DirkDigler
I wanna be Dave
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2004
- Messages
- 5,027
I have four more tires to test. So far they have all faired well and I think I was very honest and tough on the judging. I think some of this information will go a long way in helping you decide on which tires you want buy, how much they need to modified and how well they perform in certain situations and terrain. Set some time aside to read all of this because it's pretty lengthy! Enjoy the first part and the second part will be up shortly.
Imex Jumbo Kongs:
The Kongs are, without a doubt, the largest and craziest tire you can put on any RC vehicle. But does bigger alway mean better? Sometimes! Out of the box, the Kongs are 4.5 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall. Way too wide for my tastes and it seems that anyone using them to crawl these days, feel the same and choose to narrow them to anywhere from 2 inches to 3.5 inches. I think we all know the benefits and how to narrow tires now and I won't get into it. My narrowed Kongs needed some type of foams in them due to the sidewall wanting to over flex onto itself. I use a tall, narrow foam to keep this from happening.
A narrowed Kong works well but suffers from a tall, smooth sidewall. I also added some lugs onto the sidewall of this tire giving incredible sidewall bite. It also helped lateral stability. The Kong gets nice bite from the tread, especially if you've cut some grooves into the large lugs. The lugs hurt and help this tire. They hurt because they are HUGE and the rubber compound making them up is not exactally gummy. They are hard enough to allow them to scrape and bump over ledges and rocks, rather than stick to them and pull the truck up. They also stiffen the tire up. They don't allow the tread to flex and wrap around rocks, which is another reason to cut a new tread pattern in the lugs. However, they help because they are spaced far enough apart (voids) that they tend to grab on some ledges and pull the truck over. In smooth faced rocks, such as River Rock, the harder rubber compound allows the tires to slip sideways off of rock, rather than clinging to them. They also tend to spin on the slicker surface of this type of rock. If the rubber compound of the Kongs lugs were stickier, they might be the ulitmate in traction.
As for the size: The Kongs are great on Xfactor width axles, where center diff clearance is much needed and I would not recommend the Kongs on Clod or TXT axles. The size is great when in very large boulder fields, as they can bash through and crawl over the biggest obsticals with no troubles. The down side is that they are large enough to be bulky and clumbsy. They are harder to turn than a smaller tire. They put more stress on the drive train and servos and the tall sidewall can get hung up in crevices, never to return!
The Kong is a good, solid tire. I would say there are more pros than cons but it's a close call. The Coolness factor of the Narrowed Kongs is of course, a big pro! But for serious competition, Cool doesn't always win the prizes. A big downside for some of us is the need to modify them. I spent quite a bit of time and dough to make the Kongs work well and I still wouldn't give them all "gold stars" for their performance.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: I put all the tires on the same truck and attempted Waterfall 1 on my rock course. Many of you have beaten this obstical and know it ain't easy(except for Kaetwo)! The first part of it consists of smooth river rock and leads to a huge, steep waterfall. The Kongs breezed though due to their size but was not able to make it over the fall without 20+ attempts due to the hard rubber compound. It couldn't get the bite to crawl over. I finally was able to bash over at a higher speed and I got a lug to bite a sharp ledge, pulling the rig to the top. Test Score: B
Recommendations: Narrow to 3 inches, use narrowed and shortened foams, add side lugs, cut tread pattern to liking, sipe lugs, spray with WD40 weekly.
