Reducing Jeep Rollovers

[JimmyPickles]

Hi Guys, I finished my Jeep kit and I really like it. That said, time to do some mods/upgrades

One of my issues is that the Jeep rolls easily. I know that has a lot to do with my driving. I have a fast motor and like to do a little bashing. To make matters a bit more complicated I'm in a wheelchair. This means that, depending on the terain, I could have problems recovering the truck. I currently use a long stick to flip it back over if i can get within a few feet of it.

So, what kinds of mods/upgrades can I do to reduce this? I know I need to lower the center of gravity. Would this be a good time to flip the tranny/motor and put the battery up front?

I think widening the overall stance would help as well. How exactly do I do this? I love the stock tires but am in the market for beadlocks. Is there a certain type of beadlock that will give me more options for a wider stance?

Thanks for any input

[arny]

Hello, put your battery in the front of the gearbox and before the shock hoops, I'm using smaller lipos too, 2.200mAh help lowering CG.

[o0wiz0o]

I have just ordered the Mayhen Engineering Bead locks. As with Vanquish OMF's they offer different hub sizes as I to wanted to widen the stance without going to the extreme of using Wraith Axles. When I get them I will post comparison shots.

Weighting the wheels will help to. Moving the battery made a massive difference for me...

[nightster]

I'm having the same problem with it rolling over. Gonna relocate the battery and weight the wheels. I'm running a 2s 5000 mah battery so its cog is pretty high. Good luck!

[Duckie62]

what do you mean cog is high? Try a 3s lipo. What turn is your motor?

[johnnyh66]

cog = Center Of Gravity.

[Duckie62]

Jimmy Pickles,
Do to your limited mobility. I would like to suggest that you change your body. A body that has a semi domed or domed roof like a VW bug. This will help the vehicle roll back on its wheels more often.
You also might make your footprint a little bigger to minimize roll overs by installing wheel wideners. They come in two sizes that I know of. They install between the C and the rim on the axle.

[nightster]

Originally Posted by Duckie62

what do you mean cog is high? Try a 3s lipo. What turn is your motor?

Sorry op for the high jack. I'm running the stock motor that comes on the scx10, 27t...

[Duckie62]

Johnnyh66,
Thank you, my vocabulary has grown.
Battery in front - for traction
Lipo battery
Wheel weight ratio 60 F/ 40 R, prefer in tires on rims.
Wheel wideners to increase the footprint and reduce roll covers.

[boohoo]

you could try running your shocks dry (no oil) its helped me alot with rollovers also look at changing your springs to either soft or really soft in the back and leave the medium in the front

[k7zpj]

Moving the battery forward in front of the transmission to keep it low will really help with the roll overs.



You also should add weight to the wheels. To get a 60/40 weight distribution, I used 4oz of stick on tire weights in the front wheels and 2 oz in the back.

The combination of the battery relocation and adding weight to the wheels have really reduced the number of roll overs.


Another option.... This would be fun to do.

Build a Wraith tow truck and use it as a recovery vehicle when the SCX-10 rolls over.

[messynachos]

i have the stock jeep and the 3 screws to move the battery tray were not in the rtr version but when i emailed axial about the esc problem i mentioned the screws and there being sent with a replacmet esc because it seems like the esc has become a problem in the rtr, also to help you with your question i couldnt move the battery to the front ( no screws) but i did remove the spare tire off the back and it helped alot in preventing flip over wheelies.

[Intashu]

Forward and low battery position. and I strongly suggest weighing down your tires, either with weights attached to the rims inside the tire, or use BB's so they roll around inside the tire thus, always being at the lowest possible point.

[crawlhog]

install some junfac wheel widners, should make it a little more stable. I run them on mine and rarely roll over.

[Duckie62]

the wheel Wideners work if you have 2.2 what about 1.9 wheels?
I saw some front axles that look like the ones on my Rubicon. they were longer in length. Any ideas would be helpful. I did move my battery airways in front of the trans. What or excellent idea N7zpj. Now my truck is firmly planted on its wheels. I still wish to have a bigger foot print.


