Optima Long travel Suspension

[DennisM]

CB´s at the rear and Optima rear´s at the front.
Belt converted - Lazer ZX belt protection - TBG body

[rccars4sal]

Whats a CB? Looks real nice! Im glad you guys are trying out the tbg bodies. They seem to be o/k?

[GoMachV]

CB are the 1/8 scale shocks, from cars like the Vanning.

Looking good Dennis!

[DennisM]

Thanks Jeff -


The TBG Optima are not bad for the price - The body is a bit short (3-5mm) so when You ream holes for the mounts, You should start at the rear. Then mount it and mark the front.
I cut and adjust all my bodys before painting them.

[rccars4sal]

One of the few styled buggies that looks great without a wing.

[GoMachV]

Now that I've said something nice, I can say something like "what do you plan to run into with that nose brace?" it looks pretty beefy!

[DennisM]

Just the corner marshal, this will teach him to stay alert.

It could be an old front weight frame ala John Deere, they just forgot to paint it green

It´s antique, came with the buggy and doesn´t have the slot for the stabilizer.

[GoMachV]

Oh cool, I figured it was a new part

[alcyon]

One of the few styled buggies that looks great without a wing.

I wonder if the optima would handle better with a wing.

[DennisM]

I guess it would improve performance, but at the speeds back in the day, it wouldn´t have that much to say.
Many will argue this and I have no scientific proof for my opinion. But looking at the past´s dakar buggy´s, I don´t recall seing any with a "real" rc size wing.
To me it´ll just be an upside down plough

[alcyon]

I ask this question because the optima mid cant work without a wing. That could be because of the mid motor. For the optima the motor is overhung at the rear giving it more weight and grip and less steering too. So perhaps a wing might cause more understeer .

[Coelacanth]

One of the few styled buggies that looks great without a wing.

I wonder if the optima would handle better with a wing.

It does, actually. The Optima back in the day tended to land nose down. Adding a wing helped it to land jumps better.

Re: The bumper brace: Pargu makes an aluminum brace that includes the notch for the stabilizer bar. I have one of those on Barney, but I had him anodize it in black so it looks almost like the original plastic part.

[alcyon]

One of the few styled buggies that looks great without a wing.

I wonder if the optima would handle better with a wing.

It does, actually. The Optima back in the day tended to land nose down. Adding a wing helped it to land jumps better.

Re: The bumper brace: Pargu makes an aluminum brace that includes the notch for the stabilizer bar. I have one of those on Barney, but I had him anodize it in black so it looks almost like the original plastic part.

That's funny, even with almost 200g of motor weight at the back and it still lands nose down. I have never driven an Optima before.

[Coelacanth]

It has more to do with front/rear weight distribution than motor weight at the rear, I guess. The Optima was a very evenly-balanced 4WD car, but tended to nose-dive off jumps. That's probably why aftermarket wing kits soon appeared for the Optima.

[GoMachV]

It does beg to ask....why then did they move the battery forward on the Pro, while still lacking a wing? Not saying one is right or wrong, but strange that the evolution of the series after the Turbo and Salute that did have wing went to the Pro without wing and more weight to the front