Infraction Check your GRP's

[BashingBrian]

This is just a reminder and warning to everybody to make sure you regularly check your tires..!!

I was going to use these on my almost finished speed project then I noticed this.. Would have been an instant blowout I think ???

S5 slicks....
I've no idea how this tyre ended up like that as it's only had one pack put through them.. ? my only consolation is, I normally buy in bulk direct from GRP in Italy so at least they are cheap..??

 

[jondilly1974]

This is just a reminder and warning to everybody to make sure you regularly check your tires..!!

I was going to use these on my almost finished speed project then I noticed this.. Would have been an instant blowout I think ???

S5 slicks....
I've no idea how this tyre ended up like that as it's only had one pack put through them.. ? my only consolation is, I normally buy in bulk direct from GRP in Italy so at least they are cheap..??

View attachment 88337View attachment 88336

This reminds me to order a few extra pairs. On the first run of my new S7s I had a diff gear shred and ended up with FWD on 8S and developed a flat spot. I’m not going to run that one above 100 again.

 

[bpl]

Do you guys automatically retire GRPs if they get beat up in a crash? I have a few where the tire is still fully glued to the wheel but the side of the tire is pretty beat up. All from blowover crashes at about 110-120 mph. Would you automatically chuck these?

I understand the safe route is to replace, but how risky is it to continue using? At what point do you trash them?

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Do you guys automatically retire GRPs if they get beat up in a crash? I have a few where the tire is still fully glued to the wheel but the side of the tire is pretty beat up. All from blowover crashes at about 110-120 mph. Would you automatically chuck these?

I understand the safe route is to replace, but how risky is it to continue using? At what point do you trash them?

If the sidewall of the tire and the plastic of the rim gets damaged then yes.
Some times you can sand down the side and re-glue.

2 more tips is to have your car up on blocks so the tires are not sitting on the ground supporting the car for weeks/months at a time. Potential for flat spotting. Another thing to do is check them for balance before each use.

 

[jondilly1974]

I will use them for street bashing after they don’t pass my “smell test” but I won’t be running them over 80mph ever again. Not worth the $9 to replace them. That $9 savings could easily cost me $100 in damages. Possibly $400 in an extreme case.

 

[BashingBrian]

I will use them for street bashing after they don’t pass my “smell test” but I won’t be running them over 80mph ever again. Not worth the $9 to replace them. That $9 savings could easily cost me $100 in damages. Possibly $400 in an extreme case.

Another thing to do is check them for balance before each use.

Talking of balancing... I've just done two sets..!!
OMG they were so out of balance from the factory it's ridiculous.. ? some of mine actually feel egg shaped they're so bad..???

That white set in my first post above will be my bashing set no speed use whatsoever..?

I'll post this too for those people who don't know about balancing....
There are plenty of vid's on YouTube about balancing, I think Raz does a good job explaining and showing the results and that's good enough for me..??

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Talking of balancing... I've just done two sets..!!
OMG they were so out of balance from the factory it's ridiculous.. ? some of mine actually feel egg shaped they're so bad..???

That white set in my first post above will be my bashing set no speed use whatsoever..?

I have had 2 that were so bad I just threw them in the trash...

 

[Notoriousone]

If the sidewall of the tire and the plastic of the rim gets damaged then yes.
Some times you can sand down the side and re-glue.

2 more tips is to have your car up on blocks so the tires are not sitting on the ground supporting the car for weeks/months at a time. Potential for flat spotting. Another thing to do is check them for balance before each use.

This is good advice. I keep my cars elevated off the ground when not running them. Not only to prevent flat spots in the tires from sitting, also to keep the shocks uncompressed. I don't even have carstands, I just use my empty ebay and amazon boxes of various sizes, works perfectly

 

[Timson]

I was shocked at how out of balance GRP’s can be… mine are seated poorly - wheel rim sticking out the side in places and tyre bulging beyond the rim in others when spinning they run like a buckled bicycle wheel!
One was so unbalanced I needed a 5g lead car (1:1) wheel weight to stop it wanting to shake the car to pieces! Otherwise I’d have needed so much clay /tape it would foul on the hubs!.. Not impressed!
I’ve sanded the rims and excess tyre off the sides as much as I dare and they’re Good enough for fast car park bashing now.. as for speed running, I can’t trust this set.

 

[BashingBrian]

I have since swapped to using lead tape for windows, it's thin but still has the weight of lead..
They clay either ends up too big or just comes off after one run

 

[LibertyMKiii]

I have since swapped to using lead tape for windows, it's thin but still has the weight of lead..

Also quite tasty as chewing gum

 

[Timson]

Great advice! Might look into that!

 

[SrC]

I know that the Hoons can be questionable and are less dependable at speeds over 100MPH. But I feel they require much less clay in general. What I use. I have gotten badly molded Hoons though. But I can get perfectly balanced Hoons out the package at times. Just luck as with the GRP's.
GRP's are the best overall. Some have stated the Harder GRP compounds have had more defect issues out the box? Anyone notice this?
Has anyone gotten perfectly balanced GRP's? Blow outs suck and cost me a new Lim roller one time. $400. Just more cost effective to get another Lim roller.

 

[Speed/267]

This is good advice. I keep my cars elevated off the ground when not running them. Not only to prevent flat spots in the tires from sitting, also to keep the shocks uncompressed. I don't even have carstands, I just use my empty ebay and amazon boxes of various sizes, works perfectlyView attachment 93083

That’s the same way I store all of mine! My wife is never short on Amazon boxes

I know that the Hoons can be questionable and are less dependable at speeds over 100MPH. But I feel they require much less clay in general. What I use. I have gotten badly molded Hoons though. But I can get perfectly balanced Hoons out the package at times. Just luck as with the GRP's.
GRP's are the best overall. Some have stated the Harder GRP compounds have had more defect issues out the box? Anyone notice this?
Has anyone gotten perfectly balanced GRP's? Blow outs suck and cost me a new Lim roller one time. $400. Just more cost effective to get another Lim roller.

I love using the gamma lead tape on the egg shaped grp’s. It’s so low profile and I can usually get them near perfect

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Another thing worth noting is generally I would hold the car and do a burn out or rip them up a bit in a parking lot and then balance them.
I had also wrapped sand paper around a wood block and set the throttle on the remote at 40% while the car was on a block and sanded the tires down.
Doing all of this will help get your initial balance to last a little longer versus balancing new out of the package tires.

 

[Timson]

Just ordered 5 Metres of lead window tape for £13 on evil-bay. Should be able to balance a few wheels with that!
Like how low profile this will keep it. (Nothing worse than piling up big mounds of clay or tape). Cheers guys

 

[Timson]

The lead window tape advice was a revelation - thank you!.. wheels perfectly balanced without all the the bulk inside the rim. Can’t do much about the runout , but at least it’s not gonna shake itself to death.