2026 maxxis

CarlsonMotorsports said:
Think "spring rates" rather than duro.
You can make any tire duro the same.... spring rates can vary significantly by date code and aren't so easily matched.
Just rolling the same amount of internal will yield different results.
My suggestion would be to purchase from a supplier who rotates their stock regularly and quickly.
That's going to be tough to determine, but if you've built a trust with your tire guy, you'll know he's getting you the best he can.

Honestly, the date codes and guys pulling specific ones was really created a headache. Maybe the distributors/dealers can focus on keeping current stock now rather than sorting through tires to find specific dates on request.

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🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
www.youtube.com
37 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
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I’ve always preached tire spring rates.

I remember talking tires with Intercomp people. I mentioned tire spring rates. Next thing I know, a box shows up at my door! It was their prototype tire spring rate tester. That thing was invaluable to me! Yes it’s expensive but to me worth it. That depends on how serious you are in kart racing.

An example is late model racing, the top running teams have a shock dyno in their trailers. The “hobby racers” do not.
 
Yes sir, spring rate is your "Shock or suspension" in karting and many don't realize that. It is greatly affected by the age of the tire, as well as how much prep was rolled internally. I'd bet a paycheck Matt Connell and Tony Gaylord have spring rate testers in the trailer!
 
SoCo Tire Treatments said:
Id take that bet.
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When Intercomp sent me a tire spring rate tester to test, that thing was invaluable! That led me to punching the sidewall of the tire.

Invaluable information! But, the regular average Joe who does not run the big races, unless you have a win at all cost ego, don’t get one. If you run the big races and big money races, it’s worth the investment!
 
1fasttiller said:
Yes sir, spring rate is your "Shock or suspension" in karting and many don't realize that. It is greatly affected by the age of the tire, as well as how much prep was rolled internally. I'd bet a paycheck Matt Connell and Tony Gaylord have spring rate testers in the trailer!
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Exactly. The seat and you are the damper.
 
msquared said:
When Intercomp sent me a tire spring rate tester to test, that thing was invaluable! That led me to punching the sidewall of the tire.

Invaluable information! But, the regular average Joe who does not run the big races, unless you have a win at all cost ego, don’t get one. If you run the big races and big money races, it’s worth the investment!
Click to expand...
I want a spring rate test and we don't really run big races. But I'm just a nerd when it comes to stuff like this. I come from a dirt late model back ground so I'm use to the shock dynos and spring smasher, so this thing just seems neat to me.
 
Holmes44 said:
I want a spring rate test and we don't really run big races. But I'm just a nerd when it comes to stuff like this. I come from a dirt late model back ground so I'm use to the shock dynos and spring smasher, so this thing just seems neat to me.
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Intercomp. If you do get one, always to the same thing. For instance, I would set my air, put 5 lbs of pressure on it, zero, then compress the tire the same amount everytime. See what the spring rate is. Once I made my run and measured air pressure gain. I would put that air in the tire and compare my baseline with the gained air pressure.

Once you use this thing, you will start to see patterns. The RS tires are critical. The LR is important because a softer spring rate LR will make the kart sit on that tire a little longer. On the LF a sifter spring rate tire will increase planting the RR on turn in.

The main thing is being consistent in how you test your tires.
 
Holmes44 said:
I want a spring rate test and we don't really run big races. But I'm just a nerd when it comes to stuff like this. I come from a dirt late model back ground so I'm use to the shock dynos and spring smasher, so this thing just seems neat to me.
Click to expand...
Intercomp stuff is top shelf. I talked to them (evidently before Mike many years ago @ the PRI Show) about making a spring rate tester for kart tires (and big car applications) and they were interested, just not interested enough to pursue it at that time. (Sounds like Mike came along and asked at just the right time.) No hard feeling, we made our own, and shortly after Intercomp came out with theirs, others started to make home made cheaper versions like mine.
We did the same thing that we did with valve springs for the flathead (drill press and a postal scale) except to a larger scale. FWIW, I did end up eventually talking Intercomp into marketing their valve spring tester through Goodson.
Think drill press and digital bath scale. Measure the downward movement of the drill head (obviously with a flat plate attached to the chuck) with a depth mic or caliper. Check the pressure (weight) at various depressions. (.025," .050," .075," .100") and record the corresponding weights at each. Experiment with different air pressures so you can see (visually) how much 1 psi changes your spring rates.) Also experiment with different wheel widths (if for no other reason than just to learn - (although understand that dynamic (lateral) loads vary from static/vertical bench testing.)
You can build a data sheet of sorts for every brand and size of tire. Use that knowledge to your advantage.
Today, we focus primarily on matching right side tires for our customers. What Mike said is absolutely true on left sides. With the high cross that many are running, the LR is probably the most important tire on the car. We have checked plenty of LRs over the years, but since we're not matching that tire to another, there's not much point in recording those measurements - just make sure you don't have a tire outside normal parameters. Now, right sides are important to match because they often are swapped on an oval kart RF->RR. If there's enough spring rate difference, you WILL feel it in how the car reacts to changes and how the car drives.
You'll also see spring rates drop (sometimes dramatically) after a tire has been prepped, and/or scuffed. To me, I think this is the #1 reason to scuff a tire on the track. Sure it puts the tire through a light heat cycle, but it also helps "normalize" the sidewalls of the tires and makes them more predictable.
This may end up being a discussion on our Tech Talk Tuesday series for our Facebook page or our Youtube channel at some point in the future (like when I get caught up on customer orders.) :)