I found the: STRC HD Extended axle kit by FlightDeckhobbies, on their way in the mail.

[Perkolator]

go ahead and buy yourself some beadlock wheels and some wheel weights, the extra weight in the tires will help keep you planted and make it easier to flip your rig by "throttling out". this made a pretty big difference for me, almost as much as it did when i relocated my battery like others have already pointed out. if you want to be able to throttle out better, upgrade your steering to get better angles and get a stronger servo to compliment it and keep your wheels where you point them - should be able to throttle out of most situations unless you're stuck between rocks.

other ways to add weight down low are steel beef tubes in the axles, knuckle weights (since neither affect the weight of the tire/wheel, which can stress the motor if you go too much), and metal axle parts (lockouts, c-hubs, knuckles) -- if you got all of these you will have a significant amount of weight added down low. if you get beef tubes, you have the option to buy extended version, which makes your wheelbase wider, but you will have to buy new longer axles since you're lengthening the distance between center and the c-hub.

as an alternative to wider beef tubes, try buying the slightly wider Traxxas wheel hexes or even the "hex wideners" that are available - both of which will get you wider stance w/o buying new axles, but may increase turning radius and cause rubbing issues on top of adding more leverage to the axle tip. other ways to go wider are wider aftermarket wheels, wider tires, wider offset VP hubs for aftermarket wheels, etc.

if you haven't done it already, remove the bump stops in your shocks and don't put too much preload on the springs if you can avoid it - this will allow slightly more upward compression, and will give less opposing force on the body since the spring will be under less tension - thus less chance of rollovers. every little bit of tuning will add up. unfortunately you will have to deal with the rollovers until you find that sweet spot that fits your personal setup/driving style/terrain.

really though, you just built your rig...so it sounds like you just need to get out and drive it more. the more you drive, the better your skills; the better your skills, the less rollovers you will have (well, theoretically ) be sure to check out the local forums and see if there are any other locals with crawlers to become friends with, then go out with them whenever possible. I can't imagine a more mobile person would be opposed to helping you retrieve your rig if you couldn't. If so, then that guy.

Good luck!

[biggin69]

Originally Posted by Perkolator

go ahead and buy yourself some beadlock wheels and some wheel weights, the extra weight in the tires will help keep you planted and make it easier to flip your rig by "throttling out". this made a pretty big difference for me, almost as much as it did when i relocated my battery like others have already pointed out. if you want to be able to throttle out better, upgrade your steering to get better angles and get a stronger servo to compliment it - should be able to throttle out of most situations unless you're stuck between rocks.

other ways to add weight down low are steel beef tubes in the axles, knuckle weights (since neither affect the weight of the tire/wheel, which can stress the motor if you go too much), and metal axle parts (lockouts, c-hubs, knuckles) -- if you got all of these you will have a significant amount of weight added down low. if you get beef tubes, you have the option to buy extended version, which makes your wheelbase wider, but you will have to buy new longer axles since you're lengthening the distance between center and the c-hub.

as an alternative to wider beef tubes, try buying the slightly wider Traxxas wheel hexes or even the "hex wideners" that are available - both of which will get you wider stance w/o buying new axles, but may increase turning radius and cause rubbing issues on top of adding more leverage to the axle tip. other ways to go wider are wider aftermarket wheels, wider tires, wider offset VP hubs for aftermarket wheels, etc.

if you haven't done it already, remove the bump stops in your shocks and don't put too much preload on the springs if you can avoid it - this will allow slightly more upward compression, and will give less opposing force on the body since the spring will be under less tension - thus less chance of rollovers. every little bit of tuning will add up. unfortunately you will have to deal with the rollovers until you find that sweet spot that fits your personal setup/driving style/terrain.

really though, you just built your rig...so it sounds like you just need to get out and drive it more. the more you drive, the better your skills; the better your skills, the less rollovers you will have (well, theoretically ) be sure to check out the local forums and see if there are any other locals with crawlers to become friends with, then go out with them whenever possible. I can't imagine a more mobile person would be opposed to helping you retrieve your rig if you couldn't. If so, then that guy.

Good luck!

Very well put!