RC Setup Guide PT 2
This is part two of two of the setup guide. There are 21 topics covered in total. Not all are covered below.
Vids in the series:
Part 11- Brakes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-kbmqWN9Uw
Part 12- Differentials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSA6A4dfWyc
Part 13- Anti squat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcPDwrXcfm0
Part 14- Gearing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0CyI19INu0
Part 15- Kickup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZHbqH6le98
Part 16- Throttle servo setup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLcyobUK4w
Part 17- Wheel Balancing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtdXDstLr7s
Part 18- LiPo battery conversion for nitros http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A6nSXfqIp8
Part 19- Wheelbase http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKQ3U6xhKo
Part 20- Shock tower positions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-i5pHdxQi4
Part 21- After race/ running procedures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjdYcvMkwIo
Brakes
Brake setup is important as it handles how gradually or how sharply you will stop. This will effect the weight transfer, stability, and control. There is a fine line between the two.
Some RC kits come with a thumbscrew adjustment that can be turned in or out. When the brakes are adjusted correctly, this adjustment will lengthen the use of the bar or shorten it. If you have one of these thumbscrews then turning it in will reduce the length of the brake rod and thus make the braking action seem more abrupt and sudden, and thus, leading to more weight transfer and instability.
The opposite is true if you lengthen it. The brake pads will have less to grab and hold onto. Thus, the braking action will be more gradual, or even to an extreme, non-existent.
Fixed brake levers work in the same manor as the above. Adjustments are made with the radio on to ensure that the brake comes on (the set screw that pulls on the lever) and releases (the set screw that pushes the brake into a clearing state) when they are supposed to.
These levers control a pivot arm that is blocked at the bottom. This block will push the brake pads out to grab the brake disc. The adjustment to this is the screw length. The less room the close pad has to be pushed to compress the disc against the pad that is attached to the screw head then the more abrupt the stop will be. Increasing the screw length will give more play in the braking and allow for a more gradual stop.
Gearing
Gearing varies with engine and pipe characteristics that you select. The goal for nitro gearing is to ensure that the engine is married to the correct pipe. Every engine will react differently to every pipe. Good pipe selection is essential to a well running engine. Typically a high horsepower engine will want a pipe that can breathe easier and enhance the top end of the engine.
Once the pipe and engine are complimented then you now have other considerations that will effect the gearing as well. Any changes to, and is not limited to the following, will effect gearing. Weight, tire size, transmission or differential changes, etc will also effect gearing. For example, it takes torque (HP) to move a kit. If you lighten the kit then you can increase the gearing, as it will take less torque to push it. If you increase the tire size then you will gain speed and will want to balance the speed with reduced gearing. If you change the gearing and altered the transmission/gear ratio of the differentials or transmission then you will want to alter gearing accordingly. If you get a faster engine then you will want to gear down and if you get a hp driven engine then you will want to gear taller.
The idea of the above paragraph is that you have stock settings determined by the manufacturer for ideal use. When you make a change in one area then it needs to be balanced in another. A good way to ensure that the kit will run efficiently is to have a good gearing calculator that will take the above into account.
With this, when you change your engine from stock to aftermarket then you will want to note the changes from stock rpm and HP. The more HP an engine has then the quicker acceleration you will have, the taller (faster gearing) you can put on, and it is best on short tracks as you need the acceleration to get up to top speed in a hurry. If you buy a higher ported engine for more RPMs then you will have a faster engine. For this the opposite is true. You will be able to gear down to compensate for the added speed, best on long tracks but it will take longer to get up to speed.
When you make your adjustments you want to go from stock to something else. Be sure to look for clues as to how the kit is handling the changes such as increased engine temperature. Also, be mindful of the above when you gear for a track. If you have it geared where you are not up to top speed at the end of the longest leg then gear down. Accordingly, if you are topping out and still have more room for acceleration and want to increase your speed, then if your can handle it, you can.
