Old skool front end.
 

Hey guys,

for those guys looking to covert there cars to the old style Associted front end, Bruce Carbon has put together the "old skool" front end kit #1296 that has everythning needed to do the conversion, including the caster shim kit, axles, springs.... He also has an on-line shop on his website now.

Hope this helps make it easier for you guys,
Ray

rayhuang- you going to the asphault nats in a few weeks?

I am afraid not!!! Would be fun though. I think my Speedmerchant and my XRay would be very competitive outdoors. Now me-Thats another story!!

Looks like your question got overlooked, so I'll take a shot....

The dischargers we are talking about discharge the majority of the energy from the pack at a rapid rate, usually 20 or 30 amps. Then we may put them into a discharge tray, like the one you mentioned, to further discharge the pack and even out the individual cells. If your packs are coming off the track nearly dumped, then you could go to the tray directly. This would work well in 8 min. racing.

At my track, they only run 5 min. heats and mains, so I was interested in making sure any residual energy was dumped.

Using the tray would work to discharge a partially charged pack (say half or more charged) , but it will discharge the cells at a slower rate ( say like 2 to 5 amps) and is not what the tray was designed to do. Additionally, it would take longer than a discharge device and would generate a lot of heat in the tray, so you would be advised to use a fan to keep it cool.

Note: It is NOT necessary to tray the pack every run. I usually do it once a day. Others have their own order of doing things, which are just as correct.

And YES!, you are right about the voltage 3.6 vs. 3.5 volts. That is close enough!

Hope this helps. LC :nod: :D

Hey guys,
been offered a Switchblade in a trade, and Im tempted to take it, but Ive got one reservation. Can you use AE t-plates? And AE ride height adjusters?

Im not really concerned about the front end, because if I break it, Ill still; have my L3, but the T-plate seems to break most often, so I want to make sure those are readily available

Thanks

Thanks for the reply graphitedust, it was very helpful. I usually only run my Nimh packs once a day because I have three and there are 2 qualifying races and one main. I tray my packs at the beginning of a day to remove the storage energy, but I usually don't need to recharge them again so I only need to tray them once. But if I get bumped up to the A main or something than I don't usually have time to tray them. So generally I only tray once per day.
After storage when there is about half charge in a pack, would it be ok to dump the pack on bulbs until the lights begin to dim, than put it on a tray. Because it takes a little while to dump a half charged pack on a tray, I think it would go a lot faster if I could dump a pack on bulbs till the lights dim and than put it on a tray. If I took my pack off the bulbs before the bulbs went out than I wouldn't be at risk of reversing my cells...... right :confused: ? After you did that than you could put the pack on the tray. Do most of you guys discharge the pack on a discharger with an automatic cut off before you tray your battaries? Thanks for any more help. :)

Racerdx6:

:nod: Yup...you have got it figured out! I'm going to build one of those cutoff devices for four cell, looks real easy and inexpensive. Running the lights till they dim is a standard practice. Just don't forget to remove the battery when the lights dim. If your an old guy like me, its better to have a cut-off device, cause the mind has begun to dim.....:lol:

To the guy who originally posted the cutoff device:

If you read this, could you repost the schematic so these guys can see it? Thanks again! LC

Reciever Pack
 

I just read this on CRC website.

For extra servo power, run ONE extra AAA battery from + of your pack directly to the reciever "batt" plug or an extra plug. NO gain in run time, but a gain in servo and reciever power when the amp draw is high or when your batts are low.

DON"T use the switch. (keep it off)

If you don't completly understand I do not recomend doing this you could let some smoke out.

This will give you a full 6 volts to the reciever and servo.

Here is the link:

http://www.teamcrc.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?p=2888#2888

Re: Reciever Pack
 

very good tip...but i dont really understand how to do it...

David ,
if you know how to do it properly would you mind expa=laining more in details and maybe some pic would be a plus

thanks

RC Paperboy, yes you can however you will need to use the Associated pieces on their t-bar if I remember correctly.

