BaxterC

Guys, I must admit that a steering problem is really a problem. I hope you get it sorted. I must say that the best car is a matter of opinion.

When it comes to problems, there are few with the serpent 710. and I am sure that other than the steering, there are also few. there are cars that have many more, Take a look at the old Hong Nor Z10 Nitro Pro... I have one, and it has never even moved from the shelf, i was building one and found that nothing fitted without some form of sanding, cutting or grinding. Even the cam biscuit thing (i cant remember what it is called) in the gearbox had to be modded to move smoothly so it would be able to shift. I gave up after 3 months with trying to build it and all the little hassles. Even the steering throw was not equal, there were so many stupid little things....

I must admit that I will have been much happier with a G4 with it's steering issues than the kit I had.

4racer

hi pyramid,
if you mean the 710 is better then the g4 is it yours.

i have looked in the black book, and i found there enough
things what a driver must make, to get a good car.

i think everybody must do what he whant,
and i whant racing with my g4

dieter

Pyramid

As much as I understand what you are saying.. I'm sure you would known your choice better than any other people. Happy racing..

rc_alan

InitialD... I did chat with Josy Cyrul after he had left Trinity about the G4. I just got my G4 and he didn't mention anything about the steering except to say the steering gets alittle stiff... and really couldn't say much as he had just left the company.... I know a 100% factory backed Team Driver from Yokomo that was at the ROAR nationals last Sept 2003 at Revelation RC raceway. He told me he saw Josh oiling the steering system after every round to keep it from malfuctioning. Believe me, Trinity and all there Team drivers are painfully aware of the problem. They might not say it, but they are aware... and if they had there choice, they would go back to the Reflex NT. I posted that Trinity took down all G4 forum posts because of all the commits and problems about the steering. There's not even a help/tip section for the G4 on there website. No company person that is being paid/supported to drive a car will willing say the car has problems... I know every car is not perfect and for the most part companies will have fixes for any issue they become aware off. Either a re-design or a work around to the problem. Those can be consider minor issues... When you have a design flaw for lack of Research and development, you, I and Joe racer won't be able to correct it. I've spent over $100.00 USD. on replacement steering servo savers that is the root of the problem. Metal to metal contact over and over again will result in failure sooner or later.. And in many cases all over the world the sooner seems to be the norm... As per forum posts from different websites.. If there is a fix... Joel Johnson or someone from Trinity should post it. Not flaming Mr. Johnson in anyway. If TM is honest about a fix in the near future... They should let a few people test it. Team Magic would have to redesign the whole front bulk head or a retro fit to something like the GP-4. Here's the link to the GP4... Notice that's it's on the Team magic website... Could this car have been made/design by TM??? And if so, why won't they retro fit the front end from the GP4 for the G4... Here's the link and you all be the judge... http://www.teammagic.com.tw/phpBB2/v...er=asc&start=0

Steering should never be considered a minor problem. These car can move over 50 plus mph and someone could get hurt by a run away car let alone damage to the car itself from a crash...

RC_Alan

Nitropimp

Rc_Alan- Man I have to jump on your boat. I'm mean the reason I bought this thing is about the post I've read on this forum. From the start it's been the same problems. The fuel tank and steering. I still have the old tank. No matter what forum you go to. TM's, Trinity(when they did talk about the g4), RcTEch, etc majority of the problems are the steering. I mean I used Kmac's 90 degree steering (with TMAX ball end). And the other day when I saw Kmacs NEW leaded insert. I was like man look at this guy and how he's trying to improve the steering. He should be working RD for TM (BTW- thanks for the tips KMAC). I know it's trial and error but really you guys need to update for the steering. Also how much is it going to be? Like RC_Alan indicated I bought the g4 and now I have to update the fuel tank and steering. Heck your good deal is now about the price for a Mugen if not more. My car is not even built yet and I've dumped $300 for the kit and $125 for the hop ups (K Factory Servo Saver.. etc) and another ???? for the design flaws. I'm sorry Nickko but if I don't hear about a fix in the next couple of weeks... I'm gone. Remember we talked about word of mouth of a car. Right now without even putting my car on a track I have a NASTY taste in my mouth.... There is NO CAR worth this headache, really. But we are die hard G4er's and really want this car to get reconized. I mean I feel for the guys who switched completly to the G4 and have basically NO support from any factory drivers. I can read about Joel Johnson G4 in RCCA Mags but that's not good enough. My track has 2 Mugen Team drivers and a Assiocated Team Driver and everybody runs TC3's, MTX-3, V one RR's and some Evo's, etc. But I rarely see G4's out on my track. And the one I've seen the guy built his car from box setup and then smashes into a wall and taco's his car. And scratches his head why he lost steering??? Man I can go into the pits and ask anyone for help on of MTX-3 and within minutes I have a fix. I have a feeling with the g4 I'm going to chasing setup with this steering problem. Do I want to be in the pits all day chasing setup, naw.... I know pitting and setup is a problem with all racers but without even putting my car on the track I've already see problems with this steering. Man Rc_Alan I feeling that pain right now. And let me say I'm inches in putting this car on 4 Sale section. Nickko PLEASE PLEASE don't let us down......

