johnbull

Buda,

Yes we do race alot.

We have a 32 round annual championship starting October, ending June, so yes we do alot. Yesterday's were rouinds 17 and 18, so we've still a long way to go.

We race almost every second weekend. that's apart from official practice every Thursday evening, and unofficial all the other times. The track is always open.

Regards

Joe from sunny Malta.

Buda

Ok then John and Tony you guys seem to put the laps on these TC3's. How well do the AE lite diffs hold up then and how often can I expect to need to rebuild them compared to the older steel difss, (which i would expect the alum. and tit. to be the same for maintenance).

And I posted earlier about servos what kind of minimums for tourqe and speed should I go for. Will a digital servo really help my straight line tracking I heard they center really well.

By the way I currently run a 17x3 on astro turff/dusty carpet on a short tight twisty track 5 min heats. with a 72x26. using 2400 with no problem of run time. What could I expect by running a 64p spur and how do I figure out pinions for it.

Tony see below for previous on Ti. diffs please they are pricy but who knows?

Corse-R

To my last TC3, sold this January i did about 500 packs without problem on the diffs (nowadays run very smooth) I've dismantled every 150-200 packs and were like new. The secret? carbide balls and hard diff rings. Only I needed to do two changes:

- I've installed the ball bearing as an exchange for the bronze bushings that come with the plastic diffs. (Tip: If you don't want to run in problems with the diffs, use the AE original parts, are a little thinner than stock bearings).

- At about 150 packs (first dismantle) I've needed to change the trust bearing. Some debris entered and meshed with black grease and ruined the bearing.

For servo, my own choice comes to a futaba 9450 servo: 110oz and 0.10 sec travel (60º at 4.8v, and since my receive supplies a little more than 5.2volts to the servo I expect to be a little quicker and speedier). I have two units of those servo and I could saved the second servo, on 2 1/2 years it doesn't failed one time (is in their original package).

Just my .01 cent.

johnbull

Hi guys. Greetings from Malta.

Buda, We have not experienced any problems with the AE plastic diffs as fitted on the FT TC3.

I put a set on Josh's car at the start of the season. 9 race meetings and 11 wins later it is still on the same set. We had an early season retirement when I set them too loose. They slipped too much and overheated - remember 12 turn motors, lots of grip and hot climate.

Since then i have rebuilt them once. by rebuilt I mean taken them apart, washed everything out and reassembled with new grease.

Like Corse R we have tungsten balls and internal races, and I use AE Steath diff grease.

We have always used KO servos. Josh runs a 5 year old FET servo in the TC3. I have recently installed a digital one in my Yoke. It's good.

Must post some pictures of our cars sometime.

Regards

Joe from sunny Malta.

TPhalen

iTrader: (2)

Diffs: The plastics should hold up very well in both stock and mod, stock especially. Mod can put quite a beating on them (we run 7 & 8 turn singles on a high traction track). Lots of abuse! They hold up good under those conditions. If you should scrape or, ummm, hit, a wall, I would definitely check them. Hairline fractures can occur that won't be noticeable under normal inspection.

TI diffs. Never heard of them, nor do I know anyone that runs them. I would suspect that they are pretty light (heavier than the plastics) but REALLY strong. Not sure what the real benefits would be except possibly longevity. But, as Corse-R said, you should be able to get 500 or so packs out of them!!!!

I personally run the lights in stock and the steels in mod. With the hp and torque we are building on this track, I prefer to use something steel for peace-of-mind...

Buda

Check out the link below for the Ti diffs. Thet would be nice but cost 30 pounds each about $50. Im only running a 17x3 so I will probably try the AE diffs but we do have vicious boards, (concrete walls indoors)

What suggestions do you have for a servo

Spillertwo

After reading everything on this thread I started out dismanteling and cleaning all the bearings.

I have to say removing the C ring that holds the shield in place is a real time consuming job (I use an Xacto knife to get it out). It was the first time I dismantled them.

I cleaned the bearings out with motor spray and boy were they dirty. Unbelievable how much dirt came out.

I noticed that after cleaning I could spin the bearings like a charm.

After I added a drop of bearing oil they spun much less.
Anybody notice this too ?

