I have a CRC 3.1 Bloody Red Carpet Knife. It seems whenever I seem to run it, its not as competitive verus the other drivers out there. Could it be setup or driver or what things would i need to get the car to be competitive?

Jason,

Are you sure about this as re: the VCS springs? Springs, in general, CAN be progressive. The shock springs (at least my Associated/Calandra ones) look to be pretty "straight rate" to me. The side springs should be progressive (I think) but the shock springs don't have any characteristics I think of when I think of a a "progressive" spring (tapered wire diameter, varied coil pitch, varied coil diameter, etc).

I guess I could get off my lazy bum and set up a shock to test on my spring dyno...

Lot of good information being shared today though! Thanks.

Scottrik

the center springs aren't progressive, however the shock angle makes the shock/spring act progressive as would laying in a shock on a touring car... maybe that's what was meant???

I'll buy that this would change the effective RATE, but I don't think that alters anything re: "progressive" or not, there should be the same force required to compress the spring the first mm as the fifth mm whether the shock/spring is on it's side or upside-down.

Of course I may be completely at sea, too. Wouldn't be the first time for that.

Scottrik

you guys are correct.the center springs are not very progressiveat all.some are more than others but they are very linear as far as springs go.but all springs will be progressive to an extent.tighter coil springs such as the blue and silver if i remember correctly are less progressive than say an olive or a gold that are a more coarse coil.but that wasnt really the problem i was trying to get at.what i was pointing out was that when you prload the spring too much,it will ramp up alot more spring tension in less travel due to the point that all springs have a level of progresion towards the end of there travel.i was kinda reffering to extreme preload on the spring,not really just a slight bit.and as mike stated,shock angle also has alot to do with the shock reaction and spring tension.now who said 1/12th was cut and dry. :lol: when i set my shock i try to do it with as little preload as possible if you know what i mean.the shock has a much softer feel. :cool:

rings are snowflakes due to the way they are made so you will get runts in all of them.i am just pretty anal when it comes to this stuff and i found,for some odd reason,the lightened ones to be more consistant.i would think the standards would be better but hell,why ask why,i just use the flatter rings to make my work easier. :lol:

OK - It's a new day - who wants to answer all of my questions today??? :D

Just kidding. My head is about full of 12th scale setup, diff balls, sag, droop and progessive as I can possibly handle. :ha:

I will strip the car down once again and go at it again with different caster blocks, tires, less sag, different preload, re-route my wires, get a new shell, replace the chassis with a different brand, buy a couple of new motors and batt packs, buy a chassis dyno, and then see if I have two nickles left over for the tweak "Coin Trick" :lol: :lol: :lol:

Well, maybe that is a little ambitious. I am sure that I will have to use pennies for the coin trick... :nod:

Seriously - Thank you all for the open discussion. I, for one, learned very much and will pray to my Lord that the next time I run, I can get around at least halfway decent.

Thanks again! Wish me luck!!!
Jeremy

if we all put all our knowledge together we would make one hell of a driver.lol.

good luck buddy

THAT'D be a whole 'nuther kettle of fish. Our car would sure be set up nicely though... :lol:

So, now that we all have nicely set up cars, should we discuss driving styles and speedo profiles today??? :D

I'll start: This thing drives like nothing else I have driven before!!! :ha: It makes my touring car feel like a slot car - and I stink in touring car :ha: - LOL~!

I think my speed secret for 12th scale 19t will be to put a worn out stock motor in the car so I can get around the track without hitting everything in the room... The marshalls step back when I set my car on the track ~ I don't blame them; I would too! :ha:

Sweet!! Now I know....and knowing is half the battle :lol: :lol:

Alright, now don't complain when I'm burnin' your ear off ;)

Hey, maybe you are kidding, but its not a bad idea. You will learn to drive good lines much sooner if you have a car you can control, then you can add more horsepower. If it was just about using the fastest motor the pros would always run a 7 turn in mod, but they don't. The trick is to stick the fastest motor that you can drive in the car :nod:

You can also take some of the throttle high point off.

Don't laugh...it's a VERY valid strategy.

Bob Stormer challenged me to run a Tamiya silver can motor in stock a while back. It was the BEST the car has ever handled--it was like a DREAM. One of our faster 1/12 racers tried it after one of the heats was over (oh...you could run 15 minutes too) and wanted to buy the car right then and there. The top end is probably close if you get it geared high enough (I was on 60mm roll-out), but it has less torque and NO braking effect so it's like having your car set to roll through the turns. You REALLY concentrate on making the sweeping lines so you can carry speed. The end result was also exactly what Bob had predicted...I ran a clean main as did the fellow who won. He was threatening to lap me after the 8-minutes was up.

The challenge would be that I don't think the silver can is technically ROAR-legal, but what club wouldn't accept it?

Scottrik