sell682

iTrader: (81)

Hi All,

How do you balance your cars? I have the hudy balance buttons but thats only performing left and right check. How do you do front and rear?

Sorry if this was already asked but I couldn't find it via my search. Please let me know how you do it and what products you use to get it done.

Thanks

C@T

You can do it using same tools plus a scale or two.

Yust put one or both ( if you do have two scales ) on and look a the readings. Important both must be at same height.

More easy if you take a tube or can big enough that the tires do not toucht the ground a try to figure out where the center of gravity is located.

sosidge

Four scales is the easiest way.

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

Left / Right balance is more important than forward / rear balance. If your static left / right balance is off, it's impossible to properly de-tweak the car. And a tweaked car will have trouble driving straight, handle differently in left/right corners, and generally just be harder to drive. Methods to do the left / right balance include:
- Some cars (TC6 for one) have holes in the center of the shock tower. You just stick a driver in each tower, and lift, and look at the balance.
- Balance pins - Being on the bottom of the chassis, the equilibrium is unstable. Sometimes the pins can grab the chassis holes a bit, depending on which pins and chassis you have, which can confuse things.
- A long triangular ruler. Just balance the car on that.

Forward / rear weight distribution is more about tuning the handling balance, and what's "right" involves a lot of factors, like the surface, tires, driving style, and setup of the car. It has a pretty major effect on handling, though. Moving the motor forward/back with different gear combos can be noticeable. Changing between a forward / rear battery positions on cars that have them makes a huge difference.

-Mike

JOE SI

iTrader: (13)

I always knew it was more important to balance left and right because wheelbase for example will change the weight of the car from front to back..
My question is what is a trianglular ruler and where can I get one?
I will be looking for one everywhere I go but if you can point me in the right direction that would be cool, and what else can be used because IMO just because the car is the same weight on both sides front to back left to right on the scale doesn't actually mean it will balance cause one side can have the weight placed further in or out giving the opposite side leverage and cause it to tip, is that correct?

avs

iTrader: (2)

CAD/CAM has made these obsolete, but 'triangular ruler' is referring to a drafting tool known (in the US) as a 'scale'

http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-Mar...50&KPID=242750

JOE SI

iTrader: (13)

[QUOTE=avs;11910114]CAD/CAM has made these obsolete, but 'triangular ruler' is referring to a drafting tool known (in the US) as a 'scale'

[URL="http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-Mars-12-inch-Engineers-Triangular-Scale-with-Color-Coded-Grooves/product_242750?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:242750&KPID=24275 0"]http://www.staples.com/Staedtler-Mars-12-inch-Engineers-Triangular-Scale-with-Color-Coded-Grooves/product_242750?cid=PS:GooglePLAs:242750&KPID=24275 0[/

This might sound stupid but I thought it was something called a triangular ruler,
Not a ruler that's a triangle LMFAO

JOE SI

iTrader: (13)

[QUOTE=JOE SI;11911049]Sometimes the names of things might sound obvious but aren't even close

avs

iTrader: (2)

[QUOTE=JOE SI;11911056]i am pretty sure the poster was suggesting the use of a scale, which measures length (same as a ruler) and is triangular in cross section.

google is pretty good. 'triangular ruler' brings up both scales and triangles. it is interesting to note that a Canadian University uses this same name. triangular ruler may be the proper name in english (don't know since i learned to talk in california).https://utsic.escalator.utoronto.ca/...angular-ruler/

RogerDaShrubber

iTrader: (6)

It is called an engineers ruler.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

I used one of those "obsolete" devices when I started my engineering career 42 years ago. In the U.S. they are a scale and they come in two types, engineering and architectural. They are called a scale because drawings are not done in full size but to a "scale". You use one of the scale sides to measure the drawing if a dimension isn't provided. If a drawing is half size (or scale) you use the edge that is 6"/1' and the scale gives you the full size dimension and avoids calculation when using a ruler. Also you only measure a drawing for reference purposes.

Enough of that lesson. These antiques work well for balancing a car side to side. One issue with a pan car is that the rear pod usually can't be balanced easily due to the lack of movable components. For one of these I remove any spring or dampening device that connects the pod to the main chassis. I then put the front part of the chassis on a balance point and locate my components as needed making up with ballast as needed.

avs

iTrader: (2)

Yeah, me too. my summer internship was at Mattel Toys, on a design board. another (thankfully) obsolete task was refilling the ammonia in the repro machine. (for making bluelines)

YZFAndy

Best way to balance a car is a three point setup. One point in the centre line between either the front or rear axle line and then a pair of scales under the end opposite ends left and right wheels. Then reverse the setup and do the other end. This way you measure left to right balance with out measuring uneven springs or tweak. A four scale setup could be measuring uneven rollbars, springs, spring preload, rebound or tweak.

old_dude

iTrader: (1)

Only thing good about the blueprint machine was it cleared your head if you had a cold.
I finished my career as a Pro/E specialist and project manager. Great career, now I sit back and enjoy what I worked for including racing.

mikel33

iTrader: (2)

Never in a million years did I foresee conversation on scales and blueprint machines on rctech. Wow, the good old days!