There's been some interest in a video of the running of this buggy...
When I was researching FF buggies before this project I hunted the web for a vid but could never find one... so this just might be the first?
Anyway, here's some testing done at the local track with various drivers having a go at the buggy. Other than asking me to put a hotter motor into it they all loved it!
In case youtube is giving errors playing here, you can view it direct on youtube here.
Friday, April 30, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
New Chassis Mods
Today I cut new chassis plates out of carbon fiber and while I was at it I decided to make some small changes. I changed the shape of the upper deck slightly to add strength to some areas (although I didn't really have any problems with breakage yet) and removed some area for aesthetics.
Biggest change to the bottom chassis is that I've modified it to give more front kickup. The hingepin mounting block used to be mounted on top of the lower deck but now it is sitting flush with the bottom of the upper deck. This is done via spacers which will also allow me to add or remove "kick-up" if I need it.
In case you're wondering, the hingepin blocks come from a DB-01. :)
Hingepin blocks now sit flush with chassis bottom to give more "kick up"
Here's a pic with everything mounted up.
Biggest change to the bottom chassis is that I've modified it to give more front kickup. The hingepin mounting block used to be mounted on top of the lower deck but now it is sitting flush with the bottom of the upper deck. This is done via spacers which will also allow me to add or remove "kick-up" if I need it.
In case you're wondering, the hingepin blocks come from a DB-01. :)
Here's a pic with everything mounted up.
Steering Setup
On the FF buggy, chassis space is a premium as the rear trailing arms are so long and the chassis is much shorter. Within that space I had to fit an ESC, battery pack, servo, receiver AND the steering mechanism.
On the few FF buggies that inspired this build the steering was a direct setup with the servo horn connected straight to the steering knuckles. This setup results in significant bump-steer and I wanted to use a bellcrank mechanism instead.
The challenge is that the typical bellcrank system requires quite a bit of space. To get around this I decided to try something different.
Instead of the pivot point being in the middle of a bellcrank, I moved the pivot point right up front and this allows it to actually sit on the sides of the front gearbox, close to the outdrives. To achieve this, the bellcranks actually mount to the upper deck instead of the lower one. The bellcranks now pivot forward instead of backwards in a typical setup.
This took a long time to figure out how to get everything working freely but it's working!
Here's a picture from the underside of the upper deck.
Space is a premium - that's all the space there is between the servo and the front gearbox.
On the few FF buggies that inspired this build the steering was a direct setup with the servo horn connected straight to the steering knuckles. This setup results in significant bump-steer and I wanted to use a bellcrank mechanism instead.
The challenge is that the typical bellcrank system requires quite a bit of space. To get around this I decided to try something different.
Instead of the pivot point being in the middle of a bellcrank, I moved the pivot point right up front and this allows it to actually sit on the sides of the front gearbox, close to the outdrives. To achieve this, the bellcranks actually mount to the upper deck instead of the lower one. The bellcranks now pivot forward instead of backwards in a typical setup.
This took a long time to figure out how to get everything working freely but it's working!
Space is a premium - that's all the space there is between the servo and the front gearbox.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Why a FF buggy?
Why a FF buggy?
I've always liked things which are unique and different which is why among a field of Associated B4s, Kyosho RB5s and Losi XXX-CRs, I've been running a X-Factory X-6 and Atomic Carbon CR2 at the local track. And while mid motor cars are pretty unique (well they aren't really anymore I guess...), front-wheel drive buggies are really something else!
I've seen and read up on these awesome buggies on the internet, mostly one-off custom builds. The project was inspired by buggies like these...
Always thought they looked extremely unusual in a cool way and according to what little information there is on the internet they didn't run too badly either. FWD supposedly offered advantages on loose tracks as they didn't spin out. Kyosho produced the Maxxum FF buggy and while I never drove one of those many didn't consider that a "race-inspired" design like some of these purpose built buggies.
Unlikely to ever get a chance to buy one of these so I decided to try my hand at building my own.
I've always liked things which are unique and different which is why among a field of Associated B4s, Kyosho RB5s and Losi XXX-CRs, I've been running a X-Factory X-6 and Atomic Carbon CR2 at the local track. And while mid motor cars are pretty unique (well they aren't really anymore I guess...), front-wheel drive buggies are really something else!
I've seen and read up on these awesome buggies on the internet, mostly one-off custom builds. The project was inspired by buggies like these...
Always thought they looked extremely unusual in a cool way and according to what little information there is on the internet they didn't run too badly either. FWD supposedly offered advantages on loose tracks as they didn't spin out. Kyosho produced the Maxxum FF buggy and while I never drove one of those many didn't consider that a "race-inspired" design like some of these purpose built buggies.
Unlikely to ever get a chance to buy one of these so I decided to try my hand at building my own.
Welcome
Welcome to my blog.
I created this blog to post information about FF Buggies. FF Buggies are front wheel driven buggies and they've intrigued me for the longest time... after many years I've finally built my own and I thought it might be nice to post information on this online.
Above is a picture of version 1 of the buggy - to date still without a name. :)
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