[Shy Talk]

Guys

What am I doing wrong?

I recently tried Pendles tyre conditioner on my Scaley Ford GT. Ran great.

I put it away (running great), so that next time I grab it- I know it will be running great!

But no, no grip at all and kept going off as soon as I give it max welly. Not to mention skating off at anything that looks half like a corner.

I zapped the wheels by running the car while it's rears were on a sheet of 240 grit (which must have warmed them) and it was running great again.

After a few laps though, it reverts to skating about again and swopping ends.

What gives?

 

[CJA]

Hi There,

Like so many queries, it is a bit like "how long is a bit of string",

you need to explain the track, the power, the circumstances, when these effects were experienced.

It isnt rocket science, and there are a myriad of knowledgeable members, but we need specifics in order to answer.

vbr Chris A.

 

[Shy Talk]

Fair enough.

Scaley track, power supplies and controllers. All just a few years old.

Track is about 50-60' long, includes a 20' long straight.

ie, bog standard.

It's deffo about the tyres.

 

[Dingleberry]

I think you might have it wrong about sandpaper warming up the tires... it just removes rubber.

 

[Ember]

Except for the fact that it will be creating friction, which creates heat.

Sorry, can't help out on the 'tyre conditioning' stuff. On Scalex Sport track I run urethane tyres, no treatment. Happy cars and happy me.

Embs

 

[alexis in greece]

The way you describe it it looks as if you tires dry up between uses.If it is so you could do the following:
-clean them with Zippo after use
-give them a rub with 3 in 1 oil.If my guess is correct tires will absorb oil whithin 15-20 minutes.Repeat until absorbtion time reaches 24 hours
-clean with Zippo before use

 

[Julian_Boolean]

Try cleaning the tyres with sticky tape by using the sticky side on the tyre, do this until the tyre no longer leaves a mark on the tape.

 

[RichD]

There are all sorts of "rubber" tires, natural, synthetic and mixtures of both are used. Tires that include natural rubber can harden up and loose grip. Sanding the tires to remove the hardened surface can restore grip if the tires are not too far gone, but in any case the deterioration will continue. The grip of natural rubber tires can often be improved by using various chemical treatments. It is probably best to avoid using strong solvents on your tires, they may eventually be damaged and many solvents are quite toxic both by skin contact and by inhalation. If you must treat your tire something relativly harmless like 3in1 oil or suntan lotion might be your best bet. No treatment is likely to last for a long time and will have to be repeated when the grip starts to go off. Synthetic rubbers are less likely to degrade with time and their grip may not be improved by chemical treatment. In the case of those tires a wipe with a household surface cleaning product or a mild solvent like alcohol or lighter fluid can be helpful.

 

[Shy Talk]

Based on this evenings experience (when it ran well after 'tyre dressing' was applied), once you start using the 'dressing', maybe you have to KEEP using it?

Could tthat be correct?

 

[John Cahill]

That could be correct...I'm like Ember, though,I run urethane tyres and no need for treatment. That's twice you've been given a good hint

best regards,
John

 

[Shy Talk]

Being fabulously wealthy, I'd buy these tyres of which you speak immediately.

Could one find the feckers......

 

[Ember]

Shy Talk, there are a lot of different manufacturers that make urethane tyres. Ease of purchase and recommendation of brand probably relies a lot on your location. For me, MJK are my first preference because they are of local Australian manufacture, of a formulation that suits my track and are readily available. You may not be able to get them. But there are other brands.

You mentioned Pendles, so....

Slot.it make urethane tyres, of various formulations. Their Silicons are listed as silicon, but I'm pretty sure their 'P' compounds are urethane. I'd recommend P6s on Sport track. As you're running with magnets from memory, they'll more than see you right.

Paul Gage, Yellow Dog, Ortmann, just a few manufacturers names to get you started.

Embs

 

[chris99]

Hi there,

I haven't looked back since changing to urethanes, particularly on most of my Scalextric cars plus a quick roll over some sticky tape each time. The other brands like SCX seem to have grippier tyres as standard. Cottage industry Waspslot in the UK is a good value quality source and has supplied me more than 30 pairs so far.

Cheers
Chris

 

[John Cahill]

ShyTalk
fwiw, I was suggesting you make your own urethanes (unless you really are fabulously wealthy). They are very straightforward to mold and quite cost effective IMO. Many of us like to us Smooth On products...Vytaflex in particular, and for most situations, Shore 30 hardness. Let us know if you have more questions. I think you'll be quite pleased following this path...

