Weight Aspects of crawlers.

[Timmahh]

ok. been doing some reading and im pretty new to the crawler scene. ive had my kit AX 10 for about 2 months now.


i see ALOT of post about weight. now on most RC, weight saveings is a Good thing becuz of speed is directly effected as is handleing.

now with crawlers it seems additional weight, as long as its in the proper areas, would be the assest oppossed to less weight.

so other than weight relocation reasons, what is the benefits of going as light as you can on the crawler, only to put 4 to 8 oz of weight into each of the tires. obviously keeping the weight low is the most beneficial setup.

i see alot of threads about keeping it lite, but it seems to me, a lite crawler is a slipping crawler.

[2JSC]

You're kind of right in the fact that a light crawler is a slipping crawler. Reason behind it, the more weight you have on the ground, the better traction... and the lower the weight is, the lower the center of gravity keeping the rig on it's wheels and being less prone to roll overs.

[dorji]

With having less weight, it takes less power to accomplish the same goal. Also you get more run time and less broken parts, and the less weight you have up high in the chassis, the less weight you need in the wheels. Or the weight you do have in the wheels becomes more effective.

[Mnster]

More weight = more weight to push up hill.

I make my crawler as light as possible. Then add weight to the areas where I feel needs tuning.

[canadian_wk]

The lighter your rig is the less tractive force it can create but also the lighter your rig is the less tractive force it needs to achieve the same climb.

I think making your rig reasonable light is a good idea (if you go too far you'll just break stuff though). Then if you do need to add weight, you can add it in the right places (wheels usually) and it will be more effective. Also you'll have longer run times, more extra power etc etc.

[Brainstain]

You really answered your own question.

Originally Posted by Timmahh

now with crawlers it seems additional weight, as long as its in the proper areas, would be the assest oppossed to less weight.

so other than weight relocation reasons, what is the benefits of going as light as you can on the crawler, only to put 4 to 8 oz of weight into each of the tires. obviously keeping the weight low is the most beneficial setup.

i see alot of threads about keeping it lite, but it seems to me, a lite crawler is a slipping crawler.

Keep the truck light, put the weight where it's going to do the most good, and watch it crawl up a rock.. TA DA!

[crawldad91]

to me i think its a fine line between too much weight and not enough.

a lighter rig crawls better but a heavier rig will stay planted better.

gotta find a happy medium that works for you.

[Flash]

heavier the rig the more load that gets put on the drivetrain, resulting in more broken parts.