3D Printed RC Tires with VarioShore

The story of Velocity Projects
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Velocity Projects is a duo of friends who said they would take matters into their own hands in the topic of RC model cars. They focused on bringing full-scale racing engineering down to RC scale.

Velocity Projects set out to improve the performance of their RC models by 3D printing tires using VarioShore TPU, after finding that off-the-shelf tires and those printed from conventional TPU failed to meet expectations. The topic of tire production came up when their model turned out to be great in tests, but tires made of ordinary TPU didn't quite manage to generate enough grip, but they couldn't buy ready-made tires in this scale.

Their new goal was to bridge the gap between realistic handling and custom fabrication, which led to intensive testing on various terrain sections of their model driving sites. 

The results were striking

Compared to regular TPU tires, the VarioShore versions delivered a dramatic performance boost, offering realistic grip and agile handling that made their RC models feel much more life-like. While the grip is slightly below that of premium ready-made tires, the leap from TPU is substantial. Different hardnesses can be made and a tread in wet tires for driving in the rain!

"Interestingly, the VarioShore tires also mimic real-world wear patterns: if pushed too hard, they overheat and degrade like Formula 1 tires, even leaving rubber on the pavement during burnouts."

Performance with varioShore TPU

The car now drives confidently, changes directions nimbly and you have to really overdo the gas to lose traction. They allow for great, and most of all realistic (!) fun with the model. Hard over-driving overheats the compound and causes real F1-style grain and debris, so tire management has become part of the fun!
Velocity Projects thinks the entire community of 3D printed remote controlled cars will benefit from their tests; 'Because relying on ready-made tires in projects was a major limitation for everyone.'

We asked Velocity Projects:
Would you recommend colorFabb varioShore TPU to others?

By all means! What's more, we would like to officially announce VarioShore as our main recommended filament for printing tires for our FV01 and all future models!

The new tires for our models are a huge step forward when it comes to our racing stable of printed models. The topic of tires has been one of the most hot topics since the release of the FV01. In addition, the FV24 will have its premiere later this summer, so we encourage you all the more to stay tuned! Printing with VarioShore is less complicated than you might think!