Here’s Why RC Tires Wobble And How To Fix Them

Just like tires found on a real car are likely to wobble and need to be repaired at one point throughout their life, so too are RC car tires. Fixing RC tire wobble is different from fixing real car tires so I have looked into what causes RC tire wobble and ways to fix it.

RC tire wobble fixes include adding up more shims or replacing faulty bearings. Reglueing RC tires can also fix RC tire wobble. RC tire wobble is usually caused by the tires being unbalanced or the glue has come unstuck from the rims.

If you are experiencing RC Tire wobble, please read on for a more in-depth look into resolving the issue.

Here's Why RC Tires Wobble And How To Fix Themble And How
A wheel detached from an RC car

What’s causing the wheel to wobble?

You’ll notice a lot of wobbles when the bearings are blown out or when the balls at the center section are missing or gone from the inside of the bearing and are causing your wheel to wobble.

The other side of it is, it could be too much slot. Maybe you didn’t shim it properly like you took it apart and didn’t replace one of the shims, which will cause the axel to slide back and forth, causing more wheel wobble.

(Amazon link)

Related post: How To Make RC Tires More Grippy

Which parts can I check when I notice a wheel wobble?

Wherever the wobble occurs and the axel isn’t moving in such a case, we could suspect that the wobble is in the bearing/bushing/ housing wear.

If the axel is moving, then it is in the other pivots. The slight wobble when spinning could probably be how the tire is glued onto the wheel, and to signal, you’d have to check wheel runout.

Wheel runout means the issue is all in the tire. If it gets really bad at high speed, then there’s also a balance problem.

Related post: RC Tires Cracking: Everything You Need To Know

You may also want to check your shims to ensure everything is ok. If you still notice excessive wheel slop, take the wheel off, pull the hex off, pull the pin off and check your bearings first; make sure your bearings are not blown out. 

(Amazon link)

What tools can I use to fix my RC tire?

  • Shims and spacers
  • Craft knife
  • Hammer
  • A pair of needle-nose pliers
  • Wheel wrench
  • Water sealed bearings
  • Glue

First, ensure your RC tires are tightened well before racing. There’s an easy trick for this!

Get a socket wrench to tighten it until it starts to get snug. Then take your middle fingers and point them out straight; then, with the tips of your fingers, you turn the wrench until you can’t keep your fingers straight anymore, and they start to bend.

What you may get as results could vary depending on the length of the socket wrench. But this is a good old trick to keep the tires tightened, avoiding any wobbling.

Here’s another trick to make your tire wobble almost unnoticeable.

Related post: This Is Why RC Tires Balloon (And How To Prevent It)

You’ll need a pair of needle-nose pliers and your wheel wrench to take off the wheel bolt.

You will also need a hammer which will help remove the hex fitting for the tire.

Get two water-sealed bearings, then you’re good to start taking off the tire. You’ll notice the copper-bearing is worn out and what you need to do is replace them with the water-sealed bearings.

The difference with water sealed bearings is there’s some water seal in the bearing with some inner ring that makes it tighter, and your axel won’t wobble around. There you go, use your hammer to pry the axle and put the tire back.

Sometimes, the wobble may not be from the axel, so be sure to check the glue if it has just come loose from the rim. You’ll have to do a quick repair on your RC tire. To get started, you’ll need a craft knife to scrape off the glue residue on the tire and rim and apply high-quality glue like this one (Amazon link), designed for RC cars.

See my related article: Can You Reglue RC Tires?

Does wheel wobble affect RC ride?

RC tire wobble will certainly affect your ride. What happens is, when the bearing gets blown off, it could go and wear out the hubs, or what it could also do is transfer the problem up into your drivetrain, and everything in line could start to wear because of the wheel wobble.

This could have your driveshaft start wobbling as well. Besides this, your RC car will not accelerate quickly, and you risk damaging your car’s internal parts. Wheel wobble could also make you race off track; it could be very annoying and unpleasant.

Paul Good

This awesome hobby has something for everyone, whether you like to build your RC from scratch and keep modifying till you've got it to just how you want it, to track racing. You might be out with a boat, or perfecting your skills with a plane. Are you taking some cool pics with your drone? I'm sure my site will help you on your journey.

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