Then I installed one shield and its C ring back on and spun it again. No change. I put the second shield and C ring on and spunt it again. No change.
I wonder if leaving of one shield is really such a good idea ?
I don't see any difference between one or two shields ?

What do you guys do with the small bearings that have a metal shield ? Do you also remove the C ring ? Can you then remove the metal shield ?
I think you only find them in the steering rack and near the drive shaft cups.

over gear

iTrader: (18)

Does anyone have the IRS graphite chassis? how does it perform?

diesel31

looking at the date of your post, it seems that i was at socal the same time you were there. that particular track layout had been there for almost 2 weeks and unswept. when i would pull my car off the track, there was a little more debris than usual. i'm sure this had an affect traction.

as for set-up, here goes:
- use a one-way
- 45 wt. front/ 35 wt. rear
- red/blue (looser, but quickly reacts laterally)
or
- gold/silver (good bite)
- # 2 pistons all around


- 5 mm ride height all around
- droop : 6 front/4 rear
- camber -1.5 all around
- f+2 w/ stock castor blocks
or
- 2 degree castor blocks (less twitchy, more on- throttle push
- r+3+2 (good rear traction)
or
- r+2+2 (loosens up rear, rotates well around turns)
- 1 degree front toe-in

- front shock tower - middle hole
- rear shock tower - outside hole
- camber links up & inside on all 4 shock towers
- middle wheelbase
or
- short wheelbase (a little more rear bite)
- battery position forward

i think that's pretty much it. now for some explanantion. this is my set-up that works very well for me at socal raceway. other guys have driven my car - some said it was loose... some said it was cherry. so, to each their own. my set-up has very good on-power steering, and will continue to bite at about 2/3rd's throttle around a turn. any faster, and it will push. if i let off throttle a little too abruptly, the back end will break. oh yeah, no brakes. it's a little harder to negotiate traffic than a dual diff, but you'll be able to carry more speed through the corners. it's an aggressive set-up, and you have to drive it aggressive.

wolfeman09

Try this, going to the F-0 in the front and the 3-0 in the back. The F-0 is a must at SoCal since it is smooth. This will give you a feeling of more steering. Outside you can run the F-2. Its better for bumpier tracks. Everthing elese looks pretty good.

I usually run Red springs in the front and Blue in the Rear.

See you Tuesday at SoCal if your going.

diesel31

yeah! tuesday night for sure. one thing though, i've actually shelved my tc3 that past 3 weeks. i've been messing w/ the losi. i have to admit, i do miss the bottom end my tc3 has. i'm getting ready for the carpet nats up in stockton (mid march), and i'm still not sure which car i'm gonna run. i'll probably bring both. by the way, i haven't given up on the tc3, it's just that i've heard all these great things about the xxx-s, and i had to find out for myself.

wolfeman09

diesel > Trader just messing with you. Ya i want to go as well, but i have not found anyone to with yet. Did you sign up already?

TP > you coming tuesday?

I have a bright orange vauxhall body and run in the 5 minute stock class. Come on over and say hello.

rcruv

ramc, Corse-R, diesel31, wolfeman09 > Thanks for the tips guys.
My shock positions are out most holes for front, rear and
camber link posiiton middle bottom (aka stock setup )

I'll definately let you guys know of the result.
Hope I can set it up fast to enjoy driving for the rest of time.

BTW, building TC3 shocks are the easiest thing to do.
It' almost impossible to make 4 or even 2 of them rebound at the same rate.

Sombody suggested not to fill the cap with oil, but I don't think that's a good idea keeping too much air inside.

It's almost impossible to keep air out of shock.
Small amount of air always gets in and makes squeeky sound.

Should I remove all the air out of shocks?
Or can I keep some air?

Thanks guys.

OUTofCONTROL

RCRUV: An idea for ya might be to get Yokomo shock caps. They have a bleeder screw in the cap that allows you to bleed them correctly.

My shocks don't have the slightest hint of air in them.

Fred Hubbard

iTrader: (6)

A racer named "Airwide" that visits this forum actually has an article on his site that gives step by step instructions on how to modify your existing shock caps to include a "bleeding" screw, try
http://home.swipnet.se/airwide/tc3/mods.htm