And about the GP-4 yeah man look at it's steering no RAILS. Most lay down steering on cars that I've seen have NO RAILS and If you guys at TM built the GP4 you know ofna gave some RD in the steering design. I'm not going to blame or flame anyone but really there's a problem with the G4 and you guys at TM need a fast fix before you start losing your market of the 1/10's....


To RCTech'ers all around I have question to ask. Has anyone seen a G4 with an V one RR Evo front end?? I remember someone posting this on one of the forums but he never replied or showed proof of this mod being done.


Just my 2 cents but I had to vent a little.... Sorry

Nitropimp

here's a guy who heard of the Evo front end conversion but had no replies...
http://www.teammagic.com.tw/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=226

Nitropimp

Man I just went through all the post looking for the guy who said he changed the G4 to an Evo front end. Couldn't find it. I just wanted to say that going through the first post of the G4. I can count on one hand the original people who stuck this out from the start. And they are the one's who usually help us out. I got to say alot of the original owners of the G4 have ditched it. Scares me. And if anyone is thinking that I'm complaining for no reason. I'm sorry. I mean if the original guys (Kmac, Aggdaddy, RC_Alan, Pyramid Border, RCnut and a few others) hadn't stuck with this car man we'd be lost. Thanks guys. But from the start alot of people were very excited about this car. And said it performed AWESOME, number one problem STEERING. And yes Nickko you've helped with some questions but really never gave a fix. Besides the instructions on loading the saver to one side and tighten it and then to the other (basically to make sure that they have equal torque on both sides.) I'm going to complete my car tonight. I'm hoping by next year you can still see the same people on the G4 thread that I see now. Because if you look from last year it'll scare you.... Nickko I guess what I'm saying is you guys at TM have a good car but it has a steering issue. Look at the guys that are fixing, modding or complaining about it. They are the guys who have been with you from the start.. And they are getting frustrated. By the time you fix it it might be too late. And there might not be a G4 thread come next year..


BTW- Kmac do you still have blank setup sheets for the G4 you can email me with at [email protected]?

Aggdaddy

Nitropimp, i think you should at least drive it before you sell it As bad as you make it out to be, it'll be hard to get your money's worth from selling it.

Guys' lets not be so hasty. I'm sure that there must be some way to fix our problem with the car.

Not everybody's driving style is the same, nor is their technical expertise with model cars. I think we are too focused on one issue and that is presenting a negative effect to other g4 owners who may not have even encountered a problem with the steering.

Maybe you guys drive a heck of lot more than I and have been having some hard times keeping the car dialed in. But who is to say I will, when I put the same amount of drive time in as you guys.

KMac

Nitropimp,

Here's the G4 blank setup sheet. It's an editable .pdf file so you can type in your settings, then print it.

http://www.knology.net/~boiler88/RC_Cars/G4%20Blank.pdf

bballer

Well said, nitropimp. nickko, from what im seeing just on this forum you need to get a fix for this very fast. This forum is quite big, and im sure many future 1/10ers read this forum. Time is the most important thing to most, and people don't want to have to spend more time fixing the steering when they should be working on a setup. If you want to retain just some of the customers, something has to be done fast. Your r&d team must think of something. Even if people have to drill a few holes or something and end up spending 25 bucks, In my mind thats a good deal for the time saved. If someone had a g4 with good steering, it would be THE TOP CAR. As it is with the steering, people will drive through the hassle to have a g4. If im making any sense, basically what im saying is to devote your time and come up with a quick fix. Youve had 8 months plus the time designing the car to get this fixed. I know packaging will take a while for a team magic fix to be produced, but even if you think of a cheap makeshift solution, people will settle down. The customer shouldn't have to fix a product that should be working when its bought

