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TRX4 Tyres & Rims

Tyres
Rims
Tyre/Rim Combinations (Offset)
Rim weights / Lead weights
inserts

The tyre/wheel combination supplied by Traxxas® with the TRX4 models is really excellent and is used by many drivers. However, the wheel is made of plastic (the tyres are glued on), which makes it quite light and means it has holes in the rim. Whilst this isn’t an issue when driving on dry terrain, it can become a nuisance when crossing water. Water collects inside the tyres.
The alternative is aluminium or steel beadlock rims. Here, the tyre is clamped into the rim, which consists of several parts.
Advantage: The inserts in the tyres stay dry and you get more weight onto the ground..
Disadvantage: Steel or aluminium rims cost from around 30 euros and can even reach three-figure sums (always for a set of 4).

TRX4 tires

The original Traxxas® tyres, with a diameter of 118 mm, are popular with many drivers. Good grip on most terrains and a versatile tread pattern make them a welcome choice. Anyone who doesn’t change the original rims and tyres certainly won’t go wrong – unless they do a lot of driving in water.

Tyres with a diameter of up to 120 mm can be fitted to the TRX4 without issue, although minor modifications are sometimes required. The range of accessories includes tyres that are true-to-scale replicas of the original 1:10 models. The lettering corresponds to that of the full-size models. There are also tyres available here that meet specific requirements. The company RC-HP offers a wide selection of tyres. However, which is the best tyre depends on personal preferences and expectations. Below are some pictures of different tread patterns. Well-known and popular tyres are available from Louise, Jconcepts, Proline, RC4WD, Injora and others.

Of course, there are many more varieties and companies; there’s a huge range on offer here.

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TRX4 rims

The TRX4 rim is made of plastic, to which the tyres are glued. If you want to remove the tyres from the rims, you have to ‘boil’ them off.
The rim serves its purpose, but does have the aforementioned drawbacks in that water can get inside. The inserts in the rim get wet, and the water then has to be removed from the tyre after the outing. Furthermore, changing the tyres involves a bit more effort. The real problem, however, is the weight; the plastic rims are actually quite light. When crawling, the downforce on the ground is not insignificant.

The solution for adding weight is metal rims. These can be made of aluminium or steel. They weigh around 70 grams, which is about 55 grams more than their plastic counterparts. As we have four of them fitted to the car, we have an extra 200 grams of mass at the bottom.

It’s also clear to see that aluminium or steel rims look considerably better.
Please note! With aluminium rims, it’s usually necessary to adjust the track width slightly, as the portal housings and the bolting arrangement of beadlock rims mean they no longer fit. Your trusted dealer will be happy to advise you on this.

Anyone opting for aluminium rims that are bolted from the inside will very often need to widen the track, as otherwise the differential housings will rub against the rim or even become completely blocked. If track spacers are fitted, this may alter the vehicle’s steering behaviour (causing the wheels to rub against the bodywork or the bumper). A modified bumper can really cause serious problems in this regard.

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TRX4 tyre and wheel combination

With the TRX Defender in particular, there’s always the problem that the wheel and tyre combination doesn’t really fit inside the wheel arch. This is, of course, partly down to the offset of the rims; if they already stick out quite far, you’ll eventually run into problems with the tyre rubbing against the wheel arch. The next issue is tyre width. The same problem applies here too: anyone fitting extremely wide tyres should be aware that the tyre will rub against the bodywork when turning.

So, if you prefer a slightly more scale-like look and want the rims and tyres to sit neatly within the wheel arches, you should look for a slightly narrower tyre and a rim with a greater inboard offset. Below are a few example images. Here, an RC4WD rim with zero offset is fitted with an Interoc SuperSwamper with a width of 39.5 and a height of 121 mm. The rim used is an RC4WD steel rim without a deep bed, fitted with a Traxxas® drive sprocket. The necessary stability for the very narrow tyre and the weight of the vehicle is achieved using the A.L.T.-Foams. Thanks to its narrow width, the tyre fits perfectly into the Defender’s wheel housings.

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Wheel weights / Lead weights

A particularly popular modification is ‘weighing down’ the rim. This involves gluing a layer of weights around the rim of the beadlock rims. The weight is increased, for example, by 60 grams per wheel (12 × 5 grams). This significantly increases the downforce on the ground.
It is also important to bear in mind that the steering forces required are increased, so the steering servo should be replaced when carrying out this modification (see steering servo). The inserts in the tyres are also compressed slightly as a result of this step.

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TRX4 inserts

You can think of the inserts in the tyres as air pressure. What is controlled by air pressure in real tyres is achieved here by a foam insert.
This means that the harder the insert, the harder the tyre is ‘inflated’. These inserts are available in various degrees of hardness from different manufacturers.
When strong pressure is applied to a tyre, the air is compressed, inevitably making the tyre firmer. As well as the standard foam rings that come with the vehicles or are already fitted, there are others on the market that are either made from different types of foam, or which, thanks to their special shape, provide the tyre with a particularly large contact area at the bottom, or achieve this effect through a special moulding process.

I have been using ALT-Foams for many years and am extremely satisfied with them. Thanks to their special design, the tyre gains exceptional grip on its outer surface. The inserts are ‘closed-cell’ and do not absorb water. These inserts have been specially developed for each tyre and are adapted to the vehicle’s weight.

The A.L.T.-Foams inserts from RC-HP have been on the market for several years now and are particularly popular on the competitive scene, not least because the manufacturer tailors the insoles to suit individual riders. They are made from a single-layer special foam with blind holes drilled into the inner sidewall. The inserts provide extreme downforce on the track, and as the closed side faces outwards, the manufacturer promises extremely good lateral support to prevent the tyres from wobbling. These inserts are available in versions tailored to most tyres available on the market. The A.L.T. Foams do not absorb water!

Proline produces the Dualstage, which are quite well known. In these, the rings that go inside the tyres are made up of two layers of different hardness. The inner layer, which sits against the rim, is hard to control flex, whilst the outer layer is soft to ensure ideal ground contact. The Dualstage tyres are currently used by a great many riders. They are available in two sizes, 1.9 and 2.2 inches, but there is no option to adjust them to different tyre widths, which can occasionally cause problems.

CrazyCrawler supplies Laserfoams. Anyone who has ever dabbled in off-roading will probably have come across the name.
The inserts resemble a cogwheel and, thanks to their profile, provide a combination of a secure fit on the rim and optimum grip on the ground. The inserts are available for different vehicle weights and tyre sizes and are very common in the crawling scene as they cater for the varying weights of the vehicles.