7/30/05

As you all know, Proline got me a set of the new 2.2 Moab's a bit early and I have done some pretty good testing with them. In addition, we slapped the super sticky M2 compound Moab 's onto Sparky J's little crawler at the raffle for a quick test on another rig besides mine. We also did a little three way shoot out at the raffle, consisting of the 2.2 Moab's, 2.2 Masher 2K's and Imex's 5 and a half inch tall 2.2 tires!

First, my impressions of the 2.2 Moab 's from Proline: When I looked at the tires for the first time, I thought that they would be bigger for some reason. Five inches sounds really big and I was even fearful that they would be too tall. Once I mounted them up, they looked perfect on a “scale” truck. One reason that they looked so good on a “scale” truck is because the width is very, very narrow. This gives the tire a very realistic look, as every other rc tire out there always looks way too wide.

The first thing I noticed about the tires performance is that the little, sticky side lugs like to grab at anything they can… and pull your truck up and over anything you throw at it. The lugs are tall, soft, sticky and flexible! The voids are deep! The overall tread is nothing less than PERFECT! As said before, the height is right on for a 2.2 rig and the width is the best I have seen from any manufacturer. The narrow tire even gives it better traction because of the smaller contact patch. I love these tires!!!

Where they really shine is testing them against two other formidable competitors that many of us are using now on our 2.2 rigs. The Masher 2K is a GREAT tire for crawling! We measured the 2.2 Moab and the Masher 2K and found them to be exactly the same in height but at least ½ inch narrower. Our Mashers are mounted on wheels that have been narrowed on both sides. The Moab 's are on wheels that have been narrowed on one side. Note: The 2.2 Moab 's do not need a narrowed wheel….they are narrow enough as it is! Going head to head with the Mashers is a tough chore, as they cling and grab any type of rocks the earth can conjure up. Well….The Moab's tackled everything the Mashers did and seemed almost equal in every way but there is that side bite that is very valuable and noticeable, especially in the really rough stuff. The Moab 's could grab hold of a rock with the smallest side lug, bite hard. And pull the rest of the truck upward! When the exact same obstacle was tried, using the exact same line…but this time, with the Mashers, the truck could not duplicate success.

We all did notice that I left too much of the Proline foam within the tire. I cut the foams into my normal star pattern, narrowed and shortened them quite a bit but I still need to remove more. It's still early to verify what the perfect foam set up will be but I really believe that some amount of foam will be needed to control the super soft 2.2 Moab . I also think that once I perfect the amount of foam in the tire, it will separate itself even further ahead of the Masher 2K, as the superior and perhaps, perfect, “scale” tire!

Sparky J then mounted up the Imex tires. Yup! The tires look cool! They are HU G E! The tread is very similar to its 1:1 counterpart. However, the similarities and “coolness” end there! Sparky J set the truck on the ground and we all got a kick out of the way it “bounced” around, like it was riding on over filled helium balloons. As soon as it hit the rock, it was evident that these big meats were made for looks…and looks alone! They slipped around on the rock faces! Spun out of control and offered no traction at all. The most positive comment I heard about them was from TjeeperMan, “Wow! They sound really cool!” They do sound pretty cool when they are spinning, fighting for traction, with no avail. The tires stayed on Sparky J's rig for about 10 minutes…and as I watched him dismount the Imex tires, I heard him say, “Looks like these are going up on the For Sale Forum tonight.” I'm sure they'll find a great home. G ood luck Sparky!!!

In conclusion, I would like to say, “Thank You” to Proline! Mark Pavidis from Proline Racing joined rccrawler.com, he asked questions…and he obviously listened to the many people asking for a 2.2 Moab type tire that would perform great and look great….and guess what? They delivered exactly what all of us wanted! Hmmmm….Let's see…..who else has done this? No one! These are simply the best performing tire you can buy for your 2.2 rig. They look all business and Proline nailed the height and width! If you want the combination of looks and performance, the 2.2 Moab 's are for you! G et ‘em!

Article written by Dirk Digler

Photos by Jason Hensel