Wheel / Tire suggestions

[Disco Denny]

Good evening ,

I will be entering the 2021 Can Am Proxy and it is the first proxy I have ever done. Plus, of the 5 years I have been racing 1/32 cars, our club only uses Silicone tires. So working with Rubber will be absolutely new to me. I will be preparing 2 cars and send in the best one. The 2 cars are both Thunderslot: LolaT70 Spyder and the McLaren Alva.

So I'm looking for advise on size and manufacturer of wheels and tires. Is using the widest wheel/tire the strategy, or is it possible to have too much rear tire width?

Any tips would be greatly appreciated.

Disco Denny

[ZackM]

Man, you have really opened up the can of worms here. Hopefully I can help some.

If you haven't ever trued rubber tires, I have a video on youtube that might be helpful to you. There is two parts you can find on my channel. You can do it with a flat block and sand paper, but it is going to take you a long while.

https://youtu.be/q0snnmlFlxg

The good news is, you have picked a couple great cars. The replacement slicks for those from Thunderslot (004 part number) are actually very fast, I placed 5th overall last year running that tire. They are also not nearly as problematic to true as the NSR Supergrip, so they are a good first choice in rubber tire IMO.

As far as wheels goes, the CB designs wheels are the best solid hubs out there. Especially from a clearance standpoint since they have an internal hub. I seem to get better results on "air" wheels, and the slot.it 15.8x10 and the NSR 16x10 are both solid choices for you car. The factory wheel with a NSR slick would also work just fine.

The tire of choice for most proxy racers is without a doubt the NSR Supergrip. They have to be trued and manicured to be very fast, but produce amazing results when done correctly. They are also very affordable so you can afford to mess up and go again.

Hope this helps, I am sure others can add to what I have already said.

Zack

[Disco Denny]

Zack, Thanks so much for your response.

I do have a tire truer. A tire razor, and I have a reduction motor connected to the sanding block that moves it back and forth so I don't have to do it myself. It looks much like Cinncy Slots You Tube video of their tire truer. Like you I have been advised that truing rubber tires is a very long process. And I should be looking to take off about .001 of rubber at a time so as not to heat them up and use water. I use water and dish washing detergent on my silicone tires.

What about using 11mm or 12mm wide tires and wheels?

Disco Denny

[Brumos RSR]

The factory rear wheel with any of the TS rubber or NSR rubber would be great for proxy racing. Welcome to the asylum.

[Disco Denny]

Ya with all the wheel/tire options I'm already to pull my hair out.🤪

[Audi1]

A lot of us had more hair before we started truing rubber tires for proxy racing....!

[Disco Denny]

I guess I'll be bald soon enough.

[dungeonracer]

One thing I find helps to prevent overheating while truing rubber tires is to run the truer at a low voltage, somewhere around 6 volts.
I also use a power supply that tells me the amp draw. With no load on the sanding drum, I note the amp draw. Then as I move the tire to the sanding drum (or pad), I watch for the amp draw to go up. As soon as it goes up, I stop and let it run there for 3-4 minutes or until the amp draw goes back down. I repeat until the tire feels smooth, or until I get to the diameter I want.

I've heard say truing rubber tires are easier than silicone, to which I say....BAH!!!!!

They take just as long or longer than silicones....

[Disco Denny]

Thanks everyone for all your assistance.

I am having trouble finding the "wheels" I want. I ordered in NSR tires, 5210, 19.5 x 12, I'm assuming they mean mm's. But I am having trouble finding wheels the same diameter as what comes on the Thunderslot Lola Spyder or the Elva and is also 12mm wide.

Does any one make a wheel that is 15,16mm x 12mm wide ? Hopefully an "air" wheel, but if not available, a solid ribbed would be ok also.

I'm tying to get the widest tire/wheel combination I can to start with and if that is too wide and dragging the car around the corner, then I'll back off to a 11mm wheel/tire combination, and so forth.

