TC3 Forum
Tech Adept
I thought this was the TC3 thread?
I think VTA rules discussions would be suited for one of the VTA threads. More people interested in VTA will see them there.
I think VTA rules discussions would be suited for one of the VTA threads. More people interested in VTA will see them there.
Tech Elite
iTrader: (2)
Just bringing this thread up to the front for new folks like myself. I just picked up a TC3 to run in either VTA or USGT locally. Looking forward to getting it going..
Tech Apprentice
iTrader: (1)
I have a problem with the steering angle of my "brand new" TC3.
I build it with all my spare parts. But I have a problem with the maximum steering angle.
When I steer right the maximum angle is 26°, when I steer left the maximum angle is 22°. (as you can see in this image)
The Caster block are both 0°.
In both case, the steering blocks touch the caster block.
Do you have the same problem? I made some mistake during the assembly?
TC3 Steering angle problem
I build it with all my spare parts. But I have a problem with the maximum steering angle.
When I steer right the maximum angle is 26°, when I steer left the maximum angle is 22°. (as you can see in this image)
The Caster block are both 0°.
In both case, the steering blocks touch the caster block.
Do you have the same problem? I made some mistake during the assembly?
TC3 Steering angle problem
Tech Champion
iTrader: (2)
I have a problem with the steering angle of my "brand new" TC3.
I build it with all my spare parts. But I have a problem with the maximum steering angle.
When I steer right the maximum angle is 26°, when I steer left the maximum angle is 22°. (as you can see in this image)
The Caster block are both 0°.
In both case, the steering blocks touch the caster block.
Do you have the same problem? I made some mistake during the assembly?
TC3 Steering angle problem
I build it with all my spare parts. But I have a problem with the maximum steering angle.
When I steer right the maximum angle is 26°, when I steer left the maximum angle is 22°. (as you can see in this image)
The Caster block are both 0°.
In both case, the steering blocks touch the caster block.
Do you have the same problem? I made some mistake during the assembly?
TC3 Steering angle problem
Tech Elite
iTrader: (9)
I had a long boring post about uneven TC3 steering from side to side, but I lost it. Let me summarize and not put you all to sleep.
All of the uneven steering issues I've seen on my TC3 or other cars have usually come from improper installation and/or adjustment of components. Here is my advice as I'm typing this with my VTA TC3 sitting next to me, Carefully follow the manual.
- Use the stock servo arm
- Make sure all the steering turnbuckles are the correct length (refer to the manual)
- Make sure the servo arm is at the proper angle when the steering is at neutral. It is NOT a 90 angle to the chassis (refer to the manual)
- Make sure the servo is mounted properly in the chassis. The steering turnbuckle should be parallel to the steering rack (not well shown in the manual)
- Make sure to use sub-trim on the radio instead of trim.
If you follow the instructions precisely, the steering should have equal throw side to side. With the steering at neutral, the steering rack adjustment screw should be lined up to the hole on the bottom of the chassis (Yes, that is what that hole is for). The car should accelerate in a straight line and shouldn't require any (or very little) sub-trim adjustment.
----------
Here are some additional thoughts...
- There is nothing wrong with using aftermarket steering parts on the TC3. Just make sure that they don't affect the geometry of the stock parts. A metal servo horn is fine as long as the ball stud is at the same location as the stock part. I would recommend picking up a Futaba 3003/3004 servo (doesn't need to be functional) and installing into a TC3 per the manual to use as a reference. I've seen too many people install low profile and/or shorter servos into their TC3 and negatively affect the steering.
- Losi XXX-S caster blocks will bolt onto a TC3 with no modifications. If you can find them, Losi had 6 deg caster blocks
- TC4 and Losi XXX-S steering knuckles can be used on a TC3. However they aren't a direct replacement as they will affect steering throw and ackerman
- Several after market companies made TC3 aluminum steering knuckles. Due to the design, they offered a little more steering throw before hitting the caster block.
All of the uneven steering issues I've seen on my TC3 or other cars have usually come from improper installation and/or adjustment of components. Here is my advice as I'm typing this with my VTA TC3 sitting next to me, Carefully follow the manual.
