jcr

Can someone tell me how to reduce slop in the steering? i've heard of putting rubber o-rings but where? any pictures will help.

THanks

edit - fixed it for ya

Brian McGreevy

iTrader: (10)

do you mean slop? I'm assuming so. yes O-rings will work if you put them on the ball studs, new ball cups work good too.

jcr

oops yeah i mean slop, so you put the o-rings on the shaft part of the ball?

Brian McGreevy

iTrader: (10)

Yep, and when you pop the ball cups back on there should be very little or no slop.

jcr

ok thanks

Speed Demon

iTrader: (3)

putting the o ring underneath the ball cup will reduce the slop.. but, it has a disadvantage too... it makes the cup tight... and not free... this will make the total steering mechanism feels heavier... I triend this with my pro 3... even after cutting the o ring into half of the thickness... it still feels tight and heavy... so I took it out..

what do you guys think??

marvi

iTrader: (82)

you can use silicone fuel tubing (the ones with a small inside diameter) that you can cut to the ideal thickness. this worked on my old TA03, which had a lot of slop, even when new

Im2lazy

I think it is much easier to just have new ball cups on hand and change them when things start getting too sloppy and loose. They don't cost too much, and with good ball cups, they won't wear out too fast, so spend the $4. At least, that's what I say.

TSR6

iTrader: (5)

Agreed, Just change the ball cups. I have done the o-ring / fuel tubing trick before, and it felt as if it was binding my steering up a little bit, so I ended up just going for new cups.

dw

you need to keep the o ring well greased.
If you use a dry O ring then the suspension will stick.
Also you should only use o rings on the ball stud if the joint rotates around the axis of the screw thread.

If there is a lot of movement in other directions then the o ring has to compress as the joint moves and will again cause problems.

The O rings will always add a little bit of friction but the question is whether it is significant relative to the resistance of the tyres.
For instance I don't believe anybody can actually tell the difference between ball raced and bushed steering posts on the track.

With suspension joints remove the shock and wheel and make sure that the suspension will drop under its own weight. If it does it is free enough.

Im2lazy

I don't like using grease on any exposed area of my cars. Grit and dirt and stuff sticks to it, and that is an area that is pretty hard to clean out without taking it apart (something my laziness won't allow me to do ). Also, it kind of makes me queesy (ok maybe not really), but that dirt could accelerate wear on my ball cup and ball stud.

My point is, my rpm ballcups haven't worn out for 5 months, and so I'm fine replacing a couple every year or so. Its less work for me than greasing or whatever else I would do.

davioh

sorry my r/c vocab is rather limited and i was wondering what slop is...hehe...thanks

popsracer

Guys;

The solution is to only use the softer Clear or Blue O-rings. The Black and Orange "O"'s are a little too stiff. Fuel tubing works well too.
If I'm racing 3-4 times a month, then I'd be changing my Ballcups and Studs out every few weeks to keep them tight.

TAO4R

if you put them in teh rear wheels because they are drifting will that help???

fatdoggy

You gain slop when your ball cups don't fit snuggly over your ball studs anymore. You can also gain slop from suspension and steering pieces wearing as well.