Tires and uneven foam inserts

[Heffay]

I have new tires and foam inserts.
One tire is nice and plush with the foam supporting it.
The other tire is "flat" and the foam doesn't do much. I have to squeeze a bit to get the insides of the tire to touch the foam.
What gives? Is this common?

Oh, and I didn't want to glue the tires so I tried the rubber band trick... the tires were off the bead in seconds!

[Heffay]

Anyone?
Is this common?
This is my first set of tires with foam inserts.
They were not available the last time I was RCing.

[scr8p]

i don't think there's a racing tire made today that doesn't need to be glued to the rims.

as for the inserts, it sounds to me like they aren't the same size.

[Heffay]

Haha... that's what I would say about the inserts too!
But, they came sealed w/ the tires from Tower.
Is there a way to tell?... other than comparing.

I was hoping not to have to glue... but no biggie there. The real question was about the foam inserts.
Was wondering if I'm being to picky or what.

[scr8p]

But, they came sealed w/ the tires from Tower.

companies make mistakes, too.

as long as they "feel" the same, just cut/trim so that they "look" they same. or, send them back and get other ones.

[Heffay]

You want ME to trim a foam cylinder to STILL look like a foam cylinder??
Haha... good one.

[Eau Rouge]

Trimming the edges of inserts is a common practice for proper fit. Pull them both out and sit them next to each other on the table, if they aren't the same size, get another set. If they are the same size, you have them installed incorrectly.

And yes, you MUST glue your tires. Losi Tire Glue (CA) is a good glue to use, and it comes with the applicator tips that make the job infinitely easier and cleaner. Use those rubber bands to hold the tire onto the rim while you glue them, then save them for the next set of tires.

[Heffay]

Thanks guys... I'm at work so it took me a bit to get un-busy to pull the tires off.
They are completely different diameters.
About a half inch different.
Tower will replace them but I don't want to wait to glue my tires.
Maybe I'll just go buy some more inserts from the local hobby shop.

Was just wondering if it was a common manufacturing inconsistency... but now that I see the difference, they would have never made it past QC.
Well, I guess they did.

[Heffay]

I just went to hobby lobby last night and got a sheet of 1 inch foam, cut 2 strips and put them inside the tires.
Made my own new foam inserts for 2.99 and I have enough foam for 3 more pairs of tires.
Balanced out fairly well, feel matched and equally squishy like they are supposed to, and I didn't have to wait for Tower!
Oh, and glued tires work much better.

[Heffay]

Now that I've had a chance to run it through several packs... tires are working very well, not sure I'll ever fork over the money for a set of official tire inserts now.