Julius

Or uneven weight balance of the pod or main chassis. That is almost impossible to solve with the side springs.
Balance both the pod and main chassis individually, and see if anything is off.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

About the impossibility to fix the imbalance with side springs, I can't agree with you more. I realized that it's futile after the endless trials of adjusting the set screws for the side springs.

I don't know if you've read my postings regarding this above but how would you check and address the imbalance of the weight? Everything is centered in my car. Battery, ESC, servo and ESC switch on left/transponder on right. If there's imbalance of weight between left and right, it should be very minimal.

BUT the pod side is whole another story. there's nothing much going on in pod though. Only the rear axle and motor. No binding from the motor wires.

It still spins violently to one side when I pull the trigger suddenly. Once the car gets going, it goes straight. When I check the front tires after I sub trimmed to get the car going straight, the front tires are tilted to one side. I don't remember which side though. So something is wrong and I've been trying to figure it out. I look forward to your advice.

Ph3nyx

you'll have to stiffen the center damper , if your car goes on a side when you brake it's because your pod goes to low when the weight is transfered.
you will also have to untweak the chassis with the side springs

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

Super glad to hear that. So my bed side thought last night was right. I really hope that'll resolve the issue. Thank you and I'll keep you posted after making that adjustment.
But I'm not sure about the untweak with the side springs because I just couldn't seem to do it. The left front tire always lifts first even if I lower the set screw on right side spring a lot more than left side.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

I tried to reset the front to default set up and look at this caster... what the heck is wrong w the manual? The manual says 15 mm for caster links and 13mm for camber links. The only thing that's different in my car than the default asphalt set up is the ride height spacers being 2 mm instead of 4.

EDWARD2003

iTrader: (8)

Have you de-tweaked the center block and side links

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ct2L3KEkE0

Check out all his videos ( I think there are three). Very useful information for setting up 1/12 or 1/10 F1.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

OMG, it's fantastic video. Thanks a lot. I watched the other two as well. I'll tackle on it right away! I'm pumped!

EDWARD2003

iTrader: (8)

No problem, I too learned a lot from his videos. I would say the most important and first thing to do when it comes to chassis setup is make sure your chassis is balanced side to side. If not, then you'll have handling issues.

How do you balance a chassis? It's simple, all you need to do is buy two balancing pins (Hudy) or make some (two dice with thumb tacks glued each one). Now, some chassis' have a tiny hole drilled in the rear pod and at the front of the main chassis. If you have both holes your in luck. But, I would buy the Hudy pins for these holes. The thumb tacks will not work.

If you like the whole "do it yourself" idea, then you'll need a ruler or vernier caliper <---- much better and a 1.0 mm drill bit.

The rear pod on your F1 already has a hole drilled. What you can do is take your 1.0 mm drill and drill a little hole in front or behind the preexisting hole. You don't have to drill all the way through.

The front end, find a location that's convenient for you. Maybe, a few mm away from the front edge. Use your ruler or vernier to find the center and drill a little hole. Remember you don't have to go all the way through.

TRY TO BE PRECISE!

Then take off all your wheels, and start moving your electronics around to find the ideal chassis balance. If you've moved all your electronics around and you still find one side is heavier, then you will have to add some weight to the light side. Once you've decided everything is merry jerry, then strap on the wheels and your good to go on the next step.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

Yeah I have the HUDY balance pins. The car has everything in the center and balanced. I just followed the video instructions one by one. Main chassis was tweaked so I undid it. Removed the pod assembly and checked for tweak. It was fine. Redid the diff. Much smoother. In the process of putting back the pod. I will check the droop again. Hope it'll be right this time.
I will check the front end lastly. I got the tamiya springs and didn't know I'm not supposed to put any load on side springs when resting. I put too much tension. I'll undo it. And the tamiya front springs are longer than Serpent's and I seem to have put too much load in the front. No wonder the car was totally lack of steering yesterday. I guess I'll put back the stock springs for now.
Unsolved mistery is, though, the caster I mentioned above. The manual's direction seems totally wrong, which is not the first time for Serpent LOL. Anyway I wanted to know if you guys noticed same. How come the caster is negative when I followed the direction??! (See the picture)

EDWARD2003

iTrader: (8)

Sounds like you're figuring it all out . If you don't have it installed already, I would suggest getting ceramic differentials balls and sand the differential rings with 600 grit paper. Sanding the differential rings will remove any high spots on the ring.

