Now building light rigs?

[axman2010]

Ok so when I fist got into crawling, everything I read said to be as heavy as possible, I followed that and my rigs always performed, they were predictable and I know how to drive them. Everything I read now is all about being light? I dont get it, I guess I will have to put my rig on a diet to see what its all about, the only thing is my bullies are heavy. I would like to here your toughts and opinions on this. Keith.

[Terminator13]

If your setups working fine for you, why change it? It's your rig to do what you want with, and if what you do with it works, why follow the crowd.

Same thing in scale. I've built lightweight "cheater rigs" That outperformed any and everything, but it wasnt my setup so I went back to the heavyweights. I think it's got alot to do with driving style and everything.

[kalin96]

Its better to have most of your weight low so then you would have a lower COG.

But yeah, if everything your doing is workin for you stick with it.

[Nabil]

i just cut about 1.5 pounds of my berg and I am taking it out in a couple hours to see how it does. the one thing i noticed is with it being so light is that it really doesnt take much to change the weight bias

[Robb]

I have been playing with a CC for awhile, and as of this morning have my RS10 running.

The goal of both was to be under 4.5lb rigs. The RS10 is about .5lb off so far.

After running a heavy Berg for so long, I just decided to switch gears. Hasn't it proven to be better? Nope But I still have confidence that this is the direction I want to go, just need a lot more experimentation.

[Offroader5]

I would think it may have something to do with the rock racing craze. For a rock racer, you'd be better off light.

It's not how much you weigh....it's where the weight you do have is situated on the rig. If you have a heavy rig but alot of it is down low....the rig itself is heavy overall, but the ratio of that to where your center of gravity is might be better than an overall light rig that's top heavy.

One thing I've realized is...the lighter you can make your sprung weight the better. If that sprung weight is very light...then you don't have to run so much weight in the wheels. You can run lighter wheels and still keep most of your overall weight low in unsprung weight.

Also...the heavier your rig is the more firmness you need to have in your foam to support the vehicle.

[Stormin2u]

I just lost 1/2 a pound on my 2.2 but I'm not sure of it's impact just yet.

[HOLLYWOOD7]

my LCC climbs awesome at 5LBS

[jetboat]

Ive always built light rigs, then added the weight to the wheels where they were needed. My current rig is Bully based (originals not cast) so I went light on everything else I could. I went with the SPI rocker wheels to remove as much rotating mass as possible then added weights to the wheels (via the rockers) as it was needed to make the truck perform.

3 draw backs to heavy tucks:
1. amp draw, the heavier it is the more power you need and the shorter the run time
2. breakage, the heavier it is the more stress you put on parts.
3. Wheelspeed, the more weight that the motor has to turn, the slower it will go.

[Harvo]

I finished well in TN with a heavy rig this season. I dropped a bunch of weight just to see what kind of differences it makes. It's been a tough road because the lighter you make your wheels, the more top heavy your rig is. I think my final light setup is going to work well, but to get a performer I had to...

Use shorter tires
Softer foam
reduce my drag brake
and soften my shocks.... a lot

I think my rig will pull sidehills better, as the front will hold a line and even dig uphill better. The heavier wheels used to drag the front down on sidehills. Climbing is a bunch easier too. Overall the truck just feels more nimble.

In the event of a change of mind, I can throw on my heavy set of wheels / tires and adjust my shocks in minutes though

[InFlames]

In my opinion i dont see how a light rig would hook like a heavier rig, although i think there is a fine margin of weight, to much and it wont sidehill or go up verticle climbs as good, to light and it wouldnt hook. JMO

[Offroader5]

Originally Posted by InFlames

In my opinion i dont see how a light rig would hook like a heavier rig, although i think there is a fine margin of weight, to much and it wont sidehill or go up verticle climbs as good, to light and it wouldnt hook. JMO

Something to remember though....

Whether your heavy or light...we all more or less run the same tires. Even though a light rig may not have as large of a contact patch on the tires, it doesn't weigh as much so it doesn't necessarily need that large contact patch.

It all also depends on the foam in those tires. If running the same tires, you lightened your rig, you wouldn't have as large of a patch than when it was heavy. You could soften up the foams to get back that contact patch. So now, you'd have the same patch, but a lighter rig....I'd think it would hook up better.

Another benefit of light is the servo & steering. If the rig is light, the servo doesn't have to work as hard to turn. It also can act as a "movement" aid easier since it's not having to move more weight.

[fernando]

My AX10 ARTR comes in at 5lb 8oz and does very well.

[LincolnBlack]

Originally Posted by Offroader5

Something to remember though....

Whether your heavy or light...we all more or less run the same tires. Even though a light rig may not have as large of a contact patch on the tires, it doesn't weigh as much so it doesn't necessarily need that large contact patch.

Isn't it not the size of the contact patch that matters, but the contact pressure? Obviously the the size of the patch dictates pressure for a given truck, but a light truck will have a lighter contact pressure even if patch sizes are the same? Granted, a lighter truck will need less grip to prevent a tyre pushing, but a heavier truck will generate more grip on the same tyre?

Just thoughts...

I build my trucks as light as possible. Then add all the weight I need in the wheels to give the weight bias and suspension action I'm after.

[Harvo]

Not sure if you are familiar with Panther tires, but they are super soft and not supportive at all. On a heavy rig I had to run F-400 (stiff) Panther foams to get them to stand up and not roll over when turning.

With the lighter set up, I can use HB foams in the Panthers and get the same result but with one advantage... the HB foams allow the tire to conform better to the rock because they are softer... making them hook up better.

[Harvo]

Originally Posted by LincolnBlack

I build my trucks as light as possible. Then add all the weight I need in the wheels to give the weight bias and suspension action I'm after.

Another approach (not saying its better... just different) is to soften the suspension with lighter springs, shock leverage (position) and lighter oil to get the action without adding un-needed weight.

[SACCO]

I'm runnin a med-heavy rig now and love it. The lighter rig just didnt bite like i wanted. I tried changing springs,oil, foams, etc and just couldnt get it.

[xgerstandtx]

im with a heavier/med axial based rig and for my next 2.2 i am gonna try the lighter weight rig moa style.

[R2j]

I shaved a pound and a half of my rig and I really like the way it has performed. I to was on the heavier the better band wagon, but I think I've seen the light.( no pun intended ) I seemed that when I was running heavy, I was breaking more often, it was harder to pull up out of cracks/crevasses and uphill climbing was less effective. It seems now to more like float across the rocks, less effort. I guess it still comes down to how you drive and how the rest of the rig is set up. Some will like a heavy rig and some a light.
Now if I was just a better driver, LOL.

[2500hdon37s]

my losi at 5.5 preforms great but id still like it a little lighter because my front foams are a tad too soft now