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It’s the surface that becomes the weak spot, in this case the slipper clutch. Yes you need them, take your old ones and sand them up a little, just scuff em. That might get you by.
Slipper clutches are there to protect your drivetrain from sudden amounts of high stress. Like landing on full throttle. I believe carpet and no prep racers even use slipper tension as a tuning option, given the high power of the cars and the high traction surface. Technically a slipper clutch isn't needed but without one you risk breaking drivetrain parts. As long as your pads aren't toasted you could tighten down the clutch spring all the way, essentially eliminating slip.
Slipper pads should last you a long time if tension is set properly. I err on the tighter side of things. I run my RCs on medium~loose traction track. If possible, I'll setup my RC's slipper running knobby tires on carpet. This pretty much ensures no excessive slipping is going on while running on a lower traction environment. I will deglaze pads using medium grit sandpaper, or Scotch-Brite scouring pad, and electronics/motor spray. I can get many years of use out of slipper pads.
Noob question. Why ppl dont adapt their driving style so the wheels dont slip ?
I am a noob lol
Well my personal answer, I got the need for speed
You can do that? Is that a thing?
I think Beer_Goggles_RC explained it as to why a slipper clutch is even used in today's RCs. Back in the day I (and I'm not the only one) used to use a slipper clutch as more of a traction control element on loose/loamy dirt tracks, but traction inconsistencies, as day moves on, left me changing the way I setup a slipper... err on the tighter side of setting.