Stadium Truck Thoughts

[AClegg]

The original stadium was created by adding 2.2" truck tires to a 2wd buggy. They were fast, fun, and they got around any track very well. Way back in the early/mid 90's, stadium trucks became wider to allow them to be more stable on big tracks. However, all of us, who drive on smaller tracks, are stuck with a big clumsy truck. Instead of a race, the track turns into a crash course. Especially when the younger crowds our out there. The wheels end up getting tangled up together because drivers get to anxious and try to pass before they can do it cleanly. Or, you get that driver that swerves out to prevent you from passing.

Long story short, I would like to get a current buggy and add the 2.2 truck tires on it, like the days of old. Therefore, I can race it on a track and not take up half the track.

So, What are your guy's thoughts on it? I'm not trying to make it a fad, but it might help to bring back the stadium truck class. I checked the Roar rules and it is legal and the current race buggies are a lot stronger than were in the beginning. The 4 gear gearboxes would work really good on with this design.

 

[Heisenburg]

Stadium is cool.

 

[tntpoof]

I've raced for many years I raced stadium stuck till the mid 2000 when the tracks allowed the drivers to act up like you said ...I dropped that class... I remember the days when we had track etiquette Red flags and even Black flagged driver who were poor sports.. your idea might work for you in 1xt lap then you will see...

 

[Tunedfrog]

I don't race and honestly not interested in racing "enjoying rc with the wife" but wouldn't more experience help with the issue of taking up the track? It's racing.....
The goal is to get around that.....

 

[RustyUs]

Clumsy? No. Stadium trucks are, what I call, very nimble. Much easier to drive than a buggy on medium traction "off-road" tracks IMO. I think the easiest thing to do would be to take a ST platform and put buggy arms on it along with other shorter components needed to make it work. You would be saving 2 ½"-ish of width, and that is about it. Clearance issues that may pop up with wide stadium truck tires?

 

[AClegg]

Clumsy? No. Stadium trucks are, what I call, very nimble. Much easier to drive than a buggy on medium traction "off-road" tracks IMO. I think the easiest thing to do would be to take a ST platform and put buggy arms on it along with other shorter components needed to make it work. You would be saving 2 ½"-ish of width, and that is about it. Clearance issues that may pop up with wide stadium truck tires?

So the scale was tipped. I will be converting a buggy to a truck and here's why I chose the buggy. With a buggy, I will only have to add longer shocks and shock towers up front, new body mounts, and truck tires. If I narrow a truck, I will have to get arms, steering rods, drive shafts, etc... That would cost more money and involve more work.

What tipped the scale is, my local track doesn't constantly have any truck races. Only 2wd and 4wd buggy. However, in the beginners class, you can race any 1/10 scale 2wd vehicle you want. My 11 year old daughter wants get into racing but she is not good enough to drive a buggy. Therefore, I will have her drive the converted ST while racing in the beginners class. When she graduates from that class, I can simply convert the truck back into a buggy, needed.

I decided on getting the RB7. For $220, I can't go wrong. It comes with a slipper and beefier components to handle the bigger tires. I will have to add a steering servo. It has the 12mm hex nuts for the wheels, so I will not have any issues looking for wheels that fit and I won't have to change out the shafts.

I'll be ordering the buggy either today or tomorrow. I'll post pics when it's done.

 

[AClegg]

I ordered the RB7 last night, along with a bunch of parts to get started. My daughter wants to assemble it, so this could take a while. She's never built anything outside of Legos.

 

[RustyUs]

Chassis length is probably close to 20mm shorter when comparing the two platforms?

 

[AClegg]

Chassis length is probably close to 20mm shorter when comparing the two platforms?

The stadium truck chassis is pretty close to the same length as the buggies. The short course chassis is much longer. Is that the chassis you were referring to as being longer?

The RB7 came in yesterday. I ordered it Monday night, so it actually only took 3 days to get it. Very nice. I got it directly from Kyosho. Now I just need the rest of the parts to come in.

 

[Heisenburg]

They make a chassis extender for Rustler. Not that I want one. The extender, I mean. My name is Heisenburg and I build race cars.

 

[AClegg]

They make a chassis extender for Rustler. Not that I want one. The extender, I mean. My name is Heisenburg and I build race cars.

Are you saying you need an extender but you don't want one? T.M.I.

 

[Heisenburg]

Saw one on a no-prep dragster Rustler. Must be to make it handle like a coffin. My Daddy used to say "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life".

 

[AClegg]

My son saw that I was building an RB7 into a RT7. He like the idea of having the extra ground clearance. He took the tires off his Slash and mounted them on his RB7ss. He bashes the crap out of it and nothing has broke or bent. You can tell by the pics that it has been rolled quite a few times. Anyone who says that Kyoshos can't take a hit, can go suck an exhaust pipe. I have witnessed this thing take some serious hits and tumbles. The shell is all cracked up. Here are some pictures of his car with the SCT tires on it. This things rips pretty good in the rough stuff. When I'm done converting the RB7 into a stadium truck, it will pretty much look like this but with taller shocks and a truck shell.

 

[AClegg]

Saw one on a no-prep dragster Rustler. Must be to make it handle like a coffin. My Daddy used to say "if you love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life".

I love what I do, but I still call it work. I just say it with a smile.

 

[Heisenburg]

My Stadium league is back on, with demands for upgrades, and 1 guy wants me to build an HPE "Spare no expense".

 

[AClegg]

My Stadium league is back on, with demands for upgrades, and 1 guy wants me to build an HPE "Spare no expense".

Please elaborate on an HPE.

 

[Heisenburg]

Heisenburg Performance Enhanced (vehicle name)

 

[Heisenburg]

Working on an HPE Rustler No Prep for meselfs.

 

[AClegg]

That would be a pretty fun job. Modifying RC vehicles for money. I use to do that to full size vehicles. Had my cars in movies, TV shows, magazines, etc... That was a lot of fun, but the pay went down as hackers started taking over the industry.

 

[Heisenburg]

I do 1:1s for $$. Do 1:10 fo' funs. And a few 1:1s. Fo' funs. We have 1 party guy on the West Coast, and 1 of the East.