Tire Guide

From slickest to stickiest
          slowest to fastest
          longer lasting to faster wearing

here's what we've tried. All notes are using our home base of rigorously maintained polished concrete as the reference point. Start with a tire you know and move down the list for faster speeds\faster wearing tires. Move up the list for slower speeds and less tire wear.


R2hobbies high pressure cast drift - great for high abrasion surfaces like rough concrete. these treadless tires are close to abs pipe in hardness, but seem to be more consistent once broken in. great for deadly surfaces that would strip any lesser tire down to bare rim.

R2hobbies clone t-drifts - easily slicker than branded t-drifts, you get what you pay for. on higher traction surfaces, it may not be worth the price tradeoff for the real thing. We find them a bit too slick for polished concrete. These are the general go-to tire for asphalt or other "nice," but imperfect surfaces

HPI t-drift - the industry standard. almost sticky when new, these wear great through most of the tread and are easily found at your LHS or online. they tend to lose stickiness at the end of life cycle as HPI's magic ingredients wear off. on ultra smooth surfaces, they will require a bit of break-in to slow down and get a predictable grip. these tires perform great on smooth surfaces and are the stock spec tire for RCRK meets.

*updated* R2hobbies "rubber" drift tires w/ generic tread  - advertised as a rubber tire with generic grip, these are close to Street Jam Box Stock tires in speed. with a super light trigger finger, it's almost possible to run with HPI t-drifts. almost.0

Street Jam box stock - way faster than t-drifts, but slower than a full rubber type tire like the Atypes/Super Drifts. Street Jam makes a few material types - waiting on confirmation of the box stock option before trying the next one out.

HPI A-types/Super Drifts - laughably fast on anything but ultra smooth polished concrete. these don't mix well with other tires. get a whole field of them, and it can be a great event - but be aware the speeds can lead to damaged cars! these are too fast to mix with t-drifts.

*mounting* R2hobbies rubber cambered diamond cut - super, duper, soft. didn't get a chance to run these yet, need to get back to the secret indoor spot for comparative testing. they feel soft enough to melt after a few hot laps... we'll see!

HPI x-type "VTA" rubber on-road tires - run a big can, on a glass surface and hold onto your pants!


 Let me know what tires you want to see next in the comments!