Anyone:) what gear do you think is the most appropriate 64 or 48pitch. i've read about pavidis using 100/33 in his car while drescher used 69/29?

Depending. With 64 pitch you can fine-grain your ratio more than the stock 48p gears. But 48p gears the gear mesh is more easy to achieve.

Personally I use 64 pitch and use a 98T spur.

This may have been discussed on the "old" board, but here goes....

Sunday, at the local HobbyTown Parking Lot races, I lost the A-main because of a problem with one of the composite CVD's on my TC3 -- the cup end just split in two, and that wheel lost drive and generally caused problems (I finished in 3rd, but a lap down to the leader)...

This is only the second failure I've had in two years, but both times it was a COMPOSITE CVD, both times it was a FRONT CVD, and both times, the "cup" just split in two... I've now installed a set of the Blue aluminum "team" CVD bones...

I know I've seen debates on the TC3 "bones" -- as I recall the composite CVD bones are supposed to produce better accelleration, etc., but the most serious debate was about durability... ?? Some thought the Composite bones broke too easily, others thought it was the other way around (the Aluminum ones broke/bent)...

Any comments or wisdom to share?

Bearing: actually, to get the best performance out of them, remove the seals, spray them out, and re-install them. Don't oil them...that attracts little dusty particles. You should do this every other week or so. This does reduce the life of the bearings a bit, but it will REALLY free them up...

Gears: 64P allows a much finer adjustment of your gearing, plus it's a bit more efficient. Downside is that you do have to get the gear mesh almost perfect. If not, you'll be replacing gears often.

And CVD's. Are you running the plastic diff halves??? The little metal pins on the composites have a tendency to wear out, and turn flat. Once this happens, when you accelerate or brake, there is a point where the CVD 'slaps' into the diff half from the slop. Over time, this can cause problems, and eventually break the plastic diff half. If yer using metal halves or the one-way, it could just be the stress of hitting things that cause that!!?? If, of course, you hit things...:p

Ok so here is the next question. I have the bearings that came with the team kit when the tc3 first came out. i think there are a couple of different kind of bearings, am i correct? If that is the case, how do you remove the seals? I have never done this before.

thanks in advance.

you'll either have the rubber sealed or the teflon sealed. the easiest way is to remove one of the seals off of each bearing....ONLY ONE. spray out the bearing, and let them sit a few minutes to air dry. now, you can either try and re-install the seals (will take some time, but it's possible), or you can just put them back in the car, un-sealed side facing IN! this is why you only remove ONE of the seals. this is a performance secret for most cars, but, you can damage the bearings if they are installed with the open side out. dirt will enter them much quicker and ruin them much faster.

i'd like to add to wolfeman's question. do the seals stay off the bearings and if they do, then is there a reason to get the factory team teflon bearings or can you run the rubber sealed bearings(in interest of saving $?) how long of a life expectancy is there for the bearings using the "phalen method?" life expectancy not using the "phalen method?"

Wolfe - removing the shields on teflon shielded bearings are easy. Just stick an X-acto knife into the teflon and pry it out.

The metal shielded bearings are a little trickier. There is a metal spring clip that holds in the side shields. Pop the metal clip off with 2 X-acto knives. The clip will probably go flying so wear safety glasses.:sneaky:

I only want to point that removing the two seals of a Ball Bearing is a baaaad move. I only removed one versus some people who removed the two.

The main difference, is since they needed to change the BB two times in a row in a year I don't changed it and I still use the stock BB who came with my kit.

wow....posted my message and 4 more appear RIGHT after it...

don't you people work??? ahhaha, oh, ya, i'm at work too...heh heh

Yes, but here in Spain now is 23:00 hours and I'm surfin' at home.

hmm. this hole bearing thing seems fishy to me. I have a q for you bearing "experts". I want to increase bearing performace on my tc3 racer kit but I dont want to remove the seals becuase I am a budget racer (lack of a job) and want the longest life out of my bearings. What do I do?

I kinda gree with TC3 racer but also want the performance.

Tony if i remove one of the shields of the bearings, how long to you think the bearing will last. In addtion, how do you know they are going bad?

Also, I think you are talking about the transmission bearings and removing the shield. Are you also removing the shield for the hubs? I would think not since they will get dirtier than the ones in the transmission case and dirt can get in their easier.

im a firm believer that simply wiping the bearings down every few runs is good enough for long lasting bearings if you are simply driving leisurely around.
if you start racing though, i noticed that some hits from other cars can actually bend the cvd pin so bad that it will mess up your bearing seals to where as its really hard for the bearings to spin freely. one way to stop this is to replace those every once a while... their only $1 for 4, good investment from piggy bank money or change you find in your couch. otherwise it seems there really isnt much else to get better performance out of bearings that no one else has covered;)

wolfeman09 - for the transmission bearings it is ok to take both shields off, the only thing is it gets a little more tedious to maintain. the drivetrain becomes VERY free and frictionless and rolls alot smoother, but, after just a few runs, the bearings tend to run a little *loud* and wont seem smooth, thats when its time to relube them!

as for the bearings in the hubs, those to me are a pain, id say just leave them alone