Impressive performance by a Dodge

[Lynn Eades]

Hanno, Skinny wheels get the weight down to the hard.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Lynn Eades

Hanno, Skinny wheels get the weight down to the hard.

Was there any "hard" under that mud? Or is the car that light it actually floats through the mud on those skinny's?

[Phil Waterman]

Hi Keith

That is a great video, really puts terms like SUV and OFF ROAD in perspective of time.

But it takes some of the impressiveness out of a series of videos I was going to post links too:


Part 1 of 4 Videos of the Dresden Breslau Rally these videos a real hoot.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?annotation_id=annotation_154389&feature=iv&s rc_vid=-NlHL9iQj08&v=15UZexBDbuA

If that is not enough here is a link to a series of 31 videos on the Rally.




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOEPH...A581C0C72336AA

If the links don't work pop over to where I post links to stuff like this for our club newsletter. http://www.canadianmilitarypattern.com/NEWSLETTER%20EXTRA.htm

Cheers Phil

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Was there any "hard" under that mud? Or is the car that light it actually floats through the mud on those skinny's?

In Normandy 1994 at the MVT camp, heavy rain turned the field in to a quagmire and although there was a section of metal trackway from the gate, once off it a lot of all wheel drive vehicles including jeeps were struggling .......until a 1930's Austin Seven wireless car popped up, the driver went straight in a bobbed along through the mud just like the Dodge, got to the top of the field and parked up ....... great to see, wish we had filmed it.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

a lot of all wheel drive vehicles including jeeps were struggling .......until a 1930's Austin Seven wireless car popped up, the driver went straight in a bobbed along through the mud just like the Dodge, got to the top of the field and parked up.

Great story Richard, and a good example of the skinny wheel principle. I bet there were some red faces amongst the jeep owners!

[motto (RIP)]

Originally Posted by Tony Wheeler

Great story Richard, and a good example of the skinny wheel principle. I bet there were some red faces amongst the jeep owners!

Not only the jeep owners. I was camped in that field with a Studebaker US6 and anticipating 'civilised' conditions in Europe had removed the drive shaft to the rear most axle. We only moved a few feet with front and intermediate axles driving before all progress stopped.
Installation of the missing shaft got us going again but did we churn some mud on the way out with the beast barely responding to the helm!
I can quite understand why those swamp racers have very narrow or knife edged, large diameter wheels.

David.

[Lynn Eades]

Great footage on both counts, Keith and Hanno. When I see all that wheel spinning, I have to wonder how violent our 1931 Napier earth quake was. It left lots cars with broken axles from the rocking. Many had to wait for stock from o/seas as the national stocks were used up.
Back to the subject,
The bouncing of the crew makes all the difference, especially with the skinnier tyres.
I remember going to the motorcycle hill climbs with my Dad, when I was a kid. I loved watching those guys riding their big heavy Nortons, AJS's, BSA's and the like, with the primary chains wirling away by their boots. Great stuff!

[Bob McNeill]

Richard I bet your heart skipped a beat in 94 when the mighty Mack went down in the nose and wouldn,t move till a Matador just idled away with said Mack. Seemed that super singles went thru while duals became slicks.

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Originally Posted by Richard Farrant

In Normandy 1994 at the MVT camp, heavy rain turned the field in to a quagmire and although there was a section of metal trackway from the gate, once off it a lot of all wheel drive vehicles including jeeps were struggling .......until a 1930's Austin Seven wireless car popped up, the driver went straight in a bobbed along through the mud just like the Dodge, got to the top of the field and parked up ....... great to see, wish we had filmed it.

A bit like this ... http://youtu.be/cqxxsJSHkyc

It's not the car that starts bouncing, it's the drivers hopping up and down!

H.

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

A bit like this ...It's not the car that starts bouncing, it's the drivers hopping up and down!

H.

Hanno,
That looks great fun! Interesting to see the different techniques as well.

[Tony Wheeler]

Originally Posted by Hanno Spoelstra

Was there any "hard" under that mud? Or is the car that light it actually floats through the mud on those skinny's?

It's an interesting question Hanno, I've always marvelled at the off-road capabilities of these old vintage cars, especially in mud. Contrary to popular belief they're actually quite heavy, the Dodge seen in this footage is specified at 2810 lbs. The fast motion in these old silent movies tends to make them appear lightweight, and the reason they tip over so easily is the high C of G. If you watch the two blokes rolling it over you can see it rotates around the motor, which virtually stays at the same level. Also the body height allows them to exert much more strength, and I notice it balances nicely on the point of the roof and the mudguard.

On the question of traction I agree with Lynn - there's always "hard" under the mud, it's just a question of depth. The great advantage of skinny wheels is they slice through the mud like a knife through butter, rather than having to force it out to the sides like a wide modern tyre. That means there's very little rolling resistance to overcome, and the much smaller contact area with the "hard" surface below provides much higher tyre loading, which greatly increases friction - ie. traction. Hence you really don't need a limited slip diff, they've only become necessary with the advent of much wider tyres.

Of course, the "skinny wheel principle" doesn't apply on sand, because there's no "hard" below!

http://www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z...-Model-30.aspx