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Nov. 15, 2013, 7:51 a.m.
11/18/2013
By Mike Garrison
LiveRC.com
Over the past several months the whole "mid motor" buggy scene has blown up in popularity. Ever since the Cactus Classic, ROAR Nats, and IFMAR Worlds, it seems like it is no longer rare to see a mid motor car, but instead rare to see a rear motor car at the track.
I swore on my grave that I would NEVER, EVER, EVER, EVER go mid motor, as I just didn't see the overall performance enhancement in it. Not to mention every mid motor car on the track looks like a limo cruising down the track, with their extended length bodies. Why would you take a platform like the rear motor configuration, which has been the primary choice of drivers for over 40 years, and suddenly change it? That can't work...or so I thought.
Due to very large amounts of peer pressure, and undesirable results, I decided to try out this mid motor craze. I was SO prepared for it not to work, that I actually built a separate car with separate electronics, battery, motor, servo, and setup so that I would disturb my trusty rear motor car. I headed up to our local track with both cars in hand, ready to compare them back to back. I went out first with my rear motor car. The car felt as stable as ever, and I was consistently turning lap times in the 17.9 second range. It felt GREAT! Reluctantly I then charged up and hit the track with my mid motor car.
Instantly the car felt super out of control, I felt very on edge, and I made more mistakes then I have ever made in my life. Two laps in and the car still felt awful, however, the laptimes called out were 17.4 and 17.3 seconds over and over. How could a car that felt so out of control, unnatural, and looking like a limo on the way to prom be so much faster?
At first I assumed the computer had some sort of error, but in fact my fast laps were nearly .5 -.6 seconds faster! The problem is, my not so fast laps with the mid motor car are REALLY not so fast. So here is my question to YOU, the viewers, as a racer do you stick with a car that on average lap times is slower, but 100% consistent, OR do you gamble on a car that is night and day faster on certain laps, but only carries a 50-60% consistency rating?
What is your opinion on mid motor vs. rear motor cars? Do you prefer to go slow and steady, or fast and wild?
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