Tire Gluing/mounting by Nitronaught

[Nitronaught]

Dear Mods,
Please excuse the amount of pics, I thought it would be benificial. My son wanted to help he took the pics and helped with the mounting.

1. Turn all tires inside out. Clean them with naptha or denatured in the centers and around the beads of the tires.
2. If you do not have holes in your rims drill 2 of them directly accross from each other. I hide my holes on the inside of the rim behind a spoke so they can't be seen.


Also use about 150 grit sandpaper on the inside of the rim beads and take any lines left from the molding process off the edges of the bead area. Scuffing up the area where the CA glue is going to be will make a much better adhesion between the tire and rim... This is very important especially if you hate re-gluing tires.

3. Cut the edges off your foarms so they have 45 degree angles on the edges.



4. Put 2 wraps of duct tape, I just used this gorilla tape it works good too. This controls a lot of high speed balloning.
MAKE SURE THE ENDING EDGE IS AT THE SAME POINT AS THE LEADING EDGE OF THE TAPE.... This ensures a better balence of the tire.

[C6 Z06]

Looking good so far, Nitronaught!

[Nitronaught]

5. Once you have taped the tire turn them right side in and use your fingers to sort of walk inside the tire pushing the tape nice end evenly working out any folds and creases best as possible. I use my index and middle fingers to do this.
6. Once you have massaged the duct tape on the inside of the tire as best as you can tim to insert the foams. I normally fold mine 2 eims and then insert the side with the single fold in first.



7. Now message the foams into the tires making sure they are centered, have no folds and are nice and even.

8. Now work the bead onto the rims, massaging the tires by rolling them around, but not to worry if the beads are not sitting quite perfect yet.

9. I found using electrical tape as close to the edges and put it on tight forcing the bead to have even pressure. This will really help at glueing time.

[Nitronaught]

OK so now youre tires are mounted taped an you have the beads seated as best as you can making sure no part of the bead of the tire is showing.... Double check, cause next part is gluing.

7. Now, Start on the inside edges, this way you can practice how much glue you use. My I usually pull the bead away from the tire and just put a tiny bit use the tip to massage it out as much as possible leaving no blobs of glue anywhere.





Leave the tape on for at least 30 mins. I wait about an hour then flip them over and do the front of the tire beads.

Hope you enjoyed this little tire tutorial. This is just the way I do it. It works for me very well.

[aussiek2000]

great tutorial. this should be stickied.

[Nitronaught]

Looking good so far, Nitronaught!

I wasn't done. We are limited to 5 photos per post so I had to break it up.

Follow this method and you will have tires not ballooning excessively, they will not come unglued, they will not wobble at low or high speeds. I have done more tires than I care. But I guess when you get a good method it's not that bad. lolll

[Nitronaught]

great tutorial. this should be stickied.

I already have a tuning sticky.... Even though there was a lot of flack about getting it stickied, it's one of the top viewed posts, in fact they put it up in the FAQ section... After arceeguy refined it a little.....

All thes tips btw, I didn't create. I picked this up from others here and at the track.

If it wasn't for my older son helping me I would not have been able to post this..... He's a great kid...

[Nitronaught]

I already have a tuning sticky.... Even though there was a lot of flack about getting it stickied, it's one of the top viewed posts, in fact they put it up in the FAQ section... After arceeguy refined it a little.....

All thes tips btw, I didn't create. I picked this up from others here and at the track.

If it wasn't for my older son helping me I would not have been able to post this..... He's a great kid...

Besides, I would have to agree with the mods, most of them feel we have enough stickies.

I made it searchable by using the words Tire Gluing/Mounting.. If you can't search and find that I would suggest not dealing with Nitro RC's.... Maybe tooo dangerous. lolll.

[slow97]

what kind of glue do you use? where did you get it

[TeamDanger]

If it wasn't for my older son helping me I would not have been able to post this..... He's a great kid...

I think it is great to have a hobby that you can include your children in. Good job nitronaught. Your a great dad.

[Tuskony]

This should be a sticky in THIS thread.

It would be great to see the mods have a few stickies at the top of this page that are related to t-maxxs and are frequently asked!

This tutorial by Nitronaught adds value to this community!

[TeamDanger]

ok being fairly new to this site, here is my stupid question for the day. well maybe for just this moment. . what is a sticky?

[george16]

Great tutorial Rob.

By the way, what happened to your knuckles?

[speedymaxx]

Nice tutorial NN!!

A sticky is a page that stays on top of the thread just like the Gallery and 3.3 review on top the T-maxx thread!!!

