Wheels?? To Glue Or Not To Glue???
 

Hey guys I just wanted to share some thoughts with everyone about wheels. I have only been in the hobby for about 3 years now and I have seen, read, and had a diverse range of experiences with the various wheels on the market today. Some good and some not so good. Right from the start I thought that using wheels that you have to glue the tires to with Super glue was kind of stupid, but what choices did we have. I have had stock, hop ups, and even aluminum wheels. Anyway I have been seeing a lot of info on the beadlock wheels and for a while I was not very impressed. I was not too sure about the technique or the quality of these wheels, but I knew that I would have to try them sooner or later.

Low and behold I finally broke down and ordered a set of "Axial" oversize beadlock wheels, because of a promotion that I received from T/H that I just could not refuse. Anyway I had also ordered a set of 40 series Mulcher tires to use with these wheels. All of the stuff arrived last night and I was curious and kind of excited. Now that I have my two boys with us I want them to share in all of the cool stuff that we get to play with. So my son Tommy(11) assisted me in putting them together, and man what a work of art these wheels are. It was kind of a pain in the rear and it took the two of us almost two hours to complete the task since I was teaching him how they work and wanting to make sure that he does the job correctly. These things are just awesome to say the least.

After having to mess with gluing wheels for the last three years watching them come apart, and dealing with that mess, I can honestly say that most if not all of my wheels from now on will be of the beadlock style. I know there are a few different manufacturers out there making these, but I am seriously impressed with the Axial wheels. If you have not tried them I yet would suggest that you invest in some. Putting them together is tetious to say the least but it is well worth the time, money and effort. The only way for a tire to come off of the wheel is for it to tear apart, and if it does you just remove it and install a new one. How cool is that?? Way to go Axial.:yes::lol:

I think you should bash them before giving them such high praise. I have no idea if you will have troubles or not but you have to bash test them.

I love my maximizers but sadly they don't make a 40 series wheel.

I have maximizers too, and have had decent success with them. You have to be careful when assembling them, or the tires will come off. They are a bit heavier, but overall seem like a good idea.

I will say that balancing the wheels and tires is something that is really necessary. I would recommend it to anyone. If you decide to try balancing, just do two wheels first and put them on one side of the truck. Then run the truck, the difference is amazing...

Any tips on how you did it and what you used as weights?

I have been wanting to do it but don't have and thing to stick to the wheels. It has to be removable too because I am using beadlocks too.

I used a airplane prop balancer, and the putty style 2 part epoxy. Seems like the epoxy would come off the wheel if necessary. I did not sand the wheel, and the plastic is smooth so it should come off with some elbow grease and a flat blade screwdriver.

Heres the thread with the info and pics of what I did, pics on the bottom of the page:

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...t=14549&page=2

Me To.
 

Yea I had not even gotten to the point of wanting to balance wheels yet, but if there is any easy method of doing so please share it with us. Just off the top of my head I was thinking about the standard hobby sticky back weights that you can acqure at any LHS.

I do not know about the Maximizer beadlocks, but the design of the Axial beadlocks is about as perfect as I think one can get. The ring and groove tolerances are very tight and I do not see how they would come apart, but like you said one has to test them first. Hey TDC57 didn't you use them on one of your projects? How did they work on your vehicle? No matter what they sare still better than having to use super-glue. I am still waiting to receive our household goods shipment, so it will be a few weeks until we are able to do anything with our R/C trucks, but we are all very anxious to get out and have some fun.

I use lead tape for swing weight from golf shops. Stays put but can be peeled off (be sure and wash hands after use; ITS LEAD!:lol:)

Jerry I use the axial oversized on my maxx, bought them about 6-7 months ago and havent used anything since. They hold the tires tight even with 6s and a 1Y. They only let go of the tire when you head over heels cartwheel down the street on asphalt, where it would have ripped the tire off a glued rim. Then unscrew 1/2 the lugs and tuck the bead back in and lock it back down. They sure arent for quick changing tires though. It takes hours to get a new set situated on them, so I bought a 2nd pair. 1 set black chrome 8 spoke with axial terraizer race tires and 1 set chrome 8 spoke with 40s mulchers. my thread with them g4maxx

older pics of them, they're in worse shape now
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...3/gmaxx008.jpg
http://i274.photobucket.com/albums/j...jay283/002.jpg

Thanks.
 