Also, the side link springs should be lightly resting on the plastic links.

What damper lube are you running? I would follow the kit suggestions for asphalt 30,000 cst.

As for the caster, do you have a setup system that measures castor? Are you measuring the links as the instructions indicate? You have to measure 15 mm between the ball ends.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

I fixed it!!! She goes straight!!!

I don't know what is wrong with caster thing but the manual measurement is totally wrong in my car. It gets me negative caster as the picture shows. I got it by myself though. It took me quite a bit of time figuring out between getting caster, toe and camber. (I have HUDY setup station for 1/10, which seems to work fine in F1 too).

Center tube has 70,000 wt. I increased it last time in the effort of trying to stabilize the car. I don't think 70k would make a big difference from 30k anyway.

Center shock has 30wt oil with 1 hole with grey spring. It gives 1.3mm droop. I think it's too soft and it'll give too much turn in with wobbly end at the exit of corners though. I'll probably try 50wt.

I noticed today that I had built the car totally wrong.
1. The 2mm shim under one of the side links was missing. The link came off after I crashed one time and I guess I forgot. That definitely could've given the torque steer. Stupid of me.
2. Lt front king pin was bent.. No wonder the car wouldn't go straight.
3. The main chassis was tweaked a bit.
4. The diff was not lubed enough and was gritty. I re built it.
5. The side springs were pushed down too much.
6. The guy in the video recommends to have the same length between the kingpin and front springs but the kingpin is shorter than the spring when I assembled it according to the manual. So I lengthened the kingpins a bit.
7. The caster was way too much. It was 10 degree LOL. No wonder there was no steering entering corner yesterday.

Sanding diff disks is not really necessary because mine is virtually brand new car yet. I'll be sure to do that as I run this more. Ceramic balls will be purchased soon. The side springs rest snugly on the side links.

I truly learned a lot from all of you and from the video. I'm beginning to realize I definitely took it too easy for this F1 class. Thank all of you for your help.

EDWARD2003

iTrader: (8)

Great to hear.

Are you running outdoors or indoors with rubber or foam tires?

A poorly handling F1 could be the result of a poorly built and maintained differential. So, it's extremely important to build it accordingly.
That is if you want a good handling F1.

I snagged this off of a post on differentials. This was written by Nova F1 Racer.

On the diff rings this is what I do to get an extremely smooth and long lasting diff..
1. clean both sides of diff rings
2. 800 git sandpaper in a circular motion on both sides of rings
3. clean diff
4. 1500-2000 grit autobody sandpaper, a touch of oil on sandpaper in circular motion, both sides
5. clean diff with spray and wipe with clean cloth
6. polish ring with dremel polish attachments also a mirrow finish
7. repeat step 5 and you are ready...

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

I mostly run it on outdoor low traction asphalt track. It's pretty smooth surface considering it's a parking lot track. I go to a high traction carpet track as well. Two entirely different tracks LOL.
I'll keep this diff instruction in mind. Thanks Edward,

EDWARD2003

iTrader: (8)

I would change your setups for each track. What tires are you running?

I would look at testing out side tube lube - Switch from 70,000 to 30,000 and note the handling differences.

Also, test out different side springs and main shock springs. You might find a sweet combinations that will work for both track surfaces.

snuvet75

iTrader: (16)

I would use 30k in outdoor asphalt low to med traction track and 70k or above in tight carpet track. But again, I don't think it would make a big difference for now since I'm still setting up the general things on my car. I'll focus more on stabilizing and making it drivable car. I'll ask you more questions when my car can be viewed as a nicely cruising car to say the least. Thanks Ed,