How much does weight matter?
 

Hi Guys,

So I'm at a cross roads regarding which buggy/chassis I'm going to use to get back into the hobby.

I quickly bought a few second hand rollers a few weeks ago and through a bit of late night ebay madness ending up winning different auctions :woot: so obviously want to keep one and sell the other.

Anyhow, as I don't know much about new stuff, I got to think about weight and how much of an effect it has on the cars etc, so I did a comparision.

The comparision is based upon the rolling chassis, set of identical wheels and tyres with inserts (in rear), rear wings, but no bodies.


Chassis #1 is 950gm (no weights)
Chassis #2 is 1050gm (but does have a 20gm servo brass weight)

If I placed the same servo, esc, motor. battery etc into each chassis - am I going to notice or see a big difference between the 2?

Going on JUST the above information which chassis would you run?

Both buggies are 'current' models from respective manufacturers.

Thanks.

Strangely when dealing with bumps in off road, extra can help out quite a lot so I don't think weight is a good way to decide.

thanks
20 people read it but you are first to offer help :)

I think you are basing your decision entirely on the wrong criteria. As said above extra weight can help to settle a buggy off-road and gone are the days of making it as light as possible to last a 5 minute race. Now you have an abundance of power and battery longevity so factors such as chassis flex and geometry have become far more important

It can be a little quiet in here.

That is quite possibly correct, but also as the difference if almost 10% the question is would there be much performance difference between the 2 based solely on weight.

If its not the case - that's fine, but the other questions would come at a later date :thumbsup:

The heavier car should be easier to drive but if you can control it the lighter car may be quicker. We also have a minimum weight limit so you might find you need to add weight to the lighter car if you are planning on running regional/national events.

Much better advise to choosing which one to run would be if anybody else is running the same car - don't under estimate others knowing the chassis and being able to help. Also if spares as easily available - if everyone is running the same chassis as you then you can usually buy a wishbone etc.

With the power we have available to us now you won't notice any difference in acceleration or top end.

The location of weight within the car is a very useful tuning aid, it isn't simply the overall weight which is helpful, it's the distribution.

You ask the question stating 'just' on overall weight alone. The answer would depend on the surface you are running on. As a basic rule of thumb, weight settles the car over moderate to high traction bumps, depending on the distribution it also helps on low traction surfaces. However it also also can help in high traction, flat surfaces - if the weight is towards the front. If you are running on a smooth medium to high traction then potentially lighter may be better - but the overriding factor is the location of the weight, not the overall figure.

Which buggies did you get then?

If you are racing 2wd then you will need to meet a minimum weight for that class.

Best to have a light chassis so you can add weight to where it is needed, most race spec buggies are light by the way. Xb2, B6.2 etc.