Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

KO is one of my sponsors, but unfortunately they are waiting on a shipment of them to arrive, and I will already be at the nats when it does..

aus jd 2703

iTrader: (5)

ok lol i got bored so decided to 'prep' my mi2 ec, so far ive:
cut every 2nd tooth out of an old rear belt (less rolling friction) and soaked it in wd 40.
soaked the bearing in acetone and removed the shields and seals, im going to soak them in lighter fluid then burn the residue (heard it works well) and then use a dremel to spin them in brasso (liquid metal polish) so that the bearings are supper smooth and frictionless.
i was going to search for some teflon oil (currently using much more spin lube) is this better than the much more?
im going to run 6 diff balls in the rear diff(a local corrally driver reckon this is the go)
what else can i do to free up the car? im not worried about having heaps of maintenence or parts wearing out, im probably buying a new car as my lower deck is really scratched and the front has chipped the rear shock tower and upper deck have cracks in one layer of the cf. not to mention slop in the steering and work out drive shafts.
lol just want a kick ass 540 car.
cheers btw is it true u should use the smallest possible spur to reduce rotating mass?

AdamD

iTrader: (6)

Randy,

Brooklyn hobbies has the servo your looking for.

Jon Kerr

iTrader: (17)

Many of the things you've listed are very old tricks and aren't really needed. Blowing the grease out of the bearings is fine. But soaking in acetone and lighter fluid? Just spray them out with some motor spray and use a thin bearing oil like the Much More you're using or Trinity Royal Oil. (One of the only Trinity products I really like ) Also, the EC drivetrain is already very free. I wouldn't really suggest cutting the teeth off the belts. Running fewer diff balls isn't really going to do much either. I'd suggest replacing the cracked CF parts and making sure the suspension isn't too sloppy but still good and free before you spend all this time working on this other stuff.

olhipster1

iTrader: (102)

i would agree...the drivetrain is crazy free...especially after a few runs the bearings will become super smooth.

At first my drivetrain was a bit sluggish....Ron Goetter told me to remove all the shims from the diffs...and wow what a difference..it just rolled forever..virtually zero resistance now.

also don't try and over shim the layshaft...let it have a little play.

also...broke a front arm...one hell of a hard hit..all my fault of course....working on the car was a piece of cake..about 3 minutes to change out an arm and a Chub.
but anyway...the new arms hardly needed any reaming....the hinge pins went right in with very little slop and no binding. Truely a lot less work than the original boxed set.

andrewdoherty

iTrader: (49)

ttt

for anyone that cares . . .
I "fixed" my servo saver issue by using the small kimbrough servo saver, some imagination, and screwing a bit of lexan to it to extend its reach. At first I did it for fitment testing in plans to use it as a template for some CF, but its short enough I don't think I'll need it. Its super stiff as short as it is. The servo saver gives way before the lexan would flex. This also allows me to move my servo horn ball stud up another 3mm to accomodate the 3mm I shimmed the steering bell crank up to clear my LiPo. All I have left to do to bring the steering geometry back to stock is get the longer ball studs and shim the ones on the front end of the track rod down 3 mm and Ill be good as new and able to run NiMh and Lipo. This is even with the longest track rod BTW.

AWD

Jon Kerr

iTrader: (17)

When you shimmed your bell crank up, did you adjust the steering links to make sure your bump steer didn't change?

seaball

iTrader: (9)

between using the longest track rod, and an extension on your horn/saver, your steering should be lightning quick, at the expense of resolution and torque. you may want to consider a shorter track rod if you are using a long servo horn, or go back to the short saver and flip the ballstud to the bottom of the bellcrank to get a more preferred pushrod angle.

general - regarding the track rod options:

1) length: the longer the rod, the faster the steering, and more throw it will have w/o changing anything else. for a accurate comparison, you'll have to adjust your epa/dual rate to account for the change in lateral swing. if you were at full lock with the kit (long) rod, going shorter will require you to add steering travel in order to get to full lock again.

2) width: the wider the spacing, the more scrub (ackermann angle) is induced durring steering travel. the general concensus is that the narrow spacing (smaller ackermann angle) increases turn-in, and high speed steering, while the wider spacing yields a smoother car, that wraps low speed (tight) turns a little better.

compared to the mi2/ec the new bellcrank geometry is generally much quicker. it might be worth mentioning that there is a point of diminishing returns, which i think andrew could accidentally be approaching.

Sigearhead

iTrader: (74)

If you want to run a servo saver just run the Kimborough medium and you won't have to make any modifications. It's a tiny bit shorter than the kit stock but you don't have to alter anything to make it work and the steering geometry should be the same as well.

Skiddins

True, but it does stop you using the Stiffer or Flxible top decks as the 'arm' sits too far away from the servo.

Skiddins

Darkseid

iTrader: (9)

On the topic of the servo saver. I have to say that I was more worried about this than anybody. And after looking at all the options, I decided to try running the car without the servo saver. And I have to tell you that you really don't need one. I've taken a couple hard hits and have suffered no damage at all. In fact, I don't even remember that I'm not running a servo saver until someone brings it up here.

seaball

iTrader: (9)

that definitely works. for me (and our ex-losi team driver who coudn't fit a saver in there) we have noticed that the centering/trims get out of whack easier without savers, and slop in the servo develops more quickly. my cars are more accurate/repeatable when i use [quality] savers. just something to consider.

the 2.5mm chassis was supposed to have a longer recess under the servo so that we could run the kimbrough large saver and slide the servo back to facilitate mounting the ball from the front side of the saver, clearing all possible top deck options. this would have been a nice setup for carpet racing (or any 2x4 barrier tracks).

- craig turek -

cpatel529

iTrader: (80)

I am considering buying the Mi3 (vs Associated FT TC5) for asphalt/rubber racing. I want to get a car that is setup for asphalt racing out of the box as much as possible and doesnt need alot of extra parts and something that is easy to maintain, clean, and take apart if parts need to be fixed. Like i said, the Mi3 and the FT TC5 are my first two choices.


What parts are necessary for the Mi3 to be competitive on asphalt? I am sure that you can run the stock parts but is a 2.5mm chassis and 2.5mm top deck available and necessary for adjustability?

Any help would be much appreciated.

Marcos.J

iTrader: (239)

you dont need any other parts!!

Darkseid

iTrader: (9)

The car is ready for asphalt right out of the box. The 2.5mm chassis and 2.5mm top deck are more for carpet racing I believe. And considering how stiff the car is with the stock chassis, I would have to think that those options are only necessary if you run on 'nationals' type of traction on carpet.

Most people are just taking the car and putting the PW asphalt setup on the car to start and working from there. And you don't need any extras to do that.