dayno

iTrader: (5)

I'm wondering if my motor in my VTA car is down on power. It's a 25.5 Novak Ballistic Boss. I run clean lines, have tried 5 teeth up and down incrementally on pinion and still am unable to run closer than a second off the top cars pace. It seems as far as driving and gearing I have put the car equal to what the top guys are running and still way off pace thus I am wondering if the motor is off power. I have recently taken it apart and cleaned it and it looked ok inside. I have no idea how long the motor has been run as I bought it in a car that was used. I run a new SMC 2S 70c 6500mah battery so I don't think that is an issue either. Just trying to figure out why I am so far off on speed, any input will be appreciated.

Thanks!

rhodopsine

Motors can loose power over time if they were badly over-heated. The rotor magnetic field will loose strength and it will result in a less powerful motor. However, I would probably look at your setup. Even though you are driving clean lines, if you loose too much speed in the corners, you'll never be able to make it up. With that kind of lower powered motors, keeping your speed in the corners is key.

Otherwise, ask someone to lend you another motor and try it. You'll be able to see if your motor is at fault.

Martin Paradis

oeoeo327

iTrader: (75)

Probably not the motor, it's more likely tied to chassis setup. However, you can experiment with different timing and gearing combinations to see if the car picks up speed. If timing and gearing don't help, it's probably setup-related.

One thing I learned running VTA - if your car seems easy to drive, it's probably off the pace. Many times, that's the case with most spec classes.

Salkin

Do you have the same speed on the straight and do you have the same "punch" in the twisted sections?

If yes, then it is probably just driver skill. No offense.

Even if you think you drive clean lines, there is more to it than that.

My son started in TC a short while ago. He learned fast, and is driving very well, also clean lines and everything.

Is he as fast as the fastest guys, no. He is approx. 4 tenth of a second off the pace on the fastest laps, on a track that takes 10-11 seconds a lap.

When I watch my son drive, I think it looks almost perfect. I then watch the fastest guys and I cannot see much difference.

I then see the fastest guys on the track at the same time as my son, and they just "wheel" him in. It is difficult to explain, but they seem to be carrying more speed in the turns, drive more "relaxed".

My son just changed from modified to a stock class, because of lack of modified drivers (sadly). He now run 13.5T in blinky mode.

We also thought that the motor was lacking power. I asked some of the fastest guys to try out the car, and they said that it had the same power as their own car. As described above, they just managed to carry more speed in all areas of the track, which mislead us to believe that it lacked power.

Having some of the fast guys trying out your car also validates your setup.

Off course, your motor could lack power. But why not ask some of the fast guys to try it out and give you some feedback?

Salkin

Also, ensure your drive train spins as freely as possible. In the lower stock classes a free drive train is essential, belts loose, bearings in good condition etc.

gooba

iTrader: (5)

My Novak boss never had any power to begin with. One thing I would try is have someone else drive your car and see what they say it could just be in your head. +1 on the free drivetrain also a small bind can be murder in spec racing

theproffesor

iTrader: (66)

If your running a 6500 batt are you running USVTA rules? It seems like your not. If that is the case, maybe try a different motor brand. Although, I have found the Novak really is just as good as any unless you get the $150 5% motors from a couple different places. Also if your not running USVTA, check and make sure your as close to 1450g as possible. A few grams may not seem like much, but it really can make a difference.

VTA is about flow. You cant point and shoot like you can in faster classes. My car has more punch and equall top speed as the fast guys at our local track. On some days im in the mix with them, on others I am a half second or more off pace. Then I just hit the dang wall. I like my car a little tight, but it does slow me down in the corners. The lines are clean, but corner speedis lower than others. This is thst half second thst makes all the difference. Let a local drive my car, and they do faster laps with it than their own car. In my hands... slow again.

SouthFloridaApp

iTrader: (6)

Here is my .01 cent worth. I run a tc4 on a large track. I used a 6500 mah 60 c battery and then a shorty pack which was about 4300 mah and 50 c but was about 3.5 ounces less. The shorty pack was faster. I had a couple of friends verify the same results as well as they drove my car as well. Keep in mind my car is grossly over weight, but it is food for thought. The difference in lap times was about .6 on a 16-17 second large track....

freebird

iTrader: (3)

certainly you would expect a faster lap time from a lighter pack........ but what kind of punch and effect of the smaller pack (4300 vs. a 5000 or larger) have on your punch level towards the end of your run in a 5 min main and your 6-8 min race. I know it would also reduce your lap times towards the end. It doesnt matter if you only putting near your batteries capacity.

tobyzhang

iTrader: (15)

Chance of loosing a second a lap usually means there is more to motor that is not on pace. At tamiya America, top gt3 driver is around a second or less off pace a top gt2 driver on a pretty open track running low 15 for gt3 and low 14 in gt2. And that is the difference between 21.5 and 17.5. it is hard to have that much pace difference in motor alone to account for a second. let the local fast guy take a look and drive the car to see what they think. make sure to discharge battery to around 7.2v before charging up again for better punch. I think probably the car accounts for half a second and driving accounts for another half. in the beginning of the season I can't consistently hit low 16s but by the end i can hit low 15s consistently without much change in equipment and almost no change in setup, same tires and similar traction level also. Practice more and see what happens, there are more to clean driving to drive fast, line is very important.