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Worth putting foam inserts in Hotshot tyres?

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Hi all - before I glue the tyres on to my Hotshot Re Re - is it worth holding fire and ordering some foam inserts? If so - which ones should I go for?  

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Go to a fabric store (like JoAnn’s in the US) and buy some upholstery foam. I bought a 24”x24”x2” square for about $10 a few months back. Do some math and get out a razor and cut some strips. Roll the strips into a donut and insert into your tires. Don’t like them? Take them out. Minimal loss and you can use the remaining foam as a cushion on your workbench chair.

Terry

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And use silicone caulk (clear) to glue your tires. It’s works as well as glue, but can be cleaned off.

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Philosophical question! Never drove the pin spike with inserts,

but Avante uses foams in them. Also new VQS kit contains foams (surprisingly, Vanquish didn´t have them).

Tamiya recommends 51448 for the wider rears. I do have to check, if there´s another one for the front, or if you have to cut them...

Kind regards,

Matthias

 

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20 hours ago, Frog Jumper said:

And use silicone caulk (clear) to glue your tires. It’s works as well as glue, but can be cleaned off.

Good tip! Thanks :)

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FWIW, i keep ripping tires off the rims when I glue using bathroom silicone.

That may just be a sign that I am doing it wrong.

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1 hour ago, Mrowka said:

FWIW, i keep ripping tires off the rims when I glue using bathroom silicone.

That may just be a sign that I am doing it wrong.

Honestly, I'm the last person that should be giving advice on how to affix tires to the rims.  I don't do use caulk or glue or anything...

Terry

 

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I've decided not to foam. There's not a lot of space in the HS tyres and, as you say @kevtherev - they are pretty firm. I only mentioned it as Foams in my Blitzer Beetle have made a real difference and I would foam my Lunchbox wheels if I hadn't glued em already...

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22 hours ago, Wooster said:

I've decided not to foam. There's not a lot of space in the HS tyres and, as you say @kevtherev - they are pretty firm. I only mentioned it as Foams in my Blitzer Beetle have made a real difference and I would foam my Lunchbox wheels if I hadn't glued em already...

I would agree with the BB tyres and I've foamed 2 of my LB runners

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On 6/8/2021 at 4:08 AM, Frog Jumper said:

And use silicone caulk (clear) to glue your tires. It’s works as well as glue, but can be cleaned off.

I’ve only ever used Clear Silicone (Natural Cure) for my tyres, on & off road, with no problems.

It can be a bit messy with first wheel but the 4th wheel is usually pretty good. A drop of dishwashing liquid in some water is good for cleaning up. 

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YMMV, but I intend to put foams in my Fire Dragon build, when I get to it.  I’ll likely have to make own, since the Terra Scorcher wheels are an odd/vintage size.

I’m concerns about cracking the rims with no “cushion”.  I don’t intend to glue/caulk the tires, so any kind of pneumatic cushioning from the tire itself will be lost.

Terry

 

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23 hours ago, Re-Bugged said:

I’ve only ever used Clear Silicone (Natural Cure) for my tyres, on & off road, with no problems.

 

How do you do this? My brushless buggies rip the tires from the rims.

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3 hours ago, Mrowka said:

How do you do this? My brushless buggies rip the tires from the rims.

I put the tyre onto the wheel, push the inside bead to towards the centre of the rim. Then squirt the Silicone around the inside edge of the wheel rim, sometimes straight from the nozzle, or sometimes using a toothpick or cocktail stick to apply it. Then seat the tyre bead into its proper position. Then repeat on the other side of the wheel & tyre. Wipe off excess silicone with a damp soapy rag.

Leave them overnight before running them.

Hope that makes sense. I use silicone as it’s more readily available to me and have used the stuff for years when I was in construction. 

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That's how I do it , except I use trade wipes to clean up , but I  remove most of the excess dry as much as possible first , they remove silicone,  wet paint etc . I am also in the trade.

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10 hours ago, KEV THE REV said:

That's how I do it , except I use trade wipes to clean up , but I  remove most of the excess dry as much as possible first , they remove silicone,  wet paint etc . I am also in the trade.

Hey Kev. I’m all set to silicone my tyres on but just wanted to check what you meant by ‘I remove most of the excess dry as much as possible first’? Do you mean you remove any excess when it’s still wet - or let it dry and then remove it? Also - when I’ve glued in the past - I just did a few spots round each rim. Would you recommend a continuous bead with silicone? ...Blimey, the things I talk about on a Friday night 😅

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By 'dry' I mean not with a soapy cloth - the silicone is fresh wet , not left to dry . As I use silicone a lot , I swipe  ( that is swipe in a flick motion toward the rim rather than 'wipeing' straight along the tyres bead ) off the excess with a dry finger and keep wiping my finger on a cloth to remove the excess then carry on . I wipe away from the tyre , then clean off the residue with the wet wipe cloth - keep everything to minimum , you don't need to go mad with it a small continuous bead is fine , use too much and it will just ooze out . I load the tyre on to the rim and push the beads to the middle of the rim . I gun the silicone then 'hop' the tyre bead over the silicone with a finger grip and into the rim bead so it kind of lands on top of the silicone - hence not to much is needed

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Ok, that's more or less how i do it. It works for me on tires on lower-powered buggies but strong brushless motors, not so much.

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