14 replies to this topic

[CanAm-1]

Hello,

I still dabble in HO cars and am currently fighting with tires and rims. In a perfect world one would measure their rims and then pick up the right size tires. Well, it doesn't appear like that is always feasible. My question is what are some of the tricks for cutting down tires to fit rims accurately? I have been able to get the right ID tires, but their width needs trimming down. I know one does not just take a razor blade and chop. Also, what about changing the outside diameter once mounted? Especially with silicones which seem a little fragile. Thanks in advance..

[CanAm-1]

57 views and no one has any tricks????



I was sure that someone out there would have come across the same dilemma and figured something out. Let me try and explain a little better. The issue is with silicones and getting them to fit double flange aluminum rims decently. The dang things seem like they would disintegrate pretty easy.

How does one trim the tire bead edges to allow for flange clearance?

How to reduce the width of a tire to allow it to fit a narrower rim?

Once a tire is fitted to a rim, best way to reduce the overall diameter?

Thanks in advance

[team burrito]

Try super glue, it may be the only thing that will stick to silicone tires.

[TSR]

Russ, I am not sure if your response answers any of his questions...

[chaparrAL]

Forget super glue ,the only thing that might work is RTV gasket sealer. The silicon used in tires resists abrasives ,this is one of its properties that make it sucessfull in the applications its designed for. I have heard of the OD taken down on a lathe with a grinder, and you could narrow them by parting with a sharp blade also on a lathe. As far as deburring silicon you must use a brand new out of the pkg xacto blade . Really your best bet is to get a sample pack of silis from BSRT as they make them narrow to fit their G car in a lot of sizes.

[CanAm-1]

Thanks for the advice guys.

I kinda figured it wouldn't be easy. This is a good excuse for me to get the Unimat down from the cabinet and start using it again, this time on some tires. My Logan is probably a little big for working on these little things.

Question: I read somewhere about using Coleman Camp Stove Fuel to shrink silicones? The longer you let them soak, the more shrinkage you'll get after drying. Has anyone tried this with good results?

Thanks

[mike s]

If your looking to stick the tire to the wheel use rubber cement.Coat both the wheel and wheel then let dry .Once there dry or close get aceatone and dip tire into it and slide on the wheel.it dries fast and you dont have long to set it.now if your asking how to narrow a tire thats mounted i would mount the wheel/tire combo on a axle and put in a dremel and use a low speed and sand the sides gently with a cardboard nail file.It really dosnt hack the wheel unless you try to.

[CanAm-1]

Thanks Mike.

I'll put a pair on some rims and give them a spin. Wifey has tons of nail files so I should be able to snatch a couple....

[A. J. Hoyt]

Mark,

I have been racing HO cars with a very serious group of racers using slip-on silicone tires for about 5 years now and love them. On our tracks (Maxtrack, etc.), they seem to just keep getting better the more you race them. They don't seem to get appreciably smaller with serious use. What's not to love?

Well, just what you mentioned...finding a good match of the ID of the tire to the OD of the wheel, especially for double flanged wheels. Once you have that recipe, you are good to go. It may be a matter of finding the right manufacturer of wheel with the right manufacturer of tire (our challenge). Once you have that recipe, you are good to go (for a long time) with no more outlay of cash (unless you tear a tire - heartbreaking!).

The rubber cement suggestion sound like a good one but if you are filling a gap between the wheel and the tire, it would be very easy to end up with a out-of-round situation. The glue you select will be key. I can't imagine a glue that bonds too tenaciously to the silicone so some experimentation would be in order. I'm thinking that Gorilla glue might be a good try.

One of the "speed secrets" people were trying was to find that combination that has just a little bit of clearance and putting a silicone-based grease in that gap to create a deliberate slippage. If done correctly, this creates a very "forgiving" car because the tires will slip when too much power is put down. Some were calling it "traction control".

I have never heard of a successful means of turning down or truing the OD of a silicone tire - every method I have tried just creates a tear on the OD surface and it becomes useless. When I was younger, some machinists at my place of employment used liquid nitrogen sprayed on the surface of plastic parts while they were being lathe turned but that is outside of the means of most hobbyists.

Keep it in the slot,

AJ

[mike s]

Well on the glue,gorilla dries to hard.Rubber is the most common type used.and if you make a mistake you can get it off with out to much trouble.As to sizing a silicone tire all you can do is peel the silicone off and recoat it.Its not all that hard but is more of a play setup if your a racer its not the way to win.Yes i have raced ho cars for over 20 years so i think i have a handle on them.The slip on tires are ok but will never out run a silicone coated one.Its a cheaper way to race as silicone coated tires run from 6 to 14 dollars a set.Slip ons are cheap in that area.A lot of clubs run slip on setups and its a great way to get new racers into the sport and have fun races.

[CanAm-1]

AJ and Mike,

Thanks for feedback.

My issue is not how to bond tires to the rims, but in finding the right size tires to fit the rims. It appears that very few manufacturers actually give out all the specs on their tires. One will see "fits AFX" or fits "G+", but very few give all the specs. I have found a few and am still going to search some more. I currently have 2 sizes of aluminum rims I am trying to get tires for.

First is:

Diameter / Total Width / Width for Tire / Flange Width

0.252 / 0.222 / 0.175 / 0.0235


Second is:

Diameter / Total Width / Width for Tire / Flange Width

0.282 / 0.286 / 0.223 / 0.0315

I would like to obviously keep the width the same as the rim and the diameter to be around .460 or so. This diameter seems pretty close to stock diameters for most cars.

Knowing my luck I probably have a bunch of oddball rims or I am going to have to get the lathe out and machine off at least the outer flanges. Would be a pain in the you know what, but one has to do what you got to do sometimes. Please excuse how my specs turned out (my table disappeared on me).

Thanks again.

[Hworth08]

You might want to brouse around this site:

http://www.jaghobbies.com/

If using slip-on silicones, it is quite a bit better to use double flange wheels. Some tires are made to fit the original sized rims such as AFX, Tuff-Ones, ect. but after market double flange rims are generally quite a bit better and the two flanges hold the tire on the rim.

A.J. has quite a tip about the "traction control". If a person gets that setup right it makes a real difference.

[CanAm-1]

Don,

Thanks for the input and tip on JagHobbies.
I had seen the site before, but had not poked around it very much.
They sure have a selection of tires. I just might have to pick up a few to try.

Thanks again.

[Hworth08]

Hi Mark,

Maybe take a look here also:

http://www.xp77.com/hiester/

Tom is pretty famous for his tires and tire prices. I believe all his tires might be listed as AFX, Tyco, ect. but that's because the tires are made for that size rim. Bit of a problem, after 6 months or so the silicone will stretch to the point the tire won't stay on the stock rims.

I don't follow HO like I used to and am not up to date. Maybe search for HO World to find some more info.

[CanAm-1]

My real problem was finding tires to fit the smaller size rims (I posted the size earlier) Success finally. I picked up some rear tires that fit the Johnny Lightning Thunderjet 500 cars and with very little fiddling they fit really well. These rims and tires would look good on the T-Jet style bodied cars. Thanks again for all the inputs.