Shorter wheel base vs larger tires

[shreddder]

....and when you two wanna quit goofing around,you could build a Toyota.:mrgreen::razz::ror:

A Toy? Is that what you have?

 

[Krakker]

My project Fun Buggy was focused around a short wheel base rig using small tires like the flat-iron and the Panther Cougar, and it has dig. It's a belly dragger using droop but it's stable and I can use the Eritex dig to lock or free wheel the rea tires which helps alot in under cuts.
A lot of courses are set to be more climbing friendly to the longer wheel base rigs have an advantage on being able to grab the ledge and pull them selves up where my shorter WB I'd have to bump it up and hope I could grab the ledge. Still there fare tight digs and side hills others can not make due to wheel base or running a tire that's too tall.
Try it and see how you like it.

 

[shreddder]

My project Fun Buggy was focused around a short wheel base rig using small tires like the flat-iron and the Panther Cougar, and it has dig. It's a belly dragger using droop but it's stable and I can use the Eritex dig to lock or free wheel the rea tires which helps alot in under cuts.
A lot of courses are set to be more climbing friendly to the longer wheel base rigs have an advantage on being able to grab the ledge and pull them selves up where my shorter WB I'd have to bump it up and hope I could grab the ledge. Still there fare tight digs and side hills others can not make due to wheel base or running a tire that's too tall.
Try it and see how you like it.

Well, if I had a dig, I would not be considering shortening the wheel base. How short was your wheel base?

 

[papabash]

That is another good point Papabash. I'm talking about going down from the Chisels to a 5" tire which seems pretty standard. In this area there seem to be a good chunk of guys running the rock claws which are also 5". So it wouldn't seem that I would be at any different disadvantage.

Okay, so not as much smaller as I thought you wanted, but here is my thinking, for what it's worth (usually not much) :shock:.
The rules limit how long your wheelbase can be, not how short; this tells me there is a distinct advantage to having a longer WB. Also, when I started out, I ran Rock Claws for a while because that's what I had. The guys in our club were pulling lines and climbing things I couldn't even think of doing until I went to larger tires. It made a TON of difference. I started out without dig also, and I found that I would much rather take a reverse point now and then on the tight gates, than have a rig that was at a decided disadvantage on the majority of the rest of the gates. Just my 3 1/2 cents worth. "thumbsup"

 

[shreddder]

Thanks to all for their input. I have been reading about sipping my tires. I've been told that the chisels need to be worn in with a wire brush on a dremel. I will try that along with the sipping to see if it improves performance enough to just deal with it. If it doesn't then I might experiment with a slightly shorter wheel base. Thanks again!

 

[Ads]

Its give and take. I got owned at my last comp on one particular ledge which my wheelbase was too short for. The rest of the course was really good when I practiced it later, but one gate was all it took to knock me out.
Depends a lot on the course layout as to whether a SWB will be successful

 

[shreddder]

Its give and take. I got owned at my last comp on one particular ledge which my wheelbase was too short for. The rest of the course was really good when I practiced it later, but one gate was all it took to knock me out.
Depends a lot on the course layout as to whether a SWB will be successful

What wheelbase were you running?