Panther Tires - Questions

[dkingston]

Greetings,

I have been lurking on this (and a couple of other) forums for a while, bringing myself up to speed on Crawling. We at Panther, as well as many other major RC manufacturers believe that the already large segment of RC crawling will experience major growth over the next couple of years.

With that said, Panther will be entering the crawler tire market in the first quarter of 2008.

One of my responsibilities with Panther is in product development. I am looking for input as to what the crawler community is looking for in tires for competition. Like Ross Perot, we are all ears!

This is not a shallow request. In my research of the crawling segment of RC, I have decided to get into crawling myself. Since I am jumping in, this project is front-and-center on my priority list.

Thanks for reading!

 

[slobin3d]

Welcome"thumbsup" i have used panther tires on several of my racing rigs and on my military hi-lift. They worked very well for being a non crawler tire, I can only imagine what a crawler specific tire could do"thumbsup"

A tall tire compared to a standard 2.2, soft compound, super soft foam, aggressive tread the wraps around the the side wall, and 1.9's too

 

[JUSTGOINGSLOW]

I wonder how long it was going to take before Panther got in the game "thumbsup"

 

[derwood21]

5.25"-5.5" tall, 2"-2.25" wide, soft and sticky for 2.2. A tread pattern like to the tires on slobins tuck above would be good. Make sure the lugs aren't to soft to where they fold over. Good sidewall tread but not to aggressive or they catch everything.

 

[excav8rguy]

dont forget the 40 series sizes and maxx sizes for us super freaks.

 

[Hildy]

Sticky compound, with a very flexible carcass is the key thing to me.

 

[Mnster]

Main things here are.

1. Bead that mounts beadlocks

2. Sidewall tread that is not overly aggressive. (To much causes the tires to get wedged in crevices.)

3. Good forward based slightly angled lugs down the middle. (Allows the tire to put the traction down on tough vertical climbs.) (The slight angle helps keep the tire centered with the surface at speed and allows for more traction when turning or digging)

4. Parallel tread blocks down the sides of the tire. (When sidehilling these lugs will squish into the driving surface and keep the truck on it's course.)

5. A soft carcass, allows the tread to react and snatch and grab.

6. A soft sticky compound, maybe a variety of choices would be good.

7. Sort of narrow (easier steering and more pressure pushing the tires into the traction surface.)

8. Tall but not too tall (tall is good to clear rocks, too tall causes the center of gravity to shift on sidehills.) (If the tire is too tall the steering and gearing suffer.) 5-5.5 is a good number.

9. Lug height (Tall is good for sharp or dirty rocks) (Short allows for better carcass flexibility and the lugs fold less so you get a tire that is more stable and predictable.)

10. Lug angle (I'd like to see tires similar to the Losi Zombies, the lugs are at a slight forward angle allowing for a more aggressive snatching effect.) (Sharp edges of the lugs are forced into the traction surface.)

 

[slobin3d]

I really liked the tires I had, I think if they were a bit taller. in the 5.0+ range and the lugs were offset, and if the tread were just a bit more around the side wall might be a good start. maybe a bit more lugs close together. but those tires were really sticky when I was tooling it round mini moab and as stiff as the suspension was on that truck it went everywhere a warpig went with moabs or mashers on"thumbsup"

 

[dkingston]

Keep the info coming!

As I have replied to a few PM's, Panther has always been known for its aggressive compounds. We currently have a couple of "uber-sticky" compounds that aren't adequate for (most) racing and crawling would be a great place to try them.

I would also be interested in some sketched-out tread patterns or pictures highlighting the parts of existing tires you like/dislike. Part of getting this right is knowing what hasn't worked in the past.

Thanks again for the input!!!


- David

 

[slobin3d]

I like this design. nevermind the MS paint but its quick and easy to draw on. lol.

 

[RPP Hobby]

Will be nice to see another reputable Rc tire manufacture joining the crawler industry "thumbsup"

 

[Rockcrawler]

I see that the T480 Cobras and plow boys pattern is nice. Maybe thin the treads a little and get the side wall to flex would be a nice tire. The Chameleon 2's are a nice pattern too if the lugs were a little bigger. "thumbsup" I will see if I can get a few patterns worked up on emachine shop.

 

[Rockcrawler]

Well, we all know that the Losi claws and Proline Moabs work in different situations. But I believe its more or less the compound and side walls. There are a few great tread patterns out there just not the right compounds.

 

[derwood21]

Just a quick sketch of something I think would work.
View attachment 50933

 

[Jgoodall]

Always been happy with Panther tires. I would like to see a tire that has a bead that will fit a beadlock and not slip out. Foams that are set up for a crawler would be nice too.

 

[crawlinghulls]

A tread pattern similar to the old Giant Tracs just not as wide. Ofna makes thier "Monster Truck" tire, carcass is too hard, tire is too wide and there is no side wall tread. Make it 2" wide with side wall tread and soft compound.

One thing that I don't hear anyone talking about is -side walling- the Losi Rock Claws are without doubt one of the best stock tires I have used but, they fold over when pushed from the side. I have been experimenting with stiffening the inner sidewall (inner as it would be on the rig) and leaving the outer sidewall "stock" so it still conforms too the rocks. It is just an idea and with all the weather here in CT I won't be able to test for a while.

My humble 2 cents worth

More importantly Thanks for entering the mix, it's great to see companies that want the input of their (soon to be) customers. If you make them, I'll buy them. Thanks again.

 

[binaryterror]

I say grab a research set of Rock Claws, by far in my area the best compound for crawling.

Also the design works well. I'd prefer them to be taller, Rock Claws are too short.

 

[Thorsteenster]

Make one with suction cup lugs so they really grip!
:roll:
All I really have to offer is that I'd like to see it resemble a 1:1 tire treadwise, some realistic looking tires in super soft sticky compounds would be cool.
Glad to see Panther getting on board.
"thumbsup"

 

[jeepfreek]

I would LOVE to see some tires like the full size Maxxis Creepy Crawler compitions and Trepador compitions.

Most of all a real agressive tread and I like an agressive sidewall, just one that lets me use it to help climb.

 

[DUDE]

5.5"s is too tall for a competition tire, I have tried it twice with 2 different tire combo's I made up. The problem is that a tall tire like that just throws the 2.2 class rig around on the rocks. There is too much of a leverage effect and the COG gets too high for any sprung rig.

5"s is as tall as you would ever want, look at the best 2 tires out there right now and have been proven to work by the veterans of this hobby and new guys a like, The height is not even close to 5.5"s ;-)

Another thing about a RC tire, which anybody in the business can tell you, the tread pattern based off of a 1:1 tire will never work on a RC crawler. They are obviously 2 different vehicle which requires 2 totally different approaches to building a tire that will work.

The losi tire does work good, but not for very long. I have wore out 2 full sets so far and when the tire gets down to about 25% from new, the performance drops off dramatically.

I have been running the Masher M3 compound tire, both front and rear in the intended direction,( not reversed) with Kreepy tall and narrow pink foams lately. So far that tire is out performing the Losi in all kinds of rocks, wet and dry.

The Masher is still the perfect height to date for a comp tire. ;-)