homebrew tyres

[kenneth]

I have just completed my first 2 sets of silicone tyre molds today, FLY classic & Ninco ribbed Touring car.
I have just removed the new tyres used to make the molds, the Ninco brand is seen clearly as well as the tyre size in the mold , the FLY classic tread has been copied identically as well.
On Wednesday night the Urethane rubber shoreA30 compound will go into the mold and i can show them off Saturday night at Johns, but the tyres won`t be driveable for 2 weeks due to room temp curing time & not having something i can keep them at a constant 65 C for 4 hrs for quick curing.
SO far all is going to plan! stay tuned for more.

[wixwacing]

Hi Jordan,

A simple solution for a 'low bake' oven is the age old trick of putting a low wattage light bulb in a suitable metal container or cabinet.. You can regulate the temperature by changing the bulb wattage or simply make a sliding slit vent in the top and stick one of those colour changing strips (jaycar) on the outside at the internal shelf height, and adjust the temp with the sliding vent (and holes in the bottom of course). We used a similar technique for keeping photocopier paper dry in the long damp winter months in Cornwall (UK) Problem solvered!!

[kenneth]

A second batch of tyres have been cast and seem to be a lot better than the green ones that i took to johns, they have a `dryer` feel to them as opposed to the first lot.
The first batch are `drying ` out as well, slowly but surely.
Tomorrow i will cast another batch, and if the current molds go well, it will make a dozen pair of molds all well and ready for work.
I will post a list of tyre molds available when all are done.
i will post pics tomorrow.

[wixwacing]

Hi Jordan

Can you do a batch to fit a '92 Volvo 940? My Bridgestones are carp!

[kenneth]

Here are some pics so far.
I just poured some more silicone oomoo30 for the molds & also made some reoflex30 urethane for 8 pairs of different tyres, all are curing as i type.

[Cyph]

Very interesting.

So these are silicone beasties are they? If they are, not allowed to run silicones down here, so I'll have to settle for MJKs, unless you're making some out of something similar to MJK :)

Cheers,

Rob

[kenneth]

HI Rob
The tyre mold is Silicone but the tyres are very similar to what MJK make.
My `homebrew` tyres are made from reoflex urethane rubber compound that has a durometer rating of shore A30, eg. a rubber band is A35.
BRM make a shore A15 rated tyre which i have tried and they `marble` so to speak like real 1:1 racing tyres, i only got about 800 laps out of 1 set, so they are pretty soft, and as they wear chunks come off them if they go too far off the track.
At a guess i would put MJKs at about Shore A40.
I had my choice of picking anything from A15 to A50, which would be too hard.
You can buy the stuff from a place in Adelaide via mail order. But to get molds you need to make them yourself from the silicone you can get from them as well, also the black tint ( any colour is available)
Both products come 2 part liquids that need to be combined in equal volumes, you have a bout 20mins pot of the silicone and about 25 for the rubber, depending on weather temp. the ideal temp for this stuff is 23 C. If you want any more info let me know.

[kenneth]

Here is a list of molds that are finished and can do some casts of tyres.
All are rear tyre sets. If the tyre had tread mine will too.

Scaley A1 GP & some old F1 ( i know they fit A1, 90`s F1 and my old Tyrell )
Fly classic with tread
Ninco Classic 20 x 7 with tread
Ninco NC1 ribbed tyres ( should fit most NC1 rally cars also)
Scaley Porsche RS Spyder LMP2 ( should fit Audi scaley R10)
SCX Renault Alpine with tread (should also fit scaley mini and other similar small wheels)
Scaley Camaro & Mustang i assume
SCX type 7 slick (scx rally, DTM cars etc)
Carrera Peugeot 908 - may fit other carrera wheels
Ninco Porsche GT3 - 21x11
Scaley Porsche GT3
FLY M1 21x14 should fit some other FLY wheels & carrera RSR,935 & some group 5 cars..
LMP 21x12 - will fit some old SCX 911 porsches, various LMP eg scaley Cadillac,Proslot etc

2 more molds are to be made - they are scaley V8 & SCX renault 5 - but i will see how these go - or if anyone has some suggestions that the above will fit the V8s another will be made.
will have some cured ones at eggy`s so you can see the finished product that doesn`t feel like chewing gum!

[ironmonger]

Hello Ken,
I am very interested in your process of tyre making.
I run tether cars (diesel and glow engined tethered racers that are raced in a circle), but I need tyres and finding or newly made tyres is very hard as it is a fringe hobby.
So I have decided to make my own tyres, I will be making a two part mold from Ali, hoping to find a suitable mixture that I can inject onto my mold, leave to set, then open so that the tyre can be removed. This I hope to repeat many times over for making new tyres for myself and friends.

I have looked on the internet, but am finding it hard to find a supplier in the UK for the same compound you used, as I am completely new and ignorant to urethane rubbers and their properties, can you suggest what I should be looking at and where I can find a supplier that will ship to the UK.

My tether cars weigh anywhere from 0.5Kg to 5Kg in weight, travel at 40 to just over 100mph in a circle, I can run solid or hollow moulded tyres, the solid tyres are easier to make the molds for. The tyres range from soft to hard wearing rubber type compounds and wear quite fast, but life and wear is not much of an issue if I could make my own tyres.

Any advice would be greatly received!

Best regards, Paul.