Purple, Pink, Grey, Green, R4, F3, Black, Magenta....

What are all these names for foam tires? HELP!

The folks here at CRC are here to explain it all. Read this summary to better understand the various names that tire manufactures attach to the rubber. This will help you decide which tire you need and why.

Tires are grouped into what we call "families". These groups are designated based on chemical compounds of the actual rubber/foam mix.

Lets take a look.......

Japanese F

The Japanese rubber primarily used for front tires on asphalt is called Japanese "F". This rubber is tough as nails with a very high content of rubber and less foam. It wears like iron and is difficult to true and cut. The grip is fairly good but the tough design of the rubber prevents it from biting the surface like some other compounds. Rather than wear off in small chunks or pebbles of foam, this tire is known to melt and get very sticky under high heat. This makes this compound a great choice for asphalt, but not a good choice for carpet. The high friction of carpet racing causes these tires to get "sticky" and pick up grip during the race. If pushed even further, instead of wearing down, this rubber develops a sticky surface picking up debris and actually lowering grip levels.

Japanese R

The Japanese rubber typically used for rear tires is Japanese "R" rubber. This rubber has small pore structure and is very high grip and low wear. The rubber is used on the front in carpet racing and as a rear in asphalt racing. This rubber wears more than "F" type, but is much tougher than American or European rubber. When the rubber cures very hard, it makes for an excellent front tire.

Japanese C

Japanese C rubber is typically used for carpet racing. The foam is very light with decent wear. It is tougher than American foam and also has better grip. It does not last as long as F or R rubber.

American Rubber

Foam rubber dates back to the early days of racing on foam rubber tires. The foam rubber is very affordable. The compound provides decent grip but the life is low as they are typically high wear. Common names for America foam is green, blue, orange, yellow.

European/Italian

The Europeans and their love of 1/8th scale gas racing pushed the limits of American foam tires. The European (especially the Italian) companies were eager to find a better tire with more grip and less wear to handle the horsepower of the .21 engines that they were producing. The result is a unique "wet" dense rubber that provides more grip than American rubber on asphalt. The European rubber doesn't work very well for carpet racing. It is also the heaviest of the foam rubber tires.

Combinations

Sometimes, combining thin rings of 2 different rubber types will give performance features unique to only a dual compound tire. The Orange/Purple combination on the front of a touring car is known as CRC Dual X-firm. These are great for the front on Carpet. Other manufactures designations are Plaid and Orange/purple.

CRC tire Suggestions

Electric Touring Car - White Dished Wheel

Electric Touring Car - Yellow 5-Spoke Star Wheel

Nitro Touring Car - White Dished Wheel

Nitro Touring Car - Yellow 5-Spoke Star Wheel

1/12th Scale