Wide wheels vs narrow
 

Is there a benefit to either? Putting new wheels on my yeti and I see kits to widen the vanquish wheel, which is a little narrower than stock. What effects will the width have in crawling and at speed?

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

Width affects contact patch. The lighter the vehicle, the smaller the CP. The wider the wheel the smaller and lighter the CP will be.

Tire width and foams will dictate your CP. If your rig is heavier than a wider tire is ok because the CP will be effective. A wider tire on a smaller lighter rig will reduce your effective CP and affect effective traction.

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

Cool! Thanks!!

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

No problem man! Contact Patch is a beautiful thing!! "thumbsup"

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

mind you, if your running at fast speed, tall narrow tires may increase your roll over, so lower wider wheels may be the trick to fast tight drifting turns. I dont have a Yeti yet so only you can be the judge on that.

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

Interesting. I'll keep experimenting, thanks !

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

So, reviving an old thread with new questions.
I can't seem to find an exact answer anywhere...
On a light-ish (5.5 lb) rig would the narrow VP wheels be too narrow? They claim to be 1 inch, but that is including the rings, the can itself is .75 or so. Should I use a stiffer foam to compensate?
Will running the narrow wheel reduce side hill stability?

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

No. Wheel and tire width both affect contact patch. Many RC crawler wheels are too narrow for the tires these days, tires need a proper width wheel so that the sidewalls are not sucked in a bunch. A LITTLE is ok, tire contact patch can be tuned with different tires (narrower) and/or wider rims. Most 2.2s should be on 1 3/8" - 1 1/2" wide wheels.

This thankfully has not been as much of a problem with 1.9s, but you still have to check.

They are too narrow on any weight rig, most if not all of their wheels are 1" to the outside of the beadlock rings, not the inside like everybody else measures. Even if they were 1" inside, they would be too narrow. The wideners help fix this. Once the tire is on the proper width wheel, they can be tuned with different foams and/or by trimming the foams or adding an outer layer or side tuning ring to add width. Yes, tires on rims that are too narrow reduce stability. Too narrow wheels causes the tire to want to roll or slide over to side. Tires can be made to work on almost anything, but the same tires will work better on proper rim width. "thumbsup"

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

What about using the CI tuning disc to stiffen the sidewall? I have this nice set of wheels, and I'm hoping to use them, but I don't want to compromise performance.

Re: Wide wheels vs narrow
 

Those are great tuning aides, but start with proper wheel/tire width. Those pieces are more for if your foams are too narrow or very soft.