Some graphite for my RS4 18ss

[rossb]

I am still waiting for my backordered Graphite Upper Deck.

 

[AC48]

Looks great ross, you should upgrade that tuned pipe and let that .18 SS breath

 

[NCNitro]

Yeah, definately upgrade the pipe and header. When you put the graphite upper deck on you will have to use a five cell flat pack. If you don't have one you might want to pick one up before it gets there.

 

[rossb]

I got the 5-cell flat pack 2 months ago when I backordered the deck. IMO the stock dual chamber pipe and tubular header are actually pretty good. The car made as much (and even more) power than the other cars running in the Outlaw class at the races last week.

 

[AC48]

Knowing me I'd dop it anyway, and you should to just for looks lol The header is fine but I'd buy a better tuned pipe.

 

[rossb]

If you saw my car's power at the RCNT East race last weekend you would probably stick with the stock pipe setup. I was making big HP in the Outlaw class. If I am going to drop more money into this car it is going into the suspension. I have plenty of power and I really don't mind the looks of the stock pipe.

 

[AC48]

Then keep it, I really had no prob with the performance out of it. When I added a THS I got some more low end out of it, but not a lot. I just loved the look of the THS pipe. You should get a Vantage pipe lol, I got one for my buggy and its insane. Obviously you don't need more power...but you can't have enough.

 

[Revo Rancher]

I am waiting for the graphite upper deck, too. And HPI is only about 10 miles from my house! Did you get the sway bar set? Helped mine a lot!

Ross, how did you make that fuel tank lid opener?

 

[rossb]

I did not get the sway bar set. Everything I've read online has said that swaybars are only for very minor tweaking and they should only be tried after you get everything else dialed in. I did not think that they would make a difference. In what way did they help you car? Less understeer, less oversteer, etc... What kind of tires are you running?

The fuel cap handle is made with a small section of fuel tubing and two zip ties. You attach a zip tie to the handle, slide the fuel tube on the tie, and then slide the head of a second zip tie down the first zip tie until it reaches the fuel tube. Cut off the excess and you are done.

 

[Revo Rancher]

Ross:

I already went up 10 in my shock fluid and since I run on streets or parking lots, I wanted to leave my stock springs on to keep better contact on the ground. The sway bars helped a lot and you get all three firmnesses in the kit so you can dial it anyway you want. My problem was the car, when the body was slammed, would dig the outside front corner of the body (Vette C6) when cornering hard. Sway bars eliminated this unless there is a bump on the corner, too. I run the same tires as in your pics above.

When/if you fully lower your Vette body you may encounter this, too.

Thanks for the tip on the handle. I thought that was how you made it but you did such a tidy job I then wasn't sure.

 

[rossb]

I run foams on the track. I was thinking about the bars but I was not sure that they would make a difference. I might try them.

 

[rossb]

I have been reading about sway bars and it appears that they should only be used on very high traction tracks if your car is neutral and it has enough grip to produce “traction roll”. Putting a bar on one end of the car actually reduces traction to that end. Thus, putting a bar on the front increase a car’s tendency to understeer. Putting a bar on the rear will increase the car’s tendency to oversteer.

My car does not traction roll and I do not see excessive body lean when I turn hard. The only time I see a lot of lean is when I am messing around and turn really hard while under a lot of power (power slides). My car tends to understeer a bit when driving it properly and I am addressing that with tire shore, shock position (stiffness), camber, camber link, and rear toe. I do not think that my car really needs sway bars right now.

Your sway bars may stop your body from rubbing in parking lots, but from what I have read the end result may not be a car that actually turns faster and harder.

 

[Revo Rancher]

You may not see it but I am sure there is some traction roll. Considering my body is about 5mm above the surface, I can hear how much roll whether traction or body I am getting.

I am using bars at both ends. I use the softest at the rear and the medium up front. This gets me to a mild understeer which I prefer. Racing 1:1 cars I prefer neutral to slight understeer, but understeer in 1:1 cars for beginner racers is bad news, so it may be that a lot of people are also uncomfortable with understeer in RC as well.

My driving style is linked to the throttle. I rarely brake IN a corner, and at most I may roll through it up to the apex. I am usually on the throttle at or right before the apex, then I slam it hard coming out. This will produce oversteer, but with the sway bars I can see the car respond to the inputs better to reduce any unwanted power on oversteer.

