[Maxxmaster96]

For those who own a monster truck and want to get into racing but don't have racing tires, here's a way to make those stock tires somewhat race worthy. A few things to say before though. This is for someone who wants to get into friendly racing and not break the bank due to expensive tires. If you already have racing tires this does not apply to you as those tires have been engineered for racing. This apply's mainly to monster trucks that have big, bulky offroad tires. Anyway, let's get started. Tools: you are going to need a sharpie marker, a ruler, a big brush, a cloth to work on and a dremel tool with a bit exactly like this (or at least close to this): Attachment 7131
This bit cuts and carves the rubber very well and it is very precise. To carve grooves or designs, use a bit kind of like a very small cutting wheel. Now that you have all of the materials, find yourself a good, clean work place with absolutly NO important things around such as liquids, powertools etc. Put your cloth down on the table then take one wheel off and set it down. Now, before you even think about touching the dremel tool, there is alot of info you have to obtain first. First, consider how you drive on the track. Consider how you take turns, (Speed/acceleration/deceleration coming in, during and coming out and also your throttle, brake and steering movements coming in, during and coming out) and how you jump (Speed/acceleration/deceleration before, during and after and throttle/brake movements before, during, and after) Simply put, determine your driving style. Then, note some problems that occur while driving with that style. Things like: does the car get up on 2 wheels in the turns? Does it spin out when you give it throttle out of a turn? Are you forced to change your driving style in order to keep the car under control? Once you have that info, base the following on that info: How far you are going to cut in from the side wall?, how are you going to cut the treads (angle, length, grooves, design) where are you going to cut? (Position on the tire/treads) which treads are you going to cut? (every tread, every other tread, left then right tread etc.) and what tires are you going to cut? Your goal at the end is to fix all if not most of the driving problems you faced earlier. Keep in mind though, that alot of the problems you might be facing could be becuase of the suspension setup, diff setup, gearing, or possibly radio setup. Regardless, tires are still a key part in the handling of the car. One thing I do suggest though, is if you are not sure how to modify the tire in order to fix your problems, go to your hobby shop and ask them for help. Explain to them very clearly what you are doing and please mention that you are not there to buy new tires, just to ask for help. Tell them all of your problems, your car setup (cuz it could be just your setup, not your tires), the track layout and dirt, and what you should do to fix those problems. Also mention your driving style so that they know what modifications are best for your car. Anyway, now that you've got all the facts, it's finally time to measure and carve away. Measure all of your distances:
Attachment 7133
Then get some safety goggles and a small mask to cover your mouth and your ready. Now, I know I should have mentioned this earlier but I guess I'll do it now. When doing these modifications, you have to consider that once you cut, there is not turning back, so if you mess up, you could end up with a poor handling tire or even a ruined tire. I highly recommend modifying in little bits and then testing instead of cutting off half of the tire and then finding out that it was worse than before. Anyway, you can go ahead and cut now. Do your cuts in a slow, smooth, continuous motion until you start getting the design you want. Put the dremel at about 1/2 to 3/4 power, never at full, and always watch your fingers! You might want to wipe away the excess rubber after every cut, and lift the cloth up and shake off all of the rubber over a garbage. A good thing to do is when you are doing small cuts like angled cuts, use a low speed so that you are a little more precise and you don't over do it. Take your time, cut slowly, and never cut corners (metaphorically speaking ) because you might end up doing more harm than good, especially to your wallet. Once you have done your cuts, clean your tire and mount it back on your truck. Then repeat the same thing for the next # tires . Just to let evryone know, The modifications on my tires ahve not been tested yet. I will post a photo up of the tires and then tell you guys how it did. Anyway, I guess that's it. If you guys have any questions or concerns, fell free to write them down and I'll try to get back to them ASAP. Hope this helped and thanks

[Guest]

Monter tuck racing is dead, you should get a truggy, they outlast out perform a MT. and cheaper to maintain

[Maxxmaster96]

Most of that might be true, but still, tons of people race MT. And last time I checked, a truggy roller was about $750 and and a T-maxx RTR was $500. Not trying to be mean, but monster trucks are still very popular. Yes, they may not have the speed or acceleration of a truggy but they are fun to race and I prefer them over truggies simply because they are just tons of fun.