- Use the stock servo arm
- Make sure all the steering turnbuckles are the correct length (refer to the manual)
- Make sure the servo arm is at the proper angle when the steering is at neutral. It is NOT a 90 angle to the chassis (refer to the manual)
- Make sure the servo is mounted properly in the chassis. The steering turnbuckle should be parallel to the steering rack (not well shown in the manual)
- Make sure to use sub-trim on the radio instead of trim.
If you follow the instructions precisely, the steering should have equal throw side to side. With the steering at neutral, the steering rack adjustment screw should be lined up to the hole on the bottom of the chassis (Yes, that is what that hole is for). The car should accelerate in a straight line and shouldn't require any (or very little) sub-trim adjustment.
----------
Here are some additional thoughts...
- There is nothing wrong with using aftermarket steering parts on the TC3. Just make sure that they don't affect the geometry of the stock parts. A metal servo horn is fine as long as the ball stud is at the same location as the stock part. I would recommend picking up a Futaba 3003/3004 servo (doesn't need to be functional) and installing into a TC3 per the manual to use as a reference. I've seen too many people install low profile and/or shorter servos into their TC3 and negatively affect the steering.
- Losi XXX-S caster blocks will bolt onto a TC3 with no modifications. If you can find them, Losi had 6 deg caster blocks
- TC4 and Losi XXX-S steering knuckles can be used on a TC3. However they aren't a direct replacement as they will affect steering throw and ackerman
- Several after market companies made TC3 aluminum steering knuckles. Due to the design, they offered a little more steering throw before hitting the caster block.
Tech Champion
iTrader: (165)
Just to re-inforce what IndyRC_Racer has posted, it is important to ensure that the angle of the servo horn and the steering tie rod are at 90 degrees to each other when you have the steering rack centered. It is also very easy to center the steering rack as there is a small access hole under the chassis right below the bolt that tightens the built-in servo saver mechanism. With the steering rack centered, and the servo arm and tie-rod at 90 degrees, you then adjust the tie-rods to the steering arms on the left & right to obtain the proper toe-out setting. I like 1 degree of toe-out, but adjust to what works best for you.
Tech Elite
iTrader: (9)
Okay I'm wrong.
I took a closer look at my TC3 caster blocks. Due to the design, they would in fact limit maximum steering left to right differently.
What it looks like AE did is use one generic design for the left and right caster blocks on the TC3. The main difference between the left and right caster blocks is the angle in which the hinge pin hole is in the caster blocks. Whether is it a 0,2,4 degree block, they all look the same AND they are asymetrical. If you are looking at them from the back or at the lettering that shows you what type of block it is, it basically looks like a backwards d or like this ( |. The curve is the a more pronounce hump on the caster block. When installed on the car, the hump on the left side faces forward and the hump on he right side faces back. This would in affect allow for more maximum steering to the left than to the right before the stock steering knuckle would come into contact with the caster block.
I also looked at a couple Losi XXX-s 2 deg caster blocks and they are also asymetrical, but not as much.
I never noticed this before.
----------
The real question is does this have any bearing on my previous post? The answer is yes and no.
- Yes because this design choice (whether for handling or to save money on molding) DOES in fact limit the amount of mechanical steering left and right.
- No because rarely in racing do you ever need 100 percent of the available mechanical steering to get around any race track. If an r/c race setup requires that much steering, it likely isn't a very good setup.
The only place where I would think this would have a noticeable affect is if you were drifting with a TC3 where you would want max steering throw. However any serious drifter would have to make major steering mods to get the amount of steering throw they wanted, including upgrading the CVD and steering knuckles.
-----------
So while I'm wrong about the steering throw differences in a TC3, I will stand by my previous post. If your TC3 has any noticeable steering difference when setup for racing on a track, it is more likely a problem with the way the steering is setup/assembled than the steering being limited at maximum throw. Using maximum steering while grip racing will usually wear out your front tires sooner than racing with a good setup that give mores steering with less steering throw. The only exceptions would be drifting or a very very slow and tight 180 turn on a track surface with extremely poor grip.
I took a closer look at my TC3 caster blocks. Due to the design, they would in fact limit maximum steering left to right differently.