Long story short, set it up anyway you want. BTW, you will see a huge difference in cornering if you drop that body height as far as practical. I wish I knew how to put up pics because I want to show you how my C6 sits.

 

[rossb]

You may not see it but I am sure there is some traction roll.

You are talking about body roll, which is what the suspension is designed to do (to a point). Traction roll is when the car flips over from too much traction in a turn. My Savage will easily roll (mostly because of the high CG), but my touring car never does it.

FWIW, I think that chassis ride height is more important than body height. My chassis ride height is current set at 6mm. My suspension is currently configured for foam. As I said above I get some understeer when running foams and turning off the throttle. When I run rubber I oversteer a bit when turning off the throttle. I am not a fan of rubber anymore because I seem to always destroy a tire after just a few tanks. This motor has a lot of torque. Last week I ripped apart a brand new Duratrax Slick in about a minute flat.

 

[Revo Rancher]

FWIW, I think that chassis ride height is more important than body height. My chassis ride height is current set at 6mm. My suspension is currently configured for foam. As I said above I get some understeer when running foams and turning off the throttle. When I run rubber I oversteer a bit when turning off the throttle. I am not a fan of rubber anymore because I seem to always destroy a tire after just a few tanks. This motor has a lot of torque. Last week I ripped apart a brand new Duratrax Slick in about a minute flat.

I was actually talking about both kinds of roll, but that is neither here nor there.

As to chassis height, I am at about 6mm as well. CG is not the only reason you want the body low. You want to enclose the wheelwells with tire as much as possible. Car will handle better in a straight line, and the lower body overall gets more air over the car instead of under it. Also, the C5 and C6 bodies are thicker at the windows than they are at the sides and front/rear, for what reason I do not know, but I noticed it when I was using the reamer to put holes in the clear window areas versus the holes lower in the body for things like the pipe opening. That means that there is a disproportionate weight toward the top of the vehicle. Lowering the chassis and not the body is then only half the job.

And, YIKESSSS!!! on those wheel stats. I have only gone through a couple sets of rubbers, but I can get a whole day out them. That 18SS must have a lot more power than my 12 SS. Even if I do donuts they seem to last longer than yours do.

 

[rossb]

The C5 body did not have thicker windows than the other TC bodies I have done. All four of my bodies are thinner at the sides

My race body seems to be very low to the ground. It will just touch the ground if I fully compress the suspension. if I lower the body anymore I will probably run into problems on the track.

 

[Revo Rancher]

That's odd, I run the same rims and tires but the tops of my tires are just below the wheelwell opening. If I took a photo of mine from the angle in yoru shot you would not see any part of the top of my tire, and some of the sidewall as well.

I measured the pan height (I love working at home!). I forgot I put a pre-load spacer in the rear last race. I am 4mm at the front part of the pan directly below the diff, and 6mm at the rear diff, and lowest point on my body is 4mm at the front and the sides where the body curves. The rear edge of the body work is pretty high off of the ground but that is due to the body design.

ON EDIT:

I just noticed that that is the Viper Body, though. Not that it may make a difference but it could. In fact, I haven't put my Viper body on since I did up the Vette body. I lowered the Vette body posts over 3 notches compared to where I was runnign the Viper body .I run the Viper body as my street racer body, but use the Vette at the track, which is a Community Center parking lot set up a lot like where you race with RCNT Team.

Did you ever get yoru graphite upper tray? Any estimates on how backordered HPI is if you did not get? I keep checking regularly about 6 different shops near me and they have none in and have no idea when to expect them.

 

[rossb]

I double checked and I was wrong. The body did not hit the ground when I compressed the suspension. The body missed the ground by about 3 mm. I cut the post caps and lowered the body and it now hits the ground just when the chassis hits.


I did not get the deck yet. TowerHobbies is estimating early May.

 

[Revo Rancher]

Good deal. You should notice a difference in the handling with it lowered as much as you just changed it.

I have to go to a LHS today, Ultimate Hobbies. I will see if they have the CF brace in.

 

[rossb]

I just ordered the sway bars. I had too much body lean when racing over the weekend. The sides of my chassis were scratching the ground around the turns after my foams worn down a bit. The outer edges on the bottom of my chassis are badly scratched up. I am still waiting for my upper deck.