# Who makes best tires for home plastic track??



## carlosnseattle

I'm not a racer...well, not really. But for now I'm looking for some tires that work on my tracks at home, basic Tyco or AFX or Tomy track. Who do you guys recommend? No magnets or other tuning, just some good clean fun.

I'm looking for maximum traction but durability and looks are also important. I don't want tires that fall apart if they sit around for some time. I bought some from a guy a couple years ago and they worked fine but look really bad. I've also bought from Bud's HO cars and those are good too. And I it looks like Mr Aurora(Bob B....) has some tires on the bay, are those any good? http://www.ebay.com/itm/Aurora-slot...pt=Slot_Cars&hash=item2a1df1937b#ht_668wt_944 Would you recommend them for original AFX cars?

I drive all my cars, from non magnatraction AFX's to new Lifelike cars and everything in between, including tons of slotless.


----------



## alpink

Tom Heister has recently bought Penn Vally Hobbies silicone tire manufacturing and is making those true to original formula. Tom also has is own recipe for tires and they are very good as well. there is a thread here that can give more info. Balls Out Racing makes some pretty good tires as well. there are many others and will surely be brought to attention in soon to follow posts.


----------



## ParkRNDL

My personal favorites are Weird Jack's Rocket Science tires...

http://rocket-science-ltd.tripod.com/

--rick


----------



## 1976Cordoba

alpink said:


> Tom Heister has recently bought Penn Vally Hobbies silicone tire manufacturing and is making those true to original formula . . .


 
I agree - PVTs are great! :thumbsup:


----------



## helivaguy

silicones i have used on my tomy plastic track..
weird jack,jel claws and buds ho and buds wins.


----------



## LeeRoy98

I have always been a fan of Super Tires. 

Gary
AKA LeeRoy98
www.marioncountyraceway.com


----------



## bearsox

*While i make and LIKE the tires i make quite nicely LOL... i do have to admit for SOME home tracks my favorite tires have always been KRD's ! KRD'S were made by Dave Hendrickson who raced out east. They worked very well indeed over all of the aforementioned tires on some home section tracks. IF and that's a BIG if ya can get some try em out on a few tracks till ya find the sweet hearts and ya will be hooked !

Bear :wave:
*


----------



## Bill Hall

I have always been a big fan of ....

Flintstones


----------



## bearsox

Bill Hall said:


> I have always been a big fan of ....
> 
> Flintstones


*They ROCK ! 

Bear :thumbsup:
*


----------



## slotking

I did some super tire testing recently for super tires
I was very surprise that I put slip on silicone tires on a fray car and got faster times than my silicone coated sponge tires.

most of the testing info is on another BB. I am still adding to the thread.


----------



## ajd350

I've run everything I could get my hands on, including stuff that's no longer made. I have to go with Dennis Rutherford's Ballsout HO tires. :thumbsup:


----------



## carlosnseattle

ajd350 said:


> I've run everything I could get my hands on, including stuff that's no longer made. I have to go with Dennis Rutherford's Ballsout HO tires. :thumbsup:


Couldn't find the type of tires I wanted on Balls Out Racing; looks like its mainly for T-jet


----------



## slotking

balls out does make some good tires!


----------



## slotking

> Couldn't find the type of tires I wanted on Balls Out Racing; looks like its mainly for T-jet


for HO inlines or 1/32nd tires

try supertires.com


----------



## neorules

We have been racing mainly Balls-out Tires on our LL t chassis and on mega-G's. They work great!!


----------



## slotking

have you found any slip on tires that compete with the silicone\sponge tires for super on up?


----------



## theking43

For silicone slip-ons, I prefer PVT. Great traction and no "truing" needed. For urethane, I use a variety of tires from Slot Car Express. Urethane does not collect dust like silicone and provides great traction as well.


----------



## Grandcheapskate

Since the opening post asked specifically about tires for home plastic track, I was wondering what considerations go into selecting a tire for plastic track as opposed to (I guess) a routed track.

I am not a racer, nor have I done any kind of testing or experimenting with tires. However, I have reached one conclusion for plastic track; I like the tires to have a larger O.D. than the minimum possible. Why? The higher rail and uneveness of the rail joints leads to a lot of bouncing and noise (and shoe wear). When I use larger tires, some of that problem is alleviated. I don't get the advantage of the lowest center of gravity possible, but I get a quieter, smoother ride - and that's my goal. Plus, if all the cars are set up the same, there is no advantage/disadvantage for any individual car.

Thanks...Joe


----------



## slotking

2 things to look at.

1>track material
2>down force.

no matter the tire, silicone, rubber or sili/sponge. They can all react to the various surfaces differently.

there formica, corian, etc.. various plastics from maxtrack, wiz track, tko, etc,, 

how do people clean the tracks, temp, humidity, etc..

tires can be not sticky enoug, to sticky, or just right!


