Casper

iTrader: (34)

When the track is loose you cannot ever have enough side bite! If you have traction this is usually not an issue and you want more stearing or take some sidebite away to get the car to rotate.

jbrow1

iTrader: (28)

Ok, some electric questions here for Casper or A.W.

1. If a brush is not burned how short can you run it? I know you should change when you cut the comm, what if you don't want to?

2. Is a brush not fully broken in until it's rounded all the way to the outside? How long does that generally take?

3. Anybody try break-in while dunking in water after it is running? I did and really seemed silly.

4. Are some lathes better than others and why? Not just the cutter, diamond vs. carbide, but the actual machine.

5. How far down can you cut the comm?

I sometimes feel like running over all my electric stuff with my nitro..

Thanks

Casper

iTrader: (34)

1. If a brush is not burned how short can you run it? I know you should change when you cut the comm, what if you don't want to?

If the brush does not discolor you can clean it and reuse it as much as you want. You can run them down to about 1/2 size if you really want to but you need to adjust the spring tension as the brush wears that much. I run my brushes for multiple cuts but as they show signs of real wear or discoloration I replace them. If you reuse them clean the face with a comm stick or a fussy brush.

2. Is a brush not fully broken in until it's rounded all the way to the outside? How long does that generally take?

Different brushes take longer then other depending on the compound and how hard the brush is. Serrated brushes will also break in much faster then non serrated brushes for obivious reasons. A brush is not fully "broken in" until the outside edges are touching the comm. At least that would be my definition.

3. Anybody try break-in while dunking in water after it is running? I did and really seemed silly.

The water trick does work but was intended for the old mabuchi 540 motors that have REALLY HARD brushes. This is a good trick to seat those brushes but I really do not think this is necessary for race type brushed motors. The brushes will seat in a reasonable amount of time for our race motors. I would not say it hurts anything as long as you spray out the motor with motor spray to "dry" the motor and keep the bushings/bearings lubed after you do this but I also do not think it is necessary.

4. Are some lathes better than others and why? Not just the cutter, diamond vs. carbide, but the actual machine.

A good quality lathe will cut straight. You are paying for the precision of the manufacture to make sure you do not cut a cone in the comm. I had an old cobra lathe that did this. I tried a trinity lathe that did this also. I use the Fantom lathe since it is machined out of one piece of alum they can control the tolerances much closer and you will have a much harder time getting the lathe out of alignment. The fantom is the most expensive but I also feel it is hands down the best. I would choose the Orion lathe next since it has end screws to hold the arm centered so you do not need to use shims or a pinion to keep the arm from moving back and forth. Also I like a diamond bit since you do not need to keep it sharp. You may be able to get a better cut with a carbide bit but it will wear out and you will need to resharpen it. If you do not hit the diamond bit on something hard it should last a life time.

5. How far down can you cut the comm?

Depends on the motor. Reedy has med and large coms. (not sure how small they can get) and the standard epic/top comm dia. If you motor starts around .3 from the factory you can cut down to .270-.265 but that gets the copper pretty thin and you can start blowing up comms lower then that.

That is my $.02 hope it helps!

jbrow1

iTrader: (28)

Thanks Casper! Much appreciated.

lmslms

Aaron,

What conditions would make you want to change your spring rate - specifically for off-road? I searched all my (old and new) manuals, and found nothing on this - which suprised me.

I understand the whole oil / piston relationship, but I'm drawing blanks on spring rate at the time. The only time I really ever change them is if I find rear hopping. Or if I am running on a fast track, allowing the truck to lean a lot. But most off-road tracks I just run the kit springs.

Thanks.

Casper

iTrader: (34)

Softer front springs give less high-speed steering and more low speed and less nose height when jumping. Softer rear springs, give less high-speed side bite, more exit corner steering, less forward bite, less height when jumping.

This is from my setup sheet for dummies found at

http:home.socal.rr.com/casper04

Sofast-NT

GregH

sounds like you anwsered your own question.....

jbrow1

iTrader: (28)

Casper, nice website you got. Just checked it out for the first time. I like the color scheme you used.

Casper

iTrader: (34)

Thanks!

JYNX009

hey,
Aaron congrats on your team winning the enduro race.

Trixter

I need the part number for the aluminum front 'pivot block' for MF2. It probably is a Trinity piece.

Losi part # LOSA4129

Thanks

Billy

Hope you don't mind if I throw in another vendor instead of Trinity. I use the Pivot Blocks, and Hubs from Rock Concepts. They use a much stronger, higher grade aluminum than Trinity and with tight specs with no slop. You will not be disappointed. Take a look at the website:
http://www.rockconcepts.net/

basementLOSI

I decided to try your setup Aaron, but I run on a loamy track. As you said, this should get me in the ballpark, which I am hoping it will do. I was at the LHS the other day, and I got TRINITY oil. Is this just as good as LOSI oil?

Also, what do you mean by "on 7's" or "on 6's"? I've been into this hobby for almost 2 years, yet I have no idea what you are talking about.

Brian Miskolczi

iTrader: (162)

Aaron means 56 pistons and 57 pistons i believe.