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hello, as the title says i am looking for new, modern wheels for a kyosho turbo optima mid se as i just bought one and i want new tires but i heard modern 4wd buggy tires dont fit the stock wheels. anybody know a wheel? thank you.

bumping this thread for the sole purpose of wanting an answer

Try JC Racing they have 2.2 rims for the older offset cars.

Finding modern wheels to fit 12mm hex adapters is easy...the problem is modern wheels usually have 5mm holes for the axles. Old wheels have 4mm holes as the old axles tapered down from 5mm to 4mm. The old Optima hexes were taper-fit.

I think what most people have done is to upgrade to CVDs which have 5mm straight axles and holes for cross-pins. You then get modern 12mm hexes, all of which mount onto the axles with the cross-pins preventing them from slipping, which was a problem with the old taper-fit axles & hubs; the wheels & hubs will slip and spin on the axles, especially with a lot of torque or power with modern electronics.

Conversely, vintage wheels may need to be drilled out to 5mm to mount on the modern 5mm straight axles. I had to do this with various sets of vintage aluminum wheels so that they'd work with my modern/modded Optimas, all of which are running Kyosho Lazer CVDs instead of the stock 62.5mm dogbones & axles. I'm running CVDs with 68mm bones but that's because I'm also running GPM aluminum rear suspension arms, which are a perfect fit, but are ~5mm longer than the stock rear arms, hence the need for longer CVDs. These arms also don't have holes drilled to mount the rear stabilizer, but I just drilled my own holes where necessary.

You can find Kyosho 62.5mm CVDs, they still make them, but they can be pretty expensive.

If that isn't confusing enough, there ARE some wheels that are modern 2.2" diameter but still have 4mm holes. I'm running a set of JC Racing "Pirate" wheels on my Zebra Optima, but I don't think those are available anymore. The same wheels are still available for the RC10, but I suppose that means they'll be machined for cross-pins, not hexes.

http://www.jcracingproducts.co.uk/wheels/rc10

These might also be a possibility; you might want to contact them and ask about 12mm hex wheel options to work with vintage 4mm axle holes.

http://www.jcracingproducts.co.uk/wheels?product_id=259

HPI also made 2.2" 5-Star spoked wheels for hexes, and also had adapters for those...IIRC.

Lastly, there are tons of these el-cheapo wheels for the HSP Redcat that will work. I have a few sets like this, they come with tires and everything in various styles...the wheel plastic is a bit softer than usual but if you're just looking to burn some rubber and not damage your vintage original wheels & tires, they'll do the job.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Set-RC-1-10-Off-Road-Buggy-Knobby-Tires-With-5-Spoke-2-2-Wheel-Rims-HSP-Redcat-/181529979482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2a4407aa5a

It's my understanding that these mesh kyosho wheels will work - Available in white, black and yellow. I don't know for sure but I saw a pic and these were the parts #'s I was given.

http://topshelf-rc.co.nz/catalog/index.php?cPath=41_120&sort=3a&page=2

Interesting. I may order a set to see what they'll fit. It looks like these are available at kyoshoamerica.com too.

honestly, this IS without a shadow of a doubt the most confusing question i have asked on a forum... i can buy just about nay combination of axles, and wheels that work to some varying extent on the optima and something good happens... well research is key. i am only 13 so i dont think cvd's are viable for cost, the jc racing wheels option looks good but they are still kyosho wheels, which i dont think are standard for 4wd buggys (or anything for that matter) so i am confused, let me test fit tires from my other vintages and see if anything comes of that, measuement wise 31mm sedan wheels and tires look close, idk if any fit though

well good news fro onroad car guys! they fit! the wheels off of my onroad sedan fit, i just need to buy some 31mm, mine are 26mm... but thats awesome because hpi makes some awesome tires for that size

Jester_The_RC_Guy wrote: the jc racing wheels option looks good but they are still kyosho wheels, which i dont think are standard for 4wd buggys (or anything for that matter) so i am confused, let me test fit tires from my other vintages and see if anything comes of that, measuement wise 31mm sedan wheels and tires look close, idk if any fit though

The 12mm hex on the Optima is a standard fitting, today you are more likely to find 12mm hex drives than anything else. As well as on every touring car it's also used on most buggies, even the Associated B5 uses 12mm hex drive wheels all round.

terry, i know i was more worried about offset making the boggy too narrow or too wide

