I have been out of town for a couple of days. Thanks for the posts guys. It seems all is answered so I will continue with some breaking news.
Next Generation Dual A-arm Front End Kit to be Offered Soon
Doug Powell has expressed interest in getting this front end on the market. Expect a CNC'd prototype in 2-3 weeks. Sales to follow. There will be two versions available a wide pan, at 212 mm, and a 200 mm pan, at 190 mm (about 190mm wide at the front wheels is my preference on the narrow pan for good full size tire clearance on the 200 mm bodies).
The Wide Pan front end will be a no drilling needed version that will bolt directly to a Gen X 10 chassis to make it wide. The chassis may be left unmodified by making a cut to the lower arms. The graphite plate inner A-arm will replace the function of the trimmed off plastic, or the chassis can have its "ears" cut off as mine are in the second photo below to have maximum robustness to the suspension. I have been driving this setup on this very fast wide pan for several weeks now. The only breakage has been one Associated steering Arm ($1.10), that took quite a strong hit to the boards. I hit an uneven seam in the boards at speed on the straight.
The narrow pan will require Drilling and countersinking four new holes in the chassis. A $10.00, 82 degree combination countersink/center drill will be available for sale and a template or measurments to mark the chassis.
In addition either model should fit a variety of other chassis. If you have graphite where the holes go (as opposed to a lightening hole) you should be able to mount the suspension to your chassis. If you have a wide pan just compare it to a buddies Gen-X 10. There are four inner suspension mounting holes that should give you an idea if the suspension will fit your chassis. The 200 mm holes will be 11 mm inboard of these on the same square pattern. (Don't drill those puppies quite yet. CAD to come.)
Some Advantages to this suspension over the sliding kingpin- Better camber control from very long kingpins. The long pin has more leverage on the steering arm.
- Better camber curve from unequal length A-arms
- Low Scrub compared to a sliding kingpin. The tire does not move sideways much as it goes up. A touring car rubber tire like wear pattern is actually developed on the foams.
- Fully Dampened by RC18T hydraulic front shocks. (no more gooey grim-my mess on the kingpins) This gives the front end better steering traction
- Independent Roll center and Camber adjustment. Not so on your sliding kingpin where more negative camber lowers the roll center.
- ROAR legal for both GTP and GT pan cars. ROAR legal for flat Oval Cars and on the Velodrome. World GT will come around in time. You can always have a local track variance like we do when using a 2S LiPo 10.5 on our big outdoor track.
- Easy tire wear compensation. I usually just turn the shock collars although you can shim the suspension up with washers just like the Associated style suspension.
- Very rugged in this latest design.
- Very low center of gravity. Check the position of these lower A-arms.
- Fits under both 200 mm GT bodies and the very low LMP body, and GTP bodies of the wide pan.
- There is a little extra weight but it is well worth it. The shocks are actually only .2 ounces or so each.
- Easy to adjust, washers under the lower A-arm pivots. Washers under the top plate. These adjust roll center. Shim change on kingpin adjust roll center or ride height.
- Better steering traction. Better steering preciseness and feel. More supple than a sliding kingpin.
Note the lower A-arm bottoms can be deribbed for clearance and aerodynamics or left alone for more strength.
Again I won't be profiting from this front suspension. This is a new product announcement. More to come soon
- Wide Pan Nerf Wing
- 3-link rear end kit for the 200 mm and wide Gen-X-10
When you finally get the dual A-arm front and the 3 link back end on a pan you are just going to be amazed at the traction improvement forward and cornering and the and steering precision improvement.