How do I get my NTC3+ to turn?
 

I am only new to racing RC cars so be gentle :)

I took my car out for its first race today and I think I did ok, I dropped my fastest lap and average lap by heaps over the 4 races I had, which included the B final! 3 minutes out from the end and a rock jammed in the gears ends my day :( Was 4th at one stage but finished 7th overall.

Anyway, everything is standard on the car, it just wont turn in at decent speed, I almost have to stop to get a tight turn in. So I am thinking its understeering, but I dont know how to dial out understeer on my car.

Little help?

Add caster.

Are you running a front one way? If not, try that.

I dont think the NTC3+ comes with a one way

Will add some castor, thanks :D

yo steve, its todd here :) im not sure what kind of setup your running on your car ATM, but the general rule is to either stiffen the rear up, or soften the front up. if you intend to keep racing i suggest you buy a spring set, the associated one for the NTC3 isnt too expensive. one more quick note. i noticed in your final that you arent slowing down enough for your corners. i know its hard your first time racing, believe me first time i raced i was doing the same thing. when i had a drive of your car the servos reacted fairly slow so this isnt your fault, but i think if you try slowing down a bit earlier you will find your car isnt such a handful to drive :nod: hope to see you at the track next time. catchya later!

Hey Todd!

Thanks for the help today, was much appreciated! :) I ran an 18.3 lap in the final, I am pretty stoked on that!

The setup is out of the box, the AE suggested settings. Hell yes I plan to keep racing! I will go pick up the spring set this week.

The slowing down thing, I know :( The brake isnt working the best, its not coming on strong enough so it takes ages to slow the car down. I am going through the manual now to see how to adjust it.

Interesting development, I am tearing the car down now to see whats doing. On the same side of the car, the front tyre has worn away alot more than other side but the rear tyre has worn out less than the other side :weird:

I had a crash or seven today, is there a chance I have bent the chassis?

Sounds like you're racing with foams. What you should do after every heat is rotate your tires from left to right. Your tires will usually wear on one side more than the other since a track runs primarily clockwise/counterclockwise.

As for the bent chassis, a crude way to check if it's bent is to put a ruler underneath it from one front corner to the opposite rear corner and see if the ruler pivots at all.

Dave

I assume that you raced at Eastern Creek? If so, heres a setup from the last race i did there with my FT NTC3....best lap- 16.7....6th in A final.
Front-
Castor- 12 deg
One way used
Camber: -2 deg
Toe-out: 0.5deg
Roll-bar: 45deg angle
Springs: Purple
Oil: 40wt
Tyres: Ellegi 40 shore
Ride height: 5.5mm

Rear-
Camber: -2 deg
Toe-in: -2 deg
Ride height: 6.5mm
Springs: Red
Oil: 40wt
Diff setting: 1/2 a turn out
Tyres: Ellegi 40shore

Gearing: 1st gear- 54/27, 2nd gear: 48/21
Engine: RB V12
Body: Mazda 6
Hope this helps ya out a bit
Cheers

i bet ya that the side that was wearinf more wat the right side of the car? the reason is that is the side that the car leans on through the sweeper. BTW i noticed your user name, what type of car do you drive? i absolutely love rotaries, would be kool to check your car out someday!:D

Hi AJC13B,
In order to get your car to 'turn' more you will want more weight to be transfered to the front of the car. If you are lacking steering coming into a corner (off power) then adjustments to the front suspension will be the most benificial. To transfer more weight to the front of the car i recomend your try the following. Make one change at a time and keep notes on how each change effected the car:
1. Soften the front springs, the associated spring kit is useful here. Go down one spring rate at a time, and ensure that the car does not start 'bottoming out' as this will only take weight off the tires.
2. Add more rear droop. Wind the droop screws on the rear arms out a little to transfer more weight to the front.
3. If you are running a front swaybar i would recomend softening it, or removing it.
4. Increase rear ride height.
5. laydown the front shocks. move the shock mounting possition to the inside holes and this will soften the front suspension.
I hope this helps.
:)

One other option for getting better turn-in is, if youre running a front diff to loosen it (I think from memory in the NTC3 theres some recommended settings? These will help you know how far to loosen/tighten).....tightening the rear diff will also help to give better turn-in.
Cheers

1/4 turn out on the rear & 3/4 out on the front will give more steering. If you are using the copper spings, throw them away. Purple or red will get the job done. Make sure your chassis isnt hitting the track, if you go too soft, the bottoming out will also cause severe understeer. You can also go softer on the front tyres to give more steering, just be carefull that the car doesnt get squirrily in the straight from too much steering. Welcome to the world of getting your tourer to handle well. It is good fun:D

Thanks very much for the suggestions guys, its greatly appreciated.

DaRollerRacer - Will know for next time! ;)

AndyT - I picked up a set of Reds and purples and will try and get your settings onto my car, thanks very much!

Team RTR - The front wore out on the right, but the rear tyre wore out on the left.

I used to have a Mazda RX7. A few pics are here: http://www.ajc13b.com/rx7/

Snackpack - Thank you! Will be on the list of things to try! The car was very twitchy and prone to spin outs when getting on the power to early in the corners, Team RTR told me to crew the front grub screw by 1/4 turn anti clockwise and it seemed to help.

AndyT - I am pulling the car apart, including the diffs, at the moment, will follow the manual settings and will try soc123_au's setings from there.

soc123_au - From the factory the car has silver springs front and the copper ones on the rear. As I said earlier I have turfed them and have reds rear and purple on the front. For the race I had 40 shore fronts and 42 on the rear. Car was stable on the straights

I had a Pac Performance series II as well a few years back, best run was 12.4 on street tires with a street exhaust. Got too expensive in the end and I went to RC cars instead :)

As for the turn in problem you need to get the tires right. Check what the "fast guys" are running. If you are using say 40s and the track needs 37 or 35 you will never get it right with the 40s.

AMG - My best run was 10.3 on slicks :D

Those compounds were suggested by another racer and they did pretty well