JConcepts hunk 1.9" performance scaler
For this project we wanted to take a close look at a new 1.9” Hunk Performance Scaler tire from JConcepts.
This new SORRCA-legal Class 2 competition tire looks sharp and nails a classic look which not only meets the rule requirements for Class 2, but also helps round out the ever-growing crawler tire product line from JConcepts. The SORRCA organization places limitations as to which tires are allowed for Class 2 competition, and a basic rule of thumb to follow is that they ( SORRCA ) want you to select a tire similar to what you will find on a 1:1 trail truck. This requirement throws out competition tires such as pin tires or unique designs like the JConcepts Ruptures or Losi Claws. |
With that in mind, crawling with Class 2 legal tires increases the difficulty of scaling steep, technical ascents. This brings a new element to driving, pushing a higher level of focus and better line selection out on the trail. For this evaluation, we will be using our Vanquish VS 410 Pro which meets the requirements of the Class 2 truck design.
Testing Setup
Staying consistent with our standard process for preparing tires for testing, we punched in three small holes to vent the tires and then installed a new set of the Ottsix Racing 3.4 Halo Foams. I’ve run these foams a few times with good results, and since most of the crawling will be with the heavier Vanquish VS 410 Pro, these foams should be about spot-on.
This foam and tire setup was mounted on a set of Vanquish aluminum beadlock wheels.
Staying consistent with our standard process for preparing tires for testing, we punched in three small holes to vent the tires and then installed a new set of the Ottsix Racing 3.4 Halo Foams. I’ve run these foams a few times with good results, and since most of the crawling will be with the heavier Vanquish VS 410 Pro, these foams should be about spot-on.
This foam and tire setup was mounted on a set of Vanquish aluminum beadlock wheels.
Tire Details
Like other JConcepts crawling tires we've tested in the past, this new set of Hunk tires continue on with the same excellent attention to detail and soft Green-Dot rubber compound. After testing nearly a half-dozen sets of tires from JConcepts, they have yet to come up short on quality. Well-formed tire beads make installation simple, and the retro-looking font used for lettering is sharp. The Hunk’s tread pattern seems to be somewhat modeled after the TSL Super Swamper, with a reworking of the center lug pattern, resulting in a tighter inner tread. |
Like most scale tires, the tread pattern is non-directional with one half-of the tire a reversed and mirrored pattern of the other side. This way you cannot mount the tire backwards on the wheel. You can also flip the Hunks to get a bit more life from the tire by running them in the opposite direction.
Wrapping around the side of the tire is a rather modest sidewall pattern with encircling ring at the tire’s midpoint. These should be functional for gripping the rock on some tight squeezes, but they are not massive blocks of rubber which will seize hold of rocky features.
The spacing on the side lugs is generous, offering plenty of open area to grab hold of rock edges and loose soils, as well as mud or sand. In between the large side lugs are small, molded rock ejectors which are commonly found on many different off-road 1:1 tires. When the tire flexes, these short ridges will push out any small rocks which have become wedged in between the large side lugs.
This tread pattern is a versatile, “do everything” off-road style in terms of performance, but I have never been a big fan of their performance on steep, dry technical rock. I’ve seen that the large gaps between the side lugs reduces overall contact patch to the rock, and the tightly-woven inner lug's linear pattern has too-little spacing to hook onto any crack or bump on the rock’s surface. This opinion is derived purely from a technical performance of the tire on the trail and has no regard to driving on a paved road as a 1:1 tire may be required to do at times.
I feel this brings us to an often-misunderstood aspect of rock crawling tires on a RC truck versus a 1:1 truck. As we know in RC, there is no need to concern ourselves with driving on roads or even top-speed limitations when it comes to tires. This is not the case with their 1:1 counterpart. Even the massive Interco TSL Swampers still need to be “somewhat” drivable on paved or dirt roads; not every person has a trailer and truck to haul their dedicated crawler to the trail head.
Luckily, the 1:1 versions which the Hunks are modeled after can handle some casual street driving when needed. That inner, tight tread pattern is very helpful on pavement and dirt roads in extending the tire’s tread life and improving handling, but it does no favors for you on technical rocks. Conversely, you would not want to drive 1:1 Ruptures on the street. Not only would the wear out quickly, the would be quite squirrely in the corners.
All of this said, the point is that the Hunk tire is carefully modeled after their 1:1 off-road tire counterparts ( yes, we all know that’s the point – Class 2 compliant ), but in terms of it being the best crawling tire tread design, it’s really more of a compromise than an all-out ultimate rock crawler tire design.
