Scott,
Did you do some testing on the carbon chassis this weekend?
Thanks
================================================== ========
Yes, I did.
Our track had not been run on in about three weeks. It was prepped like a normal test weekend which means I needed to run some soft tires. The first thing that I wanted to do was check and see how the engine temps would be. I was very skeptical about the engine staying cool without that big aluminum heatsink below it. I ran 2-3 laps at a time checking temps and all seemed well. I did this for an entire tank and it everything was good. I then ran about half a tank checking temp, then the second half of the tank and it was still good. I felt confident so I ran almost 20 mins continuous only stopping every 5 mins for fuel and a temp. The engine ran 231 degrees at the end of the 20 mins. No temp problems. I also put the stock chassis back on and the temps were only about 7 degrees cooler.
Handling: The track was loose and many of the cars were having some issues with traction. Basically the two chassis' were similar but I will say with the current track conditions and not changing the setup, both exhibited off power push with on power loose condition. The carbon chassis was worse in both areas, but not much. It might have been psychological, but it did feel like the carbon chassis launched a little bit harder off the corner. The track was loose enough that I had to have a lot of finger discipline or I could easily light up the tires coming out of the corner. I would love to try the car in a higher grip situation but I would also be concerned about the higher cg. I also would say that I did not want to put hours into a setup for this as it seems like I am always prepping for a race that is either roar sanctioned or run under roar rules. The chassis is perfectly legal, but my car is so underweight with that chassis that it would be a waste of my time as I want all the weight on the chassis. I really think for club racing this chassis would be great.
I did have one hard crash that broke a rear arm and the chassis is just fine.
I did my very unscientific test and can say that the carbon chassis is stiffer than the stock aluminum one. There is one thing that scares me about the chassis. It starts at 3mm thick. Where the engine mount screws go through is machined thinner to recess the screws just like it is on the stock chassis. It is really thin there and I would be nervous about a hard crash or some donut running an eighth scale plowing into you and ripping the engine out of the chassis. I don't know if it would ever happen, but it makes me a little nervous. I will do some more testing at our next outing in 2 weeks (if James lets me hang onto the chassis) as I hope the track will be better.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scott,
Keep it, its yours. Just give us reports when you run it.
James