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Ferruz

Sliced tire straight out of the box

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Well this is annoying...

I started inspecting the parts in my Terra Scorcher box this morning. I was lost in that glorious tire smell (one of my favourite things when opening a new kit) when, to my horror and dismay, I noticed this:

20201025-112315.jpg

This tire was vandalized before it even reached my hands! I have no idea what happened, as that's exactly how it was straight out of the package :(

Total bummer... I wish Tamiya had some customer service, maybe they do but let me guess... "effective Japan only"<_<

My only hope to fix this is that it's a clean cut, at least. If I push the sides together they close up perfectly, so I want to try to glue it together. I'm thinking about what to use, I believe there's specific products for this purpose but can't remember right now, numbed by the disappointment as I feel :P

Any suggestions on the matter? Does tire cement exist? :ph34r: 

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Retailer as first port of call might be able to get you some replacements?

Otherwise super glue. Have done this before on tires that have split when trying to detach them from old glued rims.

Not ideal though on a box fresh build

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Superglue is very good for gluing tyres to wheels, so should also be good for gluing the tyres themselves I would have thought?

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I've ordered it from RCMart and got it in late May, not sure how that would work. Even if I dig out the transaction and convince them to send a replacement, that could technically take forever...

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@TurnipJF I too am thinking Superglue as last resort, it's just that I'm quite sure there is something a little better for the purpose though I can't remember what 🤔 

Cyanoacrylate (superglue) does have a great bond but it's not flexible. While undoubtedly good for glueing tire to rim, it might be a limitation when glueing rubber to rubber because of its stiffness: I'm afraid I'd end up having a hard scar tissue where the cut is, causing the part of the tire around it to brittle in the long run. 

But this is what I'm going to find out if I can't come up with something else soon, maybe the more liquid superglue (non-gap filling) will be less invasive.. but I'll try to wait a little, in case somebody comes up with a better solution.

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Try contacting Tamiya USA. My Grasshopper came with a bad esc and they replaced it without questions even though I didn't buy from them.

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I've used shoogoo countless times on thundershot projects which arrived with tires badly split, doesn't look pretty but is ideal for a runner

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I've emailed RCmart already, so I'll give them a few days to see if they answer me and then I'll try contacting Tamiya USA. Thanks for the tip

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7 minutes ago, taffer said:

thundershot projects which arrived with tires badly split

So this is a thing?? :blink: or you mean used ones? 😅 

Shoe goo is a good idea, but yeah it would probably look a bit messy on a brand new built car. Maybe if I apply it from the inside without too much bleed through the split it won't be too much of an eye sore.

 

I'm still trying to remember what else is out there. I think that a couple years ago at a hardware store I was given a new type of superglue that claimed to be flexy and good for rubber-to-rubber application, but that was in Europe and I can't even remember the brand so not much help so far... I'll have to research.

 

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Yes on old used cars.....

Pic shows shoo goo needed all around, on both sides, you can always re-apply

16036458624312744946301472413398.jpg

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1 hour ago, Ferruz said:

Well this is annoying...

I started inspecting the parts in my Terra Scorcher box this morning. I was lost in that glorious tire smell (one of my favourite things when opening a new kit) when, to my horror and dismay, I noticed this:

This tire was vandalized before it even reached my hands! I have no idea what happened, as that's exactly how it was straight out of the package :(

Total bummer... I wish Tamiya had some customer service, maybe they do but let me guess... "effective Japan only"<_<

My only hope to fix this is that it's a clean cut, at least. If I push the sides together they close up perfectly, so I want to try to glue it together. I'm thinking about what to use, I believe there's specific products for this purpose but can't remember right now, numbed by the disappointment as I feel :P

Any suggestions on the matter? Does tire cement exist? :ph34r: 

That is terrible. :(

It would be bad enough if it was vandalised but looking closely at that crack (zoomed in), not sure if it is just me thinking this but it has jagged edges and looks like a stress fracture/tear? How that happened I have no idea but it doesn't look like a clean straight line from a knife cut? possibly a manufacturing fault or tyre was ripped removing from mould?

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What about the glue you get for repairing bike inner tubes? Possibly even put a small patch on the inside of a cut up piece of inner tube.

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Superglue for tires is your friend. I´d glue some tape on the outside and apply from the inside. You will hardly notice in the end. But maybe first try to get a replacement from Tamiya. Asking rcmart maybe, that doesn´t cost anything.

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2 hours ago, Ferruz said:

I've emailed RCmart already, so I'll give them a few days to see if they answer me and then I'll try contacting Tamiya USA. Thanks for the tip

I think RCMart will be fine with it. They will hopefully just ask for photos and send you a new one. I've had 2 warranty claims with them, the only annoying thing is payung shipping to send the faulty item back. I received an ESC from them in Jan, used it in March and it failed the first race day.  Then covid hit, so they received the faulty one in June. It was all fine, just sent me a new one, eventually 

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Thanks a lot everybody for the help and opinions.

After some research, I agree with @Lee76: vulcanised glue seems to be the best way to go. Tough bond, but flexible, which I think is just what I need for effective repair.

@Jonathon Gillham I did email RCmart with a photo and description (not much to describe besides my frustration anyway 😬) so we'll see where that goes. If they really want me to send the defective tire back, I'm looking at a few months waiting time before a new one can reach my hands, and I wanna start building now. I had the kit since my birthday in June, I reckon a 5 months contemplation phase is long enough 😄

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Tamiya USA will be cheaper to ship to if they ask for it back. They never asked me where I purchased the car so that shouldn't be a problem. Repairing the tire will work, but it's a shame to have to do that with a new kit. It depends on how fast you need the tire.

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@Biz73 Unfortunately I already emailed RCmart when I saw your post, but thanks for the tip. I will definitely contact Tamiya USA if that doesn't go anywhere.

Rubber cement seems readily available in hardware stores around here, I'll have a look in the next days. This could also be a good solution, I believe it's got more of a welding action kinda like plastic cement

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Rcmart got back to me saying that they will contact the manufacturer of the item (hence Tamiya) and then let me know.

I wonder if this is just an elegant way to say "screw you"... 🤔

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55 minutes ago, Ferruz said:

Rcmart got back to me saying that they will contact the manufacturer of the item (hence Tamiya) and then let me know.

I wonder if this is just an elegant way to say "screw you"... 🤔

i had the same sort of problem with rc mart when i ordered a full set of alloys for my 1/14 truck and one of the centre nuts was missing so i contacted them and they asked for photo's so i sent them and they got back to me saying they will contact manufacture then a week later they emailed me back saying they would send a replacement then when they arrived they sent 2 caps so i think you will get a replacement from them

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@topforcein that's good, thanks for letting me know. There's some hope then :rolleyes: I'll update when I hear from them again.

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I contacted Tamiya USA once for some missing decals and they shipped them out with no questions asked.

Also, if you remember the Juggernaut 1 gearbox fiasco, when I called them, they didn't even ask for proof of purchase and sent  out the replacement parts. 

My experience with them has been great.

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