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Mud Bogging 101???

Greg72

Greg72

@MIGHTASWELLK5
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Spring is in the air around here......(almost 50 degrees yesterday!)

It's only a matter of time before the rest of the snow melts and the local fairgrounds holds their annual mud bog competitions!!!! :D

There are about 6 neighborhood kids (I'd guess around 12-13 years old) that love to come hang out at my place when I'm wrenching.....they've been bugging me to enter my truck in the mud bogs this year.

I think it would be fun (once I have inner fenderwells!) but I have never even attended a mud bog, and certainly never been a competitor in one......this would elevate me to "hero status" with these kids. Plus I'm sure they'd help me wash the truck afterwards! :grin:

SO:

What are some basic strategies for running in mud? 4LO? 4HI? Tire Pressures....? Hold the tranny in 1st? How fast do you want to hit the mud from the dirt runway??? Stuff like that??

If I end up competing, I will post up all the embarrasing details and photos....
 
Which vehicle do you plan on running? It really depends on what kind of track it is. The deeper tracks usually require 4 low range and the shallow pits all you would need is 4 hi. The key to it is wheel spin:D . You should'nt have any problems with the 69 K5 & 604ci:saweet: in either pit. Just post up some pics when you are done:woot:
 
The first thing I'll recommend is...Bigger Tires!!!:D
I ran 38's myself...alot of high centering...when muddin'.

LOL...I educated a couple of the neighborhood kids myself...
and showed them the Famous "Blue Mud" that can be found Ohio.
(Mixture of clay, horse crap and top soil);)

Every so often...I'd ask them if my tires were clean...so I could blast'm with mud.:grin:
 
Well the '69 is not finished yet....so this will have to happen with the '72.

I'm not going to go out and buy new parts (Like bigger tires JERRY!) so I'm just trying to optimize what I've already got. 4.10 gears and 38's are pretty lame which is why I was asking about using 4LO..... (~8.10 rear gears might improve the wheelspin!)

Maybe keep the tranny in 2nd so that I don't just peg the rev limiter in 1st...? Or maybe just let it bounce off the limiter and let her run.....:cool1:

I was thinking about putting a little racegas in the tank also....full throttle under a hard load is going to be pretty tough on the motor.
 
As far as low or high...
Drop-it in the hole...and see..

With 4.10's and 38's...I could use both low and high.. (350 hp 350)
In mud that's slipery like clay...high was used..
The thick gummy mud...I had to use low.
 
I have run several bogs and been to plenty. If it is a bog (deep mud where nobody makes it through) they should start you at the edge of the pit. So about 3 foot run before your in the mud. If you have auto take off in second power braking to get rpms up as high as possible. If you start bogging down then go to first and hold it till they make you stop.

I always air down till I start getting a good bulge on tires , around 15psi (35" grip spurs without beadlocks)

Just rember that speed and wheel speed is important,the more the better.

Speed pits are pretty much the same strategy (everbody makes it through and they will time your pass).
 
I don't know anything about muddin' either, but post up when you're going so I can come up and watch. :thumb:

Maybe I'll bring up the Beast & enter too. :saweet:
 
been around mudracin all my life, wheelspeed and momentum are key. also when starting to slow down, cut the wheel side to side to use the side lugs to grap side of the ruts. my dad ran 38's on his toyota and never had a problem, but then toys are alot lighter. he had a 300 hp buick v6 with th350 to the toyota transfercase and rears. open rears even. always placed great. many first place trophys here.
 
I think everyone has addressed pretty much most of the issues and techniques already.

Everytime I line up to a pit, I'm always examining the mud's consistency, and watching the guys who go before me real close. Then I decide whether I should be in 4-low or 4-high and what gear to run. Plus, by watching others, I decide what line to take if theres already a rut system going. The last few races/bogs I officially entered, I was dealing with tired and oil burning motors.

I guess just try and lighten up as much as possible, take out all excess weight. With a 4spd manual (me), I'm stuck in the gear that I choose from the start. But with an auto, I'd say don't put yourself in a gearing situation that's too high. Start out lower and upshift if necessary.

I'm no pro, but I've had fun enough in my own pits to try and practice.
 
i've always had a 4 speed myself. speed is your friend, i got a guy in a 78 shortbed k-10 with 245/70/15's street tires. bald as hell to make it across a pit we used to go to.the only reason i was there was to pull him out. after i did i said at least try it again so i got some compensation. i told him to floor it and keep it there till he was on the other side.LOL well he did and he made it. it was at least a football feild long.:rotfl: :rotfl: i was laughing so hard.when he got out on the other side youda thunk he was BOB CHANDLER.:)
 
something else that might help would be a big rubber flap attached to the front bumper ending a few inches from the ground. itll help keep stuff clean and might help ya slide across stuff. you can also use that carpet with the rubber mat bottom.
 
Is the front locked? Weld er up. A front locker makes a big difference. I can stop in deep mud and get going again now. If you're open up front one of those tires is just gonna be an anchor.

4LO is where its at. With an auto: Stomp on it, when you hear signs of valve float/rev limiter upshift. When it starts to bog down, Downshift or hit the nitrous. :grin:
 
Keep an eye out for a good line, figure out where the deep holes are. If yer motor has balls to turn the tires, go ballz deep in 1st and drop it into 2nd if you can shift without it boggin down, if not, ballz out in first. Its not always about tire size, its more about bein able to turn them...go boggers and around a 38 if you can. Remember though also, bigger tire equals bigger class and after each class the pits get deeper. lo range would be nice but you cant really crawl through a pit so wheel speed is key.

local pit.

http://www.virginiamotorsportspk.com/mud_muddin_photos.htm
 
What mud bog are you going to? There are a few in NH and a few in VT that I go to. They don't start around here for a while.
 
slimlynn1 said:
What mud bog are you going to? There are a few in NH and a few in VT that I go to. They don't start around here for a while.
Click to expand...

Cheshire Fairgrounds.... in Keene, NH


No idea when it is, I've only heard that it happens in the early spring. I haven't found a website or any links for it..... I need to check around some more.
 
As far as I know that one only runs in August. If there is one earlier let me know. If this is the mud bog you are going to enter, good luck. Last year after about 70 trucks only a few made it through. It is an all day event. The mud is about 2 - 3 feet deep.
 
If it's deep and sloppy, you might want to try to rig up a snorkel system. No one likes hydrolock. Also, it's already been stated, but air down as much as you are comfortable. The one I was in I blew the bead and destroyed a tire, but hey, I got 3rd in the 38" Stock class.
 
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