MantisWorx

iTrader: (28)

thanx! its a BLAST to drive even in bad track conditions. i could not drive my regular 104 at all yesterday because the track was so slippery. this car has an independent rear suspension with oil filled differential,3* of toe in and 1.5* of rear camber. on this vid i had thicker dif fluid than it should have been and it makes it skate around more, i was too lazy to put thinner in here is the chassis up close:
http://www.youtube.com/user/Mantiswo...12/HNLt0wUjurQ

kb525

whenever i sell my plane ill be getting a f104 for sure.

CR0SS

iTrader: (5)

I am looking for tips to get more front grip on my 104 with Exotek chassis. I am running on asphalt with rubber tires(both Tamiya(rear soft) and Shimizus(F1, R1)). The Tamiyas had slightly better grip today but both fell off very quick after about 10 laps. I think this had to due with track temps. The asphalt was covered in dust and pollen. This along with the warm track temps(120's) the car was all over the place. The more laps I ran the dust and pollen cleared(a few spots there was a cloud of dust behind the car) and traction improved. As traction improves the rear gains grip and the front stays about the same.

More than anything I would like more front grip off throttle. I have adjusted ride height, front springs, rear preload and shock length. This is my first pod type car and just looking for some things to try adjusting. What does changing the side springs preload do? What does changing this do to the handling of the car? Also if I wanted to get some different springs to try for the rear shock what works?

mattwoodcraft

iTrader: (10)

thats some serious R an D i like the look when on a track with grip how does it compare to the conventional F104 ?

MantisWorx

iTrader: (28)

not even close, i retired my faithfull 104, the IRS is over a second quicker per lap on avg for this track on foam, even more on rubber. unless you have prime track conditions the 104 cant cut it. just having rear toe and camber makes all the difference in grip. its virtually impossible to slide the rear out on turn exit and actually drive through it on the pod chassis. as you can tell it enables you to drive very aggressive and not worry about spinning around. on that video the track was in horrible shape, it had just rained that night and there was no sugar or rubber layed down.

bl4

iTrader: (5)

Hi I have a F104 pro lightweight version for sale. Fully hop up with Tamiya aluminium parts, come with spare parts, box, instruction manual, few new sets of rubber tyre, 1 new set of sponge tyre. Asking US$200 exclude postage thks. Interested pls PM.

robk

iTrader: (22)

Add length to the center shock to allow more pod droop, that should help off power steering.

Changing the side springs (stiffer) will make the car more reactive off center, and can take away grip in low traction. Preloading too much is not a great idea. You just want them touching enough to tweak the car. Some guys run with no preload, but I think the car feels "floaty" like that.

rccartips

iTrader: (3)

Hi MantisWorkx,

Have you tried an F104 with steel axle and 100grms or so of additional weight on your track? Still slower?

How heavy is your IRS car?

ty.

CR0SS

iTrader: (5)

Thanks, that is just what I needed to know about the side springs.

MikeR

iTrader: (15)

+1 to what Rob said. Adding length to the center shock gives more rear pod droop which will give you more steering off power. I think the change can be a bit too dramatic on asphalt so be careful. I have experimented more with different front compounds and inserts (ie softer front tires and no inserts). Softer front springs help too along with .5deg toe in and inner hole on the steering knuckles for increased ackerman all to get more steering.

Culetto

iTrader: (4)

Having just started looking into F1 for UF1 and looking at another class for IIC this fall i have to say this thing is just brilliant. I havent seen anything in any of the UF1 or IIC rules for f1 stating it has to be a pod based rear end so i wonder what the legality of racing it would be at a higher level of competition?

lightfoot

iTrader: (2)

I would love to see this car run in the UF1 Series... Calvin Lee modified a 201 to run higher gearing and 2 wheel rear drive... It drove pretty good, but could not compete with the 104's, also pretty fragile... But this thing looks like the real deal...

robk

iTrader: (22)

He should bring it to Vegas and see how it shakes out.

superspeed

iTrader: (5)

low nose http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXAXYN&P=7 seem to be better looking than high nose. This Ferrari kit is more than the pro kits which are no longer produced. Price seems high on Tower.

MantisWorx

iTrader: (28)

car is 1224g race ready, i have tried every possible setup on my original 104, even made a toe-in rear pod which was awesome but still not even close to this car. the 104 either pushes or washes out unless you have major grip or carpet, the advantage to the IRS is that it simply has rear grip! you cant beat toe in ,camber and anti squat! dont have to screw with the gear dif ( i have a loose gearbox and also i tight one with 3:90 gears pre built)
this coming weekend i will have more footage with my old 104 (mantisworx chassis) and two exotec chassis cars. granted none of them can drive that well so it wont be a fair comparison but for video sake i will wrench on them and get them as good as i can. i know my old 104 is super quick but even at best we all know you cant put a 3s setup on a pod car and actually run quicker than a normal 2s 17.5 boosted. too much tq. the best thing about this car is you can drive the CRAP outa it with no fear! instead of always walking on eggshells (or driving!)

its a tough year for me financially to travel around but i would LOVE to get to one of those Uf1 events, they look fun!