Carpet Setup for Newbies
 

Hi all,

This thread has probably been done a thousand times over but I'll ask this anyway...

What are the general rules-of-thumb for carpet setup?

Things id like to know are; what tyres (foam or rubber) for slower classes like 540, flexible or stiff chassis, ride heights right through to carpet debris (do you have to use dust filters)? And anything else that might be of use.

cheers

what I have heard is, foam tyres and 6mm ride height.

If you're running foams a one-way will provide too much steering. Ditch it and use a front diff instead. Foams generate heaps of grip so you will need to stiffen the suspension up a lot also.

Torps,

On REAL carpet tracks in the US, Asia and Europe, most drivers seem to go for foam tires, stiff chassis, hard front springs / soft rear springs, and around 5-6mm ride heigh-all this is Mostly due to the high grip levels on TRUE racing carpet.

However, in Australia we have very few if any tracks that use genuine racing carpet... someone correct me if i'm wrong. I know the ACT track isn't the Genuine grippy carpet as seen in the US.

As a general guide though:

Foam tires
Medium to Stiff chassis (if grip permits)
5.5+ ride height
Fairly stiff front end in terms of spring rates and shock positions
One-way OR Ball Diff

I found a One-way to be MUCH better to drive and more flowing than a Ball Diff at the recent ACT titles- but this may not suit your driving style and could prove difficult.

It is up to you to set-up your car to how you drive, but throw on some foam tires and Med-Hard front springs with Med-Soft rear springs and go from there.

You shouldn't have any problems with dust or carpet fibres, you will get SOME in your car but nothing excessive.

Try it and see, download some Factory drivers set-ups if you wish but keep in mind the carpet they are racing on may not be what we have here.

Good luck! :nod:

Robbie

OK I will. SDMCC in Adelaide has Ozite carpet the same as what is used in the USA, but its not being used at the moment. I believe there is also a club in Perth that has Ozite too.

v0rtex,

Thanks for clearing that up...

Well there you go.. we DO have Ozite in AUS! :blush: :D

Cheers

Robbie

Torps, What Robbie said is exactly what I found in the ACT recently, I ran a spool in the front and found it ok to drive, as for the foams I ran 42's on the front and 37's on the rear to wash out as much steering as possible, and the front springs where 2 or 3 levels up in hardness compared to the rear.

Good luck.