Indoor Tire Recommendations 1:10 Off-Road

Indoor RC Off-Road is a fast game. Lap times are often shorter than in outdoor and tracks have a very high grip as there is no loose material such as sand or dust in the track surface.

Most common indoor surface materials for 1:10 Off-Road racing are concrete or carpet. With buggies the EOS (European Offroad Series) and Astroturf (Indoor golf carpet) types of carpets are very common. 

EOS-carpet (see pic above) is usually grayish and it has thick, stand up fibers to give a lots of contact surface for tires. 

Astroturf (Artifical Turf) is regular indoor golf mat and very often green in color. Artificial Grass carpet used in RC Racing has shorter type of piles. Astroturf can be also used in outdoor tracks but is very slippery when wet!

Concrete has typically low friction and require tires that have soft compound and high grip.

Selecting a right tire for right surface is very important and while there is no one single best tire to choose, here are some guidelines and tips:

• Tire selection is always determined by the least grip area of the track.
• When racing in carpet, one of the most important things is to maximize the contact surface between the tire and track. This is why recommended tire is often the small spiked pin tire.
• Remember that while on carpet plenty of grip is needed, there is also a limit as too much of grip can throw your car upside down. To prevent this, you can make your car ride height lower or modify your tires removing the pins from the outer wall.
• Tracks and conditions vary a lot! Ask about local preferences from your club

Cut Staggers in front, Mini Pins in the rear. Great basic tire setup for indoor racing! Surface in the pic is Astroturf

The Right Grip

Tire is the only contact surface between your car and the track. Finding the "right grip" depends a lot about the track itself including the surface material and the general condition of the track. 

Selected tires and other setups like ride height and response of the shocks give your car the grip and the general "feel" for the driving. Finding the right setup and tire selection may take some time but when you find the right setting for the track you can expect much faster lap times.

General advice should be that less grip the surface has to offer, more contact area should be found from the tire. 

Anyhow, too much grip is not good either as it will cause your car to roll over in corners. To prevent this make your ride height lower, lower profile tire or remove pins from the sidewalls of the tires. 

Finding the Right Grip is more than tires. Adjust your ride height lower to keep it in track! 

About Compounds

More soft the selected compound, more better is the grip. It also unfortunately means that tire will wear out in shorter time. Hard compound tire has longer life but does not offer such good grip. 

Keep in mind that selection of the compound is more relative to the condition of the track that the surface itself. For low traction tracks like concrete always select a softer type of compound.

Every manufacturer has their own system to mark the tire compounds, here are few examples from our represented brands:

From Schumacher:

From JConcepts:

EuroRC Indoor Racing Team Recommendations for 1:10 Carpet Off-Road:

Carpet 2WD

Front: Schumacher Cut Stagger Low Profile Slim

Rear: Schumacher Mini Dart Rear (Astro) or Schumacher Cactus Rear (EOS)

Carpet 4WD

Front: Schumacher Cut Stagger Rib Wide or Schumacher Cactus Fusion

Rear: Schumacher Mini Dart Rear (Astro) or Schumacher Cactus Rear (EOS)

Concrete 2WD

Front: Schumacher Cut Stagger Low Profile Slim  or Schumacher Mini Pin Slim

Rear: Schumacher Mini Pin

Concrete 4WD

Front: Schumacher Cut Stagger Rib Wide or Schumacher Mini Pin Front

Rear: Schumacher Mini Pin Rear

Find our selection of 1:10 RC Off-Road Racing Tires here