Possibilities: Use Big Joe or Hot Bodies (large) wheels. You can cut off the bead of the Kong and mount them onto a larger diameter rim that would reduce the size of the sidewall, making this a slightly more controllable tire.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) B+
Smooth Rocks(river rock) C+
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling A
Mud and Rock B
Stability C+
Stickiness C-
Conformability B
Coolness Factor A+
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified Kong: B
Associated BFT:
This is still one of my favorites. It's very close to 7 inches tall and the width is about right on a narrow wheel, at about 3 to 3.5 inches wide. I ran these tires for quite some time without removing any lugs and they worked great. After time, I removed lugs for added flexibility. It flexed great but I found that I then needed some foams. I used stock foams, narrowed and shortened. This allowed the tire to flex but not all the way down to the rim and not out of control. The rubber is incredibly soft and the tire is relatively thinly constructed throughout the carcass. It's thin but tough. I've yet to see one rip! The rubber compound is fairly sticky as well but I've seen stickier! The thin construction allows the tires to wrap around anything, pulling the truck vertically if needed. Lateral stability is somewhat lost due to the thin sidewall rubber but with the correct foam trimming, you could easily gain some of this back.
I was always impressed that you could be stopped by an obstical but by staying on the throttle, lightly, turning the wheels from side to side and just slowly working the truck on the obstical, you could usually find the bite needed to conquor it. The tires are that good. The BFT's could certainly benefit from some sidewall bite but it's not absolutely necessary.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: The BFT's were made for this test. The size was about right. They didn't get the truck hung up much. They gripped the smooth rocks well and were like magnets on the sharp sections of the waterfall. I could point the truck anywhere and that's where it would go...no matter what! I easily negotiated Waterfall 1 with these tires. Test Score: A+
Recommendations: Cut each treat lug in half, altering from left to right, use on TXT wheels to maximize the size of the sidewall. Use narrowed and very short, soft foams.
Possibilities: Narrow tire by one inch but is not necessary.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) A
Steep Climbs in Rock A
Dirt Crawling B
Mud and Rock B-
Stability B+
Stickiness A
Conformability A+
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: Not Necessary
Overall Crawlability of the BFT: A-
IMEX Jumbo Swamp Dog
I've used this tire longer than any other for serious crawling. It's a real solid tire....but like the Kong, you've got to do some trimming and it ain't perfect in many ways. First of all, to make it a performer, you MUST cut the smallest lugs off. Every single one of them!!! This creates much better voids in conjuction with the lugs to allow the tire to grab onto almost any ledge, easily! It allows the tire to flex MUCH better as well. Without cutting the lugs off, the tire is one of the stiffest I have ever tested and they are worthless as a crawling tire. Leave any type of foams out of these babies! They just don't need 'em!
You will really benefit by mounting them on very narrow wheels, such as Maxx width wheels. This increases the contact patch and best of all, pulls the huge sidewall lugs further down onto the sidewall for unmatched traction. The sidewall likes to fold over the wheel when the going gets extreme and this creates some pretty nice traction and even better picture opps!
The tire is too short for my tastes. It's a hair over 6 inches. Not bad for some....but I like my rubbers big!!! The rubber compound is similar, if not the same, to the Kong. Just too stiff, especially in the large lugs. Siping the lugs that remain will help the tires to conform to the rock better. These tires are well suited for TXT's and Clods but the height challenge takes them out of the XFactor realm.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: The Dogs seemed to slip a lot on the smooth rocks but once they met the sharp red rock, they started to shine. The lugs want to grab everything. They will dislodge a boulder before they get stuck. I krept up the waterfall and finally pulled myself up the steepest portion thanks to the biting lugs. At the top of the fall, the breakover killed the thrill of the climb, as the wimpy height of the tires allowed me to high center easily. Test Score: B+
Recommendations: Cut all the smallest lugs off for better flexibility. Use on a Maxx sized wheel to narrow the tire and pull side lugs down. Cut deep sipes into the largest lugs. No foams!