rc_alan

Funny thing... And I'm not trying to beat a dead horse, but has anyone seen one post from a Trinity team driver anywhere on this thread or any other thread for that matter supporting the G4??? They read this thread and Trinity knows what's going on. Ok, they might not post a fix here, but you would think that they would post something, just a little something on there own website... RCNut posted back sometime ago that he knows some of the Team drivers from Trinity and that his shop is not that far from Trinity's... So you know they know what's going on... ... Like I said, I've put alot of sweat and money into this car to race this season... Could I sell my G4 to Joe novice at the track??? Yes, but I have more intergrity then that... I'll drive that car as long as I can and chalk it up as a lesson learn. I'm in SoCal and Mugen, HPI, OFNA, Team Associated and Yokomo all have there US. offices in SoCal... Like 20-30 min driving distance for me to get to each one.... My first car was the NTC3, had a little problem with the tranny. Went down to Team Accociated and the guy who design the car was there a gave me a hand. Super nice guy and took his time to show me what I was doing wrong... That stayed with me and I have been in this hobby ever since... Company/Team support goes along way. I guess you all can figure that I'll be driving one of the companies mention above in the future. I'm not here to knock or flame anyone or any company, although it might seem that way... But like I said earlier, has anyone ever once seen any Team driver from Trinity or any Team driver from oversea's or Europe ever post about the G4 in this thread or any other thread??? No... And when I say Team I mean Factory backed/supported driver... You go to the other companies threads and those team driver posts from time to time... That helps to sell the car and to get tips right from the factory... Like I said, I'm not trying to beat a dead horse... You know when it's dead, it can't hear anymore...

RC_Alan

utopian

I have bought this car in Jan of this year since I read articles in this forum. I only modified the steering system by using the horn from NTC3 to prevent hitting the front chassis and using the servo saver from K F. I usually practice once a week and raced once only and I have never met problem as said. In fact, I feel G4 is one of the most rigid chassis in 1/10 touring. Usually, I lubricate the rail with silicone before each practice.

Pyramid

They absolutely knows.. just remember, they are the kind of company who refuses all flaws (pretend there are none) and see what happened now.. most of them have left.

We do sell G4 almost twice as much as we sell the S710. 60% of them are repeat order. Why? becuase they already knew (before the buy) what could be expected when buying the particular car kit as we explainned it in the fist place.

J_Longbrake

iTrader: (20)

Have we ever seen Trinity support anything they sell? Maybe the first time we have ever seen Trinity go through and just delete anything they feel like from their forum? They didn't even bother to post anything about Cyrul, Spash or Dieter leaving. Trinity doesn't care! Trinity/Ernie just wants to pump out stuff and make money.

I bought a G4 to run this summer after looking at Cyruls at a MWS race last summer and he was more than helpful with any questions about the car or anything else, just like he always is. But he no longer runs the car because he no longer drives for Trinity. And I am pretty sure that if you asked him, he would tell you that he ran a 2144 on the steering because at that time he ran either 2143's or 2144's on all of his TC stuff because that's the best stuff KO had and gave him. To say that he ran a servo with a ton of torque to make up for an apparent design flaw in the car is just dumb.

I talked to Chris Dosek last weekend at Joyce Parks test and tune and he said that he and Todd Hodge would probably be running them if they could get them. Make of that what you would like, but it doesn't sound like Trinity really wants to market the car and from what I have heard they aren't the sole or even a distributor of the car in the US anymore anyway?

So who cares who is running this car and who is not, if you have useful info on how to set up the car, make the car better or anything else helpful then post away. This thread is turning into a big mess. And I'm not flaming anyone or whatever you call it in thread lingo, just tired of listening to all of the negative talk.

Holla!

Aggdaddy

"So who cares who is running this car and who is not, if you have useful info on how to set up the car, make the car better or anything else helpful then post away. This thread is turning into a big mess. And I'm not flaming anyone or whatever you call it in thread lingo, just tired of listening to all of the negative talk."


I second this comment by JBrake. Lets talk about some good races that our G4 has enabled us to run.



I had a race yesterday at my local race track. I have been paid several compliments on my G4. I even went toe to toe with the MTX-3 and a very good driver. I was pleased with the car's performance the whole night. The only problem I had was not adjusting my brake for the Main. I made it to the A-main, but for some reason my brake was lighter than usual. And I smacked the wall a little too hard and broke a turnbuckle rod and lost a dog bone. Unfortunately I couldn't find my dog bone nor did I have any backups (Ordering right now from RCNUT) . Steering was a non-issue. Car was great. I just need a littl emore time with my car figuring out why my brake fades.

On my radio, when I first built my car, My wheels would lock up at a setting of 56 on my radio. Higher number allows the servo to pull farther for more brake. I am at a setting of 64 now. I guess its just the brake pads wearing down?