# foam tire cleaning qs,



## krazikev (Oct 29, 2009)

Hi all, I race parma type big track 1/32 scale cars with the foam tires and tried cleaning the tires with a safe natural citrus solvent degresser not the harsh chemical degresser and have noticed my lap times improve, was wondering if anyone thinks it can cause any future harm? Terry over at HC slots recommends this cleaner for HO rubber tires and track cleaning and I been using it on HO cars for a while with no issues just wondering how it is long term on foam tires. Thanks all


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

Foam tires are made of a urethane compound and that is different from the solid rubber tires that are used on HO cars. Tyco did make foam tires for their HO cars. Different types of tires require different cleaning/conditioning methods. Foam tires are not commonly used on 1/32nd scale cars, the main exception to that are the Parma and Champion Womp style cars that are raced on commercial type tracks. Foam tires work best if you treat them with tire conditioner. With home tracks it is usually forbidden to use a tire conditioner because it can make a mess. Foam tires tend to get hard with time and lose grip if you do not put conditioner on them. The citrus cleaner that you are using probably will not harm your tires, but they will not have as much grip as they would if you used tire conditioner on them. The quick way to apply the tire condition is to put some on a board and roll the tires across that. To avoid getting a lot of conditioner on the track you would have to wipe the tires off.


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## krazikev (Oct 29, 2009)

Thanks 4 the info, I just bought Trinity White Dot Tire Tweak Conditions Foam. It says it cleans, conditions and gives traction all in one. The more it is used the more tration it provides


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

I have never tried that product, but I expect that it will work OK. I have used Champion Tire Bite for years, it can be found at any commercial raceway and on the Parma site.


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## Bubba 123 (Sep 10, 2010)

krazikev said:


> Thanks 4 the info, I just bought Trinity White Dot Tire Tweak Conditions Foam. It says it cleans, conditions and gives traction all in one. The more it is used the more tration it provides


DITTO on the "TY"!!! :wink2:

Bubba (The Senile) 123 :willy_nilly:


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## alpink (Aug 22, 2010)

Kev's you tube video on this thread ....

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/193-slot-car-1-32-scale/565065-foam-tires-budget.html#post6316057

is very informative and answers Bubbah's question in more detail.
well worth the time invested in watching.


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## Rich Dumas (Sep 3, 2008)

It looks like the Trinity product will bring foam tires that have become hard back to life. When I was racing 1/24th cars with foam tires I used the Champion tire conditioner and the tires would wear out before they got old enough to turn hard. A fellow racer used to take the tires off of his cars, put them in the plastic tubes that they came in and store them in a freezer between races. I wonder what his wife thought about that. 
I have lots of 1/24th cars with foam tires, I have not raced them for a number of years, partly because there are no tracks near me. The tires are now all quite hard. A few years ago I heard that an amusement arcade in a nearby town had gotten a couple of tracks, so I packed up a selection of cars and expected to have to buy a few sets of tires to get them running. Unfortunately the tracks were not in operation at the time and I believe that the place went out of business without them ever being used.
Right now I have one HO car with foam tires that I use to clean my track. After many years the original set of tires came apart, but I had another set still in an unopened blister package. The new tires had hardened up over the years and they are only good enough for track cleaning purposes. The tires have good grip with a fresh coat of tire conditioner, but the grip goes off after a few dozen laps, even if the track is very clean. I can't try the Trinity conditioner on my 1/24th tires, but I will get some to use on those HO tires.


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