[Nitronaught]

Great tutorial Rob.

By the way, what happened to your knuckles?

MIP header and me trying to relocate my shocks in the rear.... ouch lollll!

And thanks for the compliments. I had a little help from my older son. He will be at the track next Wesdnesday with Dad.

Hurts soooo Good.

[troutfisher9]

This is an excellent post. Thanks NN. Ive got a set of Sporttraxx for my new build and will be glueing them on a set of RPM clawz. This is going in my favorites list for future reference!

[Ashes38]

Neato. You can also use rubber bands in place of the electrical tape.

[Nitronaught]

Neato. You can also use rubber bands in place of the electrical tape.

YEah, but I cen get the electrical tape much closer to the edge of the tire, rubber bands want to pop off when they are that close.

Believe me I'v tried rubber bands, hose clamps, you name it... Electrical tape has been my best.... Well, for me anyways.

really important key is to massage that tape very slowly, small steps. And insert the faoms get them es evenly into the tire as possible before putting it on the rim.

Sanding the inner parts of the beads, makes the Green CA Glue bond really well, and it's better to do 2 thin caots of the clue rathe than too much of 1 coat where it my run and drip.

I'm tellin ya, I've done a lot of tires. This method works very solid.

[mudridin']

Awesome how-to write up. I followed you duct tape tip when I mounted my first set. I like the e-tape trick. I'll have to try it on my next set. Great info!

[cmckella]

very good post nitronaught. I agree this thread should be stickied.

[Overkill]

very good post nitronaught. I agree this thread should be stickied.

There is some excellent information on this forum and this is just a sample of one of them. The Mods should do a sticky, but label it "Bible" or something and then link all quality threads to this sticky Heres an example, this site was very popular and took away the pains of using the search and going through a million threads to find a simple fix.

[Ashes38]

There should be a sticky called "tips and tricks", with links to all different threads that cover stuff like this. If you look at the LST2 forum, they have a whole section devoted to tips and tricks. It's just a compilation of useful posts that contain tutorials, mods, maintenance, etc - you know, all the stuff we have to repeat on here 10x a day because it's not stickied.

[Martinarcher64]

The duct tape is a good idea. I will have to try that next time I mount tires.

[vette1]

This should absolutely be a sticky. I had to pm NN awhile back to get this info, because he had mentioned this in a thread and i could not for the life of me find the thread.

[gunny]

very nice bud. im actually going to use this way to do mine might take longer but i think it will be better for my bb

[djjr50]

NitroNaught,

Can I ask you why cutting the foams helps? I have a set of the Losi Zombie Max tires with the new yellow foams that Bandit_Kaine mentioned in the To Duct Tape, or Not to Duct Tape forum which he indicated that they might be pretty firm. Cutting the 45 angle off the foams...are they just to make them fit better?

Also, duct taping them helps ballooning but does it affect ride/traction? Does it make the tire firmer? I am a basher and figured that I would want some flexibility in the tire's cross section to grip uneven terrain, especially since the yellow foams are probably firmer than the old ones.

Any thoughts on this is welcome, as I am preparing to glue the tires up tomorrow.

[Wildjones]

Dijr50, heres a quick update of the zombie maxx tires that I bought a few months back... I decided to cut the foams with the forty five degree angle because I fount that the foams seated themselves better that way.

Go ahead and duct tape the tires too. The Zombie Maxx tires have a ton of grip and by using duct tape, all you are doing is making sure that the tires dont expand under high rpms. It may take a few runs for the tires to set themselves up. I found that during the first tank, the wheels had a bit of a wobble to them, but after the second tank the wobble was gone and they ride nice and smooth now.

[djjr50]

Thanks, Wildjones! I cut the foams, and tape the insides. Now, I am putting them on and gluing them. These tires seem to be directional...what way do you have them pointing? This is how I think they should go...any objections?


Oh...how do you get CA glue off of you? Dont tell me I have to boil my finger...

[Wildjones]

That is how I set them up, and wow do they hook up good!

Haha, funny that you mention getting CA glue off of your fingers. I got some CA on my index finger, and before I had realized it, my index finger and middle finger were stuck together . I just used some goof off really quickly and managed to pull my fingers apart. The remnants of the CA glue wore away after I washed my hands over the next few days.

[jrfenley]

I agree the Zombie maxx tires are awesome, I cut the foams and taped the tires and the difference between them and stock is amazing. djjr50 that is the direction I have mine facing as well.

[djjr50]

Thanks for the verification! I cant wait to fire her up and see for myself the difference!

