Maxxis Blues and Pinks - Chase`n Race`n Online

In past issues, we went into depth about how to prepare
your Vega tires. By now you should have all your Vegas ready for
the year. Since we are beginning to go into summertime racing,
you will be off of the Vegas very soon, unless you are racing at
night or it’s raining.
For that reason, we are going to discuss Maxxis tires in
this article. We will address the blue HT-3 and the pink HT-3. The
question that I am asked most often is which tire to run. The pink
or the blue? When there is a Maxxis tire rule, you will see a little
of both and you will probably also see both tires run well.
I will try to give the pros and cons for both tires. We will
discuss the blue HT-3s first. The blues come in two different tire
depths, thick and thin. The thin tires, or low rubber Maxxis, are a
lot easier to fix because you do not have to cut them. This makes
it a cheaper choice right off. They also do not require as much
prepping, so you save money on prep. Saving money is definitely
a pro of the thin rubber tire. However, the con is that you will only
have about 30 good laps on the tire, especially if you are racing
on a good track that has medium to high bite in it. This means
you will have to have multiple sets ready, which may in turn, cost
more money.
The thick HT-3 Maxxis require much more work. Unless you are racing on a track that is knee-deep in mud, you will
have to cut the tire in order to be fast. They come with .100 to
.110 worth of rubber which is a waste because you have to cut it
off to make it go fast. The hardest part of the thick Maxxis is deciding how much rubber to cut off of it. To be honest, it will vary
from track to track and with the time of the year.
On a track with low bite, the absolute most rubber that I
would leave on the tire is .060 to .065. This will allow you enough
rubber to do a lot of prepping on the tire (inside and outside).
Leaving this amount of rubber will enable the tire to build heat
but still roll on the straight away. This tire will give you at least
three to four weeks of racing, especially if you flip the tire each
week. Flipping the tires will keep them even and add a lot of life
to the racing tire.
For a track with medium bite, you should leave no more
than .050 rubber on the tire. This will allow you to run the tire all
day, assuming it is not an abrasive track. On a hot and hard biting
track, you will need to cut way down into the rubber, leaving only
.030 to .040 of rubber on the tire. Because so much rubber has
been cut off the tire, it will not last long. Be sure to have several
of these low cut rubber tire sets with you.
There are not really any rules about prepping these tires.
All types of preps have been used on them and many types have
been successful. Just remember the thin Maxxis tires do not need
to be prepped as much as the thick blue tires.
The pink Maxxis are a little different from the blues. It
is a wider tire. It still mounts on a ten inch wheel, but it just looks
wider and has a lower profile than the blues .It comes with .065 of
rubber, give or take a couple of thousandths and punches around
sixty on the durometer. You can cut the tire or run it as it comes.
I have done both and have had good luck with both. To be honest
I don’t think it matters, unless it is 90 degrees or hotter. Then you
will need to cut them down.
Here lately, the pink tires seem to be the tire of choice
at most races. In my eyes the pinks are the way to go because if
you do not have to cut them, you save some money. But, there are
still some people that prefer the blues, so you will still see both
winning at the track. If you get beat, you will think the whole way
home you should have been on the other tire; whichever it may
be pink or blue. The best thing that could happen is that a track
would enforce the Maxxis tire rule, stating that you must run the
pinks. Unfortunately, the powers that be don’t see it that way. So
even with a tire rule, you still have to have three different types
of tires. Sorry to burst your bubble, but that is kart racing. In the
next issue, we will discuss another type of Maxxis, the dreaded
EL tires.