Possiblities: Narrow by 1.5--2 inches
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) B-
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling A
Mud and Rock B+
Stability A-
Stickiness C-
Conformability C+
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified Jumbo Swamp Dog: B+
IMEX Krock "CRAWER"(HAHA)
I must say...the tires look Ultra Cool! Very similar to the BFG Krawler tire. They are a very nice size at 6 7/8 and about 3 inches wide. To me, it looks as if IMEX was listening to the requests for a dedicated crawler tire as far as the size and the look. The sidewall lugs wrap nicely down about half way and are large enough to grab rocks. Without foams, the tires are VERY flexible and wouldn't recommend them unless they are heavily trimmed. You may need them if you experience the tires bottoming on the rims all the time. The rubber compound is soft but I was hoping for something even softer and "tackier". In RC Crawling, I have found that large lugs and voids are a key ingredients in a good tire. The KROCK misses here. The tread pattern is very tight, which tends to give it characteristics of a slick. They climb and cling but they don't bite and pull as well as I'd hoped. I got into some soft dirt and mud which proved to be the tire's biggest downfall. Once loaded up with mud, the tires did nothing for traction and it was virtually impossible to get them to self clean. The sidewall lugs are nice but they could use some more void area as well. After concluding the test, I decided that some lug trimming would be in order in the near future that would easily take these tires from a B- or B performing tire, to a B+. It's not necessary to trim these meats but I do think that it will give that edge needed in competition. The soft carcass likes to wrap around rocks and conform to even the smallest pebbles and it helped overcome the lack of bite from no large lugs and voids. I also wish the voids could have been deeper in between the lugs. IMEX did a great job with the design and look of this tire but I wonder how much and what kind of testing went on. The tires worked flawlessly on large river rock, or smooth flat faced rock where the soft, slick tires rule but once I got them into my rock courses that are full of steep ledges and sharp rock, combined with dirt, the failed miserably. They just would hook up on anything.
Perfomance Test / Waterfall 1: These tires went through the river rock better than any tires I tested. I was in complete control. No side sliding and I could creep slowly with out having to spin the tires on the ascent. Once I started up the fall, it was hopeless. I gave up after about 35 tries!!!! I never got up with the KROCKS. If I decide to cut the tread pattern, I believe the waterfall will be no problem with the KROCKS. Test Score C+
Recommendations: Not sure yet, except...either don't use foams at all or very thin ones. Run these tires in "Slick Rock" type terrain and they will RULE!!!!
Possibilities: Cut a better tread pattern with larger voids!
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) C
Smooth Rocks(river rock) A
Steep Climbs in Rock C-
Dirt Crawling B
Mud and Rock F
Stability A
Stickiness A-
Conformability A
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: Probably have to cut the tread pattern
Overall Crawlability of the KROCK: B-
X Factor Tires
These were the surprise tire! First of all, I narrowed the hell out of them. They are about inches wide now. They are right at 6 1/8th tall, which ain't bad at all for a stocker! I always laughed at this tire until I noticed something. The rubber compound looked very similar to the Giant Tracs that many Clods are using. From what I've seen, the Giant Tracs get better traction from their very tacky rubber compound than any other tire out there. The rubber is so soft, it litterally shreds when it used in the rocks. Well...guess what? After a few phone calls, I had it confirmed that it is, in fact, the same type of rubber compound. I cut a few grooves into the narrowed treads and I couldn't believe how well they worked. They hooked up very well, grabbed ledges, shedded dirt and mud and had no problem with latteral stability. They flex fairly well but there just isn't enough sidewall to let them do their job. I run no foams and only did minor cutting. Another inch would make these things an even better tire. All in all, the tire construction and design are average to above average but the rubber compound makes these tires a viable alternative...and cheap to pick up used!
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: These tires made short work of this obstical. They actually performed better in the jagged, steep climbing areas than the smooth river rock sections. The rubber compound allowed the tires to spin slowly and grab and claw until it got total traction to pull the truck upward. I had to use alot less wheel speed and power with these tires.
Recommendations: Narrowing! Cut some grooves in the lugs to allow better flexibility. Mount on narrow wheels. No foams!
