Mini Baja Car Design

[ecuadorianbest]

hello, im in the mini Baja team at my school and we are working on a design for our car. We want to know what would be a better design for cornering, handling and traction. A wider front track width than the rear or a wider rear track?? We will be competing off-rode

[olefud]

What you have is a compromise. Track (and Cg) determine weight transfer during cornering. Unlike pavement, off-road traction is often best with higher weight transfer to load the lugs (sand) or sipes (dirt). Thus narrow track and high Cg can sometimes be advantageous. However these are the two elements that lead to vehicle inversion. So a wider track is better for safety.

It’s not clear as to why you’re considering a wider track at only one end. The heavy end would be the better choice given near equal Cgs at each end.

[flynfrog]

This depends a lot on if you plan to run a diff. I raced ATVs for a few years and we tended to run narrower in the rear. We run a solid axle so you need to lift a tire in the corner to turn.