nomaak

the car's so good that it left everybody speechless.

Essnowyt

Check out http://www.fastener-express.com/
Snowy.

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

I took my Pro4 to a regional event this past weekend. It did some wierd things and was wondering if anyone had experienced this.

There was one time in particular where I took my car out for practice after making some changes. The car handled great. The best it had been all weekend. After I ran a few laps of practice, I took the car off the track and back to my pits. I put the car on a setup station to check the camber and toe. I then checked the ride hight and tweak. Did not make any changes to it. The next time I took the car out, in a qualifier, it handled like doo-doo. It was not even close to the same care that I ran in practice.

Does anyone have any ideas what might cause this?

Oh, I was running foams on ozite with the 3mm BMI chassis.

Thanks

Johnboy Walton

iTrader: (3)

StewartFan20 -

I ran into something quite similar, and I've got about 6 different ideas on what may have caused it.

I ran all day last Thursday (well, okay only 3 runs, but I was still at the track for 6 hours!), and the car (box-stock, sorta) seemed completely hooked up.

When I showed up to race the next day, I had picked up a MASSIVE on-power push that I really didn't remember from the previous day. Here are my thoughts:

1) I was using all new batteries, and I only got about 1 run each into them on Thursday. I'm guessing they "woke up" on Friday, as it seemed the car was a fair bit faster. I think I just had more power, so I wasn't quite ready for it.

2) I was running the kit setup, but with no swaybars and a front diff (foam on carpet). My friend was running the same basic thing but with the front swaybar (box-stock) installed. His was stuck like glue. I'm thinking that by taking away some steering off-power, it made the car feel more consistent.

3) Our local pro suggested that too much front droop would allow the front to rise too much, transferring weight to the rear end.

4) He also suggested that angling the inner hingepins up might also help - I assume he meant rear anti-squat, and that also makes sense.

5) He finally suggested moving the upper front shock mount in 1 hole to (I assume) soften the front end to minimize weight transfer.

Finally, when I got the car home (I broke a C-hub in my first qualifier and called it a night), I noticed one of my inner ball-studs had backed out and was sloppy. I went though the whole car to find any incosistencies I could, and I also installed the front swaybar. I'm planning to hit the track again on Thursday, and hopefully that will cure it.

Good luck - one big claim to fame for this car is that it is very adjustable - unfortunately, that also means you can adjust it right off the track, too!

Mike

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

Mike,

I had already run all day Friday and Sat. So, my batteries are about as awake as they were going to be.

The time difference between the good run and the doo-doo run was about 1 hour.

The car did not pick up a push, it was just wierd. I can't put my finger on exactly what happened. I was inconssitant.

I was not using the stock setup.

I am going to tear down the car tonight to see if there was something broken that I did not catch.

Thanks a bunch.

Essnowyt

What about the racing surface? At large events, especially with foam cars running traction can and will change. There are many externalities that govern this, one is traction compound. I remember at the 2001 Novak race, right before my race the track went literally wet. To prevent this, this year the Novak race used a spec traction compound. Just another idea.
Snowy.

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

Essnowyt

I did think about that. But, no one elses car changed like mine. I don't think it was a track thing.

The car did not pick up a push or get loose. It is hard to explain in words. It was just wierd.

Thanks

coastaltony

iTrader: (13)

Was the back-end sliding out

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

That seemed to be the tendancy. Although, the car did not seem loose.

Nexus

iTrader: (42)

I agree....it was probably due to the track conditions changing.

another thing might be your foams lost some size or one of the tires lost more size then the others....that would throw everything off as far as ride height, droop, ect. depending on the layout and you settings it's not uncommon that one or two tires will wear faster then others.

a loose ballstud or screw somewhere could also cause the inconsistencies you talk about.

i usually try to make sure the ballstuds are all tight and the lower screw that goes into the c-hub is tight. those are the only things i noticed get loose sometimes.

jhigga15

I finally got my pro 4 running and It's a great car...I have only rub it around an made up course in a parinking lot...the problem is that the car drifts a fit to the left...but the wheels look srtaight when the car is sitting there...What could cause this and how to fix it...I am running rubber tires

But great car and it handles great!!!!

coastaltony

iTrader: (13)

When I built the Pro 4, I used a tap on all the screw holes. My right rear a-arm's droop screw has been a tad loose from day one. After every run, I need to re-set the the droop grub.

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

I don't think is was due to changing track conditions. I was in one of the early heats and there was not that much traffic during practice before the qualifying round started. Besides it seemed the car was very inconsistant as to how it went through the corners on each lap. One time the care would drive trought the corner just fine. The next time the car was twitchy. Almost like I was getting gliched and I am pretty sure I was not getting glitched. It was just wierd.

The foams were trued right before practice, when it worked well. After the practice run, I made sure the droop, ride hight, camber, toe, etc had not changed. I have never had a ball stud come loose. I also rotated the tires prior to the qualifying round. I rotate the tires after every run.

I am going to tear down the car tonight and see if there is something broken that I did not catch prior to the qualifier.

Nexus

iTrader: (42)

stewart.

is your drivetrain still free...maybe you have a bad bearing causing some binding somewhere.

StewartFan20

iTrader: (4)

I checked the bearing before the race. During the weekend, I did not notice any bad bearings. That is something I am going to check tonight when I tear the car apart.