Adjustments for speed are primarily done through the clutch bell (pinion on electrics) and spur gear. The pinion has a 2:1 speed effect over the spur gear. So, change the pinion first to get the ball park speed and setting and then fine tune with the spur gear.
For changing the clutch bell, the bigger the bell (more teeth) then the more speed you will take on while loosing HP. If you decrease the size of the bell then you will add torque but take away speed.
The opposite is true for the spur gear. The smaller the gear then the less teeth it will have but the faster over all change will be there. The bigger the clutch bell and the smaller the spur will eventually meet in size. This is the fastest that you can possibly get and gearing to this level is not recommended. On the other hand, the bigger you make the spur gear, the more teeth are added, and the more torque you will add to the kit.
Wheel Balancing
Wheel balancing will take the end of the tire that has the most weight on it and balance it on the other end. This equal weight will allow the wheel to spin freely and more efficiently, and thus, improve the handling of the kit from bumpy to smooth.
To balance your tire you will need a balancer. You can buy a airplane propeller prop balancer or you can get one specially made for the hex of the car that you are driving. If you are driving one car (or multiple) for a 17mm hex (as an example) then buying a specific might make sense. If you drive 14, 17, 20, or 23mm, and others then buying a prop balancer might make more sense as you can make or buy adaptors.
You will also need putty or some form of clay. Any hobby shop will carry wood putty, and others, that you can use.
The principle idea to this is to place the tire on the balancer and to spin it. The tire will spin and land on with the heaviest spot on the bottom. Take a marker and mark the bottom.
With the bottom marked you will now want to cram putty into the inside of the opposite end of the heaviest side of the tire. This is where the balancing will take place.
When you have the putty on then spin the tire again. Watch for where the heavy mark lands. If the mark lands pointing:
-Anywhere up then your putty is too heavy.
-Anywhere down then you did not put enough putty on.
-At precisely 90 or 270 degrees then your tire is balanced.
If you are not at 90 or 270 degrees then make the appropriate adjustments and then try again.
And remember… you have 3 more tires to do!
This is part two of two of the setup guide. There are 21 topics covered in total. Not all are covered below.
Vids in the series:
Part 11- Brakes http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-kbmqWN9Uw
Part 12- Differentials http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSA6A4dfWyc
Part 13- Anti squat http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcPDwrXcfm0
Part 14- Gearing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d0CyI19INu0
Part 15- Kickup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZHbqH6le98
Part 16- Throttle servo setup http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqLcyobUK4w
Part 17- Wheel Balancing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dtdXDstLr7s
Part 18- LiPo battery conversion for nitros http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2A6nSXfqIp8
Part 19- Wheelbase http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hKQ3U6xhKo
Part 20- Shock tower positions http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-i5pHdxQi4
Part 21- After race/ running procedures http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QjdYcvMkwIo
Brakes
Brake setup is important as it handles how gradually or how sharply you will stop. This will effect the weight transfer, stability, and control. There is a fine line between the two.
Some RC kits come with a thumbscrew adjustment that can be turned in or out. When the brakes are adjusted correctly, this adjustment will lengthen the use of the bar or shorten it. If you have one of these thumbscrews then turning it in will reduce the length of the brake rod and thus make the braking action seem more abrupt and sudden, and thus, leading to more weight transfer and instability.
The opposite is true if you lengthen it. The brake pads will have less to grab and hold onto. Thus, the braking action will be more gradual, or even to an extreme, non-existent.
Fixed brake levers work in the same manor as the above. Adjustments are made with the radio on to ensure that the brake comes on (the set screw that pulls on the lever) and releases (the set screw that pushes the brake into a clearing state) when they are supposed to.
These levers control a pivot arm that is blocked at the bottom. This block will push the brake pads out to grab the brake disc. The adjustment to this is the screw length. The less room the close pad has to be pushed to compress the disc against the pad that is attached to the screw head then the more abrupt the stop will be. Increasing the screw length will give more play in the braking and allow for a more gradual stop.
