Not every basher is a cul-de-sac aficionado, in fact many get their bash-on at local tracks. Stock sct tires typically feel like you are driving on ice when on dirt, the proper tires can totally make a trip to the track much more pleasurable. Pro-Line just happens to have a tire, the Blockade SC, that they claim works well on a variety of hard pack conditions that you’ll likely find at many tracks. Do the new Blockade SC’s kick your stock tires butts? Let’s take a deeper look shall we?
From: Pro-Line Racing
Direct Link: Pro-Line Blockade SC M2 Tires
Review By: Cubby
Pics By: Cubby
Specs:
Part #: 1183-01
Fits- Most short course truck rims both front and rear.
Street Price: $22
What’s Needed To Complete Install: CA Glue
Build Quality: Precise knobs, virtually no flash.
Test Drivers: Cubby, Brian, Tim, Iron Mike
Test Venues: RC Outlaws in Collinsville Illinois, St Louis Dirtburners, Leisure Hours Raceways in Joliet Illinois
Set-up Notes: I installed the Pro-Line Blockade SC’s on our Losi Ten SCTE 4wd short course truck. Speedo was a Castle Mamba Max, motor was a Castle 1410 4 pole 3800, radio system was the venerable Futaba 4PL, and we used MaxAmps 2S 6500 Race Spec Lipo’s to provide the juice.
PERFORMANCE
Street: I would never recommend you use a small knobbied race tire on pavement (if you want your tires to live anyways). Ever. And I still don’t. However… because of the design of the Blockades they actually do survive limited running on pavement, and might I say, they provide excellent all around traction while doing so. I ran two packs with the Blockades on pavement, and while they certainly did show wear, they weren’t bald like many other race tires would have been.
Dirt: We found during our testing that the Blockades worked very well on blue-groove, offering superior all around traction to nearly any tire out there, all the while exhibiting very little wear. But… we liked them best on hard packed tracks that were still generating a dusty surface, here the Blockades provided excellent bite while being very predictable to drive on. I must also note the Blockades kicked butt when you missed the “line” or “groove” and are left running out in the larger fluff on the edge of the track. Many hard pack tires have zero traction out in the fluff, but the Blockades did better than expected. The only place we didn’t really like the Blockades was in large loamy dirt, there the small knobs of the Blockades simply couldn’t provide the grip that larger lugs would have.
As with all of our stuff, if you see us at a bash, stop by and check out the vehicles we have with us. We may let you take a test drive, and at the very least get you some stickers!
SUMMARY
Time To Bash: 8/10 – Glue’em up and get ready to jam.
Car Show Rating: 8/10 – Yet another good look’n tire from PL.
Bash-A-Bility: 8/10 – Very good wear rate for a tire of this type, and they didn’t rip to shreds on higher cells counts.
Fun Factor: 9/10 – Driving around a track with stock SCT tires can be downright difficult due to lack of traction, the Blockades are easy to drive and feel dialed.
Value: 8.0/10 – Replacing a set of tires after every run isn’t fun or cheap, the Blockades last longer than most in its class.
Big Squid Rating: 8.2/10 – Tentacles.. If you local bash-track has a hard packed base I’d highly recommend the Pro-Line Blockades for your short course truck.
Check out BigSquid RC’s full article here…