Jerry I use the axial oversized on my maxx, bought them about 6-7 months ago and havent used anything since. They hold the tires tight even with 6s and a 1Y. They only let go of the tire when you head over heels cartwheel down the street on asphalt, where it would have ripped the tire off a glued rim. Then unscrew 1/2 the lugs and tuck the bead back in and lock it back down. They sure arent for quick changing tires though. It takes hours to get a new set situated on them, so I bought a 2nd pair. 1 set black chrome 8 spoke with axial terraizer race tires and 1 set chrome 8 spoke with 40s mulchers. my thread with them g4maxx


Yea thanks JayJay I have the black chrome set and they do look pretty good. Like I said from the looks of them, I do not see how they will come apart if you drive half way decent. The only thing is that now that I am doing some more reading I should have taped the tires before putting them together. Oh well we are still waiting on our household shipment anyway, so I have nothing but time to take them apart and tape the tires and put them back together again. It will be good practice for my son and I. I was also thinking about getting the spare set for quick changes in the case of any accident(good point). I guess I will have to look into the prop balancer stratagy and try that as well. Three years into this hobby, with over 30 years of engineering experience, and I still feel like a kid learning for the first time. Every time I think I have something figured out about these toys I learn something new. It sure is great to be a part of the RCM crew, where we all share what we learn along the way. I really do love these Axial beadlock rims though. After hearing some of the comments on here about the Maximizers I am curious to know how much different they are from the Axial's?? I like using the 40 series tires though, because of the very short sidewall. Less flexing to worry about in turning.

I balance all my wheels/tyres. I find the wheels are always almost perfectly balanced as is, conversely the tyres almost never are. Often you can feel the rubber is thicker on one side of the tyre. I balance the tyres with tape on the inside of the tyre (further from the centre means you need less material).

Also I think the advantage of gluing is the much lower weight and rotational inertia of the wheel. Not so much a problem for bashing I guess, but you'd never use beadlocks on a racer :P

Do you guys use threadlock on the screws? I wouldnt think it would be necessary.

if they were alloy rims i probably would.

I like axial and maximizer beadlocks way more than pro-line. My pro-lines constantly lost the bead. I still have occasional bead pop outs with the first two, and no longer use the pro-lines. Taping the tires helps a lot too, if the tires pizza cutter they tend to pull out of the bead, but taped it's a lot less of a problem. I always wear out my tires, so cost wise, it's better for me to glue tires. If the tire is shot, cut it off and reuse the wheel, which is a fraction of the cost of beadlocks, and if you've worn out 2 or more sets of rubber your wheels are probably hashed beadlock or not. So, in conclusion, I like the beadlocks, don't like the cost, but you just can't beat the cool factor....... "Yeah, those are real beadlocks!" p.s. I don't threadlock 'em, no probs

I have been up in the air for a while on using beadlocks. Obvious disadvantage is weight and balance. Still don't know if I am sold yet with the exception of rock climbers. I will watch this thread closely though.

I had a couple of sets of beadlocks (maximizers) but have given up on them.

They really couldn't stand up long term to 40mph and 6S (a123) on a revo and are too heavy for track work - I just opted for glueing...

If anyone wants to try them LMK...

hey arct1k i pmed about your maximizers.

thats funny how this thread just popped up. for the last 2 days i was seriously looking into getting some beadlocks. after some reading, i chose to get the maximizer's. i hear the axial's are nice but they dont grip as well as maximizers because the screws are smaller and weaker than the maximizers. i hear you should get some new larger screws 4-40 stainless or Titanium SHCS makes a huge difference. and lastly, the maximizers only use 8 screws the axials have more.
i was also looking to get the mulcher tires. i hear they are the best tires for bashing. this is from a guy that used almost every popular tire including badlands, mashers, zombies, etc...
im just weary about the run life on them. they seem like they would wear out fast.

yeah mulchers do wear out fast, theyre good if your on grass a lot though.

badlands seem to cop anything though, they are my tyre of choice for sure. I've had a set for 2 years that have been on every surface, including a lot of burning around on the road, and they barely look worn.

hmmm.. im not on grass too much. mainly loose gravel, dirt, pebbles, rocks... construction type zones. the only thing holding back back on badlands are the width of tire. because on how they are more narrow, it makes my emaxx look less like a monster truck if you know what im saying. but say i do decide to choose the badlands, will they work on maximizer beadlocks since the tires are more narrow?

