# AFX Front Tire Replacements



## Ligier Runner

Here's something some folks might be interested in regarding AFX front tires.

I've been curious to find some O-rings to replace the original front tires found on M/T and non-M/T cars and was spurred on by the epay sales of O ring front tires.

I ordered some of the 1/4" (.250 ID) x 3/8" (.375 OD) x 1/16" (.0625 Thick) commonly found on the bay but I got mine from a supplier called MSC (much cheaper). I found these to be unsatisfactory due to the tires not even touching the track (I have Tomy).

I then purchased some larger O rings (Buna N material at 100 O rings per pack) from MSC. I bought 1/4" x 7/16" x 3/32". I then placed two O rings on the shank of a counter-boring bit and installed into my drill. I used an emery board to sand off some of the "height" or outside diameter. It not only achieves the results of lowering the ride height as needed but also gives the flat spot running the circumference of the tire similar to that of the original AFX tires.

Here are the specs:

Original AFX front tire (on the rim) - .432
O ring before sanding (on the rim) - .462
O ring after a few seconds of sanding (on the rim) - .450
Drill bit shank to hold O rings - .255

Again, I can easily sand off more to get down to the .432 measurement.

Ready for the cost of these "tires"? After sales tax, freight charges, and the "up front" cost...

$.08 for two front tires. Compare that to $1 for two originals. I am thrilled with how they turn out. :woohoo:


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## Grandcheapskate

LR,
This was a great find. I went a little nuts and ordered 10 bags of the O-Rings; at $1.95 for a bag of 100 it's a steal. I also ordered 1 bag of larger O.D. O-Rings, but they have turned out to be way too big. So, if nothing else, they will become a tire barrier.
The postage and tax added a bit to the total (mine came to over $12), but I got 1,100 tires for about $36.
Two days later, here they are at my front door.
All AFX get new fronts!!

Joe


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## wheelszk

Do you happen to have the MSC order #, 10 pages of o rings to look at, no time.
Thanks


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## Ligier Runner

The part number for what Joe and I purchased is:

MSC #:75748319


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## Grandcheapskate

You can also do a keyword search and see all the different sizes. I bought one bag of larger O-Rings (1/4" I.D. and 1/2" O.D.) and found out I could use them to replace T-Jet large tires, like on the Indy racer and Hot Rod. 

The keywords to use are: O-ring accessories buna-n .250

These should get you all the O-Rings with one dimension of .250 (1/4"). You need the 1/4" I.D. to fit on the rim. I think Buna-N is the material.

Joe


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## wheelszk

Thank you all, and Merry Christmas


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## Bill Hall

Grandcheapskate said:


> You can also do a keyword search and see all the different sizes. I bought one bag of larger O-Rings (1/4" I.D. and 1/2" O.D.) and found out I could use them to replace T-Jet large tires, like on the Indy racer and Hot Rod....snip ...Joe


 Joe...If ya have the oppurtunity, try a set of the fatter o-rings on the front of the Dune Buggy. :thumbsup: Not a bad look at all..somewhat correct for a beach buggy.


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## Xence

I wanted to bring this subject back to the forefront because micyou3 and I are beginning to do more and more with both our afx cars & I'm doing more with my old G+ & superG+. The original stuff not the new racemaster cars. 

I'll be ordering at least 300 of these little devils because I know that I have at least that many cars that need front tires.

I bought a B-O-R from WeirdJack (great stuff) but what surprised me is that there were no real thin fronts for my old AFX cars in the bag. Jack, if you read this... do you produce those tires in silicone at all or?

p.s. Man those racemasters pieces really are gorgeous though, aren't they? :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Xence


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## dlw

*Front Tire Replacement*

Give Bob at Slotcar Central a call.

http://www.slotcarcentral.com

He has tons of original Afx parts (both MT/non-mag and G+) at nice prices.


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## weirdjack

Xence said:


> I bought a B-O-R from WeirdJack (great stuff) but what surprised me is that there were no real thin fronts for my old AFX cars in the bag. Jack, if you read this... do you produce those tires in silicone at all or?


Xence,
B-O-R's are a composed of whatever is in production at any given time. But they usually do have some of my #BR tires in them. The #BR's are tires I originally designed for MEV to use on Bauer/Vincent wheels, I use them on AFX fronts also. I'm really surprised that your B-O-R didn't have any in it....I produce quite a few of that type every week. 
WJ
http://www.weirdjack.com/bh.htm


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## Xence

Jack you might be right. I very well might have gotten some, I have not looked through everything so close that I know for sure. I was so happy to have just absolutely killer rear tires that nothing else registered in my brain. No worries though.  I'll have to look later on tonight when I go home.

