Crawler Wheel Weighting - How To

Crawler Wheel Weighting - How To
Tony Arnold - StampedeProject.com

If you have spent any time crawling you know that just a little extra traction and a little lower CG could get you through those impossible gates. A huge performance improvement is less than an hour and $20 away. Adding weight to your wheels is one of the top ways to improve traction, CG and overall performance of your rock crawler.

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TIPS FROM A PRO
Brad Dumont – AKA Bender
Combined tire/wheel weight targets:
8-12oz for each front
4-8 oz. for each rear
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Pros like National crawler champion Brad Dumont (AKA Bender), typically vary the weight of the tires depending on tire compound, tread, foam type and terrain. Some people prefer no weight, others like each wheel/tire to tip over a pound. Just note, too much weight in the tires can actually reduce traction from “LFO” (Lug Fold Over) and increase drivetrain stress and breakage during crashes.

[CAPTION - The Mayhem Engineering Beadlocks feature heavy ball bearings that provide weight and rotate with the wheel for the lowest possible CG]

If you start with soft compound tire like Pro Line’s M3 crawler tires with memory foam inserts and heavy machined beadlocks such as the Eritex, VF/DNA Machine Works, or Mayhem Engineering beadlock wheels, you may not need extra weight. Less weight is needed as the compound softens or if memory foams are used.

[CAPTION - Beadlocks from left to right Mayhem Engineering Double Phatty, Eritex Heavy Competition, VF Assassins, Pro-Line Eight Shooters all mounted to Pro-Line tires.]

On lighter crawler wheels and beadlocks from Axial, RPM, Pro-Line, adding weight is required. Weights can be mounted internally or externally. External mounting prevents wheel disassembly and is quick and easy, however internal installation is preferred and assures the weights don’t come loose in harsh driving conditions.

[NOTE SHOWING INSIDE WHEEL WEIGHT MOUNTING]

HOW TO
For this “How To” we used some solid Derlin Eritex beadlocks to show how a little weight is added and Pro-Line’s beadlocks to show lots of weight added.

1. Clean the surface the weights will be applied to with rubbing alcohol

2. Apply readily available lead strip weights so the wheel remains balanced (don’t put all the weight on one side). Our weights used were from Horizon Hobby.

3. Apply weights in full or partial stripes where possible

4. Weight each wheel on a kitchen scale to assure the total wheel weights are correct

5. Extra weight can always be added later on the exterior of the tire for additional tuning without disassembly

[I added two strips of weight around each wheel]

6. Hit the rocks with better performance

[CAPTION - Even larger Super Crawlers like this RCP Hustler chassis with Pro-LineCheyenne Narrow Bead-Locs with 40 Series Moab XL tires can benefit from added weight.]

EXTRA TUNING TIPS
Even if you are running stock Axial beadlocks and tires, adding wheel weight will greatly improve the performance of your crawler. Just tune the weight as needed. If your tires are compressing too much and are loosing traction from LFO (Lug Fold Over) drop a couple ounces off each wheel. If you tires are not compressing and slipping easily then you might need to add weight. See you on the rocks…

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Sources: Pro-Line Racing – www.Pro-LineRacing.com, RPM - www.RPMrcproducts.com, HPI – www.HPIRacing.com, Eritex – www.eritexinc.com, Axial – www.AxialRacing.com, Bender Customs – www.BenderCustoms.com, Visionary Fabrication – www.VisionaryFabrication.com