... they're more stable when belted, but they won't balloon to give bigger circumference on the straight. 60Ds are bigger diameter but you'll need to double stuff them (2 inserts) to get advantage.

I prefer HPI X-pattern when they're sporadically available, last & grip much longer than T tyres. Dunno what current racers use... Pits & Team Atlas get named a fair bit. There's a few 4sets of premounts for good value too, afaik they're mostly Japanese brands not China yumcha.

[WillyChang 1814]

Rctech mini thread is the longstanding bible for all things m-chassis

https://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-road/20068-tamiya-mini-cooper-1988.html

[max69vk 708]

If you’re sticking with Tamiya, 55D tyres are still available, you lose a bit of top end but gain a bit of stability round corners.

Forgot to say that the tyres are a good alternative.

 

[Juggular 4961]

11 hours ago, WillyChang said:

I prefer HPI X-pattern

They look good.  They might be 5mm larger, but I think that looks better!    

That prompted me to search "65mm tires."   

And found a few of no-name brand tires too. 

 

[WillyChang 1814]

Be careful... HPI does tyres for std M-chassis size wheels but at one stage they've also done "MX60" proprietary size slightly larger

Cannot mix  

 

[Frankster 2030]

Restarting this thread.   Looking for tires my self and most Tamiya tires look the same. 
many info would be great

[TurnipJF 9188]

For general running, tarmac postal racing and suchlike, I find that S-grips on the back and M-grips on the front is a versatile combination. I run this combo on all my M-chassis from M-03 to M-08.

For carpet tracks, I have yet to find anything that works better than a set of GQ Racing 55d foams, which is a pity since I can't seen to find them for sale anywhere nowadays. 

[Frankster 2030]

31 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

For general running, tarmac postal racing and suchlike, I find that S-grips on the back and M-grips on the front is a versatile combination. I run this combo on all my M-chassis from M-03 to M-08.

For carpet tracks, I have yet to find anything that works better than a set of GQ Racing 55d foams, which is a pity since I can't seen to find them for sale anywhere nowadays. 

Thanks @TurnipJF   I picked up a used M-05.  My first one I will be driving.  Looks like it was raced as it has all the hop ups but I will need a new body and wheels / tires.  

For the wheels I was going to pick up these from Yeah racing

https://hk.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-1-10-5-spoke-mini-rims-white-4pcs-wl-0141wt-00085858

I was considering drift tires for fun. What do you think?

https://hk.rcmart.com/tamiya-drift-tire-for-m-chassis-wheel-2pcs-54374-00035218
 

I have not confirmed if I will be used for drifting or general tarmac.  I will not officially be racing this car (yet).  Can I ask what the M grip and S grip stand for?   It would be great if there was an explanation on all the different types.  Is it medium and short?  
 

Interesting your tire format is same for both front and rear wheel. 
 

Sorry for all the questions.  I am a newbie to M chassis

[TurnipJF 9188]

13 hours ago, Frankster said:

Can I ask what the M grip and S grip stand for?   It would be great if there was an explanation on all the different types.  Is it medium and short?  

Medium and Soft.

 

13 hours ago, Frankster said:

Interesting your tire format is same for both front and rear wheel. 

I was also expecting to need different tyre setups for FWD and RWD, but as it turns out, both tend to be a bit tail-happy - RWD because the rear wheels are driven, FWD because there isn't much weight on the rear - so both are easier to handle with softer, grippier tyres at the rear.

 

13 hours ago, Frankster said:

I was considering drift tires for fun. What do you think?

Unless you are a very skilled driver, I suspect that they will be more frustrating than fun. FWD drifting isn't really a thing AFAIK. 

[Frankster 2030]

7 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Medium and Soft.

 

I was also expecting to need different tyre setups for FWD and RWD, but as it turns out, both tend to be a bit tail-happy - RWD because the rear wheels are driven, FWD because there isn't much weight on the rear - so both are easier to handle with softer, grippier tyres at the rear.

 

Unless you are a very skilled driver, I suspect that they will be more frustrating than fun. FWD drifting isn't really a thing AFAIK. 

Cheers on the feedback.  Tires currently installed appear to be drift or slicks. Will look for M and S tires.  Will keep you posted 🤞

[Sogogi 3217]

Useful thread. Ended up ordering some 60d slick with different softness.

[SlideWRX 781]

On 5/16/2019 at 3:28 AM, Juggular said:

I need some info.  I have 3 kinds, and it seems that I'm in need of some dire tire education (before ordering stuff without knowing what I'm getting).  

[4]  50568 below is just as cheap as 50683.  So I assume these have the same compound as 50683?  - These are ~55mm Diameter, 55D

 

[8]  What are 53215 racing slicks?  -  Another 55D

[9] Or 53222 Super slicks?  - 55D Super slick discontinued

[10]  53227 M2 radials any good?  - Edit: not a 55 or 60

Help me fill in some blanks, please. 

