Laker67

iTrader: (69)

Sooo, I have been putting a lot of thought into changing my Durango cars over to the 3 gear since it seems to be the new cool thing. I have been a little bit torn between from what I have heard from the Associated guys and the Durango guys. Almost conflicting ideologies really. Some say 3 gear is easier to drive and is the fastest way around the track. I have heard heard that it doesn't transfer weight forward of backwards as easily so traction and braking can be negatively affected. On the other had I watched a lot of our mod guys run 3 gear associated guys and they didn't seem to have a problem getting the power down and braking in the turns. I'm just curious if there can be a community agreement on what does what, and why and what people experiences are with 3 vs. 4 gear? I currently run 13.5's in all my cars on two different tracks that both have great traction, usually med/high bite. I like the Idea of a 3 gear for the very minor reduction in rotating mass but Im wondering what everyone else thinks. If there is already a thread about this point me in that direction and I'll read up over there, but searching I didn't find anything. Anyway, any thoughts, experiences?

tc5 man

You know i have the Durango Dex210 V2 tried 4 gear MM and 3 gear MM . The 4 gear MM has at times to much weight transfer and can be to much steering and twitchy.

3 Gear MM for sure easier to drive on high to Meduim bite just enough steering .

It does need a little tuning once the grip gets lower though and no correction in the air but works fine as long as its not big jumps.

The B5M and the Durango are different chassis/layout so its hard to compare what works better with the 3 gear MM and 4 gear MM . Its mostly really what the driver likes the most.

Fast Little Car

I found that to be true, but I wanted to maintain the other benefits of the 3-gear so I did a bit of work on my setup. I found that in my personal case, that going to a bigger hole in the front shock pistons and a slightly heavier front spring seemed to yield the results I was looking for.

shannow

iTrader: (1)

I'd say it's negligible.
Sorry I just did this video for you question the quality is crap and it's loud (turn the volume down a bit for the squeal of the motor):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DATXwtVJoSY
The car is on water not touching anything else. The test speaks for itself.
I tried several axis. I can feel resistance (very light) on the vertical axis with no rotation direction preference but pretty much none one the other two.
Certainly no movements on it's own. So changing direction shouldn't make any odds or to me at least it's negligible.

I'm open to any theory/counter theory as I once contemplated the idea too.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

I'm guessing both keyboard engineers and the real variety are going to come along and "blow your video out of the water". Pun intended.

shannow

iTrader: (1)

Lol Nice pun.
Although nobody seems to have much interest in this subject I'd really like to see how it works and can therefore the effect be shown on our buggys.

Davidka

iTrader: (86)

I've heard from a couple of the AE guys at my track that they can barely perceive a difference. The difference was probably greater when X-factory 1st introduced the 4-gear since motors had heavier armatures instead of smaller, lighter rotors, though the rotor is still the fastest spinning gyroscope in the car.

CaseyD

iTrader: (2)

Holy brass plate batman
what does that thing weigh, like 6 lbs.

tc5 man

I don't run a B5M but with the Dex210 V2 between the 4 gear mid motor and 3 gear MM i know i could tell a big difference .

shannow

iTrader: (1)

It's 0.25 lbs in fact lol (120g) it helps me greatly on smooth low grip track .
I made several at different weight and that one worked by far the best.
This plus the shorty simulates the weight of a saddle pack.
Only here the weight is even more rear biased. The carpet we have is weird. It provides a LOT of direction but poor traction. This plus a heavy sway bar works wonders to me .

303slowdown

iTrader: (24)

Why not try it and see what the difference is ? Seems no one wants to find out things for themselves these days.

socal23

iTrader: (112)

I have tried most all rm3 RM4 mm4 mm3. I do not feel there is a ton of weight diffrence in mm3 mm4 on a 13.5. I run a 17.5 med/high traction clay indoor. I run a desc210r. Between mm3 and mm4 I still did not see any improvement in lap times. Nor did I see much difference in the feel of the car. I will however point out that when in the air the mm3 liked to go nose High and with little torque "in lesser words" from having the extra gear I would have to change how I went into a big jump. With mm4 the truck pitches on instant throttle response. I played with oil and springs a little and small ajustments but all in all I like mm4 as it makes the truck feel more in my control parsay. But that is just my experience and opinion from testing.