FFR2608

Who has the rubber for the road wheels and return rollers? Mine are cracked and need replacement. I am located in the U.S.


D

fsciorelli

FFR2608,

How long have you had your Asiatm roadwheels? I have had a concern about aging of the rubber.

Frank

SCAT PATTON

Arent yours new?

FFR2608

Less than a year....Return rollers are shot. Main wheels are showing signs of cracking. If I removed them for painting, they would need to be replaced..





D

SCAT PATTON

Thats not right; they should replace those at no charge.

candycab

I was thinking if you can find the correct rubber thickness cutting your own might be the way to go

This may be worth a look

http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/rubber-sheets-and-strips/rubber/raw-materials/ecatalog/N-c1z

Panther G

Why, who know's what he has been running his tank over. If he is running in gravel or sand that is going to happen. It has been stated many times that these tanks don't like those conditions even with the best running gear. Maybe he used something on them to clean them that eat the rubber . Not enough info to make a general statement like that. I want too know WHATcausedit to happen in the first place.

FFR2608

This is my 5th tank and the Tamiya rubber holds up to almost anything. This rubber is nowhere near the quality of Tamiya.
Rubber was cracked within a month of owning it. Tank is not built yet. Has about 200 feet of asphalt and hard dirt running only.
Maybe the compound has been improved since I purchased it or maybe mine was sitting for a long time before I bought it. I have
heard about this problem before. Road wheel cracks are not showing up in the photos but they are there...

As for cutting my own...The shape is very complex and there are 30 to do so that is probably not an option. I'm sure I could get them through Asiatam but have no idea how to communicate with them.

D

Panther G

Thats the kind of info i'm looking for. I havent heard that the rubber was a problem. I know a few guys with those hulls without any issues. Try WelshDragon or Phil. Who did you buy the hull from. Don't say E-bay cause if you did you may be  well you know what. May have been a bad set. May have been exposed too a high heat source some time along there path from factory to you. Dont know. But i am concerned because I want to buy this hull for my PzIII eventually.

Panther G

Mato may possibly be able to get them also, they seem to be able to get some of the odd problem stuff.

SCAT PATTON

I was think of getting the Asiatam kit to upgrade my PZIII, not so sure now.

Ex_Pat_Tanker

I've seen this happen to rubber tires (less than a year old) about this time last year too.
I'd recommend folks stick to the plastic HL wheels and consider upgrading them with metal arms and bearings instead.

candycab

Cutting bye hand may be an issue but any shop with a Water Jet or possibly a Laser Etching machine could cut dozens of them no matter how complex in a few minutes probably for a few bucks in their spare time. Seems like most guys I've met who own these machines love to do stuff like this since its not the normal "job"

However you go with this I wish you luck  

taoJ

How would you cut the groove with a water jet or a laser etching machine? it would need to be at least 4 axis ? Ithink making a mold then casting your own in silicone based would be better, pure silicone tends to shread once torn, I would suggest anyone with "rubber" wheels give them a good soaking in some high quality silicone spray ,this with keep the "rubber" from drying out.

candycab

Do the wheels have an inner rib that goes up into the tire ? If so that could be shaved down and the tires epoxied etc onto the wheel. Probably more work than its worth but if you couldn't get replacements easily it looks like it would be worth it, but then I like to tinker with such things

Wight

My return rollers came cracked from new,but the road wheels are ok,so far.
I used superglue (cyano) to glue the worst of them back together but the rest of the tyre is still slowly perishing away on it's own.
I would imagine it's going to be worse for you guys in hotter climates.

sassgrunt

My Feedback: (1)

After reading this thread, I went and looked at the two Asiatam hulls I bought a little over a year ago. One is for a Panzer III, and the other for a Stug III - I'm still in the process of building both of them, so neither has been run at all. Out of the 48 rubber tires for the roadwheels, about 6 of them have visible cracks developing from just being on the rim, and I'm afraid to flex any of the others to see if they're cracked, too. (Although I'll have to eventually remove them when it's time to paint).

The return rollers on the Panzer III has 11 out of 12 tires split all the way through! Neither one has ever been outside, and the shelf they sit on isn't in direct sunlight. I replaced the return rollers on the Stug with the metal aftermarket wheels, and gave the return rolers to a friend for his Panzer III.

There must be a problem with the rubber compound that they're using, because I have Tamiya Sherman and Leopard tanks that are over 20 years old, and are just starting to show signs of the rubber cracking. -Mike

Panther F

Wow, I wonder what mine look like just sitting in the box?

I might try some ArmorAll or some rubber/vinyl dressing.


- Jeff

sassgrunt

My Feedback: (1)

I remember reading about the guys who fly those indoor rubber-band-powered airplanes, and that they soak the rubber in some kind of glycerin solution to keep them from drying out and cracking. I don't know if that's an option to preserve these tires in the long run - sounds pretty messy.

Here in Hawaii, the rubber straps for our dive masks & fins get old and cracks too, but the shops sell replacement straps because of that.

I'd hate to think that we have to buy replacement rubber tires from Asiatam every year or two to fix this problem. I bought these hulls because they were so much better than the stock ones, and was so happy with the quality that I also bought two of their KV hulls. I have been absolutely thrilled with the purchase up until now.