engine trouble...please help.
 

i have recently just purchased a thunder tiger eb4 s3 & was wondering if someone out there could help...it has a .28 engine and i've changed the clutchbell/pinion gear from a 13t to a 14t & have noticed that the 14t bell has turned black from overheating, is this normal? the 13t hasn't changed colour at all. the amount of heat generated to cause this dis-colouring must be great indeed. is this damaging to the engine? check out the pics & let me know what u think. as you can see there is a big difference between their colouration.

this is my 1st off road r/c & was wondering what you guys thought of the kit. is it a good kit or did i waste my money? it seems to go fairly well. i've had it clocked up to 90km/h which should be fast enough for racing i hope. i picked it up at a closing down sale brand new for just under $400aud and i thought it was a good buy. have had a few stacks but the kit seems strong & up for the stresses imposed on it. i'm also starting to clear 15 meter jumps at the local bmx track & learning to control the gyroscopic motion of the wheels through the application of throttle & brake while in flight which is awesome fun.
anyway if someone could get back to me about the above mentioned topics that would be great.
thanx.

A higher-tooth clutch bell places a greater load on the engine when accelerating from stop or low speeds. Your clutch shoes are slipping more as a result, which causes friction and the heat discoloration you see.

Perhaps a different combination of springs and shoes would solve the over-slipping problem. Aluminum (aluminium for you Aussies, lol) shoes slip less than carbon. Adding heavier springs will make the shoes open and contact the clutch bell at higher RPMs, which would help some against bogging under acceleration.

I don't know what comes stock in those cars, but my personal recommendation would be to get some Dynamite MaxLife clutch shoes, which wear much better than regular aluminum and don't "mushroom" nearly as bad. And get some thicker springs... perhaps 1.1mm.

would anyone be able 2 tell me the differences between the types of clutch shoes out there, (e.g. plastic, aluminium, carbon fibre or other compisite materials) what are the pro's & con's? i've also been told that different combinations can work also. as i'm just begining with nitro off road any help i can get would be great.:tire: :tire:

Actually thicker springs will cause MORE heat... as I have seen from personal experience. They engage later, meaning at higher rpm, giving a more aggressive "SNAP" to the acceleration... not what you need with a .28 engine. :)

Yea, with a .28 I would run no more than .9 springs on a buggy. You'll have plenty of bottom end, the shoes won't slip nearly as bad and you shouldn't have any more discoloration. Run 3 7075 alum. shoes. The TT you have uses the same clutch setup as the AE RC8. Personally I prefer Answer R/C's shoes, they're slightly less $ than the dynamites and last just as long. I was able to get around 2 gallons on a set of shoes (with proper care and maintenance) the Answer shoes also come with 3 sets (.9, 1.0, 1.1) of springs.