Possibilities: Add side lugs. Beef up beads....they tear easily.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) B+
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling B-
Mud and Rock B
Stability A-
Stickiness A
Conformability B-
Coolness Factor D
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified X Factor Cheveron: B+
Associated LST
HPI Savage Tire
Narrowed Hot Bodies
Clod / TXT
Imex Jumbo Kongs:
The Kongs are, without a doubt, the largest and craziest tire you can put on any RC vehicle. But does bigger alway mean better? Sometimes! Out of the box, the Kongs are 4.5 inches wide and 8.5 inches tall. Way too wide for my tastes and it seems that anyone using them to crawl these days, feel the same and choose to narrow them to anywhere from 2 inches to 3.5 inches. I think we all know the benefits and how to narrow tires now and I won't get into it. My narrowed Kongs needed some type of foams in them due to the sidewall wanting to over flex onto itself. I use a tall, narrow foam to keep this from happening.
A narrowed Kong works well but suffers from a tall, smooth sidewall. I also added some lugs onto the sidewall of this tire giving incredible sidewall bite. It also helped lateral stability. The Kong gets nice bite from the tread, especially if you've cut some grooves into the large lugs. The lugs hurt and help this tire. They hurt because they are HUGE and the rubber compound making them up is not exactally gummy. They are hard enough to allow them to scrape and bump over ledges and rocks, rather than stick to them and pull the truck up. They also stiffen the tire up. They don't allow the tread to flex and wrap around rocks, which is another reason to cut a new tread pattern in the lugs. However, they help because they are spaced far enough apart (voids) that they tend to grab on some ledges and pull the truck over. In smooth faced rocks, such as River Rock, the harder rubber compound allows the tires to slip sideways off of rock, rather than clinging to them. They also tend to spin on the slicker surface of this type of rock. If the rubber compound of the Kongs lugs were stickier, they might be the ulitmate in traction.
As for the size: The Kongs are great on Xfactor width axles, where center diff clearance is much needed and I would not recommend the Kongs on Clod or TXT axles. The size is great when in very large boulder fields, as they can bash through and crawl over the biggest obsticals with no troubles. The down side is that they are large enough to be bulky and clumbsy. They are harder to turn than a smaller tire. They put more stress on the drive train and servos and the tall sidewall can get hung up in crevices, never to return!
The Kong is a good, solid tire. I would say there are more pros than cons but it's a close call. The Coolness factor of the Narrowed Kongs is of course, a big pro! But for serious competition, Cool doesn't always win the prizes. A big downside for some of us is the need to modify them. I spent quite a bit of time and dough to make the Kongs work well and I still wouldn't give them all "gold stars" for their performance.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: I put all the tires on the same truck and attempted Waterfall 1 on my rock course. Many of you have beaten this obstical and know it ain't easy(except for Kaetwo)! The first part of it consists of smooth river rock and leads to a huge, steep waterfall. The Kongs breezed though due to their size but was not able to make it over the fall without 20+ attempts due to the hard rubber compound. It couldn't get the bite to crawl over. I finally was able to bash over at a higher speed and I got a lug to bite a sharp ledge, pulling the rig to the top. Test Score: B
Recommendations: Narrow to 3 inches, use narrowed and shortened foams, add side lugs, cut tread pattern to liking, sipe lugs, spray with WD40 weekly.
Possibilities: Use Big Joe or Hot Bodies (large) wheels. You can cut off the bead of the Kong and mount them onto a larger diameter rim that would reduce the size of the sidewall, making this a slightly more controllable tire.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) B+
Smooth Rocks(river rock) C+
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling A
Mud and Rock B
Stability C+
Stickiness C-
Conformability B
Coolness Factor A+
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified Kong: B
Associated BFT:
This is still one of my favorites. It's very close to 7 inches tall and the width is about right on a narrow wheel, at about 3 to 3.5 inches wide. I ran these tires for quite some time without removing any lugs and they worked great. After time, I removed lugs for added flexibility. It flexed great but I found that I then needed some foams. I used stock foams, narrowed and shortened. This allowed the tire to flex but not all the way down to the rim and not out of control. The rubber is incredibly soft and the tire is relatively thinly constructed throughout the carcass. It's thin but tough. I've yet to see one rip! The rubber compound is fairly sticky as well but I've seen stickier! The thin construction allows the tires to wrap around anything, pulling the truck vertically if needed. Lateral stability is somewhat lost due to the thin sidewall rubber but with the correct foam trimming, you could easily gain some of this back.
