What is the proper way to clean/maintain a Super Tire and a Yellow Dog tire between heats? Does alcohol dry out either tire? Is it unusual for a part #1100 Yellow Dog tire to be high in the middle of the tire when mounted on the rim?
- Super Tires (R) Classics (silicones) are more sensitive to dust than Yellow Dog’s (urethane). For best performance, it is important for the track to be as clean as possible. There are several ways to clean any dust/debris off the tires (be sure to check your local rules to ensure you’re not breaking any rules using the following cleaning methods)
- Stick tape – typically shipping labels or duct tape. Simply roll the rear tires over the sticky tape surface to quickly remove any dust/debris which may have accumulated on the tires. Note that depending on the tape used, the tires may transfer some of the tape’s adhesive to the track surface. For this reason, some tracks/clubs do not allow this.
- Simple Green – readily available in the cleaning section of most grocery stores and home centers. Just wipe a thin coat with your fingers all the way around the tire and remove the excess with a clean, lint-free cloth. This does NOT leave any residue on the track. Leaves your fingers smelling clean too.
- Glass cleaner – available from the same sources as Simple Green. Apply in the same fashion. Generally evaporates a little quicker. Remove any excess with a clean, lint-free cloth. This does NOT leave any residue on the track.
- Spit – yep, not very high-tech but in a pinch it will clean your tires.
- Yellow Dog Super Tires (R) are generally less sensitive to dust/debris than the Super Tires (R) classics. If you do need to clean the tires, the same techniques described above will work just fine.
The 1100 Yellow Dog (or any other Super Tire for that matter) should have a flat contact patch when mounted properly on the wheel it was designed for. There are a few things to check:
- Ensure the car/wheel you are using is designed for the 1100 Yellow Dog tire (Scalextric Aston Martin DB9, Cadillac Northstart LMP, Ford GT, MG Lola, Nissan Skyline, TVR (Newer), Viper GT, Ferrari F430, Porsche RS Spyder)
- CAREFULLY inspect the entire outer surface of the wheel. Be sure to remove any flashing, burrs or other irregularities which may be present from when the wheel was manufactured. Use a hobby knife and some sandpaper to remove any irregularities that exist. Excess paint can also cause problems – particularly where the sides of the center ribs meet the “shoulders”. A sanding stick or some sandpaper can be used to remove the paint.
- Check the inside of the tire. Sometimes there will be a little flashing from the tire mold. If so, carefully remove it.
- Ensure the tire is seated properly on the wheel. Moisten (don’t drench) the inside of the tire before inserting it onto the wheel. Once the tire is mounted, slowly “knead” the tire between your thumb and forefinger as you slowly rotate the tire/wheel several times.
- If you still see a “crown” (only center portion of tire is making contact with track), the Yellow Dogs can be easily sanded. Start with 220 grit – check the contact patch frequently. Once the crown has been removed, progress to 400-600 grit sandpaper – sand lightly. Finish with some 1000 grit sandpaper if you have it available.
How do tell the difference between a silicone tire and a Yellow Dog tire? I know the earlier Yellow Dogs had a green dot. The newer ones don’t?
There are several ways to distinguish between the 2 compounds.
- The easiest way is to use your sense of smell! The Yellow Dogs have a very distinctive odor while the Classics (silicone) do not. I find this is the quickest/easiest way to make the distinction between the 2 tire types/compounds.
- Carefully examine the INSIDE sidewall of the tires. If you look very closely, the sidewalls on the Yellow Dogs appear to have a series of small round indentations – almost like pin pricks. The silicone tires tend to have a smoother sidewall with no/less small indentations.
- The Yellow Dog compound can be sanded MUCH easier than the Classic (silicone) compound. Profiling (round off) the edges of Yellow Dogs with sandpaper is much easier/quick than Classics (silicones).
Can I use Super Wheels on my stock slot cars, FLY, Ninco, Scalextric, Carrera and etc.?
You can use our plastic Delrin Super Wheels Z2 on most slot cars. Our aluminum set screw wheels work with all slot cars, but you will need to buy new rear axel assembly parts, (3/32 size axel, axel crown gear and axle bushings), Slot.it makes these parts. On 1/32 scale Slot.it cars, you can use Super Tires aluminum wheels without changing any other components. Chances are, there is a Super Tire designed to the manufacturer’s stock wheel that’s already on the car. These Super Tires come in both silicone and urethane. Basically speaking, by buying just a pair of Super Tires, you can go super fast and make your money last.
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