What it looks like AE did is use one generic design for the left and right caster blocks on the TC3. The main difference between the left and right caster blocks is the angle in which the hinge pin hole is in the caster blocks. Whether is it a 0,2,4 degree block, they all look the same AND they are asymetrical. If you are looking at them from the back or at the lettering that shows you what type of block it is, it basically looks like a backwards d or like this ( |. The curve is the a more pronounce hump on the caster block. When installed on the car, the hump on the left side faces forward and the hump on he right side faces back. This would in affect allow for more maximum steering to the left than to the right before the stock steering knuckle would come into contact with the caster block.
I also looked at a couple Losi XXX-s 2 deg caster blocks and they are also asymetrical, but not as much.
I never noticed this before.
----------
The real question is does this have any bearing on my previous post? The answer is yes and no.
- Yes because this design choice (whether for handling or to save money on molding) DOES in fact limit the amount of mechanical steering left and right.
- No because rarely in racing do you ever need 100 percent of the available mechanical steering to get around any race track. If an r/c race setup requires that much steering, it likely isn't a very good setup.
The only place where I would think this would have a noticeable affect is if you were drifting with a TC3 where you would want max steering throw. However any serious drifter would have to make major steering mods to get the amount of steering throw they wanted, including upgrading the CVD and steering knuckles.
-----------
So while I'm wrong about the steering throw differences in a TC3, I will stand by my previous post. If your TC3 has any noticeable steering difference when setup for racing on a track, it is more likely a problem with the way the steering is setup/assembled than the steering being limited at maximum throw. Using maximum steering while grip racing will usually wear out your front tires sooner than racing with a good setup that give mores steering with less steering throw. The only exceptions would be drifting or a very very slow and tight 180 turn on a track surface with extremely poor grip.
Tech Elite
iTrader: (9)
Just to re-inforce what IndyRC_Racer has posted, it is important to ensure that the angle of the servo horn and the steering tie rod are at 90 degrees to each other when you have the steering rack centered. It is also very easy to center the steering rack as there is a small access hole under the chassis right below the bolt that tightens the built-in servo saver mechanism. With the steering rack centered, and the servo arm and tie-rod at 90 degrees, you then adjust the tie-rods to the steering arms on the left & right to obtain the proper toe-out setting. I like 1 degree of toe-out, but adjust to what works best for you.
Note the angle of the servo horn in relation to the chassis is not 90 degrees, it looks more like this ___/___.
Tech Champion
iTrader: (2)
I can't comment on the Losi ones, but the TC4 ones are a direct replacement. The TC3 knuckles have one Ackerman hole, the TC4 has 2. One of them matches the TC3 geometry.
anybody find any gear diffs that will work ?
Search "top photon" in the TC4 thread. The diff is discontinued but I recently saw one for sale in the classifieds. Requires an extensive amount of modification though. I have one car with the conversion and it really isn't much of an advantage over the ball diffs. In fact, it think the lightweight plastic diffs work better. They just don't hold up very well. Here's a post with a picture of the conversion.
Team Associated TC4
Team Associated TC4
Tech Adept
iTrader: (35)
spurr/pinion combo
Hi all. Picked up a used TC3 to run VTA, but had a stripped spur gear mounting hole. No ID on the gear at all as far mfg or teeth. I prefer running 64 pitch, and if I remember correctly from running the TC3 many years ago, there was an issue using larger spurs. Any recommendations for a 4.0 FDR with around a 75 tooth spur, or will I need to go larger? What mfgs will and won't fit the TC#?
Thanks
Thanks
Last edited by Woof6; 05-16-2020 at 05:06 PM.
Tech Master
iTrader: (1)
Hi all. Picked up a used TC3 to run VTA, but had a stripped spur gear mounting hole. No ID on the gear at all as far mfg or teeth. I prefer running 64 pitch, and if I remember correctly from running the TC3 many years ago, there was an issue using larger spurs. Any recommendations for a 4.0 FDR with around a 75 tooth spur, or will I need to go larger? What mfgs will and won't fit the TC#?
Thanks
Thanks
Tech Adept
iTrader: (35)
ok, kewl. looks like if I stay in the 40's I should be alright from what I've read. Thank you. Will the xray spurs work? Considering the Axon DTS spurs