What tape to use to control tire swell?

[zeropointbug]

Fiber mesh, all the way.

[hyperasus]

Yeah I like where Pro-Lines head was at when they added the ribbing to their new tires. But in the end all the ribbing does is make it harder to tape. The very least these companies could do is make us some tape made specifically for this . Or better yet, sell the tires with the tape already installed. Tape would be super easy for them to do.

The problem with ballooning tires should be solved by using correct diff oil, shock oil and a good setup for the truck/buggy/car. Adding tape or mesh to a tire adds weight, and that's usually not what you want if you're racing.

If you just add tape the tires will still be up in the air spinning and not on the ground. Having lots of power doesn't help if you can't use it correctly.

[Serum]

at 40mph+ diffoil doesn't offer help.

[glassdoctor]

Originally Posted by furu

The problem with ballooning tires should be solved by using correct diff oil, shock oil and a good setup for the truck/buggy/car. Adding tape or mesh to a tire adds weight, and that's usually not what you want if you're racing.

If you just add tape the tires will still be up in the air spinning and not on the ground. Having lots of power doesn't help if you can't use it correctly.

That's pretty much a direct quote from Adam Drake ;) and it is true for racing.... but that doesn't apply to doing speed runs and bashing... that works on the track (short bursts of speed and power)

But at a certain speed, tires will balloon no matter what setup is on the vehicle.

[Finnster]

I was thinking about using that packaging strapping, the only thing that converned me was the glue is water based, and its also a paper based strap. Don't know what would happen if it got really wet. I was thinking about gettin some from our shipping to try out on my mashers. At least with beadlocks you can take them off and fix it if it doesn't work.

As far as a fiber strap, there is a drywall tape that is a fiber mesh about 2" wide. Its a type of fiberglass IIRC. It is heavy duty, and may work well also for belting. It is glueless, so this would need to be figured out.

The trick is to find a glue that is strong, yet flexible enough not to break with wear. I'm not sure how CA would fill this role as it tends to be stiff and brittle when cured. A polyurathane glue may be better.

I'm going to be trying racer's tape. It's what you see them use in the pits when cars have minor contact with each other. It's sticky and strong.

I agree that a fiber mesh adhered to the inside of the tire with a flexible yet strong glue is a great idea. The MTR series has additional ribbing but not sufficient for the speeds/acceleration of brushless vehicles. We are just going to have to use what we can until this type of power becomes mainstream enough for the tire manufacturers to create a more durable tire.

The only problem is that the main downside to any type of tire reinforcement is loss of traction due to loss of tire deformation. The light weight of rc vehicles requires this deformation for traction, and taping tires gets rid of the tire flex. What we need is a strong mesh tape that stretches. Any ideas?

[jollyjumper]

Originally Posted by elegal

strong mesh tape that stretches.

wont work, tire will still balloon then. imho.

[JOHNNYMAXXIMA]

Originally Posted by glassdoctor

Something I have thought about doing with my street tread tires... is wrapping a durable thread around the outside of the tire in the center groove. Wrap it several times... with the ends of the string glued. That would create a belted tire without having to get inside it.
A heavy thread/light string of some kind would work fine imo.... I will do it on my xxcr buggy sometime...

And this would be the result of that.
http://www.rcpics.net/img/53162
The one on the right was wrapped with small wire.

[zeropointbug]

Precisely what I predicted! I wonder how it would perform?

[BP-Revo]

Well, on my 18T, I went around nearly 3 times for the rear, twice on the front. One of the front's belts snapped and the tire blew off the rim. I reglued after going around 3 times...

However, you have to remember that my 18T does ~50mph and for it to go that fast the tires need to spin stupid fast, so its alot more stress.

I'd say 2x around for MT tires is fine, but once is certainly not enough.

[jhautz]

Actually I think the bigger tires have more centrifugal force on them than the smaller tires. The distance from the center of rotation and the mass are the other 2 factors besides the speed of rotation that are factors when calculating centrifugal force. The bigger tires have more mass farther from the rotation center.

[jhautz]

The thing I found to work the best is, turn the tire inside out. Clean the whole inside with dish soap (grease cutting kind) that takes all of the demolding residue off of the inside of the tire. Just like you do on the tire bead before you glue them to the wheel. Apply 1 layer of good quality duct tape and overlap the ends by an inch or so. Turn em back right side in and glue em up. Haven't had one fail yet after cleaning all of the silicone demolding goo off of the inside before taping it.

That mold release agent is tough for anything to stick to. Tape glue or tire glue.

EDIT: make sure the tape is wide enough to cover the whole tread surface of the tire or you will just wind up with smaller baloons on the edges of the tire where the tape missed

[glassdoctor]

Hey.. cool double balloon there. In all fairness to myself... :D... I had in mind 1/10 buggy street tires, not bigo monster trucks. :)