Here's something some folks might be interested in regarding AFX front tires.

I've been curious to find some O-rings to replace the original front tires found on M/T and non-M/T cars and was spurred on by the epay sales of O ring front tires.

I ordered some of the 1/4" (.250 ID) x 3/8" (.375 OD) x 1/16" (.0625 Thick) commonly found on the bay but I got mine from a supplier called MSC (much cheaper). I found these to be unsatisfactory due to the tires not even touching the track (I have Tomy).

I then purchased some larger O rings (Buna N material at 100 O rings per pack) from MSC. I bought 1/4" x 7/16" x 3/32". I then placed two O rings on the shank of a counter-boring bit and installed into my drill. I used an emery board to sand off some of the "height" or outside diameter. It not only achieves the results of lowering the ride height as needed but also gives the flat spot running the circumference of the tire similar to that of the original AFX tires.

Here are the specs:

Original AFX front tire (on the rim) - .432
O ring before sanding (on the rim) - .462
O ring after a few seconds of sanding (on the rim) - .450
Drill bit shank to hold O rings - .255

Again, I can easily sand off more to get down to the .432 measurement.

Ready for the cost of these "tires"? After sales tax, freight charges, and the "up front" cost...

$.08 for two front tires. Compare that to $1 for two originals. I am thrilled with how they turn out. :woohoo:

LR,
This was a great find. I went a little nuts and ordered 10 bags of the O-Rings; at $1.95 for a bag of 100 it's a steal. I also ordered 1 bag of larger O.D. O-Rings, but they have turned out to be way too big. So, if nothing else, they will become a tire barrier.
The postage and tax added a bit to the total (mine came to over $12), but I got 1,100 tires for about $36.
Two days later, here they are at my front door.
All AFX get new fronts!!

Joe

Do you happen to have the MSC order #, 10 pages of o rings to look at, no time.
Thanks

The part number for what Joe and I purchased is:

MSC #:75748319

You can also do a keyword search and see all the different sizes. I bought one bag of larger O-Rings (1/4" I.D. and 1/2" O.D.) and found out I could use them to replace T-Jet large tires, like on the Indy racer and Hot Rod.

The keywords to use are: O-ring accessories buna-n .250

These should get you all the O-Rings with one dimension of .250 (1/4"). You need the 1/4" I.D. to fit on the rim. I think Buna-N is the material.

Joe

Thank you all, and Merry Christmas

You can also do a keyword search and see all the different sizes. I bought one bag of larger O-Rings (1/4" I.D. and 1/2" O.D.) and found out I could use them to replace T-Jet large tires, like on the Indy racer and Hot Rod....snip ...Joe

Joe...If ya have the oppurtunity, try a set of the fatter o-rings on the front of the Dune Buggy. :thumbsup: Not a bad look at all..somewhat correct for a beach buggy.

I wanted to bring this subject back to the forefront because micyou3 and I are beginning to do more and more with both our afx cars & I'm doing more with my old G+ & superG+. The original stuff not the new racemaster cars.

I'll be ordering at least 300 of these little devils because I know that I have at least that many cars that need front tires.

I bought a B-O-R from WeirdJack (great stuff) but what surprised me is that there were no real thin fronts for my old AFX cars in the bag. Jack, if you read this... do you produce those tires in silicone at all or?

p.s. Man those racemasters pieces really are gorgeous though, aren't they? :thumbsup:

Cheers,
Xence

Give Bob at Slotcar Central a call.

http://www.slotcarcentral.com

He has tons of original Afx parts (both MT/non-mag and G+) at nice prices.

I bought a B-O-R from WeirdJack (great stuff) but what surprised me is that there were no real thin fronts for my old AFX cars in the bag. Jack, if you read this... do you produce those tires in silicone at all or?
Xence,
B-O-R's are a composed of whatever is in production at any given time. But they usually do have some of my #BR tires in them. The #BR's are tires I originally designed for MEV to use on Bauer/Vincent wheels, I use them on AFX fronts also. I'm really surprised that your B-O-R didn't have any in it....I produce quite a few of that type every week.
WJ
http://www.weirdjack.com/bh.htm

Jack you might be right. I very well might have gotten some, I have not looked through everything so close that I know for sure. I was so happy to have just absolutely killer rear tires that nothing else registered in my brain. No worries though. :) I'll have to look later on tonight when I go home.

Xence

Cool!!!

Joe...If ya have the oppurtunity, try a set of the fatter o-rings on the front of the Dune Buggy. :thumbsup: Not a bad look at all..somewhat correct for a beach buggy.

I did try the fatter O-Rings on both the Dune Buggy and the Indy/Grand Prix racers. The tires fit just right.

My older T-Jets have been around for a lot of years and I never got around to replacing the original tires. Between the years of inactivity and the pre-Internet days of not knowing where to find replacements, the cars never got new tires. Since I don't race, the stock tires were okay until they stopped having any grip at all. The larger O-Rings are pretty good for cars you just want to run around the track for fun. So they were not a wasted purchase at all.

Now, if there were places to get bulk quantities of springs....

Joe

Now, if there were places to get bulk quantities of springs....

yeah :rolleyes:

I received my o-rings today. Ordered from McMaster-Carr (mcmaster.com), only because I had previously ordered from them.

PN# 9452K171

$6.24 delivered for 100 pcs.

:thumbsup: