jeffreylin

I use the stock setup with the original clutch shoe and spring. It works very well so I haven't try the red ones.

Uneke

How do you guys think this car compares to the RRR?

NiMo

FW05
good top speed
good fuel economy
easy to drive with natural slight understeer
very low maintenance
very stong
lacks a little on power steering

RRR
not as fast but quicker on sweeping corner tracks where more on power steering is needed.
drinks more fuel
very aggresive dring style with a slightly lose rear end
high maintenance and high running costs
very strong is crashes but rear belts only last a few meetings
must be driven with aggresive bodyshell, Dodge shells make the cars handling wild and unpredictable.

I now run both and the FW05 can be run for a meeting, put away, run for a meeting, put away etc, I have run the car for 15 meetings with only a paint brush cleean up (no maintenance) and it didn't faulter once.
But the RRR has to be stripped every 2 meetings to replace the pulleys and rear belt (ok if you have the time).
RRR comes out 7 seconds faster than the FW05 over a 5 minute run on my track but it takes a lot more concentration to get the times.
I'm currently thinking of ditching the RRR as it is costing me more than I would like for a hobby.

Uneke

NiMo
Thanx, that was a better answer than I was expecting.

Uneke

NiMo- how do you like you evo 2 engine and what pipe do you use with it?

NiMo

Had a JP FX T03 in the FW05 which was great, but the evo 2 in the RRR feels very flat, it has no low end torque so you have to run a very low 1st gear and have the clutch bite late, also the motor has to rev to its maximum revs else it just doesn't give the results.
I'm now saving the pennies (bucks, cents, yen) so I could get another JP to replace the one damaged in a t-bone incident which cracked the crank case by the motor mount.

ch4dwick

Dude, just two whys for this comparison.

Why does RRR use more fuel than the FW05RR?
Why is the maintenance much higher on the RRR?

NiMo

Fuel could be to do with the motor, or it could be to do with the belts.

Maintenance is just much higher with the RRR, I cant tell you why, it just is, probably the same as the 710 / MTX3, but the FW05 needs so little maintenance.

jeffreylin

I disagree. I think it's the other way around. I have 2 RRR and 2 FW-05RR and the FW definitely requires more maintenance. My RRR belts lasts for 6 months and I race at least twice a month.

The problem with the FW for me is the plastic gear boxes. The front one holds the droop screw and the front bumper. If you have a frontal crash the droop setting would be off. The upper plate screws into the gearboxes and the plastic is soft and strips easily after awhile.

I do agree that FW is more fuel efficient mostly due to driving style. You point the car, off the throttle, roll it around the corner, then throttle out. You do this because otherwise the car will push. The RRR you end up on the throttle a lot more because it gives you on power steering and you end up using more throttle because you can.

As for the Sirio, I have the Evo2 WCR and Evo3, both are extremely fast and has higher top end than my JP FX05 full option. But they do run hot at easily 270F. The Sirio can feel flat with the wrong pipe but it comes alive with the Sirio or Skyline pipe.

Uneke

how does the supension on the FW05 compare to the RRR? Is the geometry the same?

jeffreylin

Very different.

ch4dwick

So you experienced that too, ey? Whew! I was beginning to think i'm doing something wrong. Yes, the screws, for some reason, strip easily. I've had 3-4 screws stripped down already and this was just a typical day doing minor adjustments. I stripped the screw holding the brake linkage and the one inside that cup thing that connects the rear dogbone shaft to the spur gears. This was the real nightmare because it was all deep inside that part i had to drill it out. Good thing I know someone who is a pro in doing that. Got it out with justa few specs stuck in there.

misel

Doesn't the FW05RR carry some suspension parts from the RRR?

I still have my belt car (RR evo), and like Nimo, I am experiencing the same maintenance cost & time (though without the same race result as Nimo ).

Jeffrey, don't you want to race your FW sometime? (May be you did) I would like to hear your feedback about how far an FW could fall behind a RRR and may be you did defeat lots of RRR (and some other brands of cars) in the process?
I also hope to hear these from Nimo soon.

ch4dwick

Yo, my FW-05RR maiden race last sunday. Hell of a blast! Too bad my friend with the RRR had other plans and didn't show up last sunday. Being loyal to the shaft drive I didn't have any trouble adjusting to the car. It was pre configured with the hudy set-up system of my friend and the rear stabilizer removed. All I can say is the car was just ripping. The body is a mazda 3. I experienced oversteers when exiting a curve but that was remedied with the proper timing of hitting the throttle. If i throttle out too soon I turn into a spin. Other than that she drives like a dream. My first nitro car and I had no idea i could drive THAT good.

Clegg

iTrader: (9)

As much as the naysayers seem to want to bash the shaft drive land missle, its quite an amazing car.

My FW-05RR has rolling resistance on par with a V-One RRR, its so light that I have to add weight to it to bring it to spec, it takes FAR less maint than any belt drive car I have owned (I have owned shaft drive cars since the first HPI Nitro RS4, then RS4 Racer2, V-One R, then I went to shaft drive cars.

The car with the proper hop ups (The best mods I have done: the 3R quick change center, CVD's in the front, and the hardened diff gears, Kawahara steering plate).

The 2 best drivers at the club I race at often take my car around the track for fun... and every time they hand it back in awe of the speed and stability and mid corner steering my car has that theirs doesnt. (seems to go contrary to what Mr Jeff has said in this thread). the people normally drive Mugen MTX3's and NTC3's.