Xence


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## micyou03

Cool!!!


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## Grandcheapskate

Bill Hall said:


> Joe...If ya have the oppurtunity, try a set of the fatter o-rings on the front of the Dune Buggy. :thumbsup: Not a bad look at all..somewhat correct for a beach buggy.


 I did try the fatter O-Rings on both the Dune Buggy and the Indy/Grand Prix racers. The tires fit just right.

My older T-Jets have been around for a lot of years and I never got around to replacing the original tires. Between the years of inactivity and the pre-Internet days of not knowing where to find replacements, the cars never got new tires. Since I don't race, the stock tires were okay until they stopped having any grip at all. The larger O-Rings are pretty good for cars you just want to run around the track for fun. So they were not a wasted purchase at all.

Now, if there were places to get bulk quantities of springs....

Joe


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## Ligier Runner

Grandcheapskate said:


> Now, if there were places to get bulk quantities of springs....


yeah


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## Scafremon

I received my o-rings today. Ordered from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com), only because I had previously ordered from them.

PN# 9452K171

$6.24 delivered for 100 pcs. 

:thumbsup:


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## rbrunne1

Bump as this topic has come back up


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## honda27

*afx front tires*

well guys i can get the orig afx front tires from REH HAS THEM IN STOCK so im good. so no need 4 orings.


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## Bill Hall

Not so fast there Beadex

The original was a beautifully formed pliable tire of good quality. 

The after market AFX fronts are actually a far cry from the original. They are harder overall than the original and considerably wider, sometimes dwarfing the rim and hanging out. IMHO, not a whole lot better than the AW boot rubber tires from their early releases.

Additionally, they have a REALLY gnarly belly button (mold nib) that is difficult if not impossible to correct. In some cases I've seen that nib create a flaw deep into the tire profile. Ugly to the bone as it were.

Equally annoying is that the nib is often harder than the already "harder" re-pop tire. This frequently makes them untruable and fairly useless when directly compared to the smooth rolling performance of a properly fitting o-ring.

Think of it as trying to plane a board with a knot in it. Then saying screw it and mounting it to the rim anyway.


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## plymouth71

I agree. Wooden tires are ridiculous !


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## tabcomary

*A/FX fronts*

After all my original front tires started to crack and fall off, I decided to go the economic way and use o-rings (Parker number 2-010). This works, but some rims did not want to hold them, and I sometimes got a very rough ride. 

I tried to make a simple duplicate (just a right circular cylinder made in a Teflon mold) in soft silicone. These rode better, but they would not stay on without adhesive. I had similar results with A/FX replacement fronts that I bought from Penn Valley Hobby.

After that, I made a version of the wide A/FX tire with a narrow (~0.055") contact band. I made these in a soft silicone. They stay put without glue, and they are very quiet. 

I can email drawings of the mold and mandrel if anyone is interested.


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## dlw

*Stupid Q?*

One thing I wonder about when the thought of making tires comes up....

Shouldn't you make the inside diameter smaller than the rim so the tire will fit snug against the rim, and not come off so easily?


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## tabcomary

yes, I usually make the tire inside diameter about 0.02" smaller than the outside diameter of the rim. This can change depending on the hardness of the casting material and the specific application. 

The general assumption is that the more stress you put on the tire, the harder the surface gets. 

For a standard Aurora T-Jet rim, you may make the tire 0.04" undersize so it hangs on the rim a little better. For a double-flanged rim you can stay with 0.02" undersize, and your tire will stay soft. You may still need to use a little rubber cement or RTV to keep the tires from slipping on the rims, but only if you have lots of motor torque to deal with. I expect that the serious racers always glue their tires in place. I am just a home racer who gets annoyed when tires go flying off and get eaten by the dog...


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## rholmesr

*O-rings for AFX Mag Traction*

For Mag Tractions, the lower you can get the car the better so you get the best traction from the magnets.

I'm assuming we're talking about using stock mag traction front wheels.

The ones I use and recommend are ANSI #10 o-rings.

You can get'em from McMaster as p/n 9452K18. $2.18 for pkg of 100.

I have used the next smaller size #9 o-rings on a couple of cars but they are generally a little bit too small and the flange of the guide pin can drag and/or pickup shoes bottom-out. It's a bit of a stretch to get them on the stock wheels too.

Metric size 2x6mm also work (Mcmaster 9262K166) - they are slightly larger than the ANSI #10 size and they cost a little more. I have 1 MT car that uses one of these on one front wheel and a #10 on the other because the chassis is tweaked.


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