Go Back   RCCrawler Forums > RCCrawler General Tech > Tires and Wheels
Loading

Notices

Thread: Wide wheels vs narrow

Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 09-21-2014, 06:36 AM   #1
Rock Crawler
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tuxedo NY
Posts: 582
Default 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?
Turtlejon is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links
Old 09-21-2014, 10:34 AM   #2
Pebble Pounder
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Posts: 139
Default Re: Wide wheels vs narrow

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtlejon View Post
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?

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.
Morbid Angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 11:27 AM   #3
Rock Crawler
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tuxedo NY
Posts: 582
Default Re: Wide wheels vs narrow

Cool! Thanks!!
Turtlejon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 09:57 PM   #4
Pebble Pounder
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Posts: 139
Default Re: Wide wheels vs narrow

No problem man! Contact Patch is a beautiful thing!!
Morbid Angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-21-2014, 10:00 PM   #5
Pebble Pounder
 
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: Vancouver Island, BC, Canada
Posts: 139
Default 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.
Morbid Angel is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 09-22-2014, 07:12 PM   #6
Rock Crawler
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tuxedo NY
Posts: 582
Default Re: Wide wheels vs narrow

Interesting. I'll keep experimenting, thanks !
Turtlejon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 03-29-2016, 03:55 PM   #7
Rock Crawler
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tuxedo NY
Posts: 582
Default 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?

Last edited by Turtlejon; 03-29-2016 at 06:27 PM.
Turtlejon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2016, 01:17 AM   #8
I wanna be Dave
 
Natedog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Corruptifornia
Posts: 12,107
Default Re: Wide wheels vs narrow

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtlejon View Post
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?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Morbid Angel View Post
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.
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Turtlejon View Post
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?
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.
Natedog is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2016, 10:59 AM   #9
Rock Crawler
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Tuxedo NY
Posts: 582
Default 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.
Turtlejon is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-01-2016, 12:09 PM   #10
I wanna be Dave
 
Natedog's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Corruptifornia
Posts: 12,107
Default 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.
Natedog is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply



Wide wheels vs narrow - Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Narrow vs wide wheel Turtlejon Axial Yeti 6 09-23-2014 02:49 PM
Wide or narrow axle????? Ty-bo Tamiya Clod Buster 12 09-14-2009 11:00 AM
wide vs narrow wheels? smallblock500 Newbie General 7 11-16-2008 08:33 AM
Should I go wide or narrow? Mighty Mouse Tires and Wheels 21 03-31-2007 04:10 PM
Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 11:45 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.7
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Content Relevant URLs by vBSEO ©2011, Crawlability, Inc.
Copyright 2004-2014 RCCrawler.com