Why would they treat the track with WD40?

I tried contacting them before but the emails I sent just got bounced back, you might want to try calling them seeing as you are in the US. Failing that give Neil at www.rwracing.co.uk a shout and he will make the sizes you need for you. He had some old stock that he had made previously but otherwise he was going to make them to size for me. Fair price and a good service, email replys can be a little slow (few days) if he is busy though.

Thanks guys.

RC12 5R Front End Kit

can one be bought as a complete kit?

It softens the actual asphalt oil that binds the rock/gravel/sand aggregate and increases traction...pretty dramatically. This only works on clean indoor asphalt tracks where the asphalt never oxidizes (no rain, UV exposure indoors).

Suntan lotion might work. You will just have to try it.

If the traction is really high you might what to try going in the other direction with car setup. The carpet guys run their cars pretty soft when the traction is high. Stiff cars have very fast weight transfer and this makes them feel very touchy and can lear to traction rolling. Try the long thin fiberglass flex plates with fairly light rear damping in the tubes, a gold rear spring and .022 front BMI springs. This will let the car roll more and smooth it out.

Hmmm, I thought when traction is really high you go stiffer to keep the car from chassis roll. A high grip track with a softer setup will cause the car to bog down in the corner with to much grip right?

Ah I get it...I would imagine also that the asphalt would have to not be coated in a sealant.

Gadget, I was having the same problem when we went to LiPos over here. What I figured out was going to purples in front with either a .022 or .024 asc. front springs with the pinks in the rear. I have been using this on my OD12/L4 conversion car. I got so tired of the 12r5 just mot staying planted enough in the rear that I went back to a t-plate car. However one of the other guys tried something simular and it worked for him as well. This was even with the track treated with sugar water.

ok, that makes sense. but what tire choice would you suggest working towards? ie; synthetic high wear, or natural low wear?

yeah, it seemed odd to me when i first saw them doing it, but it works, especially for the rubber TC crowd. (foam tires are definitely in the minority,but grip is high with any tire)

Try Lilac fronts and Double Pink rears.

The goal is to use the hardest tires you can but still have the steering and traction that you need to go fast. Soft foam has more inherent traction and rolling resistance. For most of the aspahlt tracks I go to I start out with double pink front and rear. If traction is crazy and I need to tone down the steering then I go to Lilac fronts. I rarely have to go to pink rears. They have more forward bite but not much more side bite than double pinks.

No, stiff setups on pan cars and sedans cause traction rolling due to too fast weight transfer when cornering. The traction is high, you let off the throttle, turn and all the weight of the car shifts forward and to the outside tires and pins them to the ground...over you go. All the energy goes directly to the tires contract patch as a sudden spike in pressure.

With a softer setup, you let off the throttle, turn and the chassis rolls. Some of the energy is absorbed by damper tubes and front springs. The increase in pressure on the tires contact patch ramps up more gradually and the car drives smoothly and more predictably.

Stiff setups also wear tires faster. Its all a balancing act. A fast car uses tires and suspension together.

i will have another go in a soft direction like you suggest.

Before when i tried those tires and softer suspension the car would be balanced in a drift, but if i let off a little or got a little too sideways then the car would bog a little, then the tires would grab and the car would dive into the inside board. i was also running the tires a little too big maybe? (42.5/45.0)

with black/grey the traction was smoother with varying slip angle, but with 2xpink grip was more like an on-off switch.

thanks again for your help on this.

You never want to see any kind of drift or sliding in a pan car. That will wear tires and kill corner speed.

Also, you may want to try Trinity Zip Grip as a traction compound too.