Johnny Wishbone

iTrader: (6)

Setups are like a good fitting pair of jeans, what might feel good to one person may not be so good for another. All we can do is try to help with the theory of setup and what might work for us on a personal trail and error situation, unfortunately we don't get to see and experience your exact situation, and sometimes whats described isn't necessarily what you really want your car to do. But there are quite a few guys on here willing to help anyone out when you need it, don't feel intimidated, just ask, there are no wrong questions.

Johnny Wishbone

iTrader: (6)

See the diff fyi I posted.

I just don't think I can make that race ,

I hear nothing but good things about it. Just not in the budget. Would love to meet some of the other Serpent drivers from the far West.

valk

iTrader: (13)

what small shims? looking through my manual, and the gear difs in my possession, there is only the one large shim behind each large gear.

i tried toothpaste and doubt it made much difference. the dif in my other car is very smooth, i should crack it open and see whats going on there. not terribly worried about it though. you guys would probably freak right out at the dif in my 12th scale lol.

Johnny Wishbone

iTrader: (6)

Some of the diffs had small shims behind the small gears as well.

LOL, probably not, as I was running my 1/12th today thinking how bad that thing was sounding......actually can't ever recall a diff that talked back that much in the corners, it was really bad

BigRon

iTrader: (22)

Ok, I have a lil dilemma. I raced the car for the first time tonight. Although the car felt great to me, it was obvious that there is something not up to par when it came to matching the speed of the other cars. I'm running 17.5 blinky by the way. Now in the infield I'm just as fast as the others. About half way down the straight is when things get interesting. I'm getting run down by the end of the straight (80ft), some cars sooner than that. I know a lot of things may play a factor here, but lets consider all things equal electric wise.

Epic Revtech (ROAR SPEC) 17.5 full timing 167deg after 6min
Novak GTB2 w/xdrive
NanoTech 65c 6600
64pitch gears 90sp/47p FDR=3.8
V1 diff with 1200cst
1413g with body

Again, the only part on the track where my car differs from some of the others is midway down the straight. I started with a 4.0 FDR, then went to the 3.8 which was better but not enough. At a temp of 167 I'm not sure I want to go any further. I enjoy driving this car, but figuring this stuff out is the fun part.

RasCalDK

I have not run this shim setup long enough to say if it is durable, but I have tested it with a Thunder Power 4.5t with a LOT of boost and turbo, without any problems.

TryHard

iTrader: (4)

I'm using a V2 diff with four plastic (VBC, not xceed) gear now as well, with one big shim. Same thing, full weekend of boosted mod, and no issues. Felt nice to drive too.

The less said about the rest of the weekend the better... suffice to say inconsistent tyres made a mockery of the event, and has left many drivers questioning their cars and setups, me included!

orcadigital

iTrader: (61)

So if you take the corner faster, what happens? Does it push out? Does it traction roll? Is the car slowing down on it's own as you corner?

We have a 180* corner on our track that we call the "b". I was losing time in that corner to other cars. I had to slow down more then them to stay in tight. If I slowed down more (lifting or braking) I could take their tight line. If i went in at their speed, the front end would not hold and would push out, putting me on a wider line. This felt like a cornering speed issue, but really was me slowing down more then them to take the same line. The solutions were to lower the weight transfer and keep more weight on the inside wheel. Just like was suggested, I did a similar thing but with reduced droop ORH. The car keeps more weight on the inside tires and I can take the corner at a higher rate of speed.

The other issue can be mechanical binding that may be happening to you. Full steering throw can cause you to rub on either the lower shock ball end, lower spring cup, or the spring itself. Too much steering angle as well can cause the car to push (creating too severe of a slip angle and costing you grip and speed). Dual rate adjustments on the radio are easy and can make a big difference if that is happening to you.

orcadigital

iTrader: (61)

I have noticed the same. I am happy with 2000 in the rear diff right now, but the notchy feeling is there in both cars, and they both have thousands of laps on them. Some have shims, some don't, but the notchy feeling is always there. They still turn smooth and feel good in the car, so I personally have stopped worrying about it.

