#1.Allright . . .I am getting very close to getting my 12L4 all figured out. A couple more things to figure out though. It seems my non-spur side rear tire rubs against the lower rear pod. I can't get it far enough towards the end of the axle that it doesn't rub. I have 8 of the thin shims between the pod bearing and the left rear wheel and none on the spur side. I can add more shims I suppose but it looks like I would need like 20 because even with the 8 there is a bunch of room on the axle before it would move the wheel away from the lower pod. Does this make sense?
You are running Parma or old TRC wheels with offset. If you run Jaco or new TRC you wont have any problems. The old solution was to file/sand the lower pod plate until it no longer rubs.
Do I need to cut the inside of my tire down?
No.
Are some tires compatable right out of the box?
Jaco and New TRC.
How does one decide how many shims to run on what side of the axle?
You shim you axle so the tires are equidistant from the center of the car. Then you can add shims to change the rear track. This changes the car the car handles.
#2. What combination of servo placement and servo saver arrangement would you reccomend for a 1/12 rookie. I have driven sedan for a while and can control it pretty well. Should I run the servo forward or back and then should I run the servo saver with the ballcups facing the front or the rear and should I mount them in the top middle or bottom hole? Or is it a matter of taste and no one will know but me?
The easiest way to setup you servo is to use the kit angled mounts. This gives you perfect steering geometry out of the box. Some guys run their servos flat on carpet but you have to get long offset ball studs for your spindles or you will have terrible bump to in. Mike Lufaso and Mike McMahon run their servos angled all the time and they aren't slow on carpet so I run my servos angled all the time.
#3 Ride height. I have tall tires (44.3 front and 45.9 rear. Both new unknown brand) Where should I aim to get my ride height? 3.0-3.5 mm?
Thanks again people. I haven't been let down yet.
You tires are the perfect size so that really good. You should be around 3.5-4mm in the front now and you will need to run a 1 or 2 rear axle cam with the hole low to get the same rear ride height. I never run higher than 3.5mm and never lower than 3mm. Use washers under you front suspension blocks to get the ride height lower than 4mm. Xray and Schumacher wheel spring washers are .5mm thick, M4 washers are .75mm thick and the stock AE alloy washers are 1.6mm thick. HPI makes a trick wheel spacer kit that has aluminum washers. That would be the ultimate ride height adjuster kit...if you can find a place that has it...lol!