Wrapping around the side of the tire is a rather modest sidewall pattern with encircling ring at the tire’s midpoint. These should be functional for gripping the rock on some tight squeezes, but they are not massive blocks of rubber which will seize hold of rocky features.
The spacing on the side lugs is generous, offering plenty of open area to grab hold of rock edges and loose soils, as well as mud or sand. In between the large side lugs are small, molded rock ejectors which are commonly found on many different off-road 1:1 tires. When the tire flexes, these short ridges will push out any small rocks which have become wedged in between the large side lugs.
This tread pattern is a versatile, “do everything” off-road style in terms of performance, but I have never been a big fan of their performance on steep, dry technical rock. I’ve seen that the large gaps between the side lugs reduces overall contact patch to the rock, and the tightly-woven inner lug's linear pattern has too-little spacing to hook onto any crack or bump on the rock’s surface. This opinion is derived purely from a technical performance of the tire on the trail and has no regard to driving on a paved road as a 1:1 tire may be required to do at times.
I feel this brings us to an often-misunderstood aspect of rock crawling tires on a RC truck versus a 1:1 truck. As we know in RC, there is no need to concern ourselves with driving on roads or even top-speed limitations when it comes to tires. This is not the case with their 1:1 counterpart. Even the massive Interco TSL Swampers still need to be “somewhat” drivable on paved or dirt roads; not every person has a trailer and truck to haul their dedicated crawler to the trail head.
Luckily, the 1:1 versions which the Hunks are modeled after can handle some casual street driving when needed. That inner, tight tread pattern is very helpful on pavement and dirt roads in extending the tire’s tread life and improving handling, but it does no favors for you on technical rocks. Conversely, you would not want to drive 1:1 Ruptures on the street. Not only would the wear out quickly, the would be quite squirrely in the corners.
All of this said, the point is that the Hunk tire is carefully modeled after their 1:1 off-road tire counterparts ( yes, we all know that’s the point – Class 2 compliant ), but in terms of it being the best crawling tire tread design, it’s really more of a compromise than an all-out ultimate rock crawler tire design.
Out on The Trail
We headed up to Badrock Ridge to see what these Hunk tires could do on our VS 410 Pro. Rolling across the start of the trail, I was happy with the foam’s performance and the tire’s ability to conform to the rock’s surface. From the initial look of things, the setup was correct. Headed into moderately difficult rock, the Hunks had no problem putting traction to the ground with a bit of aid from the side lugs, but I could hear just a bit of slipping from the tires. I was suspicious this might be an issue, but it was too early in the drive to be certain. We moved on to steeper sections, taking one of the more challenging lines which rises up from a shadowed valley and twists its way along lichen-covered sandstone. This surface is deceptively slick, with small bits of sandstone constantly giving way from underneath the tires. |
On our first attempt up, we made it up to just under the half-way point where a somewhat inconspicuous rock outcropping leans out just enough to lift the front tires up and break the rear tire’s traction. It’s a minor shift on the incline, but it proved to be a real problem for us that morning.
Backing down the rock about one full truck-length, we continued to probe different paths to get up and over this one small section.
Continually we were thwarted because the front tires didn’t have enough traction to grip the smooth and rounded surfaces of the rock. The rear tires were holding, but without the up-and-over pull from the front tires, it started to look like defeat. Giving this predicament a bit more thought, I came up with a line where I would lean slightly to the left, dropping into a shallow seam in the rock, forcing the large outer lugs to dig into the rock and hopefully pull the VS 410 to the top. After a few attempts, the left front tire was able to catch and provide that last bit of traction needed to work past the outcropping and to the top of the climb. I was able to repeat this line a few times, working out the last small details of truck placement and speed. The rest of the day at Badrock Ridge followed that routine, and a clear pattern had started to emerge. |
Rather than running straight up a difficult section and relying on pure traction and suspension setup, I found that short steps to the left and right tended to give the best success. This pattern of steering focused the larger side lugs of the tire to bite into the rock, allowing for a much stronger hold.
We closed off the day of testing after running through five battery packs in total, and subsequently developed a good feel for these Hunk tires. Overall at this point, the Hunk tires were pretty good at most trail aspects, but the steep sections were tricky.
We closed off the day of testing after running through five battery packs in total, and subsequently developed a good feel for these Hunk tires. Overall at this point, the Hunk tires were pretty good at most trail aspects, but the steep sections were tricky.
