How do you stud tires for ice racing?

#1

Need some help here. Our karting league is getting a one-off chance to race our karts on a hockey rink next month. Road karts racing around an ice oval. For tires we have two choices: buy a spec tire set shipped from Europe already studded for $500 (ouch), or buy the spec studs and manually stud a set of rains or whatever else you can find.

My buddy and I are trying to go with the later option because $500 for a set of tires that we may never use again is a bit ridiculous. But how does one go about studding tires for karts? I watched a video of someone do it for a motorcycle and it looked like you need a liner, and then you need to rotate the studs a certain way all around the tire for the best traction. However I can’t find any guide for studding kart tires. Can you actually stud wet tires? Where do you find a liner because I can’t find a kart specific tire liner. Do you even need one? And then how should I orient the studs for maximum traction? It’s going to be an oval so I’m sure the studs will be offset somehow for that. I can’t seem to find answers for any of these things. My biggest fear is going through all the trouble of studding the tires myself and having none of them hold air. If anyone here can help me out it’d be much appreciated! Thanks in advance!

#2

Sounds like you’re going to run kold kutters or similar studs?

You can stud wets, although it’s limited usefulness unless you have super short stud heads, or limited snow on the surface.

If you can, use front wheels/tires on all four corners to keep the pressure on the tread high. Also allows you to narrow the rear track more than usual if your hubs support it and you find the need.

Studding pattern, the key is to make sure they are not in straight rows. Alternating them helps ensure each stud has a fresh piece of ice to grab onto.

You’ll want a liner to give the studs something to bite into. In which case you’ll need to either seal each screw, or the entire tire in some way.

The alternative is to use a wide auger carbide stud, but you’ll be looking at $200 in studs and even then keeping them in the tire could be hit and miss unless they are being used in a proper ice tire.

You can also add support with fender washers under the stud heads if you like.

So in short:

Use front wheels all around.
Roll your own liner.
Install in an alternating pattern.
Use silicone to seal each screw.

That said, $500 fully studded is pretty good because doing it DIY is a pain.