Hi, just wondering what’s the difference between these wheels:
Green Dot Sumo Tire and
Lynxmotion Sumo Tire
Which would be better for mini-sumo? Are the green dot one stickier?
Denis
Well, you have different types of tire materials to choose from.
The Green Dot and the Neoprene foam tires have a similar tire material. They are a dense foam material. Green Dot is a term more commonly used in the R/C racing car community. There are about a dozen different Dot formulations. Green Dot is a specific formulation for a certain hardness and “stickiness”.
I use the Green Dot wheels on my 3 kg sumos. They work just fine with my super secret modification. I have several mini sumos that use the Neoprene wheels with lots of success (again I use my super secret modification) to them.
Urethane tires have more traction than the foam tires. But if you use my super secret formula, it won’t make any difference between the two.
For mini sumo, make sure that the wheels are not to big so that they won’t fit in the robot. If you want to buy some off the shelf mini sumo wheels with lots of traction take a look at the “Sticky Servo Tire”. It has a lot more traction than the rubber bands used on the regular Servo Wheels. But then again, my super secret formula makes the two equal.
If you want to know what my super secret formula is, all you have to do is ask.
Back to the original question. Without modifications, the Urethane tires have more traction than the foam tires.
Pete
Hello Pete,
What is the super secret formula for the wheels?
Thanks!
I’d love to know the “super secret” too!
I’ll email him. He doesn’t check in here very often.
Thanks Jim!!!
Why don’t you just buy Pete’s book “Robot Sumo The Official Guide”.
Read the book and you will learn a lot more about robot sumo than just tire treatment.
Rick Brooks^ Already have. The book is currently in transit.
Ummm - Because I didn’t know that he had one.
Anyone have the ISBN?
Thanks Beth - I was looking for the ISBN so I could get it from my library - As far as I know, Amazon doesn’t show it - Am I just not looking hard enough? 
You just need to look down a bit further - it’s under the “Product Details” section:
ISBN-10: 007222617X
ISBN-13: 978-0072226171
I don’t know how likely it is that your library will have the book, but if the library is part of the inter-library loan program, they might be able to get it for you.
If not, you can get a used copy on Amazon for something like $9-$12 with shipping via their marketplace (sort of like eBay for books). I order textbooks all the time from the marketplace, and haven’t had any trouble so far!
Thanks Beth! You ROCK…
Ahah, glad I could help. 
Wutha!!! wow, I was a technical editor on that book. I thought it was no longer in print! Coolness! It’s a great book. 8) Um without regard for my involvement, lol.
Now that we know about the book…read pages 310 and 311.
Rick Brooks
Okay, here is the secret,
RTV Silicone, the stuff you use on gaskets for your car. I like the RTV Blue and RTV Black.
I apply a thin layer the night before a competition. I find those cheap plastic fake credit cards the best applicator for the RTV.
By the next morning they are great for traction.
I use baby wipes to keep the wheels clean between matches.
That is all there is to it. It can be applied to any wheel.
Hope this helps.
Pete
Something similar I use when I need a very “grippy” surface is the rubber cement that is sold in craft departments for glueing paper and such. It doesn’t get as hard as rtv when dry, but this seems to add to it having a high coefficient of friction on a surface.
Great ideas guys!!!
Now if I could just make up my mind on the next bot project!!!
I was almost ready to pull the trigger on the RoboNova, and then saw some other brands - Now I’m not sure
In the mean time, I ordered the Parallax Sumo kit with 2 bots to try that out, and now I’m leaning towards NOT getting a humanoid, but maybe building a larger Sumo or 2…
Arrgh!!! It seems like the larger kits are out of stock because of line sensors and motor controllers (I think) and the new SSC / BB2 lines are about to come - Double Arrrgh!!!
I think I’ll just have to sit back for a bit and wait 
Thanks Pete and zoomkat!
dz