dstrout

I've got an XXX-s that was upgraded to graphite by a former owner. Well, this past weekend, I managed to break a rear suspension arm, and I noticed that the replacement had two holes for mounting the hub. I didn't think much of it at the time, but then noticed today that the other (non-broken) are doesn't have that. Then I got looking at the Losi site & saw the page about the offset rear hubs, and the picture showed them mounted in the inner of the two holes.

I have a set of A-9854 Graphite offset rear hubs in the pile of spares that came with the car. I run foam tires on an indoor track with new very grippy carpet, and we have one long straight, the rest is pretty twisty. The car has a front one way and a GM2 motor.

Should I install the offset hubs, and what advantage do they convey?

thanks,
dave.

Korey Harbke

iTrader: (13)

The offset hubs will let the car rotate better through the corners. They are generally used for small tracks. If you use the reg hubs it will feel more stable and better for big tracks.

RideRed98

i have the graphite plus and i have noticed just the opposite with the offset hubs in my situation.....with the older hubs the cars back end is just slightly looser resulting in quicker rear-end rotation...i personally use the older NON offset hubs cause of my situation

Geoff

Cole Trickle

On my Pro2 a 3 mm off-set in the rear, results in a little better turn-in. But I didnt notice any unstability at all.

dstrout

Well, let me ask this -- in what way is it offset? Are they wider? Or do they have more camber? In other words, in what axis is the offset? Any ideas how it works to make the turn in faster?

thanks,
dave.

Cole Trickle

Off-set in this case, means wider. Why it works? I dont know. But to me the advantage was so little, that I've ditched it.

dstrout

Hmmmm -- I may have to throw them on and see. I've got a set of corolly tires that I bought by mistake that are slightly wider than the Jaco's, such that they rub on my chassis. 3mm would probably be enough to let them fit, and more rubber (foam) on the ground is always a Goot Thing...

thanks,
dave.

Cole Trickle

Yes, but then you dont know what is what.... the handling change you'll gain, how much of of it came from wider tires and how much came from a wider rear....

For experiment, use a spacer instead. Between the hex hub and the rim. HPI rims comes with these spacers as standard. Just remember that with standard wheel nuts, the nylon lock wont work.

dstrout

True. The right way to do it would be to put the offsets on, try it, then put the corollys on, and compare.

Since I'm running a one way (not by choice -- I'm missing the parts to put together the front diff ), I need as much stability in the rear as I can get. I'll have to experiment with the offsets & different tires when I get a second.

thanks to all!

dave.

Cole Trickle

Rear stability? In which situations?

A couple of tips, that might help on the one-way situation (dont know if you know them, tough...)

Stability:
Extra front toe-in. At least one degree total.
Reduce front downtravel to around 1 mm.
If possible, add in ekstra castor.

General:
If possible. disable auto-brake on the ESC.
Alternatively, adjust the TX throttle trim, so the car crawls a little, when throttle are at neutral.

Depending on situation, you might want to stiffen up the front / soften the rear.

tufferwilde

Cole Trickle - Actually, what you stated is incorrect. On the XXXS - the offset hubs simply move the lever point on the rear arms in while making the hub itself longer... this has absolutely zero to do with the actualy width of the cars as we are governed by the 190mm rule... Losi has made the parts to be as close to this width rule as possible.

In an answer to the original question - sushi boy answered it quite succinctlyin fact.. on the XXXS - the offset arms work far better to let the rear of the car rotate through the corner - but it will give the car an unstable "on the edge" feeling... this is also quite useful on carpet tracks where the traction is such that the looser rear end of the car will make for faster lap times.

I have run both styles of hubs on carpet and I find that while the car feels somewhat unstable, the fastest lap times are with the offset hubs... in mod, I was using the 0 degree, offset hubs, while in stock, I used the 1/2 degree mounted on the opposite sides to take away some rear toe... once again - carpet is a high enough traction surface


Wilde

dstrout

Cool, all advice is greatfully archived for reference!

As far as stability, I've got two issues -- one is that the car wonders a bit down the straight. I was going to add a bit more front toe-in to try & solve that, so we're on the same page there.

The other area is that it's easy to break the back end loose. I'll try dialing out some braking. Likewise on softening the rear -- I removed the rear sway bar, and I was planning on going softer in springs if that doesn't do it.

What I'm wondering is if the wider track / wider tires won't help at the same suspension settings. That way I don't have to worry about getting so soft that I start getting body roll / traction rolls.

thanks alot,
dave.

tufferwilde

dstrout -

Check out the setup that Hodge posted on the Losi site - it works very well!! I am using the Losi 30 lb springs in the rear and the 35's up front in my stock car...

As for the wandering on the straight - part of that could be the fact that you are using the oneway - on power, the one way tends to make the car a little bit touchy.... same with the spool.

In stock - I run a spool (at least I did the last time I raced the car.... and it was allright - pulled like crazy through the corners, but got sketchy on the straight sections - had to keep making steering adjustments

Regarding the foams - the best that I have found yet is the TRC black mesh Plaids up front and the purples in the rear - they seem to be a little bit more forgiving than the yellow rims are... I am going to try out a couple of Orion foams the next time I run too... You can get away with up to 28 mm width tires on the car, but you will have to widen the front to the max legal limit to run em... as they will rub on the shock ends.... the rears don't seem to have the same issues

Wilde

Cole Trickle

Okay - that's what comes out, when I comment a car I dont know - thanks for correcting me.

dstrout

I'll check it out -- I think I've got it printed out in my notebook, but I can't say that I studied it in great detail.

I didn't think about the one-way having an effect in the straights... That's exactly what I'm getting, though. It's trimmed ok, rolls straight at slow speeds, but WFO I have to work to keep it between the rails.

I just tore the front end down and cleaned / lubed everything, as one wheel wasn't as free as the other, so that may help too. I'll get it all back together and we'll see where it's at.

thanks to all!

dave.