So very true. One of the fast guys at our track (owner of Nexus Racing for you Xray guys) has a setup that works for him. Almost no one else can drive that setup...we do not have the reflexes or car control skills to drive it that fast or consistent. But it is worth trying the setup, because then you can feel what the various changes do to the car. You learn then how to get your car handling different as track conditions change. If you have the time and option parts to do it, I recommend trying just about everything that is suggested, just to see what it feels like for your car. A few pages back, a lot of things were suggested for my car. I tried them all, and in the end, only one change felt better.

Sadly, I can concur here. I campaigned an old CRC 3.2 last year that had the nickname of "rusty spaghetti car". The only diff work I did was flipping the diff rings because the other side had less rust on them. The 12ga wire gave me more dampening then the center shock, and half way through the series, I found out I only had 1 tube, and it was bone dry. I was new enough to 12th to not know the difference when I got a second tube in the car and got lube in them. My S120 is a little better, but I do not put the maintenance into it that I do the touring cars. Priorities I guess...

We run 17.5 blinky here as well. Some things that could be an issue. You may have too much timing on the motor. Not all motors like full timing, and the temp issues you are having point towards an incorrect balance of motor timing and gearing. It could also be internal motor issues as well (over shimmed, something misaligned), but that is less likely (it it was coming off 200+ I might lean that way). I would back the motor timing off a couple of degrees (1-2 hash marks), check temps, and try regearing a little lower and check temps again. Every motor has it's sweet spot, and full timing is not usually it. For comparison, running an LRP SXX TC Spec V2 and a Thunder Power 17.5 with 37* can timing and a 4.0 FDR. I have a smidge more torque then the 2 fastest guys running the new Ballistic high rpm motors, but they get me top end. I can gear to a 3.7/3.8 and probably even that out a bit more. I am coming off at 130* after 6 min right now. Can adjustments let me go much higher on timing, but this seems to be the sweet spot for this motor. I am also running a 6000mah 28c Revtech battery, and not noticing any major ill effects from it. C rating seems to have less of an issue with blinky 17.5 as the amp draw just isn't there.

The ESC is also probably another factor. While blinky is supposed to level the playing field, it does not come even close to that. The GTB2 is a solid ESC, but from what I have seen at the track, it does not compare to other blinky offerings like the Tekin RS, LRP SXX, or even Novak's own Impact or Kinetic. It is the reason VTA does not allow any blinky ESC, but only certain specific no timing ones.

Also, make sure your drivetrain is as free as possible. Any bearing squeals, no matter how minor, are costing you speed.

1airborne

iTrader: (12)

I had the same problem. I calibrated my radio with the esc and everything was good. I was just slow down the straight away. After trying new battery's checking esc settings I found out all I had to do was go into my radio under throttle and turn it up from 100% to 150%. After I did that I was faster then the guys I had been racing and still in legal blinki mode.

1airborne

rcwck

iTrader: (2)

I have tried that 150% throttle end point also. It's like running lotsa expo for quick throttle response. It makes the trigger way more sensitve and if you not careful that will make the car handle differently off the corners. You can play with the end point after calibration or expo til you get the feel you like.

BigRon

iTrader: (22)

Cool, thanks guys. I will try out your suggestions and see how they feel.

Johnny Wishbone

iTrader: (6)

I wonder if they are running high torque rotors, that seems to be the norm lately with the RevTech and the D3.5 motors.

valk

iTrader: (13)

a good question.. for 17.5 blinky indoor, would i be better off with a torque rotor or a rpm rotor?
gonna run a reedy. i have the 12.3x24.5 in my wgt, but wont be running that car any time soon. should i snipe the rotor for touring stock?

Benzaah

iTrader: (24)

Lucky for me the tyres were not so much of an issue with the stock cars. My car felt great all weekend even with the ever changing track. Practising on a nice medium grip track for 2 days to have it all washed away before the start of qualifying was certainly interesting. The car adapted easily but i monged 2 out of my 4 qualifiers and could only muster 23rd out of 51. With a rain effected event not having 6 qualifiers really sucks. A fellow south aussie qualified 9th the A Final in Mod with the Serpent showing the cars potential in the top event on the Australian calendar.

I ran one of Ed's modified top decks with the 2.25 chassis and it was great. Ill be filing my bearing clamps down shortly so i dont have to run the shims under the top deck. I found the serpent springs to be faster than the Rides and Hpi. I ran green front black rear with 600cst oil and let the flex do the rest. Will be interesting to run this set up on my home track in the next couple of weeks to see how it runs on a more familiar track.