We all have seen or been on an offroad capable vehicle at one time or another in our lives. Some of the most capable products on the market include 4-wheelers and buggy type vehicles. Today, we are going to focus on what makes these things so fun and capable at the same time.
If you couldn't already tell, the most important component in any vehicle is the motor and its application to the vehicle. All good producers of these off-roading vehicles stick to similar engine designs. The formula for a good motor in this application is a light, compact,and power dense engine. This benefits the driver for many reasons. The first being that when the engine has a very good power to displacement ratio, the vehicle tends to be more efficient. The engine needs to be light because a heavy engine would add lots of unneeded weight to the vehicle, causing it to possibly become stuck and less efficient. These engines are constantly evolving with new innovations, like turbocharging and supercharging to even further increase both power and fuel economy.
The small frames and narrower tracks allow for access to otherwise off-limits areas. This versatility is aided by long traveling suspensions and shocks. What this enables the driver to do is to allow the passage to areas with only a 4' or less wide path to travel upon where other larger vehicles like trucks and jeeps would be incapable in passing through. Although these smaller tracks can be a blessing, they can also be a curse with the greater risk of flipping over while turning at high speeds. This is caused by a high center of gravity falling over the tipping point axis of the vehicle. The same problem can occur in any vehicle, but the speed varies with the center of gravity point.
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