Mounting your own tires...

[Slik]

So, what type of glue do you all use? Whats the best way to do it, is it worth it, what kinda tire doughnuts do you use?

[weedracer]

You use contact cement to mount them to the rims.

I like to put the rim on an old axle so I dont get the gunk all over me.

Coat both surfaces, let it dry and dunk them in acetone or lacquer thinner.

This not only reactivates the glue, but makes everything slippery so it will slide together.

You have to be quick about it though, as the glue will "grab" rather quickly.

When dry, true as usual on a Hudy or whatever you have.

http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Zippity]

I agree 100% with what Weed said :)


I use Piranha donuts.

[Slik]

So your saying, contact cement the rim, and the tire, dunk both, then slide both togeather, let dry?

[eap9]

You can also use hair shampoo mixed with a little water to make a slippery solution that you immerse the donut and the rim which has been coated with contact cement.

Only disadvantage is you have to wait for a while for the tires to dry out before truing.

[Milton Gamble]

I've used Weldwood contact cement from Walmart, about $5 for a quart. Most of the time required is in the grinding / truing operation. The softer "fish" type rubber takes longer than the hard wonder rubber used in wingcar racing. Total time for a pair using a Hudy Tire Truer is about 20 - 30 minutes when I include time to check old hubs ( concentricity, setscrew threads, removing old donuts, and cleaning). Use a mask to prevent inhaling the rubber dust......I have a friend who had some serious sinus and lung congestion from inhaling the stuff. Unless you don't have anything else productive to do it's not worth it, you may only save 5 or 6 bucks a pair.

[ryan540]

we have some "Ados" F2 glue sticking pirahna or super naturals donuts onto rims. I also use and old axle to put the rim on but i don't use solvents of anytype to slide the rubber onto the rims.

[Foamy]

If rims are the same OD,mount them on a 1 foot length of music wire to glue them.
Use a *good* brand of contact cement,like 3M.
After they dry for a day,dip tire and rim in lacquer thinner and slide together.
Acetone sets too quick,sometimes donut sticks before properly positioned.
Dry for a day and happy grinding!

oh yeah...rig up a vacuum to suck up the dust-n-fumes...and you didn't hear it from me...

[RocketRod]

You let the contact cement dry for a day before dipping in lacquer thinner? I had heard that you just let it flash like the directions say and then dip in lacquer thinner

[eap9]

Dunking the donut in laquer thinner will not ruin it or make the rubber expand?

One more question: when you slide the rim which end to you slide in first? I have always had some problems with the tire ungluing from the outer end of the rim.

[Overdrive]

I always try to put 2 coats on the rims with a 1 day dry time between coats. The object being to get a thick layer of glue on the rim. Laquer thinner will soften it up long enough to get it to stick after it evaporates. It works for me....

Overdrive

P.S. Anybody ever figuire out what the comercial name of wonder rubber is?

[weedracer]

It's not necessary to wait overnight for the contact cement to dry prior to mounting the rubber on the rim.

In fact, according to accepted practice, it can become too dry for it's intended purpose, and may not adhere at all.

The dunking in solvent reactivates the glue for a short while, so it's a moot point in a way, but all that waiting is a waste of time.

You should wait for the assembled product to dry though.....sometimes out of round tires result if trued too soon...it seems that as they dry after being made round, they can go a bit out of shape.

Also, as in most situations where you're gluing two things together, you should strive to use as little adhesive as possible to get the job done.

Too much glue on the rim can lead to out of balance tires......the roundness is no more or less important than balance when spinning at hi RPM.

http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smokin.gif

P.S. I recently found a half ounce bottle of Weldwood contact cement at a local hardware store.......it even has a perfect plastic applicator attached to the underside of the cap.:)

[Foamy]

Originally posted by weedracer
It's not necessary to wait overnight for the contact cement to dry prior to mounting the rubber on the rim.

In fact, according to accepted practice, it can become too dry for it's intended purpose, and may not adhere at all.

The dunking in solvent reactivates the glue for a short while, so it's a moot point in a way, but all that waiting is a waste of time.