John

 

[Phil Kalbfell]

You did not mention if you cleaned the track down before running the treated tyres. If the treated tyres are nice and sticky they will pick up any dust and carp from the track surface. The biggest advantage of eurethanes is that they will not pick up the dust off the track surface.

 

[Shy Talk]

I've now isolated/ identified my problem.

It's a long track and it does not get dis-assembled between uses. Thus it gets dusty. It's laid on a bare natural wood floor btw.

My 'tyre' problems are all down to the tyres picking up dirt and dust and losing their grip on the track. This has become clear. If I clean the tyres with spit and my filthy hanky, performance is immediately and spectacularly restored!

I've stolen a mighty march on my fellow (equally inexperienced!

) mates here that should make me unbeatable- until they spot the hanky!

The difference between clean tyres and those that have run 10 laps is astonishing.

I've only got Scalextric cars. Tyres are rubbery 'slicks', rubbery 'treaded' ones and the dark glossy ones on the Scaley 'Pro' cars.

I suppose the real answer is to clean the track and then let it dry before use, right?

The 'dust-free' tyres are urethane are they?

I thought the tyres on the 'Pro' cars were urethane? If so, they are as bad as the rest!

What fun....

 

[Mr Modifier]

The glossy tyres may be silicone or urethane tyres. Silicones will remove dust and rubber from the track.

Very soft urethanes DO pick up dust from the track. Urethanes don't remove rubber (deposited rubber from standard rubber tyres can increase grip on you track - cleaning the track may remove this rubber so a light dusting should be all you do to clean your track).

Not sure what your dust free tyres are but sound like they are urethane in Shore A40 or harder.

I make my own urethane tyres (polytek urethane in both Shore A20 and Shore A50) and the 20's do pick up dust but it doesn't seem to affect grip levels until they are really dusty. A quick run on the sticky side of sellotape and they are immediately back to full grip.

 

[Shy Talk]

Mr Modifier

I'd swap my cars' tyres for the urethane ones, but the first thing is to identify what I have at the moment, so I can figure out what works.......

The 'dust free' tyres I referred to in the post are the ones I want- but do not have yet!

Apart from what came with the regular Scaley cars, which is plain rubber, there's the better tyres fitted to the 'Pro' cars. Are these urethane?

I've also got some glossy tyres which are Scaley accessories. These came in a see through plastic box made by Scalextric. Are these urethane, I wonder? I've not used them yet. 'Mini wheels' on the box.

Also, it seems that the tyres fitted to my cars are in a large variety of sizes. And I've no way of knowing what the sizes are.

Do you order replacement tyres by referring to the car you intend to fit them onto?

If there's writing on the side (like full size tyres) it's too wee for me to read.

Oooh- me eyes aint wot they used to be!

 

[Mr Modifier]

The Pro Performance cars' rear tyres are Silicone (according to a review by Doug who runs this Forum).

Not sure about the boxed tyres - Scalextric are never that forthcoming about tyres and compounds.

There are numerous small after market tyres makers and many of them list model compatibility for their tyres - the Scalextric "C" number moulded on most (but not all) of their chassis. It's a case of trawling the sites or using good old Google.

If you want to make the best decision you could try to get a set of the same tyres in all 3 options - rubber, silicone and urethane then drive the car with each and decide which you prefer. It's down to personal preference really (unless you race at a club then it's down to club rules and many clubs ban silicones because they "de-rubber" the track).

You should also search SlotForum (search box top right) for advice on truing tyres - a set of properly trued and treated rubber tyres will give a better performance than untrued urethanes in many cases.

I have no experience of Silicones. I do know that I run trued Shore A50 urethanes on my Scalextric Super Resistant F430 with no other modifications against several other identical cars (same model, same setup, same magnet position and downforce etc.) except they run the stock tyres which have also been trued. My car is consistently 0.3 seconds a lap quicker on a 6.7 second circuit, race after race after race. When somebody else tried my car he was the quickest on the track so it isn't my driving skills giving the edge.

I believe Silicones are even quicker BUT performance drops off after a few laps because they pick up debris from the track. People who run on routed wooden track painted with a glossy finish and kept scrupulously clean swear by silicones. Many plastic track racers prefer urethanes because they keep their performance for a lot longer.

I know this raises more questions than answers - the answer is whatever is right for you.

Have fun!

 

[Shy Talk]

Mr Mod

Thanks for your reply. Most informative.

I shall have to get my thinking head on.