Gearing
Gearing varies with engine and pipe characteristics that you select. The goal for nitro gearing is to ensure that the engine is married to the correct pipe. Every engine will react differently to every pipe. Good pipe selection is essential to a well running engine. Typically a high horsepower engine will want a pipe that can breathe easier and enhance the top end of the engine.
Once the pipe and engine are complimented then you now have other considerations that will effect the gearing as well. Any changes to, and is not limited to the following, will effect gearing. Weight, tire size, transmission or differential changes, etc will also effect gearing. For example, it takes torque (HP) to move a kit. If you lighten the kit then you can increase the gearing, as it will take less torque to push it. If you increase the tire size then you will gain speed and will want to balance the speed with reduced gearing. If you change the gearing and altered the transmission/gear ratio of the differentials or transmission then you will want to alter gearing accordingly. If you get a faster engine then you will want to gear down and if you get a hp driven engine then you will want to gear taller.
The idea of the above paragraph is that you have stock settings determined by the manufacturer for ideal use. When you make a change in one area then it needs to be balanced in another. A good way to ensure that the kit will run efficiently is to have a good gearing calculator that will take the above into account.
With this, when you change your engine from stock to aftermarket then you will want to note the changes from stock rpm and HP. The more HP an engine has then the quicker acceleration you will have, the taller (faster gearing) you can put on, and it is best on short tracks as you need the acceleration to get up to top speed in a hurry. If you buy a higher ported engine for more RPMs then you will have a faster engine. For this the opposite is true. You will be able to gear down to compensate for the added speed, best on long tracks but it will take longer to get up to speed.
When you make your adjustments you want to go from stock to something else. Be sure to look for clues as to how the kit is handling the changes such as increased engine temperature. Also, be mindful of the above when you gear for a track. If you have it geared where you are not up to top speed at the end of the longest leg then gear down. Accordingly, if you are topping out and still have more room for acceleration and want to increase your speed, then if your can handle it, you can.
Adjustments for speed are primarily done through the clutch bell (pinion on electrics) and spur gear. The pinion has a 2:1 speed effect over the spur gear. So, change the pinion first to get the ball park speed and setting and then fine tune with the spur gear.
For changing the clutch bell, the bigger the bell (more teeth) then the more speed you will take on while loosing HP. If you decrease the size of the bell then you will add torque but take away speed.
The opposite is true for the spur gear. The smaller the gear then the less teeth it will have but the faster over all change will be there. The bigger the clutch bell and the smaller the spur will eventually meet in size. This is the fastest that you can possibly get and gearing to this level is not recommended. On the other hand, the bigger you make the spur gear, the more teeth are added, and the more torque you will add to the kit.
Wheel Balancing
Wheel balancing will take the end of the tire that has the most weight on it and balance it on the other end. This equal weight will allow the wheel to spin freely and more efficiently, and thus, improve the handling of the kit from bumpy to smooth.
To balance your tire you will need a balancer. You can buy a airplane propeller prop balancer or you can get one specially made for the hex of the car that you are driving. If you are driving one car (or multiple) for a 17mm hex (as an example) then buying a specific might make sense. If you drive 14, 17, 20, or 23mm, and others then buying a prop balancer might make more sense as you can make or buy adaptors.
You will also need putty or some form of clay. Any hobby shop will carry wood putty, and others, that you can use.
The principle idea to this is to place the tire on the balancer and to spin it. The tire will spin and land on with the heaviest spot on the bottom. Take a marker and mark the bottom.
With the bottom marked you will now want to cram putty into the inside of the opposite end of the heaviest side of the tire. This is where the balancing will take place.
When you have the putty on then spin the tire again. Watch for where the heavy mark lands. If the mark lands pointing:
-Anywhere up then your putty is too heavy.
-Anywhere down then you did not put enough putty on.
-At precisely 90 or 270 degrees then your tire is balanced.
If you are not at 90 or 270 degrees then make the appropriate adjustments and then try again.
And remember… you have 3 more tires to do!
