Cain

iTrader: (294)

may be worth giving petitrc a look for the various setups out there that may give you a better starting point.

fishboy77

iTrader: (16)

Thanks. For anyone else who wants to see those setups:

Hot Bodies D216 Setup Sheets

tc5 man

Are you running on High grip clay ? If so i can see why it wasn't good you need to limit the droop on the shock rod ends.

fishboy77

iTrader: (16)

I'm not entirely sure but my guess is yes. The track owner said he could pull wheelies down the straight with his 2wd buggy. Are you saying I should screw the shock ends on more?

tc5 man

Oh ok yea that sounds like higher grip . Yes the shock shafts have lines on them to limit the droop I did the samething on my D413 up to the first line or a little less. Inless the track is blown out or pretty big jumps you can take some out.

wyd

iTrader: (51)

Where your tires brand new? If so a lot of time my JC Golds take 5 to 10 runs to even start working at my home track and that includes using a really aggressive tire compound every run to help break them in. On clay high bite no way should a D216 be loose. I ran 2 .5 degrees of rear toe in on the loosest track where guys ran 3 or more and I still had traction. Something just isn't right.

Lukeman269

On my 216, I have pretty much box stock setup except for the following and am having great results on high grip clay.

Blue front springs, yellow rears
shock eyelets up to second line on shaft
1.4 sway bar
21mm ride height front and rear
2.5mm of spacers on the rear screw of arms for more rear toe in. no spacers on front screw. Not sure on the degree toe in for rear.
slight toe out up front
square pack lipo conversion 3d printed a bracket to keep battery from sliding backwards and modified the shorty lipo battery bracket. Maybe the extra weight of the battery helps keep it planted? I feel like adding weights would achieve same results.

Tires are Micron rears and scrubs fronts both clay compound

I did do some exotek upgrads like the top flite shaft, idler, and top gear. Those shouldn't affect grip really though. I have my expo set at 25% on my spektrum radio which gives me softer smoother trigger feel. Might help with spinning out too.

I've also heard that the exotek carbon stiffening plates help tremendously with corner speed. With mine running how it does right now, it's not necessary to spend the extra 45 bucks IMO.

Lukeman269

Here's some pics of the battery mount

dhc8guru

iTrader: (2)

Why is the carbon fiber chassis preferable on low bite surfaces? Every manufacturer uses aluminum and just curious why HB chose CF?

mustangkillaz

iTrader: (5)

Looks good. Wish someone made a kit.

fishboy77

iTrader: (16)

I bet this was the problem - my tires were brand new. And the car had so little traction that it's hard to imagine any change to the setup making a significant difference. When you say it takes 5 to 10 runs, about how long in minutes/hours of track time are we talking?

wyd

iTrader: (51)

At my home track the runs to break in my tires are normally 5 to 10 minutes each run. Every run they get better. The help them break in faster you can scuff your tires in on the parking long to a minute or two by running them easily across the rough surface as that will take off the shine and rough up the tires surface a little. I take my tires after every run and clean them with warm water and Simple Green. Dry the tires off and add my favorite tire compound and wait til dry. Then run my car and repeat the same process. Your tires will get better and better. JC gold compounds along with the harder molded insert they come with makes the tires much harder to get broken in but when they do the trade off they last pretty long. Proline breaks in the fastest IMO but the trade off is the last for a shorter period of time. Everything is a trade off.

fishboy77

iTrader: (16)

Great info. Thanks, wyd.

Lukeman269

seems the carbon fiber chassis used on this kit has some flex. On loose surfaces, flex helps the car with traction over the bumpy stuff (less bouncy). This car is oriented for dirt racing so I think that is why they chose carbon fiber.

I have yet to try the aluminum chassis out on mine yet. I ordered one so I can see the difference in how the car handles. I'm sure the aluminum chassis will feel more planted and consistent. Only downside is the added weight. Maybe thats the other reason they went with CF. Less weight.

Lukeman269

Thanks! Yeah it would be cool if HB made a hold down plate that would fit the square packs since there's plenty of space for one.

This bracket has held up flawless so far. Been to a few races with it so far.

PM me if you want one made up. I can give you the rundown of what needs to be done to make it work as well. Pretty simple.