How To Add Weight to Your Crawler Wheels

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NCNitro

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Adding weight to your wheels on your crawler can be very beneficial to handling. It adds weight at the lowest point of your truck and helps lower the cog. It will also aid in getting better traction on the rocks.

What you will need are some automotive stick on wheel balancing weights, the kind they use for mag wheels, and some electrical tape. I had no luck finding them at any of the local automotive parts stores, so I hit the local tire shop and the manager there was more than willing to help out.

I picked up 8 strips of weights that consisted of 12 1/4 ounce weights per strip and a roll of electrical tape.

Weighthowto1.jpg


First thing I did was drill a 1/8 vent hole in the rim.

Weighthowto2.jpg


Next I wrapped the first strip of weights around the center of the rim being careful to not cover the vent hole. One pass around the rim actually took 14 weights so I added two more from another strip. This added 3 1/2 ounces of weight to each rim for the rear rims

Weighthowto3.jpg


Next, since I was working on the front rims I wanted to add around 7 ounces of weight to each wheel, so I wrapped another strip of weights around the rim on top of the first section, this time to go completely around required 16 weights. With the two strips in each front wheel I ended up with 7 1/2 ounces of added weight to each front wheel.

Weighthowto4.jpg


After I had the weight I wanted attached to each rim, I took the electrical tape and wrapped the weights tightly to keep everything held in place.

Weighthowto5.jpg


Now just reassemble the wheels and tires and give it a run. You can add more or less weight depending on what you are looking for, and to tune it to your driving style.​
 
Thanks for sharing, damn good info. Do you need to groove the inside of the foam or is the star cut good enough?
 
That is exactly what I did to my wheels -the electrical tape, same amount of weight and every thing, and it crawl very well with that amount of weight...
 
I assume you have to take the extra weight into consideration in your motor gearing/output etc yes? All that extra rolling mass...
 
The extra rotating mass is not as much of an issue with a crawler because of the slow speed you are traveling, top speed is usually about 10mph, I am running the stock gearing with that amount of weight on a 7.2 volt battery and 55t motor with no problem climbing or descending very steep terrain...
 
Thanks for sharing, damn good info. Do you need to groove the inside of the foam or is the star cut good enough?

I did not star cut my foams, I have read too much that it compromises side wall strength. So I kind of scooped out the center on the foams on the outside of the foam to give the contact patch of the tire more ground contact without compromising sidewall strength. So far it seems to be working very well, much better than without the weights.

The extra rotating mass is not as much of an issue with a crawler because of the slow speed you are traveling, top speed is usually about 10mph, I am running the stock gearing with that amount of weight on a 7.2 volt battery and 55t motor with no problem climbing or descending very steep terrain...

I agree with abadk9420, with the slow speeds we run the rotational mass is really not an issue. I am also running stock gearing a Novak 55 turn motor and 7.2 volt lipo pack
 
the only thing i have heard is if your running a weak servo in the front it can make a difference
can one of u guys answer this for me ?
 
The electrical tape is a good idea i never thought of it.
 
Vinyl tape, when it's stretched, tends to slowly pull away from itself. If you run a lighter along it, it will 'crisp' it out and never separate. You won't even be able to peel it apart when you want to remove it. You'll need to slice through it with an X-acto knife.
 
The extra rotating mass is not as much of an issue with a crawler because of the slow speed you are traveling, top speed is usually about 10mph, I am running the stock gearing with that amount of weight on a 7.2 volt battery and 55t motor with no problem climbing or descending very steep terrain...

Noted. I just recall you guys reminding people to not over-stress their motors etc but yeah, given the low speeds on crawlers is not an issue.
 
the only thing i have heard is if your running a weak servo in the front it can make a difference
can one of u guys answer this for me ?

I think if you are running a weak steering servo you are going to have problems with or with out weight in you wheels.:D
 
Anyone try the weights that come with household ceiling fans, I do electrical work and I think we have alot of those somewhere, and I think home depot sells those separately too. can't remember the weight but they are self adhesive.

I'm thinking of doing weights too as I put my battery in the back and notice I can reverse up a steep angle great compared to driving forward.


I found these online, not sure if they are self adhesive http://www.hobbypeople.net/gallery/702216.asp
 
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All these weights are is 1/4 oz. Stick on 1:1 rim weights used to balance the tire. Usually if you go to a tire shop they will give you a couple sticks or more. I have used ones that I just use double sided tape with. They were free!
 
Thanks for sharing, damn good info. Do you need to groove the inside of the foam or is the star cut good enough?
Cut your foam to about a 1/2” lower than where your treads meets the side wall. Vent the rims. Fill with water amd hot glue the vent hole. Works amazing. Good stability and max unsprung weight
 
Welcome in @Ricco69 , I've never heard of doing this but this thread is from 2009.
However, running water in your wheels would be a huge change in the performance of your tires and not for the good, especially if you run in very cold weather. :D
That would create a serious balance problem with the tires. Tires are vented so air can enter and exit the tire allowing smoother operation, and allows water to escape.
The softer the tire, the better it grips the rocks when climbing. Water would drastically reduce the performance.
 
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not to mention water will destroy open cell foams after a period of time. Even if you had closed cell foams TP is right the overall pliability of the tire would be greatly reduced. It might add weight but overall this is terrible for tire performance.
 
I'm starting to find this user a bit puzzling and I may be wrong but only two posts and both suggest water filled tire? o_O
 
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