Good Points.
 

I am happy to see some different points of view on the beadlocks, but from what I have seen I really like them. I was thinking that if you are running that hard and pulling the tire out of the rim, then maybe you can put a few drops of glue on the ring to hold the tire even more. And yea I was noticing how pewny the screws are as well, and thinking that I might just upgrade them to something a little bit bigger. Anyhow I took mine back apart and taped the tires with the reinforced paking tape. It is pretty lite stuff but also pretty tough tape. I noticed that the Axial rims already have two holes drilled in them to vent the tire. Now all I have to do is secure the insert to the rim somehow in order to keep them from moving once the wheels are completely assembled. That way the wheels should be able to hold their balancing once it is done. I am going to try and rig up my own homebrew balancer setup and see how that works for me. It should not be too tough to figure out. Some 3/8" rod and a couple of bearings should do the trick.

I also saw that RC4WD has a few sets of aluminum beadlock wheels. Once I get the hang of these I plan on trying a set for my UE Lightning SuperMaxx. The Plettenberg Big Maximum should be able to handle them ok. After all I am not trying to win any races with it. I just want a bulletproof show truck that can run with the best bashers. Not too much to ask, but it does cost big $$$$ to get there. Oh well that is what retirement annuity is for. I will post up more as this pans out.

"Now all I have to do is secure the insert to the rim somehow in order to keep them from moving once the wheels are completely assembled. That way the wheels should be able to hold their balancing once it is done."

are you talking about the foams shifting around inside the rims? yea when you think of a way, let us know. i hate when it shifts, causes major wheel unbalance issues. only think i thought of was sand the rim where the foam would touch it. anybody know of the cheapest balancer i can buy?

Balancer
 

are you talking about the foams shifting around inside the rims? yea when you think of a way, let us know. i hate when it shifts, causes major wheel unbalance issues. only think i thought of was sand the rim where the foam would touch it. anybody know of the cheapest balancer i can buy?[/QUOTE]

Well lincpimp mentioned using an R/C airplane Prop balancer to get his wheels balanced, and that seems to work for him. I am sure that Tower Hobby has them in stock. I cannot imagine that one of those costs too much to acquire. All we have to do is conjor up a way to mount the wheels onto the prop shaft to keep it centered, and then use one of the methods mentioned earlier in the thread for weighting the wheel in the right location (lead tape, sticky weights, or even metal putty). Once you get the wheel balanced perfectly it should spin freely for long periods without interuption. All one has to do is build a mounting jig wide enough to hold a wide 40 series wheel, that will hold a perfect shaft on a set of bearings. Once you figure out a good way to mount the wheel on the shaft you are in business.

tower have a magnetic prop balancer but it cant hold the weight of MT wheels (looked at the online manual and its got a max weight... can't remember what it was, but remember it wasn't enough lol) Amain have one that has solid supports, so weight isn't a problem, its even got a wheel adaptor :P
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/4870
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...oducts_id/4354

hmm good point about the width...i wonder if its wide enough?

How about using a lawn mower blade balancing device? http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_1...ancer&sLevel=0
It may or may not work - depends a lot on wether you can get the wheel centered on the stepped cone or not.

Spray glue

Use an old hub and well worn but smooth bearings...price = free! Remove the bearing seals and use light (wd40) or no oil.

I Did It.
 

Ok well I broke down and purchased a Dubro off road wheel balancer kit from AMAIN Hobby for $28:yipi:. I will see how well that works out. I also broke down and purchased a Hako soldering station:party:. I needed a new one anyway:yes:.

nice! did you have to buy that monster truck wheel adapter as well?
tell us how it works. but even if you do balance your tires/wheels good, woudlnt the foams just shift around causing them to be unbalanced again? then you will needa take off all putty, and do it all over right? wouldnt that be a pain >

Mr negativity lol

I've been balancing my wheels for ages like this. If you make sure the foams are seated properly before hand theres no problem. If the foam breaks though it can bunch up on one side causing problems.

