[MrFlippant]

Thanks for posting the photos. I've added it to the list above, though without any links, since there don't appear to be any active ones. If you know of a review that's still up, I'll post that, but otherwise, your reply is all I could find at the moment.

 

[MrFlippant]

Here is another machine for the first category: Mid-America 451P Diamond Tire Truer w/Power Supply (slotcarcorner.com)
I have this thread bookmarked for future reference.

Thanks, Rich! I'll add that to the list immediately. I'm baffled how that did not show up in my searching. Was it added very recently? I admit I've been sitting on this list for a few weeks, and didn't think to search for new products since then.

Greg, wonderful that you‘ve pulled this comparative information into a ready reference. I ended up buying a second hand Tire Razor after culling through a ton of posts on this site on the different machines. Very pleased with it for my purposes.

I’ve a question. What is the 3rd party source for reciprocator plates you reference for the TR? I’d like a couple extra for different grits. Maybe pin your list? Thanks

I make reciprocators for the four major sliding plate machines that don't have an OEM reciprocator. The 3d files are also shared freely on Printables. The sliding plate itself is not part of that, but I have made 3d printed plates for people who requested them. Jon Sanders has made some new Tire Razors very recently. I don't know whether he has extra plates to sell, but it's worth contacting him. I'll add a link to his Facebook page above.

 

[MrFlippant]

I found a few retailers, so linked to the Mid America site. Looks to be a good machine.

 

[MrFlippant]

Anyone know of a source for an aluminum fully to fit 1/32/ and 1/24 scale Carrera car axels? I'm 3D printing one but the pulleys aren't that great.

It will be two different pulleys, I believe, as those are two different axle sizes, I thought? You might be able to use ones made for other machines, such as the CG Slot cars one.

Have you tried printing the ones from my G&S Tire Grinder? I used square nuts to give more strength to the set screw. Seems to work well enough.

 

[MrFlippant]

Added...

JMay Simple 3dp Tyre Grinder
- Fixed sanding plate, powered by slot car motor and gears

Simple 3dp Tyre Grinder

slotracer.online

 

[MrFlippant]

The ILPE have popped up on a Kiwi site, so I moved those up to the available section. Any other links to retailers that have those machines is welcome.

 

[MrFlippant]

I don't think it's for lack of trying.
Rubber tires are injection molded. Just like with plastic, bubbles can happen, different temperatures of the material will cool and shrink (or expand) at different rates, etc. No matter how hard you try, even a "perfect" mold can't guarantee a perfect tire. Some slot car makers sell glued and trued sets of tires on wheels.
But, it's not worth the money to manufacture to the tolerance of hobbyist/professional racers' standards. All they need is to be good enough for the toy and casual racer market.

 

[MrFlippant]

We went over this in the warped chassis thread, which probably started with talk about the NSR chassis flattener. Why can't they just make a flat chassis to begin with? The answer is always money. How much are people willing to pay in order for a profit to still be made on a product that now costs more to produce. Slow down the machine to make better tires? More expensive tires. Most people would complain just as much, or more, about having to pay more for tires that are slightly more likely to not need truing before other preparations prior to racing. But, again, this is why some makers actually do produce glued and trued wheels with tires. I'll say it here like I said it there.... if you know of a way to keep production costs from rising while increasing consistency and quality in the end product, I'm sure they'd LOVE to hear about it.

 

[MrFlippant]

Exactly. Max profit. Yes, there are solutions. I never said there were not. I'm saying that the solutions cost more than the slot car makers are willing to spend. I mentioned that there are glued and trued products on the market. Do you buy only those products for all your cars? If not, then you've just proven why it's not worth them doing. Even if you did, it wouldn't be long before you realized that you'd save money in the long run by doing it yourself.

 

[MrFlippant]

I love innovation and product evolution as much as the next guy. Like I said, if you have any insight to acheiving what you're suggesting, it certainly can't hurt to offer that expertise to your favorite slot car maker or two.

 

[MrFlippant]

Yeah, agreed!
It would take a cooperative effort. They would have to share tooling files and I'm not sure they would embrace the effort.

Having no direct experience in the industry, I don't understand why collaboration would be necessary, but yeah... that's a non-starter unless you managed to get a job with them.

 

[MrFlippant]

And lots of people still are perfectly happy with out of the box wheels and tires, or scuffing them up a bit on a piece of sandpaper on their track.

 

[MrFlippant]

Added a new machine that just hit the market:

CincySlots Tire Truer for 1/32 and 1/24 Scale Slot Cars -$150
- Sliding plate, built-in reciprocator, special brackets for Carrera 1/24 axles

CincySlots Tire Truer for 1/32 and 1/24 Scale Slot Cars.

CincySlots Tire Truer for 1/32 and 1/24 Scale Slot Cars. Please watch the video for more infomation. https://youtu.be/QxRq-xA0hfg

race.cincyslots.com