Wheels and Tyres
(click on any image to enlarge)
| I started off deciding what wheels and tyres i was going to use. The wheel and tyre choice play a big part in how the buggy is gonna handle. The more "air filled" rubber you can get between the ground and the wheel, the softer the ride is gonna be. But I don't want the handling to be like "a bag of jelly". Well I scoured the Internet looking at peoples solutions to the dilemma, and to find out what was available. I also had a scout round in my shed and came up with these. | |||||||||||||||
| I had 3 of these wheels kicking around from my grass track racing days. They are 10 x 6 Mini alloys. The tyres on them would be useless for off road. So after loads more searching the net I found a firm that could supply me with 10 x 8.5 x 21 ATV tyres with a tread pattern suitable for off road-ing. That was the front sorted. | |||||||||||||||
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Mini Alloy Rims
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| Next I had to sort out something for the rear. The plans say to use 8 x 8.5 rims!! Yes that's right, the rims are wider than they are in diameter. The only thing I could find that used 8" rims where trailers. These rims are no where near wide enough. I even thought about welding 2 trailer rims together. Well I came to a dead halt with the project. Dejected I said to our lass "lets go and have a look at the guys at Goole" They hire off road buggys out and you race them as a corporate event (see "Links" page). Whilst there, I spoke to the man that organises the events. He said he could sell me some rims the same as they used on their buggys. Bingo... they are the size and fitting that I was looking for, and at a very reasonable price. - Cheers John. Sorted. | |||||||||||||||
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Steel ATV rims
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And because they are ATV rims, I had no problem getting 8 x 11.5 x 22 ATV tyres to suit. These are the tyres. A firm in Scotland sent me these mail order (see "Links" page). Their service was outstanding. How often do you get follow up phone call, when you "mail order" something, to make sure that the product has arrived and that you are happy??? And they only charged me a fiver carrage to my door !!!!!!! | ||||||||||||||
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The ATV tyres arrive
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Now
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| Well I was worried about the buggy getting "bogged down" in really muddy conditions. Think again matey. Up to date, I've never got stuck. The tyres just dig in and grab. The buggy takes some real persuasion to break traction into a "power slide" on corners, then a very posey, slide occurs that is easily controlled. And whilst the motorcross boys are thrashing their motors to "redline" and spinning their rear wheels to oblivion, I'm half way down the track worrying if I'm gonna be able to "slide" the next corner or have to fight a 2 wheel buggy back onto all 4 !!!!! | |||||||||||||||
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Loadsa shit flying..and I aint even at work!!
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