I've been looking for smaller diameter tires, as the 60mm don't quite fit for me.  I've got some 50568 coming to see if they fit my GT-01.

[Willy iine 18805]

I don’t TCS race so I basically only run low profile PitShimizu’s on my M-chassis.. well, the recently Beetle is still running Tamiya’s stock tires as I wanted the taller sidewalls to fill the wheel wells. 

[BuggyGuy 1106]

There's some good alternatives to the Tamiya offerings here:

https://speedrc.co.uk/wheels-tyres/tamiya-mini/new-category-2/

[rich_f 233]

I notice someone put 'another 55D' next to the photo of the 53227 touring car M2 radials three posts above this one. These are full touring car size, not m-chassis size, despite the M in their name (which refers to the compound and not the intended chassis), as was already mentioned in this thread (second post)

[SlideWRX 781]

Dang.  I was hoping that meant the 55D section had the base 'hard' tire, a medium and a slick.  I was measuring off of the pictures from tamiya and it lined up more with the 55 vs the 60. ah well.

[rich_f 233]

21 hours ago, SlideWRX said:

Dang.  I was hoping that meant the 55D section had the base 'hard' tire, a medium and a slick.  I was measuring off of the pictures from tamiya and it lined up more with the 55 vs the 60. ah well.

It's not a 60D either - it's a full size touring tyre.

[SlideWRX 781]

Oh, so it isn't going on the same ~40mm wheel then?  that would have messed up my measurements.

[Alexei 547]

im looking to find some tires for a M-08 (as these dont have any included). what would be ideal for carpark/asphalt?

at the moment i am looking at this:

front; Tamiya 54999 (hard) 60 diameter

rear; Tamiya 54995 (soft) 60 diameter

sponge insert; Tamiya 50686

 

 

 

 

[BuggyDad 4414]

1 hour ago, Alexei said:

im looking to find some tires for a M-08 (as these dont have any included). what would be ideal for carpark/asphalt?

at the moment i am looking at this:

front; Tamiya 54999 (hard) 60 diameter

rear; Tamiya 54995 (soft) 60 diameter

sponge insert; Tamiya 50686

For my M-08 I was recommended S-Grip rear and M-Grip front, although I'm running S-Grip all round at the moment, which I'm finding very grippy on asphalt. 

I think those are 54995 S- and 50684 M-Grip

[WillyChang 1814]

On 2/13/2023 at 11:21 PM, BuggyGuy said:

There's some good alternatives to the Tamiya offerings here:

https://speedrc.co.uk/wheels-tyres/tamiya-mini/new-category-2/

+1623

I wouldn’t bother running any Tamiya rubber unless you really had to; does TCS still run m-chassis lately?

Cross & Pits might not be latest race rubber tech but a full set of Cross premounts used to cost same as buying 1pr of wheel/insert/tyre separately. 

Have not yet had my paws on any Solaris m-tyres but I’d assume they’d be pretty fresh formulation like Sweeps... gee, I’m thinking one could drive up a glass pane with the latest DX36 Sweeps  

[Kowalski86 3025]

On 11/25/2022 at 5:09 PM, Frankster said:

Thanks @TurnipJF   I picked up a used M-05.  My first one I will be driving.  Looks like it was raced as it has all the hop ups but I will need a new body and wheels / tires.  

For the wheels I was going to pick up these from Yeah racing

https://hk.rcmart.com/yeah-racing-1-10-5-spoke-mini-rims-white-4pcs-wl-0141wt-00085858

I was considering drift tires for fun. What do you think?

https://hk.rcmart.com/tamiya-drift-tire-for-m-chassis-wheel-2pcs-54374-00035218
 

I have not confirmed if I will be used for drifting or general tarmac.  I will not officially be racing this car (yet).  Can I ask what the M grip and S grip stand for? 

"M" is medium, "S" is soft, soft tires grip better but they will wear noticeably quicker.

For just general tarmac driving I'd pick up some M tires, FWD RCs like to eat their front tires so doing the occasional rotation will help them last longer (like a full size car).

As far as drifting goes...FWD doesn't "drift", it drags. I wouldn't buy any drift tires for one.

Do be careful meshing the pinion when you swap motors, if it's off a little bit you'll chew up the spur gear (and have to re-build the front end).

 

[Alexei 547]

12 hours ago, BuggyDad said:

For my M-08 I was recommended S-Grip rear and M-Grip front, although I'm running S-Grip all round at the moment, which I'm finding very grippy on asphalt. 

I think those are 54995 S- and 50684 M-Grip

ok, i think i will try the same. soft rear & front, then i can also rotate the wheel sets once a while.