I think when this came up once before we had also taked about tamiya wheels being close as far as offset

Jester_The_RC_Guy wrote:well good news fro onroad car guys! they fit! the wheels off of my onroad sedan fit, i just need to buy some 31mm, mine are 26mm... but thats awesome because hpi makes some awesome tires for that size

Just a note about this...HPI's sedan or Vintage VTA wheels will mount on 12mm hexes just fine, but the tire diameter and width is much smaller than a normal Optima wheel/tire combo. They're 31mm or so wide only. OEM tires would be somewhere between 37 to 40mm wide. The significantly smaller diameter of the tires would also require that you upsize your pinion gear accordingly, to get the same approximate final rollout ratio.

It's certainly do-able...I did just that with my CYANide onroad Optima build. I went with HPI's 31mm VTA wheels & tires front & rear. They would work the same on a Mid chassis.

On my Mid, I put on my Schumacher 2wd front wheels and standard rear wheels. It keeps the track the same. The 4wd front was too high of an offset and narrowed the track too much. I think for for track purposes, I'm going to put on ZX6 suspension. That way the geometry is modern, I'll be able to get 3 degrees of rear toe and if anything breaks, replacements are easy. Sharing spares with my ZX6 will be nice too.

scoobyrs25 wrote:On my Mid, I put on my Schumacher 2wd front wheels and standard rear wheels. It keeps the track the same. The 4wd front was too high of an offset and narrowed the track too much. I think for for track purposes, I'm going to put on ZX6 suspension. That way the geometry is modern, I'll be able to get 3 degrees of rear toe and if anything breaks, replacements are easy. Sharing spares with my ZX6 will be nice too.

wait scooby, zx6 suspension fits? that would be a thing i will look into if it does fit right because i am building mine up for racing hence me asking about the wheels/tires

Coelacanth wrote:Finding modern wheels to fit 12mm hex adapters is easy...the problem is modern wheels usually have 5mm holes for the axles. Old wheels have 4mm holes as the old axles tapered down from 5mm to 4mm. The old Optima hexes were taper-fit.

I think what most people have done is to upgrade to CVDs which have 5mm straight axles and holes for cross-pins. You then get modern 12mm hexes, all of which mount onto the axles with the cross-pins preventing them from slipping, which was a problem with the old taper-fit axles & hubs; the wheels & hubs will slip and spin on the axles, especially with a lot of torque or power with modern electronics.

Conversely, vintage wheels may need to be drilled out to 5mm to mount on the modern 5mm straight axles. I had to do this with various sets of vintage aluminum wheels so that they'd work with my modern/modded Optimas, all of which are running Kyosho Lazer CVDs instead of the stock 62.5mm dogbones & axles. I'm running CVDs with 68mm bones but that's because I'm also running GPM aluminum rear suspension arms, which are a perfect fit, but are ~5mm longer than the stock rear arms, hence the need for longer CVDs. These arms also don't have holes drilled to mount the rear stabilizer, but I just drilled my own holes where necessary.

You can find Kyosho 62.5mm CVDs, they still make them, but they can be pretty expensive.

If that isn't confusing enough, there ARE some wheels that are modern 2.2" diameter but still have 4mm holes. I'm running a set of JC Racing "Pirate" wheels on my Zebra Optima, but I don't think those are available anymore. The same wheels are still available for the RC10, but I suppose that means they'll be machined for cross-pins, not hexes.

http://www.jcracingproducts.co.uk/wheels/rc10

These might also be a possibility; you might want to contact them and ask about 12mm hex wheel options to work with vintage 4mm axle holes.

http://www.jcracingproducts.co.uk/wheels?product_id=259

HPI also made 2.2" 5-Star spoked wheels for hexes, and also had adapters for those...IIRC.

Lastly, there are tons of these el-cheapo wheels for the HSP Redcat that will work. I have a few sets like this, they come with tires and everything in various styles...the wheel plastic is a bit softer than usual but if you're just looking to burn some rubber and not damage your vintage original wheels & tires, they'll do the job.

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/Set-RC-1-10-Off-Road-Buggy-Knobby-Tires-With-5-Spoke-2-2-Wheel-Rims-HSP-Redcat-/181529979482?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&var=&hash=item2a4407aa5a

just looked it up, and wow you were nto kidding about them beign expensive, 58 bucks for a pair! so yeah thats not happening in a hurry