BigBuckORamma

Spot on.

1: The caster offset seems a lot higher than the +4 on the B6 family to my eye.

2/3: I can see one in front of the motor. But it is hard to tell, because the blue of the Reedy Zapper Logo is right up against it. What is intriguing to me, is that the motor mount seems to extend up to the spur gear and top shaft. It would be amazing if the top shaft bearings were fully supported in an aluminum frame. It would be far more accurate for supporting the bearings, and more accurate tension on the slipper as well, and likely have a mild improvement on efficiency as a result. It would also prevent flex between the pinion and the spur, which could be a problem on a standard motor mount. This should all but eliminate that.

4: That is exactly what i saw them ass as well. The plate has a 0 printed on it. So it would make logical sense to have a +1 and -1 inset as well for horizontal adjustment, on top of vertical adjustment.

If the video the Hall Brothers posted is any indication...its gonna be quick on carpet.

rraden

iTrader: (259)

Seems like the motor mount would allow the motor to flex more during high G-force landings. Not sure if this would be an issue with pinion/spur mesh during flat landings. We'll see.

BigBuckORamma

The motor mount seems a lot thicker than the current motor plate design. ANd if the motor mount is hung completely off of the transmission case, and is also tied into the spur gear top shaft, there should be very little gear mesh play at all. Because any chassis flex that happens, should happen completely under the motor, and at the rear tail of the chassis, which is where the gearbox is mounted. If anything, this should be a superior solution. At least on the laymens workbench on paper it is. Haha!

Piles

These changes look great for those of us racing on high grip tracks but are we going to see a very different car for those who race on low grip? Maybe just a new rear gearbox specifically for low grip. How are you guys looking at this?

sosidge

Well in the video they showed a CAD model of a standup gearbox. B7 option or just a reference to how much things have changed?

Regardless of that I think the low-grip/high-grip debate has entered an interesting phase. 1/10th is swiftly becoming a high-grip class, and in the States it seems to have become an exclusively indoor class. 1/8th has taken the place of 1/10th outdoors.

Here in the UK and I assume also Europe and Australia/NZ it's not so clear cut. Our permanent outdoor tracks have definitely tended towards higher grip over the last decade, I don't see that changing, but we still race in the wet (almost every race meeting has some wet running because even in summer the astro dews up in the morning), and we still have a lot of 1/10th outdoor tracks.

Having said that, everyone was horrified at the idea of mid-motor 4-gear cars when they came out. But they worked in the wet. And then horrified by mid-motor 3-gear cars. But they worked. And horrified by laydown mid-motor cars. Guess what, they also work, and most people left their rear-heavy cars behind a long time ago.

So I think that if the B7 works on high grip it can be made to work on low grip with the usual tweaks.

Kraig

iTrader: (81)

Something to keep in kind is we have only seen the body off of the car that has carpet tires on it.

We probably will learn more about the D version as we get closer to the Clash of Champions race at Hoosier RC Hobbyplex later this week.

stegger

To me the shocks still look 13mm, but the stroke looks also shorter?

frankf

iTrader: (4)

So the B6-.2 had narrow rear c&d blocks, B6.3-4 had wider blocks which they told us was better for high grip tracks, now the B7 has blocks that seem even narrower than the first B6, soo which is really better for high grip? Any one else confused?

Pistol123

I understand where you are coming from but as other things change new things are possible elsewhere. And the journey of high grip is still involving at a fast pace.

mhughesjr

iTrader: (7)

Looks like there will be a heavy showing of the B7 this weekend at the Clash of Champions. Curious if they will be running the B7D or the B7. Definitely be a good debut test with TLR, Schumacher, and X-ray all being there.

mes

TBH I was confused by the wide pivots in the first place. The revisions after the B6.2 didn't make any sense to me, the .4 having some decent ideas but not taking them far enough in my book. The B7 seems to have exactly what I have been looking for for years. I couldn't be happier than getting a full production car incorporating quite a few of the ideas in my head with excellent parts support. I can't wait to see factory team option parts that add ball bearings to the sway bar mounts and am intrigued if the diff gear has become larger to allow for smaller spur gears and bring the CG down a bit more. Maybe the B7.1 will move the rear shock tower to the front of the rear shocks to reduce rear wing overhang and the T versions will get a gearbox, rear hubs and shock package to adjust bone angle for lower ride heights, but that may be wishful thinking on my part.

b.j.a

iTrader: (2)

I wish. I bet we'll see full photos and whatnot but I doubt it will be a "heavy" showing. I'm guessing only the big factory guys will have them (Ayden, Spencer, Dustin, etc) and I can't imagine they have a ton of spare parts if someone breaks.

mhughesjr

iTrader: (7)

So heavy is wrong term, but a lot of FT drivers will be there

mes

Based on the timeline of video releases I'd not be surprised to see the kits in US stores maybe #2weeks after the Clash at the latest. They may be being packaged as we are typing or passing through customs. As mentioned before, it doesn't really make sense to advertise a product you are not prepared to sell within a sensible time frame. Who knows, they might be even selling them in the week after the race true to the motto "what wins on Sunday..." although there's a few obstacles such as DP to be overcome. 😉
Team drivers might just get a bag of parts without fancy packaging and spares in a box. I doubt there's a shortage in parts for them in this phase.

b.j.a

iTrader: (2)

Oh totally, I didn't mean my post as a "gotcha", just sharing my best guess based on what I've heard.

You're almost certainly right. And while FT drivers were unlikely to have been given a bunch of spare arms, it'll likely be a bit different when you have Brett and Co all together for a big race.