Stupid savage xl stock wheels have like 3 rectangles of foam stapled together to form a triangle lol. They break pretty easy, i know this from experience.

hahah nah negative , i just like to think alot ...one of my faults. and think ahead of time. and prepare for the worst so when it doesnt turn out as expected, then all the better..hehe.

Ive never had an issue with the axial foams, I drive brushless (of course) and its basher style 50mph min. only had problems with the imex foams, 2 months and they are crumbs in the wheel

ive never had probs with ofna yellow molded foams either. but i think they do be shifting around. i think its because they are smaller than the stock foams my tires came with.
my next set of foams will be the panther green foams.

Practice Practice Practice.
 

I guess we all have to try some things and see how it works for us. It was mentioned earlier about using spray adhesive for the foams, so I will try doing it that way for my first run. I also have the molded foams that come with the Mulchers. Now I am getting anxious knowing that this stuff is on the way. I cannot wait until it all gets here. More good news. We were just notified that our household shipment will be delivered next Wed. Yipeeeee...... Now we can really have some fun.

Congrats, nothing like getting your stuff back, buy 5 gallons of wood treatment (pledge) and alot of scotch birte pads with wd-40 if it was a cargo container like mine to London. LOL

No Worries Mate.
 

Congrats, nothing like getting your stuff back, buy 5 gallons of wood treatment (pledge) and alot of scotch birte pads with wd-40 if it was a cargo container like mine to London. LOL

Actually I am not worried. I traveled around the world for the US Navy for more than 20 years, and never lost anything or had any damage. Now that I am following the wife on assignments for the US State Department they get treated even better. Because of our diplomatic status everything is sealed up in special containers and wax sealed for environmental protection, and then placed into the steel cargo containers. So we expect to have everything in tact upon arrival. I love being on the other side of the support table. Now I get to play dependent for a change. Life is good.

Thanks for the congrats. I will be happy once everything is put away and we can start having some fun with the toys.

Wax sealed container, you're set, pull out the maxx stuff 1st and take pics, the kids beds come 2nd. Kidding of course, enjoy unwrapping everyting, like chistmas with everything on your list


also it will calm the family having familiar stuff back in a foreign place. Good times sitting on that old couch in a new home. Love the moments

Thanks.
 

Yea thanks JayJay. We have a very nicely "furnished" house provided by the US Gov. so the stuff we are waiting on is all of our personal items. The kids stuff came in weeks ago from California, and our stuff was coming from Brussels, Belgium. Yes you can bet that my focus will be on getting all of the R/C stuff unloaded and setup in the new hobby room. Although I am still waiting on GSO to install the couunters and cabinets for me. The supervisor told me that it would probably be done sometime next week, so I am hoping that it will get done before the offload on Wed. The other part is the big screen TV's and all of the electronic toys. You are correct it will be like having an early Xmas for sure.

wait..so the foams that come with proline mulcher are molded? when did proline start doing this? yea i heard about them spray adhesives, but only thing to worry bout when doing that is, you pretty much have to seat the foam perfectly on your first try, and i have yet to do that hahah.

Yeah badlands have molded foams now as well. Well, even over a year ago when I got mine, even though the rc website pics show non molded. I really don't think youll need to glue the foams, especially if theyre molded.

i just checked their website and indeed most standard and 40's tires do come with the molded foams. sweet! saves me a lil bit of cash from now on when i buy tires. darn, i really wanted to try the green panthers next too. oh well. so why do you say gluing is uneccisary with molded foams?

Proper Fit.
 

What he said was that if you make sure that you have a proper fit and position the foams correctly that they will stay pretty much in place, but like most things if there is any room for error/movement in my opinion they will more than likely move. With the work involved in putting these wheels together I want to do everything to the best of my ability to make sure that I will not have to take them apart anymore than needed. I guess we will all try it our way and see what works best from our perspective.:lol: