Associated RC12R5
06-18-2009, 09:07 AM
#1306
Got my first race last night with the r5. What a twitchy, inconsistant mess. Yes first time out and no clue what makes this car tick but I struggled pretty much all night. HP was one issue but mostly the way to touchy oversteer in the first 2 mins and the push the last 4 mins killed me.
My second qual was pretty good handling wise. Smooth but turned everywhere and was consistant the whole 8mins. If it drives like that all the time I would be happy. A couple bobbles by me and down pretty bad on hp put me 3 laps off the pace. Yuk, hate being there.
For the main I went up a few teeth and got close on the hp but by then my front tires were too thin to work so back to the dump truck for the last 4 mins. Finished where I started at 4th.
The setup is still pretty stock. Have to pick up some side springs to play with.
The biggest problem I have right now is how touchy the steering is right around center. I mean nasty. -15% expo didnt help and any more made the steering to notchy. How can I calm it down? Sevo is flat and the tie rods are straight when looking down on the car. Moving the servo back to get a little angle would make it more touchy around center, correct?
DK
My second qual was pretty good handling wise. Smooth but turned everywhere and was consistant the whole 8mins. If it drives like that all the time I would be happy. A couple bobbles by me and down pretty bad on hp put me 3 laps off the pace. Yuk, hate being there.
For the main I went up a few teeth and got close on the hp but by then my front tires were too thin to work so back to the dump truck for the last 4 mins. Finished where I started at 4th.
The setup is still pretty stock. Have to pick up some side springs to play with.
The biggest problem I have right now is how touchy the steering is right around center. I mean nasty. -15% expo didnt help and any more made the steering to notchy. How can I calm it down? Sevo is flat and the tie rods are straight when looking down on the car. Moving the servo back to get a little angle would make it more touchy around center, correct?
DK
06-18-2009, 09:08 AM
#1307
That servos all the way forward? If not , isn't that the direction you would want to go???
06-18-2009, 09:43 AM
#1308
DK
06-18-2009, 03:36 PM
#1309
Tech Master
iTrader: (17)
The first thing your going to want to do is switch the springs. I have been running a 12r5 all winter and dispite liking alot of steering I have been unable to get the .18's to work. I have had great luck with the BMI .22's which are similar to the AE .20's however do now suffer from compacting in a bad crash. I think you will find this small change will have a huge effect.
06-18-2009, 04:10 PM
#1310
The first thing your going to want to do is switch the springs. I have been running a 12r5 all winter and dispite liking alot of steering I have been unable to get the .18's to work. I have had great luck with the BMI .22's which are similar to the AE .20's however do now suffer from compacting in a bad crash. I think you will find this small change will have a huge effect.
DK
06-18-2009, 05:48 PM
#1311
Tech Master
iTrader: (17)
That being said I think the first thing to try if you have them around is the .022's if you have any around. The next thing I would try is order some BMI springs, they are far more linear and make the car alot smoother, one set of .022's and a set of .024's should get you started.
06-18-2009, 06:30 PM
#1312
They might have felt better but they are contributing to your problem. Those springs have a REALLY bad habbit of being way to soft and causing the car to do weird things. The springs are a huge factor in your front end and the rest of your car will not be right if you are not running a front end setup that other people can tune. The springs should not be producing a drastically different feeling from the start of your run to the end as they do not change, that is a setup issue elsewhere that needs to be addressed before any real issues can be resolved.
That being said I think the first thing to try if you have them around is the .022's if you have any around. The next thing I would try is order some BMI springs, they are far more linear and make the car alot smoother, one set of .022's and a set of .024's should get you started.
That being said I think the first thing to try if you have them around is the .022's if you have any around. The next thing I would try is order some BMI springs, they are far more linear and make the car alot smoother, one set of .022's and a set of .024's should get you started.
Yes I tried .022's. I have tried the BMI springs on my old car and really couldnt feel if they were more linear or smoother. Felt the same to me. They were a pain to shim and get in the wheel with out rubbing so will just stick to normal size springs. Do like that they are more robust though.
One thing I did notice with this car is you HAVE to run lube on the kingpins. I could get away with out it on my old crc but not this thing. I notice after the second run I have to clean and relube. Is this normal? Any way to make it last longer?
DK
06-18-2009, 07:31 PM
#1313
I have also gone to the BMI .22 springs as well. I have found that the first set of springs that came with the kit were bad and have collapsed. Then I went to my local hobbyshop to buy 2 more sets and bot sets did not even last me a month, so that is why I have gone with the BMI springs.
06-18-2009, 08:07 PM
#1314
I was in the other camp on front springs, I found with the .18 front springs, my car stayed more consistent thru 8 minutes. I did replace them fairly often, didn't crash much either, which helps them last longer... I was running the Tbar 12R5 , but found the same results earlier with the link version... JEFF
06-18-2009, 08:10 PM
#1315
John St Amant and others- Did you ever find any issue with the front end, where was the problem, which part staightened things out, etc... haven't followed this thread for awhile, just wondering what the latest was on this, one part bad, operator error, wrong assembly, etc... Just wanna know what to look out for, THANKS!
06-18-2009, 09:50 PM
#1316
John St Amant and others- Did you ever find any issue with the front end, where was the problem, which part staightened things out, etc... haven't followed this thread for awhile, just wondering what the latest was on this, one part bad, operator error, wrong assembly, etc... Just wanna know what to look out for, THANKS!
The only way to fix it was to get lucky and find ones that are right right out of the package. Looks like most if not all the new ones are good to go. You would be hard pressed to tell with out attempting assembly.
06-19-2009, 06:34 AM
#1317
Couple other questions.
1) what front width are you guys running? Have seen a lot of answers with shims here and there but no hard numbers.
2) side spring preload. What is common practice? 1 turn then tweak from there? 2 turns? What is the effect of preloading the side springs? If I preload them will it feel like a stiffer spring with no preload?
3) Im running a GTB 4 cell speedo at the moment and am looking for more rip. On the LRP I know how to adjust the punch but can it be done on this speedo? Maybe the drive freq?
thanks
DK
1) what front width are you guys running? Have seen a lot of answers with shims here and there but no hard numbers.
2) side spring preload. What is common practice? 1 turn then tweak from there? 2 turns? What is the effect of preloading the side springs? If I preload them will it feel like a stiffer spring with no preload?
3) Im running a GTB 4 cell speedo at the moment and am looking for more rip. On the LRP I know how to adjust the punch but can it be done on this speedo? Maybe the drive freq?
thanks
DK
06-19-2009, 01:24 PM
#1318
Thanks for the info John on the front end, now we know what to look for, and it's a fairly easy fix!! 
06-19-2009, 09:52 PM
#1319
06-22-2009, 02:08 PM
#1320
Couple other questions.
1) what front width are you guys running? Have seen a lot of answers with shims here and there but no hard numbers.
2) side spring preload. What is common practice? 1 turn then tweak from there? 2 turns? What is the effect of preloading the side springs? If I preload them will it feel like a stiffer spring with no preload?
3) Im running a GTB 4 cell speedo at the moment and am looking for more rip. On the LRP I know how to adjust the punch but can it be done on this speedo? Maybe the drive freq?
thanks
DK
1) what front width are you guys running? Have seen a lot of answers with shims here and there but no hard numbers.
2) side spring preload. What is common practice? 1 turn then tweak from there? 2 turns? What is the effect of preloading the side springs? If I preload them will it feel like a stiffer spring with no preload?
3) Im running a GTB 4 cell speedo at the moment and am looking for more rip. On the LRP I know how to adjust the punch but can it be done on this speedo? Maybe the drive freq?
thanks
DK
2. Depends on track and driver preference, I normally set the car on a flat plate back the crews all the way out then run them in slowly until they start to touch. Then I adjust tweek from there. Some racers prefer to not have the springs touch at all. That is helpful when the grip is low.
3. I run LRP so I can't comment on that
Also for any one interested, I have given a full set up sheet for my R5 with 1s lipo to the webmaster at RC10.com. It should be up soon.