I was always impressed that you could be stopped by an obstical but by staying on the throttle, lightly, turning the wheels from side to side and just slowly working the truck on the obstical, you could usually find the bite needed to conquor it. The tires are that good. The BFT's could certainly benefit from some sidewall bite but it's not absolutely necessary.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: The BFT's were made for this test. The size was about right. They didn't get the truck hung up much. They gripped the smooth rocks well and were like magnets on the sharp sections of the waterfall. I could point the truck anywhere and that's where it would go...no matter what! I easily negotiated Waterfall 1 with these tires. Test Score: A+
Recommendations: Cut each treat lug in half, altering from left to right, use on TXT wheels to maximize the size of the sidewall. Use narrowed and very short, soft foams.
Possibilities: Narrow tire by one inch but is not necessary.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) A
Steep Climbs in Rock A
Dirt Crawling B
Mud and Rock B-
Stability B+
Stickiness A
Conformability A+
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: Not Necessary
Overall Crawlability of the BFT: A-
IMEX Jumbo Swamp Dog
I've used this tire longer than any other for serious crawling. It's a real solid tire....but like the Kong, you've got to do some trimming and it ain't perfect in many ways. First of all, to make it a performer, you MUST cut the smallest lugs off. Every single one of them!!! This creates much better voids in conjuction with the lugs to allow the tire to grab onto almost any ledge, easily! It allows the tire to flex MUCH better as well. Without cutting the lugs off, the tire is one of the stiffest I have ever tested and they are worthless as a crawling tire. Leave any type of foams out of these babies! They just don't need 'em!
You will really benefit by mounting them on very narrow wheels, such as Maxx width wheels. This increases the contact patch and best of all, pulls the huge sidewall lugs further down onto the sidewall for unmatched traction. The sidewall likes to fold over the wheel when the going gets extreme and this creates some pretty nice traction and even better picture opps!
The tire is too short for my tastes. It's a hair over 6 inches. Not bad for some....but I like my rubbers big!!! The rubber compound is similar, if not the same, to the Kong. Just too stiff, especially in the large lugs. Siping the lugs that remain will help the tires to conform to the rock better. These tires are well suited for TXT's and Clods but the height challenge takes them out of the XFactor realm.
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: The Dogs seemed to slip a lot on the smooth rocks but once they met the sharp red rock, they started to shine. The lugs want to grab everything. They will dislodge a boulder before they get stuck. I krept up the waterfall and finally pulled myself up the steepest portion thanks to the biting lugs. At the top of the fall, the breakover killed the thrill of the climb, as the wimpy height of the tires allowed me to high center easily. Test Score: B+
Recommendations: Cut all the smallest lugs off for better flexibility. Use on a Maxx sized wheel to narrow the tire and pull side lugs down. Cut deep sipes into the largest lugs. No foams!
