Cutting your own sand tires....

[GPracer2500]

Has anyone cut their own sand tires? I'm thinking along the lines of what Sand Tires Unlimited does with their Brats. Comp cut Brats will actually show some threads here and there they are shaved down so much.

I'm thinking about using one of these....

http://www.cometkartsales.com/store/tools/images/tiregroover.jpg

...to cut down a set of Sand Sharks I have (20x11x8). They're way too heavy at 17lbs 4oz each (tire&wheel).

Has anyone done this? Advice? Opinions?

[300EXrider356]

Sooo like cutting off the knobs on regular tires to turn them into sand tires?:confused:

[JOEX]

I don't recall ever hearing about this...

[400exrider707]

Originally posted by JOEX
I don't recall ever hearing about this...

yeah... more info please!

[GPracer2500]

Some paddle tires have rubber removed from the carcass of the tire for weight reduction. Sand Tires Unlimited Padla Brats start out as a regular molded paddle tire similar to Sand Sharks, Sand Stars, Sand Snakes, Sand Devels, Sidewinders, Dune Runners, or any other molded paddle tire. Most tire manufactures call it good and there's your tire. STU "comp cuts" or "play cuts" their Brats for weight reduction. They shave away unecessary rubber on the carcass between the paddles. This extra step is part of why STU Brats are so expensive ($400+ w/ wheels).

Not a great picture, but you can see the side-to-side lines on the carcass from being cut down.

http://www.sandtiresunlimited.com/graphics/PB_big.jpg

Skat-Traks achieve weight reduction a different way (one I can't/won't do). They've got that wire-brushed look. Skat-Trak takes an old knobby tire, cuts off all the old knobs, buffs the carcass down to the desired level, and welds on their paddles. They're available in three different buff levels--standard buff, bead-to-bead buff, and tripple buff (heavy, lighter, lightest).



I've recently become very aware of the performance differences between various paddles due to weight. I always figured lighter was better but never realized just how big the difference was until I did some back to back testing with different paddles.

I've got two sets of SandSharks and they're both (mostly) junk to me. Their just too heavy and leave way too much performance on the table. So I'm going to try to "comp cut" them and turn a crap tire into a good performing tire.

[JOEX]

Interesting... How much weight do you think you'll be able to remove?

[GPracer2500]

5 lbs per tire seems like an awful lot of rubber....but that's what I'd like to get from them. That would get them down to near 12 lbs each (tire & wheel). I may decide to remove part of every other paddle.

My goal is to come close to duplicating STU comp cut Brat performance. A 21x12x8 comp cut Brat on .125 rims should weigh ~10lbs.

The groover is on it's way so we'll see what happens.

[400exrider707]

The buffed tires you speak of are called vulcanized tires if Im thinking of the same thing.

Pretty interesting stuff with the grooved paddle tires, so simple I'm surprised you dont hear more about it.

[JOEX]

That may be possible. In the pic posted it looks like 5 swaths taken between each paddle? 1-2 oz for each one? Just guess-timating :p

Good luck and let us know how it works:cool:

[triple b]

Hey GP
I can appricate and understand why you would what to save weight.
But the Sandtires Unlimited tire you are showing has had accrual paddles removed to customize the tire your application and and save money on production costs not for weight savings. The way I understand it from a few years ago is the Sandtires Unlimited has one mold with three different paddle sizes. For example there will be 7) 1 " tall paddles for a 400, 7) 1 1/4" tall paddles for a stock 450, and 7) 1 1/2" tall paddles for a modified bike. (Note: the number of paddles and highs are just for an example and my not represent the accrual paddle tire) They just shave off the unwanted paddles for what ever tire they need in stock. The comp cut or play cut you refer to. That way they save money on moulds

[GPracer2500]

Originally posted by triple b
Hey GP
I can appricate and understand why you would what to save weight.
But the Sandtires Unlimited tire you are showing has had accrual paddles removed to customize the tire your application and and save money on production costs not for weight savings. The way I understand it from a few years ago is the Sandtires Unlimited has one mold with three different paddle sizes. For example there will be 7) 1 " tall paddles for a 400, 7) 1 1/4" tall paddles for a stock 450, and 7) 1 1/2" tall paddles for a modified bike. (Note: the number of paddles and highs are just for an example and my not represent the accrual paddle tire) They just shave off the unwanted paddles for what ever tire they need in stock. That way they save money on moulds

Hmmm. I looked closely at a set of STU comp cut Brats last weekend and there's no doubt they had weight savings in mind when they shaved the carcass. Some spots were cut so thin you could (barely) see cords.

The Brat is a "new addition" to STU's lineup (I think they've been around for a little bit though). They come in 6 and 9 paddle versions with a comp cut or a play cut. I don't see how they could make a 6 paddle version starting off with a 9 paddle and keep the paddle spacing even. Maybe it was different a few years ago?

I can see a sand car paddle with 30+ paddles having paddles removed to suit the application. I think their sand car tires are STU's bread and butter product....

http://www.sandtiresunlimited.com/graphics/16PT_big.jpg

Whatever the case, STU comp cut brats are the lightest paddle tires I'm aware of and I'm pretty sure they don't get that way by accident.

[triple b]

I have no dought that STU has weight saving in mind and cutting production cost when they produce any tire in the line up ATV or Car.
I have not seen the BRAT nor have I been to the sand dunes in a in the last 5 years so many things have could have changed but from my experience in the past with STU that is the way they did it. One mould different cuts and yes you could see the cords sometimes