OVA

iTrader: (86)

It is time to get the new Mi5 mike

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

It uses the same DCJs.

T4, Eryx, and Wildfire are on my list. I've been driving Mi4s since I started. My next car will be something different.

-Mike

OVA

iTrader: (86)

The T4 would be on my list over Eryx any day...Wildfire is good ...

Rodarbal

iTrader: (49)

Bumping this thread....

Who here is still racing their Mi4's? Where are you located and what surface are you racing them on?

I'm racing a Mi4 LP in VTA, mostly on asphalt (Central Texas) and occasionally on carpet. Having a blast with it. I recently recommissioned an Mi3.5 for 17.5 Blinky duty, but am looking to upgrade. I'm not a Schuey loyalist so I'm not committed to going for the Mi5, although there's one for sale here locally and it's a great deal.

I wouldn't mind staying in the Mi4 lineup since I've got a bunch of spares. I've been looking for Mi4 CXLs, but it seems as though not many are giving them up yet. For those of you who aren't racing Mi4s, what chassis did you move on to?

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

I've got an Mi4CXL I need to part with. It's in good shape but has chassis scrapes from asphalt and a bit of slop in the plastics as you'd expect from a season of use. I had it working quite well in 17.5 on medium to high grip carpet. But I picked up a T4 and stepped up to mod this summer. I've also got an Mi4LP with long top deck (bulkheads are cut, so it has to stay with long top deck) I want to get rid of. PM if you're interested in either one.

I still race my first Mi4LP in our Scale Spec class, which is a mix of VTA and GT. We're running 21.5 on asphalt in the summer. It'll be 25.5 on carpet when we move indoors in late September. It just seems to work really, really well in that class. I've got the twin-point steering on it, with a CX spool, CX front axle, rear gear diff, HPI X-Pattern D-Compound tires, and an HPI R34 GTR body. Ride purple/red springs (probably too stiff), and I don't even know what shock oil. I ran it on asphalt a few weeks ago in a big race, and the car was very, very fast. I nearly TQ'd round one, but choked a bit in the last couple laps and lost out by a few tenths. It was funny having Dave Ehrlich come by my pit table to see what was up. Usually it's the other way around.

Anyway, I'm planning to keep the one Mi4LP around for Scale Spec. The class is way too much fun to drop, the car just works so well, it's easy to work on, and I have a ton of spares.

-Mike

cgroves

From eastern Ontario, one Mi4CXL which is my CVTA, USVTA, USGT, Spec GT, etc chassis. The Mi5s are for stock and superstock.

Tigwldr

Mi4 I just bought to run VTA. I have never made a lap on a road course. Im an oval racer so its going to be a change once I start running it.

Rodarbal

iTrader: (49)

Awesome, thanks for posting up, guys! Good luck, Tigwldr! I like my Schuies and working on them is easy peasy.

Mike, PM sent!

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

Mi4LP, HPI X-Patterns, and oversteer:

I've been running my Mi4LP on asphalt with non-belted X-Pattern D-Compounds, and a 21.5 this summer. It's pretty damn fast, but there's definitely something wrong with the setup. It's got a lot of corner-entry over-steer; not from the front biting in hard, it's the rear end sliding out. The car just won't take a set and roll through the corner. I have to use a flick and drift driving style.

Fortunately, with the tracks I run, and only being 21.5, it's actually pretty controllable, and lets me carry a lot of corner speed, so I've had good results with it. But it's beating the crap out of the tires, and I just can't quite compete on consistency with the few comparable/better drivers with cars that handle properly.

First, I think the springs I've been running are too stiff. Ride purple front, and Ride red rear. This is stiffer even than HPI pink/silver.

Second, I think it's too far outside the window, geometry-wise. I've been running 5mm front and about 5.5mm rear ride height. 0mm under rear camber link, and 1.5mm under front camber link. Both inside and outside holes on rear upright, but I think it was actually worse on the inner hole (that surprised me, since I was looking for more rear bite). If I put normal TC tires (Sweep QTS32) on the car and set it to 5mm ride height, and then put the X-Patterns back on, it's about 6.25mm. So the roll center at hinge pins is substantially lower if I run 5mm on X-Patterns. The hinge pins on the CXL are 0.5mm lower, so it doesn't seem like it should be too bad, but it could be getting into an area where setup changes might not quite work as expected.

After staring at the suspension on the setup board, it looked like the front camber links were very close to or possibly even a bit above parallel. This would make the front roll center really, really low, or just really strange. Then with 0.5mm of chassis rake and steeper rear camber links in the rear, the rear roll center is probably much, much higher than the front. Going from outer to inner hole on the hub would raise the rear roll center even more. I think this might be the root of my problems.

I'm going to try and get out for a bit of testing on Sunday morning to see if I can figure anything out. I'm going to start with no rake and 6mm ride height, 0.5mm under front camber link plate, and 0mm rear. Also softer springs. Hopefully this will put the car back into the geometry window of the kit setup. Then from there, I'll try to lower the car back down and see how it reacts.

-Mike

roadkill

iTrader: (152)

got a dumb ? maybe? I put the one notch camber plate on my cxl,and it turns like it's a 1/12 scale(vary happy) just wondering if I need to put the same camber plate(one notch) on the rear of the car? if so what would it do?

also,was doing some searching on this fourm,and didn't find out how to install the alloy toe blocks,and pivot blocks. if someone could post how to, it would be great.

rcshark

Good Question R.K. would love to know the answer also! I just bought the last one that stormerhobbies had.. I am converting it to new hub carriers. Going to install my metal hubs... off my mi2! just to see how it looks....

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

If I remember correctly, the 1-notch camber plate gives very short camber links. This means that as the car rolls, it gains a lot of negative camber.

I think the general rules of thumb are:
- Shorter link gives more response (initial grip), but less ultimate grip (when the car is full rolled in the middle of the corner). I believe the shorter link keeps the roll center higher as the car rolls, which is why you can lose ultimate grip.
- Longer link gives less initial grip, but more ultimate grip.

Generally, you don't want the front and rear camber links to be too different in length, because it makes the opposite ends of the car try to work really differently from each other. If there's one end longer than the other, it's usually the front that's a little longer.

With a short front link and a long rear link, I'd sort of expect a car that turns in really aggressively, but might wash out in the middle of the corner.

Hrm.... It's kind of hard to explain.

Try here:
http://hofaaa.wordpress.com/2011/02/...-for-a-change/

There are some pictures of Hofer's Mi4 with the aluminum mounts. You might be able to work it out from that.

Be careful with the front of the rear arm. That one goes in kinda backwards compared to the others to give inboard toe-in.

Also, for the front, use 1mm shim between the upper and lower part. On the rear, use 2mm shim between upper and lower part. This is because the holes on the rear bulkhead are 1mm higher than the front.

If you search this thread, there should be a post somewhere that explains what shimming to use to match the stock plastic hinge pin holders.

-Mike

Laker67

iTrader: (69)

This thread seems completely dead, does anyone still run these cars? I just picked one up and really enjoy the way this car drives. Is there any parts compatibility between this and the new MI5?

tonybod

I think a lot of racers are running Mi4s (including my son and I).

They are great cars. I'm not sure if there are many parts that are shared between the Mi4 and Mi5. Wishbones etc are completely different.

Laker67

iTrader: (69)

Its good to know that people still run these cars, are you guys running the Twin Point steering. Do you know if that helps with making the steering any more aggressive?