-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
www.youtube.com
38 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
 
CarlsonMotorsports said:
Intercomp stuff is top shelf. I talked to them (evidently before Mike many years ago @ the PRI Show) about making a spring rate tester for kart tires (and big car applications) and they were interested, just not interested enough to pursue it at that time. (Sounds like Mike came along and asked at just the right time.) No hard feeling, we made our own, and shortly after Intercomp came out with theirs, others started to make home made cheaper versions like mine.
We did the same thing that we did with valve springs for the flathead (drill press and a postal scale) except to a larger scale. FWIW, I did end up eventually talking Intercomp into marketing their valve spring tester through Goodson.
Think drill press and digital bath scale. Measure the downward movement of the drill head (obviously with a flat plate attached to the chuck) with a depth mic or caliper. Check the pressure (weight) at various depressions. (.025," .050," .075," .100") and record the corresponding weights at each. Experiment with different air pressures so you can see (visually) how much 1 psi changes your spring rates.) Also experiment with different wheel widths (if for no other reason than just to learn - (although understand that dynamic (lateral) loads vary from static/vertical bench testing.)
You can build a data sheet of sorts for every brand and size of tire. Use that knowledge to your advantage.
Today, we focus primarily on matching right side tires for our customers. What Mike said is absolutely true on left sides. With the high cross that many are running, the LR is probably the most important tire on the car. We have checked plenty of LRs over the years, but since we're not matching that tire to another, there's not much point in recording those measurements - just make sure you don't have a tire outside normal parameters. Now, right sides are important to match because they often are swapped on an oval kart RF->RR. If there's enough spring rate difference, you WILL feel it in how the car reacts to changes and how the car drives.
You'll also see spring rates drop (sometimes dramatically) after a tire has been prepped, and/or scuffed. To me, I think this is the #1 reason to scuff a tire on the track. Sure it puts the tire through a light heat cycle, but it also helps "normalize" the sidewalls of the tires and makes them more predictable.
This may end up being a discussion on our Tech Talk Tuesday series for our Facebook page or our Youtube channel at some point in the future (like when I get caught up on customer orders.) :)


-----
🏁Thanks and God bless,
Brian Carlson
Carlson Racing Engines
Vector Cutz
www.CarlsonMotorsports.com
Carlson Motorsports on Facebook
www.youtube.com
38 years of service to the karting industry ~ 1Cor 9:24
Linden, IN
765-339-4407
bcarlson@CarlsonMotorsports.com
Click to expand...
Great info and advice. Yes Brian, I must have popped the question to Intercomp at the right time. Then again I was Writing for Karting Scene magazine at that time, so that may have triggered something.
 
1fasttiller said:
Just to update you all on these new Maxxis HT3's... there is nothing wrong with them! We prepped up a set for my son's stock appearing kart this past Saturday night for The Marty Ruser Memorial race at Original Speedway park where he ran a mild S/A 212cc motor against a full field of RWYB karts and he set a track record in qualifying, and also finished P4 in the main on them! Any of you that have been around karting know a few of these names... :)
Click to expand...
Sorry to Hi-jack the post but this ^
Had my 450 out run by a SA recently. I missed the tires on a dusty track. His rollspeed was on point and I just couldnt lay the power down without spinning the tires or myself.

Im just a big engine guy and love the challenge of it, but I love when small motor guys show up and just do work lol. Build what you love, race it, and make it better.
 
lorha4959 said:
Sorry to Hi-jack the post but this ^
Had my 450 out run by a SA recently. I missed the tires on a dusty track. His rollspeed was on point and I just couldnt lay the power down without spinning the tires or myself.

Im just a big engine guy and love the challenge of it, but I love when small motor guys show up and just do work lol. Build what you love, race it, and make it better.
Click to expand...
It's not often it happens, but when it does the driver and tire guy were definitely on point! I love seeing the looks on some of the 450 guys faces when they see that little stock appearing motor drive past em! Now those JAWA's are a whole nother story especially when a Seay is driving it! :)
 
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