GT front axles vs standard axles - improved performance?

[mdutcher]

On one of my runners it is a standard gold tub with original a-arms but I am running B4 wheels front and rear.

The front wheels are working just fine as is with the original axles, but am curious to know if the buggy would perform better with some GT front axles and increase the front stance width a little more. I am running the GT front axles on another buggy, but the setup is different and will not give an apples to apples comparison, at least I don't think that it will.

For those that are running a standard gold pan set up with modern wheels and the longer front GTaxles, what has been your experience here? Before I head down the path, I just wanted to see what you guys had to say.

Wider stance = improved steering performance characteristics. Seems logical. What do you know about this?

[Y'ernat Al]

Won't you just get more apples to oranges (or worse yet - apples to vegetables) comparisons by asking opinions?

What you should do is swap - pull the pins out and throw a set of GT axles next time the pack is charging. Then you have apples to apples. Same driver, same everything. And let us know what you think

And I just noticed you run Dualsky electrics. I love the Z5 motor I picked up. Good stuff IMO.

[justinspeed79]

I have never tried it on a buggy, but I know that running the the extended gt axles on a gt is not favorable. IIRC the proper term is scrub angle, and it throws the steering geometry off. When I tried them on my truck it made it push way too much in the corners. I run T4 spindles, inline steering blocks and axles on my racing gt and it handles great. Might be worth trying on a buggy.

[soniccj5]

Mine has the wider front axles and with the bigjeepz arms it makes it a bit wider than a B4. It turns great without any problems.


It all boils down to how you drive. Like mentioned earlier swap them out and take it for a rip.

[mdutcher]

Yep, I knew that I could swap it all out and let her rip, but I really wanted to hear some opinions on the subject and I appreciate the response. Thanks!

[mdutcher]

And I just noticed you run Dualsky electrics. I love the Z5 motor I picked up. Good stuff IMO.

I really dig the Dualsky stuff. A local guy here was pushing it and for the price, it is really great stuff.

I have a couple ESC's and a few motors and they all perform as expected.

[Y'ernat Al]

And I just noticed you run Dualsky electrics. I love the Z5 motor I picked up. Good stuff IMO.

I really dig the Dualsky stuff. A local guy here was pushing it and for the price, it is really great stuff.

I have a couple ESC's and a few motors and they all perform as expected.

x2. Yeah I haven't tried an esc yet, but I will pick one up at some point. 17.5 Z5 I have is an ice cube and just looks and feels like it should cost more than it did.

The steering thing is so subjective. There are so many things that go into it, on top of how personal preference and track types play into the importance of entry versus exit steering. This is my favorite page that talks about all the different tuning characteristics that affect steering.

http://www.petitrc.com/setup/associated/setupb4/B4_CharliePerezSetupHints.htm

It's B4.0 specific, but I learned a lot trying to setup my short armed, B4-tired, Losi XXX-T axled, RC10 for a fairly tight but long clay indoor track.

And all things being equall except width. I've noticed one thing that isn't mentioned much, but the width gives is forgiveness in front end landings. The wider stance acts like a catchers mit and "collects" the car back onto the straight and narrow if it hits a jump and flies a bit cockeyed.

[JHarris]

My own experience trying the wide axles with B4 front wheels v/s stock axles and stock wheels made it pretty clear which was better. When you use the wide axle you are moving the entire wheel out away from the kingpin. This changes the geometry, making the wheel rotate "around" the kingpin instead of with the kingpin. The result is a car that drives weird.

[protsi]

its no diference in performance if you use the b4 wheels because what you gain with the new axles you loose it with the wheels at the end what you have is same separation with bigger offset in wheel hope this bring light for those who want to run new wheels and no need to woory about old wheels. amen

[soniccj5]

I just switched my RC-10 over to standard B4 axles. Hope to find some track time within the next couple weeks.

[jwscab]

If the gt axles gave you the same offset with b4 wheels that the regular axles and original wheels do, the scrub angle would be the same. I wanna say the gt axle pushes the offset out a little too much.

[scr8p]

other than the b4 rims being wider, my front end with gt axles and b4 rims is no different than my worlds car with stock axles and 3 piece ce/worlds rims. the center ribs on the tires match up perfectly.

technically, it does push the wheel out. but there's more wheel to the inside too. the same thing would happen if you used wide proline b2/b3 front rims on a stock rc10 front end.

[Charlie don't surf]

The "issue", as Jeff said isn't about offset specifically. It's about how far away from the kingpin (the vertical axis) the wheel pivot (radius) is moved. Let's go to an extreme point- imagine the GT wide axel being 6" long and the steering arm being on the chassis center line. The wheel follows a very long and wide arc of motion under these conditions as the steering arm was turned left and right, also causing wheelbase changes (like a red wagon) vs the short axel pivoting right at the kingpin.

I can tell you it makes a big difference on the track-

[scr8p]

keep that "technical" crap to yourselves.

[askbob]

You know how those college kids are...