To tape or not to tape?

[jschleer]

Just got some new Proline crimefighters LPR's and I'm trying to decide weather I should tape them to keep them from ballooning or not. A friend of mine is running the same tires and they don't seem to balloon much. Is it really worth it for performance purposes? Or is it better to leave them the way they are made? To me, it seems like taping them would keep the tire flat and make a bigger foot print, resulting in better traction. but, on the other hand, the slight ballooning would make the tire taller at high speeds, resulting in more top end. What's better? What do the racers prefer?
If you've tried this or if you've heard about doing this, please tell me what you think. Your oppinions or comments are greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Lessen]

Tape. :thumbup:

 

[jschleer]

tape. :thumbup:

why???

 

[beason]

the rig gets very unstable when its running on a half inch of rubber and the tires are the size of LP's. If you want to be able to control the thing, tape it. i have seen rigs unload the inside tire in corners and the tires grow huge and sometimes blow out. taping them will also cut down on the chance of you shredding a tire because they dont stretch out as bad. Its like steal belted tires on a 1:1 car.

lessen has been in the rc game for awhile, if he says tape it, you tape it.

 

[Lessen]

why???

the rig gets very unstable when its running on a half inch of rubber and the tires are the size of LP's. If you want to be able to control the thing, tape it. i have seen rigs unload the inside tire in corners and the tires grow huge and sometimes blow out. taping them will also cut down on the chance of you shredding a tire because they dont stretch out as bad.

Yeah, what he said

 

[jschleer]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the input and I'm definately not douting lessons reply, I was just looking for the more reason than just ballooning. Thanks Beason for clearing that up for me!

 

[alpinehyperlite]

To me it all depends. On some surface materials, i would prefer the ballooning. Sand, id say tape them for a larger footprint, but to me, i like a thinner tire (ballooning) because it diggs in better with that edge. like on a swamp buggy or a tractor tire.

 

[jschleer]

To me it all depends. On some surface materials, i would prefer the ballooning. Sand, id say tape them for a larger footprint, but to me, i like a thinner tire (ballooning) because it diggs in better with that edge. like on a swamp buggy or a tractor tire.

I was thinking the same thing. But, I will be racing on mostly hard packed, Red clay. So, maybe I should tape them. Thanks!

 

[Lessen]

Honestly, if you're not racing it doesn't much matter. Generally speaking you'll find better performance if you tape them. If you're just bashing it's really not that big of a deal AS LONG as your tires are glued VERY WELL.

*edit*

posted at the same time... Yeah, if you're racing on hard pack I would DEFINITELY tape them up

 

[Rolex]

I always tape my tires to the glass.
It keeps the rigs from sliding off the shelves.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

yea, on a clay track, you need the larger footprint.

 

[jschleer]

My glue dried up, so I went to buy tire glue at my LHS and the guy told me to use super glue! What do you guys use?

 

[alpinehyperlite]

Best tire glue out there: Losi tire glue.
Its a CA glue.

http://losi.com/Products/Features.aspx?ProdId=LOSA7880

 

[atye]

if they have ribs inside i wouldn't. Adam Drake suggest not taping he states you lose fwd bite ,if tires balloon he said use heavier diff fluid

 

[Rolex]

if they have ribs inside i wouldn't. Adam Drake suggest not taping he states you lose fwd bite ,if tires balloon he said use heavier diff fluid

Huh? Tires balloon according to the RPMs they are spinning. Heavier diff fluid would slow down the entire drive system.
That means slower RPMs at the wheels, and that equals less speed. Might just as well let off the throttle when racing. That would also keep them from ballooning.

 

[atye]

i use to tape all of mine too ,he is the pro so i am just repeating what i heard

 

[Rolex]

He might be referring to tires ballooning in turns. That's the only time diff fluid would make a difference. Ballooning on the straightaway would not be corrected by that technique.

 

[atye]

i think i saw it on youtube ,tuning with Adam Drake, and most tire are ribbed inside now to do the same purpose of taping

 

[Rolex]

The ribs sound like a good idea. Other than that, you can't disagree with Adam Drake.

 

[atye]

true most of my trucks are losi