But it would be really helpful If I knew the part numbers and manufacturers for what I am looking for.

Thanks, DD

[DRW21]

CB Design make great quality rims the size you are looking for, they are heavy when compared to a NSR rims or Thunderslot rim.
As far as I know the CB Design rim range is the only manufacture to make a rim 12mm wide.
NSR 5015 or (drilled) 5016 are 10mm wide and 16'', that is what my entry is running on the back. Light and wide.
I'm also using NSR super grips 5212 tires as they are 12mm wide out of the box.
Thunderslot 2 rib rims (older style) are 10mm wide, the new style are slightly bigger in OD - closer to the NSR 16'' OD nad 9.5mm wide.
Thunderslot rubber is another great choice too.
Also - NSR and Thunderslot do not have those pesky 2mm screws either.
I would reccomend air rims over solid rims, better cornering from what I have found.

[arroldn]

Denny what DRW21 said. I finished 7th overall last year. Stock Thunderslot wheels with NSR SuperGrips. I believe they are 10mm wide. I can update this when I get home tonight. Wider is not always faster.

[Brumos RSR]

ArroldN is being modest here. He had Stock TS wheel, with NSR Supergrips and the car was a freight train towards the end of the proxy finishing 3rd in the last race I believe. Top 3 cars I believe were on 10mm wide tires and the factory Thunderslot wheel.
Number 1) was hard to drive but was fast out of the corner TS rubber 10mm
2) was smooth as butter and was the best car in the proxy but had 1 bad round. NSR 10mm tire
3) smooth and consistent stock car which you saw on the video w a NSR 12mm tire

[Kevan]

I didn't believe until I tried and now am a true believer...when truing rubber tyres keep the tyre wet with lighter fluid, not only does it keep the rubber cooler it also speeds up the truing process A LOT!!
...I can't remember who it was suggested it and posted a video to prove it...but thanks

[gsnopoint]

Has anyone run the Slot.it N series tires in a proxy? Just trying different things, this will be my first proxy.

[Audi1]

Both the N22's and the N18's are good options; the N22's being taller tires.

[gsnopoint]

Thanks Audi1

[Disco Denny]

WOW, you guys are great. Thanks so much for your input.

In using silicones I did find that it is possible to have too wide of a tire and I was thinking it would be the same for the rubber tires. My plan was to test 12mm, 11mm and 10mm. Let the clock be my judge. I would also try these widths with Super Grip and Ultra grip. From reading all the posts, NSR seems to be the most popular tire AT THIS TIME. So I'm going to start with NSR's.

Later, I will probably test the Thunderslot tires and them A - B them against each other. Again, let the clock be the judge.

And yes, the air system seems to have the edge even with silicones. And then I have to try the foam donuts and see the effects that has.

In all of this tire testing I will be looking for a balance of a great/easy handling car and best lap times. But most of the time the 2 seem to go together.

Anyway, I just received a shipment of wheels and tires so I'm going to go glue some up and tomorrow start my truing process.

Thanks again to everyone.

Disco

[ZackM]

Good luck sir, take it slow. One of the reason I do recommend the Thunderslot slick for the beginner is they are much easier to true typcially, and already have a nice round profile to them as well.

So if all else fails they are a good backup to have on hand, and as stated I believe the podium is achievable if they are on the right car.

Zack

[Fast Co.]

I'm a relative newcomer to the proxy party, but I agree with Zack on the Thunderslot tires. They seem to me to be the easiest tire to true, they give excellent grip, and they come with a nice round profile to them. The rounded profile is perhaps their best attribute. I can't seem to profile a tire without taking chunks out rubber out of the edges of them, and that has to be costing me time in the corners.

[Disco Denny]

Thanks Zak,

But there seems to be 2 different types of Thunderslot rubber, which one do I use ? or am I looking at the tire list wrong?

Disco

[ZackM]

The tyr004

[arroldn]

I see Slot Car Corner is selling 005 and 006. How well do they work on wood?