Modding the 9398 4x4 Crawler Tires

[otpi]

Anyone tried chipping away the center ridge of the tires to increase grip? As it is the center forms a continuous slick surface. If I chip away 1-2 mm of the rubber between the tracks I believe the tires would grip edges a lot better. Thoughts?

[dvsntt]

maybe adjust the camber so it rides on more of inside of the tire than the center of it? I dunno.

[DLuders]

(Lego Technic 22969 "Power Puller" Wheels on Two Left Tires / Normal Lego 44772+54120 Wheel+Tire Combination on Right Two Examples)

Sure, I think that cutting into that smooth center ridge on the Lego balloon tires would help some, but the problem is that the rounded edges of the tires are not conducive to Rock Crawling at all. What is needed are agressive knobs that protrude from the tire sidewalls, like the rightmost example below:

[jadedomg]

I put 3rd party wheels on my 9398 and they worked great and required no moding and went right on the lego rims. I know they aren't lego branded tires but if I am going to mod lego I may as well replace the tires with a 3rd party tire. There is a page with all sorts of options for 3rd party tires.

[DLuders]

@ opti: That "Third Party Tires" topic is here.

[camaudio]

Get one of those tires from that thread. You wont be dissapionted, they perform much better.

I did mod my legos rims for a better fit, but you dont HAVE to.

[Kronos]

I have a set of the Two Face Off-road tires, they are great.

Edited February 12, 2013 by Kronos

[otpi]

@ opti: That "Third Party Tires" topic is here.

Thanks. A good read. I have a pretty decent RC model car store nearby. I bet they have some of those wheels in stock, or something like it.

Off topic; Anyone tried changing the lego battery for a RC 11.1 V LiPo battery. I know It's to much V, but I don't really mind burning a motor, and from what I have read so far it seems like the lego motors should handle it. Ideally I'd like to change the IR remote for my RF one, just to get the increased range and be able to use it on sunny days. Mybe this should be it's own topic. :p

[DLuders]

@ otpi: There was a previous Eurobricks topic (which you could add to) about "11.1-Volt LiPo on 9v Motor". Several people (TheBoot200 and Rien, among others) have operated Lego 9V motors on 11.1 Volts, with no apparent ill effects.