----------



## Bill Hall

*Boingy*

Think of shocks.

The general rule of thumb is not unlike the 1:1 world; how ever, slot cars have no suspension! All shock absorbtion is performed by the tires. Softer compounds for rougher surfaces...like plastic sectional. As the surface becomes more uniform and the addition of magnetic down force (training wheels) you can firm things up.


----------



## cwbam

Another part of the question is Looks & shelf life.

and websites , availibilty
KRD's
PVT
Super Tires ? Frank the racer ?

(training wheels , really , I'm thinking of a reply)


----------



## slotking

most last for many years.
I still have 30+ year old indy tires.

Super tire info is at supertires.com

JW stuff at http://jwhospeedparts.com/


----------



## JUNKCARRACER

*ho silicone tires*

i would just like to say..i also use Tom Heisters tires..i think they work great..he makes all sizes for ho...they stay true to form


----------



## JUNKCARRACER

sorry...misspelled....Tom Hiester silicone tires


----------



## ajd350

slotking said:


> most last for many years.
> I still have 30+ year old indy tires.
> 
> Agreed. I am still running some AJ's tires that I've had since the 60s when I bought them new with the quarters I scrounged as a kid. 007s and Golden Falcons are pretty stable, as are most silicones.
> Still winning races with them, too.


----------



## Mike(^RacerX^)

slotking said:


> have you found any slip on tires that compete with the siliconesponge tires for super on up?


I am a fan of the super tires as well.I need to restock.

I originally went with them because most of the time I am racing against myself,and the silicone sponge tires can get expensive.

I can't give you exact numbers,but the ST were ever so slightly slower.

Unless you are competing,and just knocking around in the basement,for the price Super Tires have always been good to me.

I pretty much only run G3's and a few Wizzard Storms.

Mike


----------



## joegri

*there,s a pattern here*

you,ll prolly end up trying all different tires as you go but in the end youll end up with balls -out tires or pvt (tom hiester) both perform nice and both are the best to deal with! thanx dennis n tom for a great product


----------



## slotking

for the magnets cars, I have not tried the balls out tires, but the work well on my t-jets.

I thought the pvt would be a lot better than the super tires because they were so soft. But my times with the super tires are consistently better with super tires.

I just wonder how much is driving style vs tire brand?


----------



## mikeponiatowski

*I can satisfy 99% of my needs with.....*

Wizzard PVT's
Weird Jack's Rocket Science 
Super Tires 

Not in any special order. Depends on car and setup.


----------



## theking43

Regardless of popular beliefs, Urethane works very well for me. I gave up silicone because it collects dust and loses grip. Urethane's grip improves the more you run them. They actually condition the track surface like real tires and do not collect dust. Since I've switched, no regrets. I suggest you try them.


----------



## slotking

> I gave up silicone because it collects dust and loses grip. Urethane's grip improves the more you run them


good points here, you have figure out if you clean your track or not!

I kept my track clean, and urethane's sucked compared to the super tires silicone . if the track is clean, there is no dust to pick up and the silicone tires do not lose any speed.

I have read many times some folks have a hard time keeping their track clean and the Urethane worked great.


----------



## theking43

Yes,

I have a dusty house and it is difficult to keep the track "squeaky" clean. I do vacuum it before I begin racing but don't apply liquid cleansers like 409, etc, etc. to the surface. That would wash away the sticky surface that the urethane deposits on the track. It's a lot less cleaning required. You have to give the urethane tires a chance to condition the track surface. The more you run them, the better it gets. I've no regrets running urethane. I'd rather spend more time racing and less time cleaning. Wish I had done it sooner. If you follow what the larger scales are running, urethane is the tire of choice.


----------



## bearsox

cwbam said:


> Another part of the question is Looks & shelf life.
> 
> and websites , availibilty
> KRD's
> PVT
> Super Tires ? Frank the racer ?
> 
> (training wheels , really , I'm thinking of a reply)


*One of the most interesting and BEST tires i have ever used ( and i make tires ) is the KRD brand . I have not found anything like them out there . They worked better than ANYTHING BY ANYONE on certain tracks so i personally liked to have them in my arsenal ! What am i saying ... there is NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT TIRE ! Try as i may i can't mix and mold it or buy it . The reason is there are to many combinations or tracks even in the so called home plastic track field . Think about your options as you have old MM , TOMY , Lifelike , TYCO ETC ETC ETC ! Then don't kid yourself into thinking that one tire can't work better on a twisted sectional track over a point and shoot ! That's exactly why i liked the KRD's as the combo of a twisted sectional TOMY track , KRD's and one of my OLD Eldon style P4 Ferrari repops ate up the competition ! Oh yea there's that pesky chassis and body thing to consider LOL ! To many variables but in the end if ya feel comfortable hey run what ya like . Personally i just keep a bunch of options in my box from my own Balls Out Ho stuff to KRD to Buds and Jacks and so on . If someone made em i likely have em just incase !

