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Old 07-17-2012, 04:57 PM
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Krawlin
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Here is a quick FAQ & A that I hope will answer some of the basic questions the bashers out there will have about this build.

Q: Why did you go with a buggy instead of a truggy or MT?
A: I decided a buggy would fit my needs best because I wanted something super tough that could handle big jumps. A buggy has short arms with small, light weight wheels and tires, so bad landings don't put nearly as much force on the arms as a bad landing with a MT or truggy. It's the basic principle of leverage at work.


Q: Wouldn't a buggy get stuck more often than an MT? They have much lower ground clearance right?
A: Other than tire size, overall ground clearance isn't that much different than an MT. Think about it, the lowest part of an MT is right below the diffs, that's where it will get hung up on obstacles the most. The lowest part of a buggy is also right below the diffs, but the chassis doesn't rise up in the middle, so it doesn't create a "hook" in front of the rear diff. I feel a flat chassis is superior for bashing because it will slide over things that an MT's rear diff hangs up on. And honestly, if I wanted to go rock crawling, I wouldn't do it with an MT anyway, and how many people really go mud bogging with their RC's? The ground clearance argument is pointless.


Q: Why did you go with those boring dish wheels? And I thought wheels with spokes were stronger anyway because they have more ribbing?
A: Dish wheels are lighter and still have ribbing inside of the wheel like any spoked wheel has. But because they don't have holes (spokes), dish wheels can be made of thinner material and still be just as strong, the side benefit of this is they are also lighter. Yeah they might be a little bit boring, but I'll probably never break one of my dish wheels. I've cracked a few spoked wheels on other cars over the years.


Q: I see you used a .21 engine, why not use a big gnarly .28 for more power and awesomeness?
A: Today's .21's are nothing like yesterday's .28's and .21's. They easily put out as much power, they get better fuel economy which translates to more time bashing and having fun. 21's also spool up quicker than 28's, which means you can build more speed quicker and get more air from that jump with a short run up. And at close to $30 a gallon for 30% nitro fuel, I'll stick to the fuel sipping 21's instead of the fuel guzzling 28's.


Q: Doesn't carbon fiber crack and splinter easier? And why don't you have RPM arms on that thing?
A: Carbon fiber will crack and splinter, but I'm sure I would have worse problems if I manage to wreck the buggy bad enough to damage the CF radio tray, diff plate, or upper arm plate. And RPM doesn't make arms for high end 1/8 cars like Mugen, Kyosho, Losi, Xray, Serpent, or even OFNA/Jammin for that matter. They aren't needed on 1/8 cars because their parts are beefy from the factory and their plastics are of a higher grade than the plastics on cars typically marketed toward the bashing crowd.


Q: Why would you build up a race buggy for bashing, isn't bashing so much harder on an RC than racing?
A: Ever race a quad or dirtbike? Ever ride trails with a quad or dirtbike? Do both, and tell me which one makes you more sore, racing on a track or riding trails. Most of you who have experienced that will say racing, because just like racing an RC, its constant and consistent pounding lap after lap, where as trail riding, just like bashing an RC, is a bump here, jump there, a rock or two here and there. Take a car that was designed to race and put it in a lower stress environment and it's going to last longer than if you were racing it every weekend. Remember folks, there is a reason why 1/8 cars are built like they are.


A short video will be in the next post, followed by an engine review!
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