AndyT ©

You could try the bearings from-
www.acerracing.com
The ceramic ones may give better life.

AndyT ©

The K-Factory tank is the low CG tank......from memory the Hong Kong online sites such as rcmart.com have them in their NTC3 hop-ups section.
I`m sure theres also been a few posts in here late last year about these tanks causing excess foaming, and there may have been some clearance issues towards the rear of the engine/manifold area with certain brands of engine?
It sounds to me like theres pressure/vibration happening on your tank somewhere and this is causing the cracking.....my first guess wouldve been the mounting screws/o-rings but youve obviously checked that area....is it always the same area of the tank cracking?
Cheers

CHUCKMANDO

iTrader: (4)

Tanks are a funny issue. I can go through most of a year without replacing one, or replace 2 in a weekend. I always at least double the o-rings. As we know the design of the car makes this a weak point. My problem as of late is stripping ot only the one way dif gears, but sunday I replace the one way with a dif and then striped the rear dif no less. The week before I replaced the dif cases. I guess I will have to look into the bearings of shaft for extra play. Funny thing, every time I say I am giving up on the car, fix it and run it for a last time, I hold my own with all the lastest greatest cars. Just tired of wrenching.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

If anyone is looking for K-Factory parts I strongly recommend Brooklyn Hobbies www.brooklynhobbies.com They stock the entire line of K-Factory and have reasonable prices. Last time I was there they had several ntc3 fuel tanks in stock.

I've had nitro TC3's for 3 years now (yes, plural. I have 2. I don't know why) and never stripped a spur gear. Of course now I jinxed myself. Do the white gears fix this?

I've also gotten tired of replacing the shock tower and front upper gear case every time I hit a board. I got the K-Factory front shock tower which bolts to 7 places on the car instead of the stock 3. So I didn't break the gear case this weekend. But twice I snapped the lower ball stud on the car. And not from big hits either. I know of someone else who has the same problem. Anyone have a fix for this?

Hey Chuck do you go to Brownie's?

Solara

iTrader: (17)

Simply LEGAL and NOT LEGAL..........need to run ROAR LEGAL engine at ROAR race.
And the S15, simply something I can use for local racing....since both are modified, they both ran great, and I cannot tell which one is faster cause 200'-0" long straight, they both run very much the same....

bbntc3

Chuckmando: Maybe try the ETC3 gears use a body reamer and ream the hole to fit the oneway. If your running a ball diff, leave the friction washer out and just use the brg and shim it like the AE manual says. I been stripping gears like crazy this year was lucky to finish a heat race switch to the ETC3 gears and nothing stripped yet. Cars on its 5 weekend of racing on the same gear

CHUCKMANDO

iTrader: (4)

I will give the elect gears a try. Nottin to lose .

Jiml,
Yeah, know John well. He got me started with a B3 buggie. Then I saw some nitro guys racing in a lot and I was hooked. Haven't used the buggie since
Bklyn hobbies does carry k fact parts. In and out of stock often though. I usually go there when I race at Floyd Bennet.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

Next time you're in there tell John Jim La Stella says Hi.

BigDogRacing

iTrader: (12)

jiml- which lower ball stud?

One the fuel tank- first of all go to the next longer flat head 4/40 screws. They won't bottom out and they go in many threads deeper. Then use some fuel line and cut a piece about 3mm long for the middle screw and 2 pieces about 4mm long for the 2 front screws. You can do both of those steps for the center handle as well. Don't tighten the screws until the tank hits the chassis- that's the whole point. By having longer screws they won't loosen up if you don't tighten them way down. This will lessen the foaming and make the tank last much longer.

jiml

iTrader: (3)

Front.

I've tried titanium ball studs. They don't break, they just bend.

BigDogRacing

iTrader: (12)

Jim, are you talking about the pivot balls? If so then you need to invest in a P-Dub or Rubberneck bumper. They are the same. Simply awesome!!! Of course, it can't protect against everything so you'll still be bending pivot balls if you hit the pipes or boards. As far as the titanium, they are softer than the steel ones. It's a popular misconception that the titanium is stronger. It's not. It's considerably softer, it's just lighter than regular steel. I don't know if anyone makes hardened steel pivot balls but that's about the only thing that is stronger than the regular steel ones.


bbntc3- when you say the electric gears, are you referring to the old gray/black ones or the newer yellowish ones?

badKarma

what do i need to get an NTC3 Plus RTR race ready on an asphalt surface? is the .15 engine that comes with it sufficiant for starting out? what other upgrades should be needed?

BigDogRacing

iTrader: (12)

Threaded shock bodies would help, stiffer springs and foam tires. If the traction is pretty good then start off on GQ 42 front and 40 rear. If you can drive and tune well then 40/40 will be better, but more agressive. You also need to do the fix to the front shock tower.

For all you guys wanting to know about the fix, there's an MSRA club member making the parts to do it. He does it a fairly simple way- no machined fancy aluminum thingy like the one guy that used to make them, but it's stong and easy to work on. I'll try to get him to post here if you're interested. The club guys usually give him 6 or 8 bucks for the pieces to cover his time and parts. Add a couple bucks shipping and I'm sure he'll hook you up. Just gotta get him to get on this thread...

Rich Panganiban

iTrader: (72)

The NTC3 RTR Plus is a pretty capable sedan as it sits, like BigDogRacing tires are probably the most important upgrade you can make.

What I would recommend is to find the fastest guy at your local track that runs a NTC3 and copy his setup to use as a starting point. Focus on the tires, and suspension settings (springs, oils, swaybars, etc).

Once you get comfortable on the track, a good engine and starter box would be a great upgrade along with a FM radio (more adjustability).

Hope that helps.

badKarma

is "the Fix" totally neccesary for making the NTC Plus race ready? if so, why?
Do more people run foams or rubber on asphalt? what are the advantages of each?