Bear :wave: *


----------



## cwbam

*Now this is a RACER!!!!*

Does this belong in Hall of Fame?




bearsox said:


> *One of the most interesting and BEST tires i have ever used ( and i make tires ) is the KRD brand . I have not found anything like them out there . They worked better than ANYTHING BY ANYONE on certain tracks so i personally liked to have them in my arsenal ! What am i saying ... there is NO SUCH THING AS A PERFECT TIRE ! Try as i may i can't mix and mold it or buy it . The reason is there are to many combinations or tracks even in the so called home plastic track field . Think about your options as you have old MM , TOMY , Lifelike , TYCO ETC ETC ETC ! Then don't kid yourself into thinking that one tire can't work better on a twisted sectional track over a point and shoot ! That's exactly why i liked the KRD's as the combo of a twisted sectional TOMY track , KRD's and one of my OLD Eldon style P4 Ferrari repops ate up the competition ! Oh yea there's that pesky chassis and body thing to consider LOL ! To many variables but in the end if ya feel comfortable hey run what ya like . Personally i just keep a bunch of options in my box from my own Balls Out Ho stuff to KRD to Buds and Jacks and so on . If someone made em i likely have em just incase !
> 
> Bear :wave: *


----------



## slotcarman12078

I've tried urethane tires and found them less than usable. I've read they are the cat's meow over on the other side of the pond (Europe) which I believe is why Vincent Wheel's tires are made that way. I didn't know there was a break in required and a build up required on the track for them to grab right. The problem is two fold for me. I never have a car long enough to break in the tires, and the track hardly gets any use so the build up never has a chance to build up.  Just out of curiosity, roughly how long does it take on sectional track to get a build up? At least with Vincent's tires, it's a challenge just to get a lap under my belt as it is now.


----------



## carlosnseattle

Forgot about this old thread.

We've come a long way since way back in 2012.


----------



## Rich Dumas

Super Tires has the greatest selection of tire sizes. The Pro Series of tires are made for Fray/T-Jet SS cars and the 200 series is for magnet cars that use narrow tires like Spec Stock and G-Jet type cars. Both types come in incremental sizes and silicone and urethane compounds are available. For years the ultimate HO tires have been the silicone coated sponge type, those are more expensive, they do not last a long time and lately they have sometimes become hard to find. Recently Super Tires has announced a new formulation that has never before been used to make slot car tires. The new Silver Edition tires can get you lower lap time than any regular slip-on tire and by my testing are very close in performance to silicone on sponge tires. 
I am a tester for Super Tires, I have evaluated every style, size and formulation that Super Tires makes, including prototype tires that were not commercialized. My testing is done under very carefully controlled conditions. I can measure lap times, I also make note of subjective things like how driveable the car might be and I also determine how well the grip will hold up as the laps go by. 
For people that race their cars tire selection is very important. The more casual runner would probably be just as well off using a good $2-3 a pair tire, racers would want to give the Silver Edition tires a try, they are more expensive at $6 a pair, so you would not want to order new tires for all of your cars until you had done your own testing. 
My own testing has shown that there is a sweet spot with regards to tire diameter, so it is a good idea to get a few pairs that are bigger and smaller in diameter that what you normally use.
With respect to silicone VS urethane tires it is true that dust does not stick to urethane tires, so they tend to work better on a track that is dusty. On a perfectly clean track silicone tires get you the lower lap times, but dust sticks to silicone tires and once they get coated they lose most of their grip. The grip can be restored by cleaning the tires, the quick way to do that is to roll them on sticky tape. If you run a few laps and clean the tires a few cycles of running and cleaning will pick up the dust on the track surface, at least where the tires roll. If my track has not been used for a while I go over it with a microfiber cloth to get up most of the dust, then I run around an old Tyco car that has wide sponge tires with a little tire conditioner on them. That procedure leaves the track almost perfectly clean.
If you normally run silicone tires on your track they will leave a residue that coats urethane tires and greatly reduces their grip. The residue cannot be removed by rolling on tape, it has to be washed off. When I am testing urethane tires I have to strip off the silicone residue with lighter fluid, then condition the track by running many laps with a car that has urethane tires. A few tire cleanings would be necessary.
If you hold races on your track it should be as clean as possible, especially if you running cars that don't have much magnetic downforce. If the track is dusty at the start of a race the cars will gradually pick up a lot of the dust. When you race with lane rotations the people that run in the earlier heats will be at a disadvantage.


----------