Great, Ill make the trade now. Im so exited, adding another 1/12 to the stable :D :sneaky:

Finsey
 

OK, I would make a wire from your + side of the speed controller where it picks up from the + 4 cell battery pack. Run that to a small AAA battery holder - side. Run the + side of the AAA battery holder (red) to a plug that goes into an emty spot in the reciever or the BATT spot. Red wire only. You can use an old servo plug. Hook up your pack as normal, install one AAA battery and DO NOT turn on the switch.

You will have 6 volts to your reciever which supplies 6 volts to your servo. It WILL WORK FASTER. Just look at the specs for your servo, they will give times at 4.8 volts and 6.0 volts.

I had a problem with glitching when My car was far away because there were not enough volts to recieve and process a signal. This happened when I hit the throllte like it was a wire touching the chasis.

All wires only need to be the size of the servo wires.

This would fix a problem like that.

Hope this helps.
David Root

Set-up ideas for newbies
 

Its been awhile since a post like this-so here goes: This is not meant to be a "do this" sort of post, but its is something to consider-especially for begginers or wanna-be's like me!!

Setting up a Sedan is pretty straight forward once youve tested enough and played around enough. But I have to admit that getting the balance, speed and efficiency out of a 12th scale to be a daunting task at times. Black Magic!!! And add to that-many set-ups require a change in driving style to get the most out of it!!! hence why you can drive the TQ guys 12th scale and think it handles terrible-but he is whicked FAST!!!

But I am slowly learning that a balanced, easy handling 12th scale can also be a slow 12th scale car. And sometimes an edgy- fast feeling car can also be slow......Sad, but true. but I digress from my point of all this and that is-form as many constants as you can as you learn your car. For example-and again this is just me-when in doubt-I always go back to Blue side springs on my Speedmerchant Rev.3 and I always run JACO rears and they are always sauced full for a minimum of 20 minutes!!! Oh-and I always run Losi med hydra fluid in the dampers. Hmmmm... come to think of it-I always run 3 degrees of caster and a slight amount of rear pod droop. These things basically never change.

WHY????-because the center spring, shock oil, front springs and front camber, toe out, ride height, rake, front tire compound, width of sauce on frnt tires, diameter of tires are enough variables!! But very effective variables!!! Learn those first!!!

So in closing for any 12th scale newbies-dont give-up on 12th scale. Just make it as simple for your self as possible!!!! And make your car as easy to drive as you can to start. Also-baby your 12th scale because it is a precision instrument. Take care of it-rebuild it often and also rebuild it EXACTLY the same time after time after time!!! Think of it like this-A 4wd drive car is a hammer and a 12th scale is a scalpel.

Let me give you an example from this week. A newbie in 12th scale was trying to drive his brand new 12th scale. it was SO bad he couldnt even make a corner. problem??? He sauced his front tires 100% and had never driven 12th scale before!!! WOW!!!

Also-those weird things you see the fast guys doing-like making endless circles on the track right and left and playing with there radio buttons 1" from there faces, and putting quarters on top of the front tires till they fall off and constantly resetting the trim on the straights before every race- LEARN-em-DO-em!!!! Its a ritual, its required!!!! ITS FUN!!!

I was racing with 2 guys that have won Cleveland stock 1/12, and I was told that the only real setup changes that they make from track to track are the front sauce. They have found setups taht are fast, and dont need to change much to be fast on carpet. I think that one of them made a change to his front springs at Cleveland one year, but that was a one time thing.

One more thing Ive discovered, you can tell when your car is doing different things by watching the spray patterns of foam rubber on the chassis. If you notice a lot of foam up front, you know the front tires are scrubbing. Same for the rear. Clean your body with a paintbrush every run, and watch the wear on your tires.

Also - to set proper camber to get even tire wear:
2 ways:
1) Run for a heat, tak ethe tires off, and measure them on a camber guage. Then you know exactly how much to change the camber.

2) If you dont have a camber guage, take a piece of chalk, and makew 3 marks on teh front tires, in teh middle, and the 2 sides. Run for 2 laps, then see which marks are worn off. If theyre all worn off, then re-mark, and do another run. If part is worn off, then you know what to change.

Hi,
I got one question for guys running the old skool front end. Since camber is not adjustable, do you encounter problems with the front tyres coning? Also do they work on smooth asphalt as well as carpet? Thanks to anyone who replies.