A look under the body of a Rc Nitro Buggy.

A description of the major parts of a rc nitro buggy suspension and chassis.

Are you thinking about getting a Rc Nitro Buggy? You have your first nitro rc buggy and are wondering what is that or what does that do? So, let us take a closer look at all those parts.

First, just a general look at the rc nitro buggy. To start they come in many different scales, 1/16th, 1/8th and 1/5th are the more common, with the 1/16th and the 1/8th being the more popular.

Size wise the 1/16th being the smallest of these rc nitro buggies. Measuring in around 10 to 10.5 inches wide, 7 to 7.5 inches long and has a wheelbase of 6.5 to 7 inches.

By far the 1/8th scale is the most popular size rc nitro buggy. It measures in around 19 to 20 inches long, has a width of 12 to 13 inches and a wheelbase of 12.25 to 13.25 inches.

The 1/5th scale is by far the largest rc buggy. Most 1/5th scale buggies use 2 cycle gas engines for power. With that in mind the 1/5th scale is not going to be part of this page.

We are going to focus on the 1/16th and 1/8th scale rc nitro buggy. With size being the big difference between these two. They do share many of the same kind of parts, just in different sizes.

The 1/16th rc nitro buggy gets it's power from a very small 0.05 cubic inch nitro engine.

While a 1/8th scale rc nitro buggy gets their power from variety of nitro engines. Varying from a small 0.18 cubic inch to the large 0.30 cubic inch engines.

Just because you use a .30 nitro engine is not going to make you the fastest buggy on the race track.

A rc nitro buggy get their a lot of their speed from your driving ability.

Plus how the suspension is tuned, what weight oil in the differentials and tire choice. More on that later. Let us look at all the different parts. In these examples we are going to be looking at a 1/8th scale rc nitro buggy.

We will do this in three different sections. First being the parts in the center section of the chassis, second the rear suspension and third the front suspension.

Referring to the picture on the right let us identify the different parts.

1a. Rear drive shaft or dog bone (as they are called in the rc hobby)

1b. Front dog bone

2. Front and rear disk brakes. This example uses a single disk brake both front and rear. There are many options here.

Some rc nitro buggies will have dual disk front brakes and single rear brake. While others have both front and rear dual brakes.

Almost all manufacturers of rc buggies give you the option of changing the brake configuration.

You can either add or remove brakes to suit your driving style.

3. Center bulkhead. This is also an area that you have the option of modifying. Almost all center bulkheads are made out of rigid plastic.

For example you can use milled aluminum bulkheads. They help to reduce torque flex in the center differential.

4. Fuel tank

5. Center differential and spur gear.

6a. Rear chassis brace

6b. Front chassis brace

7. Servo tray

8. Battery and receiver box

Refer to the photo above.

9. Rear shock tower. The shock tower has many different mounting holes for both the shock and camber link.

10. Rear camber link - turnbuckle. Along with the many mounting holes on the shock tower, the camber link is also adjustable by use of the threaded turnbuckle.

11. Rear hub carrier.

12. Rear suspension arm. Most nitro rc buggies utilize an H-arm type of suspension arm, but a few use an A-arm type of suspension. Also the rear suspension arm will have 2 to 4 mounting holes for the rear shock.

13. Rear sway bar. Also, another suspension tuning item. You can use a lighter or heavier weight sway bar to alter the handling of your buggy. Also, you can shorten or length the sway bar to make small changes in your handling.

14. Rear CVDc shaft.

15. Rear hub.

Adding milled aluminum differential housings and bulk heads can help reduce torque flex and add rigidity to your chassis.

17. Rear springs. Changing spring weight has a huge effect on how your rc nitro buggy is going to preform and handle.

This can be done by changing springs and going with lighter or heavier weight springs or shortening or lengthening the springs.

If you do alter spring length be sure both sides are the same length or your buggy is going to corner and handle funny.

18. Rear shocks. Shocks are a huge tuning facture on your rc nitro buggy.

You have angle and length to deal with. If that is not enough changing the weight of oil in the shocks will make huge changes.

Besides all that you can change the damper of your shocks. It is going to take a whole page to deal with rebuilding and shock tuning. So I will not get into all of that on this page.

This example is of a Pivot Ball or Pillow Ball type suspension. Pivot or Pillow Ball suspensions are the same just manufacturers use different names for them.

Refer to the photo above.

19. Upper and lower pivot/pillow balls. They thread into both the upper and lower A-arms. This gives you the ability to change camber.

20. Front CVD

21. Front lower suspension arm - A-arm. The lower A-arm will 2 to 4 holes for mounting shocks. These holes are for changing the angle of your shocks.

22. Upper suspension arm - A-arm.

23. Front shock tower. Like the rear shock tower there are many mounting holes for your shocks to change angle and length. Other options you have are using graphite or thicker milled aluminum towers.

24. Front drive shaft or dog bone.

25. Steering knuckle.

26. Front hub.

27. Front sway bar. Like the rear sway bar you have the same options of changing weight or length.

One other adjustment you have on both front and rear is changing the angle of the sway bar. The sway bars are mounted on the lower suspension arms by the use of a turnbuckle.

This turnbuckle can be shortened or lengthened to also affect chassis roll.

28. Front differential, differential housing and bulkhead. Like the rear you also have the option of changing housing and bulkhead to reduce torque and chassis flex.

There are two types of C-hub suspensions.

One type is two pieces using a spindle carrier and hub carrier. The spindle carrier is bolted to the A-arms and hub carrier is attached to the spindle carrier by utilizing kingpins.

The other one, the spindle and hub carrier are one piece, but they also utilizes kingpins to attach to the suspension arms.

The picture above left is of a pivot ball suspension. The picture above right is of a one piece C-hub. While the two pictures below are of two piece C-hub suspensions.

Is is extremely important to keep setup sheets for each change your make to your chassis or suspension. With using a setup sheet you can keep track of what works and doesn't work. Plus, the more setup sheets you have completed the easier it is going to be to make adjustments for different conditions.

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