You should wait for the assembled product to dry though.....sometimes out of round tires result if trued too soon...it seems that as they dry after being made round, they can go a bit out of shape.


As one who has done *Thousands* of tires,it has been *my* experience that rims glued in the morning,rubber mounted that afternoon tends to scrape off a good portion of the glue,causing the tires to come off the rims when on the track.
Thats why I let glue dry for a day.
I have had glued rims sit in a box for three or four months and were perfectly fine.
I would glue several hundred pair at one time.
As long as the glue is the same color as when applied,they will work fine.

[weedracer]

I agree that waiting doesn't hurt things any, I just said its not a requirement.

The solvent reactivation is the key.....what I meant by "accepted practice" pertained to the glue's intended use for things like formica etc. If allowed to over dry, it will not bond anymore, at least not with any long term reliability.

Interesting also that you say that tires come off the rim, the ones I have been making have been used on GP 7 cars for qualifying only (Riggen Rubber).....I figure if they're not blowing off the rim under those circumstances, they never will.

I haven't done *thousands* of them, but a few dozen successes is indicator enough for me.

http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smokin.gif

[Slik]

Sounds good guys,

Now who selles the best fish rubber doughnuts? JK? FastOnes?... for GP10 and GTP racing...

[Bobhardt]

Weed,
I saw the pictures of the Riggen doughnuts in the Nats gallery.( Jeremy Kranes earplugs) What makes these tires good qualifiers? Are they extremely hard? I'm just curious. Thanks...

[weedracer]

I'm sure there are more experienced cobalt racers out there who will shed more light on this, but........

The Riggen rubber is actually very soft and also incredibly tacky for lack of a better word.

I guess these qualities make it possible to retain traction at those ridiculous speeds.

Beyond that I only know that it works like nobody's business and as a result is traded like heroin sometimes...LOL.

http://www.ezboard.com/intl/aenglish/images/emoticons/smokin.gif

P.S. It's also clearly faster than the other qualifying rubber out there like the SRT for instance.

[oldweirdherald]

Not only is that old "Riggen" rubber the hot ticket lately, but it pretty much made my trip to the Nats possible this year, making OWH's "Almost Live" coverage a reality.

Being a notorious packrat finally paid off for me, as much of the recently rediscovered "Riggen" rubber came from an old stockpile I uncovered. Who'd a thunk that the stuff I've been using for knee pads while turn marshalling in the basement for 30+ years would now be "traded like heroin" and sought after by top pros to turn such incredibly fast lap times???

"It's like a drug, man"...

Not only that, but the Jeremy K. earplugs gained considerable value at this year's Nats. At the Barnburner you'd get a free pair of Jeremy K. earplugs with each $10 pair of orange donuts... at the Nats, it was the earplugs that were worth the $10, and the orange rubber was tossed in for free. ;)

It was not the allmighty cure-all for all situations, however, as during the Pro Group 7 main event it was proven that good ol' duct tape was much more effective when applied to Jeremy's mouth, then using the orange rubber earplugs.

Perhaps for next year's Nats, I'll have to uncover a secret stash of Orange Duct Tape.....

[Fleming]

where can you buy the donuts, what manufacturer

[oldweirdherald]

The orange donuts mentioned by Weed above are from the premium stash of original 1970 rubber, commonly referred to as "Riggen" rubber (Riggen was one of the brands that sold tires made from it in the 1970's), that was recently uncovered here at the OWH Publishing Empire HQ here in Seattle (in other words... in my dad's basement).

I am hoarding my remaining supply until the price goes up, or I get real hungry again (whichever comes first), but there is a limited supply of the treasured donuts still in the counter for sale at Port Jeff Raceway still priced at $10 per pair.

Port Jeff Raceway (http://www.portjeffraceway.com)

I'd expect a rush on them after my posting this, so I wouldn't drag my butt if I were you, if you need them, as the supply is growing thinner and more costly as they get grabbed up.

There are also orange tires, all rimmed & cut on waffled rims, for $25 per pair. I believe Buena Park Raceway, and possibly Port Jeff Raceway, may still have some of these still on hand.

Both the mounted tires and donuts were selling like condoms at a hooker convention at the Nats. :D