Which tyres for polished gym floor
 

We are a new club which are looking to run indoor this winter. The area we have has polished wooden floor.

Most of us run 2WD and to save a bit of trial and error, has anyone got recommendations for tyres.

I always found nearly worn out mini-pins were good

Thanks for that, will try the mini pins. Would you say yellow compund and do you know if they mark the floor?

Any Schumacher yellow compound tyre should work. You want them to wear sufficiently so the spikes/pins go to a flat, not bald, but a flat edge on the pin or spike. If the floor surface is dusty, a larger spike/pin works better. New tyres will need breaking in, and used ones break in faster. I find tyres previously run on carpet or astro the pin or spike profile wears differently (to a directional point), and you want that point to wear flat. Then they work best. Wash any used outdoor tyres in water beforehand to clean them up.
For 2wd front tyres, its best to match up with the rear, so mini pin, dart or spike to match the rear, rather than (cut) staggers, etc.
If you find the surface too dusty, it may be best to brush the floor before you lay the track down.

When we run on the polished wooden floor at our local club we actually found mini spikes better than mini pins, even worn ones. You'd assume worn mini pins would be better as theres more surface area etc but for us the mini spikes were better.

There maybe better suited tyres, but we try to keep the same tyres for everyone so its even.

Yellow mini spikes dont mark the floor, I think silvers did so they're not used.

Thanks for all your help and advise.
As we are all starting from scratch we may set a control tyre and sounds like to go middle the road with the mini dart.
Thanks again

I'm using darts front and rear on a polished rubber floor now. It's really well balanced. As with any slippy floor racing, you just need to get the front and rear grip levels balanced.

Spikes do sometimes work better when the floor is dustier. Spikes are certainly easier to drive. York run polished wood gym floor and carpet, and the pins work best on the carpet, but the spikes for the polished floor, which gets dusty due to the fibres from some of the carpet.

As with any surface, some wear levels work better, and the freshness of the tyres helps. Keep them bagged between meetings, and they will work well next time.

Mini Spikes in yellow are ok or the sch full spike are faster once ran in (ran for 10-15 mins till spikes have an angle on them)

Thank you for all the info, its brilliant!

For 2WD would you go with stand up or lay down transmissions?

I am guessing the ideal would be a stand up or dirt car? Has anyone found a laydown to work better?

It all depends on how much traction there is and how dusty the floor is.
Once the racing line clears up, you can get yellows squeeling with grip, and traction could be considered high on the racing line, but get off that and its loose. Or it could just be medium traction.
I'd be starting with the standup car then seeing how it goes, or run them back to back. if you get your tyres working on the standup car, put them on the laydown and see how it goes. you may be surprised.

Thank you again Neal,

A bit of trial and error I think. The hall is new so will have to see how the grip is.

Mini Darts are a good starting point, thanks everyone.

Regards Andrew

Andy, I guess we'll be using the left overs from TORCH then?