Possiblities: Narrow by 1.5--2 inches
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) B-
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling A
Mud and Rock B+
Stability A-
Stickiness C-
Conformability C+
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified Jumbo Swamp Dog: B+
IMEX Krock "CRAWER"(HAHA)
I must say...the tires look Ultra Cool! Very similar to the BFG Krawler tire. They are a very nice size at 6 7/8 and about 3 inches wide. To me, it looks as if IMEX was listening to the requests for a dedicated crawler tire as far as the size and the look. The sidewall lugs wrap nicely down about half way and are large enough to grab rocks. Without foams, the tires are VERY flexible and wouldn't recommend them unless they are heavily trimmed. You may need them if you experience the tires bottoming on the rims all the time. The rubber compound is soft but I was hoping for something even softer and "tackier". In RC Crawling, I have found that large lugs and voids are a key ingredients in a good tire. The KROCK misses here. The tread pattern is very tight, which tends to give it characteristics of a slick. They climb and cling but they don't bite and pull as well as I'd hoped. I got into some soft dirt and mud which proved to be the tire's biggest downfall. Once loaded up with mud, the tires did nothing for traction and it was virtually impossible to get them to self clean. The sidewall lugs are nice but they could use some more void area as well. After concluding the test, I decided that some lug trimming would be in order in the near future that would easily take these tires from a B- or B performing tire, to a B+. It's not necessary to trim these meats but I do think that it will give that edge needed in competition. The soft carcass likes to wrap around rocks and conform to even the smallest pebbles and it helped overcome the lack of bite from no large lugs and voids. I also wish the voids could have been deeper in between the lugs. IMEX did a great job with the design and look of this tire but I wonder how much and what kind of testing went on. The tires worked flawlessly on large river rock, or smooth flat faced rock where the soft, slick tires rule but once I got them into my rock courses that are full of steep ledges and sharp rock, combined with dirt, the failed miserably. They just would hook up on anything.
Perfomance Test / Waterfall 1: These tires went through the river rock better than any tires I tested. I was in complete control. No side sliding and I could creep slowly with out having to spin the tires on the ascent. Once I started up the fall, it was hopeless. I gave up after about 35 tries!!!! I never got up with the KROCKS. If I decide to cut the tread pattern, I believe the waterfall will be no problem with the KROCKS. Test Score C+
Recommendations: Not sure yet, except...either don't use foams at all or very thin ones. Run these tires in "Slick Rock" type terrain and they will RULE!!!!
Possibilities: Cut a better tread pattern with larger voids!
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) C
Smooth Rocks(river rock) A
Steep Climbs in Rock C-
Dirt Crawling B
Mud and Rock F
Stability A
Stickiness A-
Conformability A
Coolness Factor A
Need to modify: Probably have to cut the tread pattern
Overall Crawlability of the KROCK: B-
X Factor Tires
These were the surprise tire! First of all, I narrowed the hell out of them. They are about inches wide now. They are right at 6 1/8th tall, which ain't bad at all for a stocker! I always laughed at this tire until I noticed something. The rubber compound looked very similar to the Giant Tracs that many Clods are using. From what I've seen, the Giant Tracs get better traction from their very tacky rubber compound than any other tire out there. The rubber is so soft, it litterally shreds when it used in the rocks. Well...guess what? After a few phone calls, I had it confirmed that it is, in fact, the same type of rubber compound. I cut a few grooves into the narrowed treads and I couldn't believe how well they worked. They hooked up very well, grabbed ledges, shedded dirt and mud and had no problem with latteral stability. They flex fairly well but there just isn't enough sidewall to let them do their job. I run no foams and only did minor cutting. Another inch would make these things an even better tire. All in all, the tire construction and design are average to above average but the rubber compound makes these tires a viable alternative...and cheap to pick up used!
Performance Test / Waterfall 1: These tires made short work of this obstical. They actually performed better in the jagged, steep climbing areas than the smooth river rock sections. The rubber compound allowed the tires to spin slowly and grab and claw until it got total traction to pull the truck upward. I had to use alot less wheel speed and power with these tires.
Recommendations: Narrowing! Cut some grooves in the lugs to allow better flexibility. Mount on narrow wheels. No foams!
Possibilities: Add side lugs. Beef up beads....they tear easily.
Sharp Rocks(ledges, etc) A
Smooth Rocks(river rock) B+
Steep Climbs in Rock B+
Dirt Crawling B-
Mud and Rock B
Stability A-
Stickiness A
Conformability B-
Coolness Factor D
Need to modify: MUST
Overall Crawlability of the Modified X Factor Cheveron: B+
Associated LST
HPI Savage Tire
Narrowed Hot Bodies
Clod / TXT
