DLux Iron Rock 4.75

[Col_Sanders]

DLux introduced their Iron Rock tires last week in Gold and Silver compound. They look like a cut and siped TSL, which is an excellent proven tire in the 1:1 world so i was intrigued. After fondling them for a couple minutes at Crawl-a-palooza, the three of us each bought a set of silvers. The silvers felt maybe a bit softer than JConcepts Green but not as soft as Proline Predator. Gold were softer.

Two of us mounted them up when we got back to the house, using whatever inserts we had on hand. I had a set of Squids for Tusks, my buddy had a set of V2 Antifoams. They're a little narrower than the Tusk, which was nice to narrow the rig up a little bit.

Test drive went great. Lots of traction Both forward and lateral. Driving on flat found, the front tires would visibly twist a little while they tried to drag the rear but the rear wouldn't just slide. You could hear the tread grabbing the rocks just while driving. We all ended up running them for the event and traction was not an issue for us. I'm very happy with them. So happy i already bought another set.

From left to right: Azteks with BAMF inserts, Iron Rocks with Squids, Tusks with BAMF, Krawlers with Proline 2 Stage foams.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Video from first run. We did not wash them or anything before this. Just punched holes in them and mounted them up.

 

[JatoTheRipper]

These tires are intriguing, but they really screwed up the sidewalls IMO. They just don't look good. The size and "IRON ROCK 475" make it look like a Chinese clone tire. And there is a total lack of sidewall tread. They really dropped the ball on this part. Won't be a big deal to some people, but in the world of ever-increasing scale-ness, this sticks out like a sore thumb.

 

[svt923]

These tires are intriguing, but they really screwed up the sidewalls IMO. They just don't look good. The size and "IRON ROCK 475" make it look like a Chinese clone tire. And there is a total lack of sidewall tread. They really dropped the ball on this part. Won't be a big deal to some people, but in the world of ever-increasing scale-ness, this sticks out like a sore thumb.

I'm going to guess the lack of sidewall tread is intentional since Dlux is heavily involved in the comp crawling world. Most of those tires have smooth sidewalls to prevent the possibility of a side lug grabbing and pulling the truck off a line. These tires are definitely targeted to a specific customer base that won't care about looks. I won't be buying a set because I would rather the tire look good than be the best thing that has ever squeezed through a comp gate.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I agree the sidewall looks kinda cheesy. But like svt said, these are competition oriented, not intended to be a scale replica. Go to the prolines for that.

 

[SteveB1]

Very interesting.....

 

[durok]

Agreed - they look terrible, frankly!

I like side-biters on my tires, but I suppose it all depends on driving style and terrain.

 

[SteveB1]

A bit more detail from their website:

The Iron Rock 475

The perfect tire for Class 2 SORRCA or non-SORRCA competitions. This tire has been years in the making. The early version was a Super Swamper with shaved sidewall and Tennessee cut lugs. This combination has been working fabulous for many years for the Minnesota boys. The shaved sidewalls add predictability when crawling next to a vertical wall. You can choose to climb by steering into the wall, but it will not grab and climb at the wrong time. The three stage lug gives the ability to find traction where other tires just sit and spin. The traction from these tires is absolutely unmatched.

Measures approx. 4.75" X1.57" R1.9

Price is per pair.

Includes: 2 tires, 2 foams

Easy to mount bead surface.

Available is two compounds:

Silver (medium): Perfect for warmer climates and/or dusty areas

Gold (soft): Perfect for cooler climates and/or cleaner rock


Gonna give these a try myself.

 

[Beest]

Thanks for the interest in our new tires. As was said, the tires weren't designed to be scale looking, they were designed to perform and be scale enough for the class rules. Scale realism isn't our first priority, performance is.

 

[frdtrkguy]

Tested at a comp on sandstone yesterday. My truck 4 pounds 9 ounces RTR. Golds all the way around. Printed inserts that were broken in from my JC tires I ran previously. Temps were about 60 degrees. There were 2 bonus climbs that these tires would not do that scrubbed in Tusks would on similar trucks. Before the comp these had 3 batteries through them or about 1h 20m of run time so they are not fully scrubbed in. I felt the lugs were too tall and folded over too much.

I'm gonna trim the lugs down and get some good run time on em before our next event. Good tires but not as good as my well-scrubbed Tusks. Yet.. I'm not giving up on them.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I felt the gold were too soft for me. Our main comp season is March to October so typically 60-100 degrees outside. They don't feel as sticky as some of the other tires i have, but as dusty as most of our rocks are, i don't think that is a problem. I'll get a lot more time on them this weekend. Might slap them on one of my overpowered rigs to accelerate the break in process.

Tusks have definitely set the bar high.

 

[Beest]

Looking forward to hearing yalls opinions once they are good and scrubbed in. The Gold compound is definitely soft AF. I think they will do well in colder and wetter conditions.

 

[Col_Sanders]

Set number two (silvers) arrived today. I scrubbed these down with some purple power and warm water like i do with other new tires. On some tires, this makes them sticky af. Not so with these. Again, most of our comp spots are dusty unless immediately after a rain, so that stickiness is not always useful anyway.

The carcass is thick enough that it feels like the sidewalls aren't going to rip if you look at them wrong (looking at you vanquish red compound) but they will allow your inserts to work.

Speaking of inserts, i ordered another set of Squids. This time i got the 111mm, which is listed for Megalithics. I may run the 111s up front and 113s (Tusk size) in the rear.