Kiro, while going through my truck last night and comparing your Proving Ground setup from last weekend a couple questions came up.

What if any sway bars were you using and what rear hinge pin block were you using, 3-2?

Were you using stock rear hub carriers also or some other degree carriers? What are the angle of the stock rear hub carriers anyway?

Finally what is the proper way to measure ride height? The rear seems obvious (rear directly under the gear box correct?) But the front has several steps to measure from underneath. Which one to use?

Thank you again for your help.

Middle of the chassis.

For sway bars I ran the thickest (2.2mm?) in the front and second thickest in the rear with the 3-2 toe block.

I am running the stock rear hub carriers which don't add any toe to my knowledge.

For the ride height you want to measure on the main center chassis for both front and rear. The rear end steps up like the front end, so if you measure under the rear gearbox you will be a good 4mm lower than I was. Easiest way to make sure you are measuring at the same points I was is to take the measurements at the very back of the battery (if you are running a stick pack) just in front of the rear tire and then at the very front of the battery just before the chassis starts to narrow at the servo mounts. Those points should be the lowest points on the chassis compared to the ground and are where Maifield and other AE drivers measure from when filling out the ride height on the setup sheets.

I measured at home and I was at 20 mm for the rear and 22 for the front. I remember starting at equal ride height front and rear at the start of the day, but the turn in was a touch too aggressive so I raised the front by a couple turns compared to the rear.

Also, how you compress the car will affect where car sits at "ride height" on the bench. When I go to set my ride height I bounce the car a couple times, bottom the car out, and then roll the car forward a tad (~6") as I release it. This removes any resistance the tires add as the car tries to widen its stance while the arms extend out. Some just compress and let it settle and others just drop the car a foot or so, but to me this mimics what the car sees on the track after landing off a jump the best. The other methods are fine as long as you do it consistently so that any change in ride height is a direct result of preload changes and not a part of the measurement process.

Awesome info again! I'm running a saddlepack down the center but I understand the stick pack locations and will use those for measuring ride height.

Thanks!

Prototype top deck/battery hold down for sticks as well as saddles.
Makes the middle chassis very stiff. The draw back: the flex is transfered to the transmission cases!
There is still belt sag from fore-aft flex of the two plastic chassis piece/ transmission case, so I opted to keep the top rod.

Thats pertty sweet but I can get them even cheeper than that I can get them FREE. We got the stick-on wheel weights here at work 1/4oz 7gms

Picked up some new goodies.
Hazard wheels
Proline blockade tires
Yellow springs front and rear
Diff rebuild kit

Rpm front arms on way

Cant wait to get it on track again.

One final thing I don't think I've mentioned is I'm running xxx-sct rear rims as they are 2.5mm wider than the stock rims. They almost give me the same affect the Jconcepts Hazards would at 3mm, but I can get DE xxx-sct rims for a lot less than the hazards.

If I were setting it up from scratch I would do 2s ran in parrell instead of two 1s in series, this will give you twice the output plus you then have 2s batteries which would probably be more useful in other applications.

I would charge both packs using an adaptor so you can charge them all in series as if it was one big 4s battery so the cells from both packs are balance togather.

Have you tried the garodisks? Was wondering if you preferred that setup over 3 garo's or a combination of garos and AE

I have not simply because I can get enough "bite" with these pads to lock the slipper if I sand the pads regularly. I imagine throwing a garodisk on the front and putting two HD pads in the basket would provide a similar front to rear balance while allowing more adjustment on the slipper nut and reducing maintenance.

Right now I'm almost locked down with my current slipper pad setup letting the pads glaze slightly. I can't bring myself to spend $20 when I only want one disk. Anybody want to split a 3 pack with me that lives near Ann Arbor, MI?

I just finished tearing my truck completely apart to check for wear and to get it cleaned up for winter....quick question:

Is there any trick to getting the sun gear out of the diff? The one that is deep down inside the diff housing?

The one that you get easy access to came off easily once I blasted the gears with motor cleaner to get rid of most of the oil, but that's not working for the one inside the diff housing...and I can't get anything looped under the gear that would allow me to pull it out!

Help!

i think you are misinformed on the Garodisc, not only do they have more grip but they also allow more slip and are not as grabby as the stock type pads. we have also been experimentig with the B44 Garodisc on the rear and normal on the front with great results, the B4 seies have less grip. in a drag race teh garodisc will continue to slip but still out accelerate the HD pads even when they "lock up". just wanted to make sure you understand the logic behind them and how they work!

Cleaning putty works every time