Lucky Peak
Nearing the end of August, the weather was still rather warm at Lucky Peak, but the water levels had dropped down low enough to grant us access to the crawling trails. As an added bonus, the water helped remove some of the loose dirt and soil in a few spots, leaving fresh rock for crawling. We started off on a few basic sections of the trail, running along familiar lines which separated the more technical sections of the trail. Coming up to the first steep section, the Hunk tires hooked up well on the exposed rock, conforming to the shape of the surface. The fresh, dry rock provided plenty of texture for the soft rubber compound to grip and there was minimal slipping from the tires. |
The uneven surface allowed the large side lugs to hook into the rock and help the truck cruise to the top of the rock formation.
Further on in the trail we tacked a large, rolling formation which features a tricky side-hill as part of the initial steep ascent.
This line took more than a few attempts before we made it to the top. It was solved by using the side-hill to our advantage, wrapping the VS 410 up and around the rock while pushing the large side lugs into the rock’s surface from the outside edge of the lower tires. Once we had traction on the rock, a smooth and deliberate crawl was used to carefully gain elevation while maintaining a favorable lean to the right side. As the elevation increased, the rock began to flatten out at the top and the front of the truck settled down, pulling the rear of the truck up and over. Again the Hunks didn’t grip the rock in the same way that the Tusks or even the Proline BFG Krawlers would ( we’ve run both tires on this rock section ), but they were able to hold well enough get us to the top. It simply took a better line and more attention paid to the driving style in order to be successful. |
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Once that line was complete, we decided to tackle a steep and chunky hill which had given trucks some difficulty in the past. For this rock, picking the right line and allowing the suspension to settle down is key to making it to the top.
We ended up shooting a video of this crawl to demonstrate the short left and right steering lines used to keep the side edges of the Hunks engaged to the rock’s surface. As you can see, picking the right line and working carefully on the steering will yield the best results. |
Conclusion
If you are after a classic rock crawling, mud bogging Class 2 compliant scale tire, then the JConcepts Hunk is something worth your attention. The detail and attention placed on capturing the “scale” look for the Hunk is really second to none, and of course like all JConcepts crawler tires, the Hunk is made from their sticky Green Dot soft rubber compound. That said, the Hunk isn’t the “ultimate” rock crawling tire, but I feel the Hunks will force you to be a better driver by making careful choices about the lines you pick as well as paying closer attention while you crawl. |
Evaluation Results
Technical Rock: 24/30
Large Slab ( Slick Rock ): 15/20
Tire Construction Quality and Appearance: 19/20
Rubber Compound: 20/20
Tread Life: 5/5
Versatility: 4/5
Total Score: 87/100
Technical Rock: 24/30
- The Hunks offer a respectable level of ability on technical rock, but they're not quite at the same level as other tires we’ve tested from both JConcepts and other manufacturers. The Swamper tread pattern lacks the engagement ability when compared to more aggressive styles, with the tightly-packed middle tread band preventing the tire from gripping the rock’s surface.
Large Slab ( Slick Rock ): 15/20
- On the large, slick slabs of sandstone, the Hunks did better than expected, but again came up a bit short when compared to other tires. This tire leans heavily on its soft rubber compound for traction rather than tread pattern.
Tire Construction Quality and Appearance: 19/20
- What the Holds gave up in performance, it gains in scale looks. JConcepts absolutely nails the scale appearance, and the tire’s construction is nearly perfect. Beads are well formed, the carcass soft and pliable, and the molding is clean and crisp.
Rubber Compound: 20/20
- JConcepts green rubber compound is soft, sticky, and pliable. Perfectly suited for rock crawling in our terrain.
Tread Life: 5/5
- The Swamper tread pattern lends itself to a long tread life with much of the tire being supported by the tight inner tread band. We did see some rounding of the corners on the lugs around the tire’s crown, but that’s to be expected after dozens of adventures out on our trails.
Versatility: 4/5
- For the scale crawler or trail truck, this is a do-everything tire. Much like their 1:1 counterpart, the Hunks are at home in just about any terrain. That said, for steep or highly-challenging technical rock, the Hunks do have their limitations.
Total Score: 87/100
Specs
JConcepts Hunk Performance Scaler Tire
Links
JConcepts Hunk Performance Scaler Tire
- Part Number: 3089-02
- Retail Price: $33.00 per pair
- Size: 120mm / 4.75”
- Rubber Compound: Soft Green Dot
- Directional: No
- Test Truck: Vanquish VS 410 Pro
- Foams Used: Ottsix Racing 3.4” Halo
Links