Thank goodness I only got glue on one finger. Its on my left pointer, which makes it weird whenever I touch anything! Its like a buffer!

[paoutdoorsman]

Nitronaught, what is the purpose of drilling the two holes on the inside of the rim? Just curious...

[Overkill]

Oh...how do you get CA glue off of you? Dont tell me I have to boil my finger...

Now that made me laugh. It will come off in the shower with soap and water after a couple of days. Or you could make it easier by putting moisturiser on your hands before you commence glueing. I do this before I paint aswell, it acts like a cheap barrier sheild

[Wildjones]

Nitronaught, what is the purpose of drilling the two holes on the inside of the rim? Just curious...

It allows the foams to dry if you some how manage to get water inside as well as allow the tires to "breathe." If you did not drill the holes and you glued the tire and later tried to push on the rubber you would face resistance (albeit a small amount) from the air within the tire. That last sentence I am not too sure about, thats what the guy at my LHS told us back when we first got our trucks...

[Nitronaught]

Nitronaught, what is the purpose of drilling the two holes on the inside of the rim? Just curious...

The purpose is to let the tire breath. The amount of rpms those wheels are spinning at and the certrifical force makes the tire want to stretch/balloon. IF you do not let the tire breathe than the centrifical force can cause the tire to literally implode by the vaccume created inside the tire when the tire is ballooned or it can cause the ca glue to give way but something will have to give. It also allows your tires to act as more of a shock absorber when landing off a jump, or a rough surface. Get's rid of the bouncy bouncy bouncy from the tire....

As far as removing the glue from your fingers? Nail polish remover, goof off, (both also known as acetone) does the job nicely, also if you have surgeons gloves on before you glue it works pretty well too. If you are careful, use the glue at room temperature and go slowly you shouldn't get any on your fingers. Note: nail polish remover, goof off and acetone will remove any chrome finish to the wheels, so don't use them on your rims if they are chromed or have a finish of any kind.

djjr50, the newer foams from Proline are molded so if you are using molded foams no cutting is needed. The cutting of the foams is to make a better fit. Your tires are not a 90 degree angle on the edges, but the foams in th package are, you are just making them fit correctly. The duct tape on the inside is not that stiff, but has cords in them. So it will allow the tire to keep pretty much the same amount of contact to the ground so there is no traction loss. The tape acts like the belts inside 1:1 car tires have, they help the tire retain it's shape at high rpm's.

Hope this helps. And thanks for all the compliments.... I have gotten a lot of good help on this forum. Just my way of spreading the wealth around.

[djjr50]

Thanks all! The CA is almost completely off of my finger and my tires look good! I can see a few spots where somehow I got more glue on the tire wall than on the bead, but it will suffice. This is a good thread!

I agree with you, Nitronaught! Once you apply the tape, it isnt so stiff. So no worries about that anymore. Now, if only I can find a 17mm wrench that can fit in the snug hole of my Thunder Tiger rims...

[Wildjones]

Deep socket and Ratchet of your chosen manufacturer

Snap-On for me

[Buck_2]

Nice write up NN!

Q: I notice you do not call out making holes in the tires themselves (presumably to let dirt out that may get in), are they already in your tires or do you not feel that's a good practice? Will holes in the tread area really let dirt out?

[jrfenley]

Nice write up NN!

Q: I notice you do not call out making holes in the tires themselves (presumably to let dirt out that may get in), are they already in your tires or do you not feel that's a good practice? Will holes in the tread area really let dirt out?

I would think holes in the actual tires would make them a lot more prone to tearing.

[Nitronaught]

Nice write up NN!

Q: I notice you do not call out making holes in the tires themselves (presumably to let dirt out that may get in), are they already in your tires or do you not feel that's a good practice? Will holes in the tread area really let dirt out?

Some people put holes in their tires, but that's not as much for the breathing as it is to let out water. For all those who get their TMAXX's wet enough to get water in them.

My TMAXX is not waterproofed and I would do that if I was doing heavy mudding. Otherwise no need to be drilling holes in the tires. Also if you do drill holes in the tires I highly recommend doing it before mounting them. Drilling them when mounted risks the drill bit of catching on the foams on the inside and pulling them or twisting the foams making them uneven and then you will have problems getting them nice and round again.
Dirt does not get in the tires unless there is a way for the dirt to get in them, same for the water, you would have to get the tires submerged to get the water in, if you want to do that I've seen it done. I have come to the point where the nibs of my Crimefighters MTRs or my Holeshots MTR's (now they wear out quick those Holeshots) I've boiled the old ones off and I did not find any accumulation of dirt in there, so I'm happy with the method I use.