why do 1/8 buggies run narrow rear wheels and tires?

[Mr. ED]

As the title says: why do 1/8 buggies run narrow tires and wheels in the rear?

back in the days you would see 1/10 buggies with wide fronts, but now all have narrow fronts and wide rears. Trucks are wide in the front and back and 1/8 buggies are narrow in the front and back. Any ideas or opinions on why they don't use wide rears? Or even wide all-around?

[JK Racing]

I think Proline released some wider rear tires, but I didnt see it catch on. One of the good things about 1/8th buggy is using the same wheel/tire on all 4 corners

[uzzi]

Race rules probably....any wider your car will fail tech

[kink]

Do full sized 4x4 off road rally cars cars have different sized wheels/tyres? No.

[Bormac]

Because it's stoopid. That's why I love my Turbo Burns with medium widths up front and wide in the rear.

[Chris K]

LOL at J.M. - good thought; and certainly NOT a bad idea!

I think the majority of 1/8 buggies are 'close' to 50% - 50% weight distribution - which would tend to support equal size tires on both ends... PLUS, in most off road vehicles, adequate steering (balancing traction front to rear) is a goal and certainly it's easier to 'tune in' steering when the tires are all the same size and therefore close to the same level of grip. In addition, differential fluid has quite a bit of effect on steering and general responsiveness and therefore the tire size is less of a factor.

So, basically it's easier to balance levels of traction when the rubber on the ground is the same size.

OH, and the number 1 reason??? It's always been that way - except for the Turbo Burns!

[Bormac]

Thanks Chris. I thought my comment would get a laugh from someone. My car is not intended for competition. I built it purely around its looks. Basically wanted a 1/8 Optima(ish) type basher.

[Mr. ED]

So there're good reasons for a 1/8th. And it sounds like those reasons would be just as true for a modern layout 4WD 1/10

[kaiser]

the bigger question is why are truggy tires so damn big?

[Chris K]

So there're good reasons for a 1/8th. And it sounds like those reasons would be just as true for a modern layout 4WD 1/10

Probably not so much; mainly because of the lack of a center differential.

Remember this, early 1/8 cars did not have a center diff - it was considered a tuning option and just worked so well that it became almost standard in the 90's. I remember having a conversation with a well known on road driver who had run some early off road 1/8 - his question related to why the center diff and why didn't we use it as a tuning option... at that time all I could answer is that 'they' all seem to have them so I figured that it was always better. And I believe that is true even to this day but no one offers a modern buggy/truggy with that as an option. Logic would dictate that if designers felt there was an advantage, someone or everyone would offer it in their products.

For the most part there isn't SPACE for a center diff in most 1/10th scale buggies.... The majority of the 1/10th scale SC trucks have center diffs and they seem to work well but Traxxas is the only company (to my knowledge) that offers a choice with their 4 x 4 Slash.

Interesting thought though.....

[scr8p]

the bigger question is why are truggy tires so damn big?

an even bigger question is why are there truggies period?

[kaiser]

TRUE.

the answer is guys who can't drive buggies needed training wheels. training wheels didn't work well so the truggy was invented.

[RC10resto]

Thank god I'm not the only one that thinks those things are ridiculous

[Coelacanth]

the bigger question is why are truggy tires so damn big?

an even bigger question is why are there truggies period?

I got to wondering that back just before I joined this site, when I decided to restore my original Optima and saw all these ridiculous-looking RC...things...driving around on YouTube videos, noses up in the air & butts sagging in the dirt like a poodle with worms scooting around the carpet. I guess I've learned to live with truggies being a big part of the RC scene, but I haven't even the slightest interest in owning one.

[kink]

the bigger question is why are truggy tires so damn big?

an even bigger question is why are there truggies period?

Damn right!! I hate those crappy things (no offence to the lovers).


ps

Your Burns is awesome. Cannot call it a Turbo when it has the wrong wheels though!