Mardave setup ......make your Mardave a bit faster

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David
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Post by David »

This is the setup as recommended by Mark Styles.. He was the Mardave world champion in 2004... that is Mardave World Champion in going around in circles (for those of you that have seen oval racing it is very very different from the racing that we do in Hinckley)

As Mark goes around in circles much of his setup is not right for us ..also all tracks are different and require different tyres, so I have removed some of his comments. To supplement his words I have asked Edward about his setup. The net result is not meant as a definitive guide but more of a starting point for discussion in this forum.:D

<font face="Comic Sans MS"><font color="blue">Tyres
The tyres are one of, if not THE most important thing to get right if you want your car to handle well. Generally use either the same all around or possibly have the fronts slightly harder than the back. Ed has little experience on the new carpet with his Mardave but perhaps ask advice from the likes of Rich Pacey, Ian Smith, Richard Wilson, Sam and Ashley...they are all good drivers.

Front Suspension
Firstly, turn your wishbones upside down, in order to lower the front of the chassis. You should aim to get the chassis as level as possible. If the back is higher than the front, the car will tend to understeer. If the front is higher, the car is more likely to oversteer (spin out). Next, put washers/spacers of some sort under the front of the wishbones, so the kingpins are angled backwards slightly. Raise the front of the wishbones by around 2-3 mm. This gives the front end negative castor, which will reduce the chances of the car spinning out on corner exits.

Rear Suspension
You should have your rear springs relatively soft/loose. Adjust the nuts so that the chassis 'sags' about 1mm below the rear edge of the motor pod when the car is at rest. If, when you pull away, the car pulls to one side, but later straightens up, you can cure the problem using the rear suspension. If the car pulls to the right, tighten the right hand nut, and loosen the left one a little (looking from back of car). Do this in 1/4 turn increments until the car pulls away straight. If the problem persists, consider replacing the spur gear, as they wear out. Fit ballraces to the rear axle; they make your car a little faster, as there is less rolling resistance!

Drive
Use a smaller pinion gear for more acceleration, and a larger one for more top end speed. A 16T is a good size to start on along with the 46 tooth spur gear, as it works well on most track sizes and shapes that we run at Hinckley. Bear in mind that you may wish to increase pinion size as your rear tyres wear out. Smaller tyres will give you more acceleration than large ones. However, I wouldn't recommend going up/down by more than 1 tooth in this situation. There should be a little play between the spur and pinion, in order to get a smooth drive. If the mesh is too tight, it will ultimately slow your car down and make the motor hot. Do not have too much play or else the spur will strip easily. If you find the pinion/spur makes a lot of noise, boil some water, and leave your spur gear in it for 5 mins. This softens the plastic, making your car sound smoother!

Bodyshell
You will be surprised at how much difference the bodyshell will make to the handling of your car. I would recommend any of the following, as they seem to make the car fairly well balanced;

ABS; peugeot 205, ford fiesta, any of the ABS verions of the shells listed below

Lexan; Clio mk1 (my favourite), wide body 205, toyota starlet, BMW mini, peugeot 206

Extra Tips

Try replacing your body mounts with front and rear associated tc3 posts. This way, your body will never come off during a race.

If you have an electronic speedo, remove the top plate and place the speedo where the receiver should be. Put the receiver ontop of the steering servo, and use a tube for the aerial. Use fibreglass tape to hold you batteries in, or alternatively the mardave cobra battery mounts do the job well.

Paint your shell bright colours. I find this helps me drive because the car doesn't blend in with the carpet/scenery, so you can see it and other drivers can see you more easily too.

It's surprising how many people are baffled as to how I (and others) get a hot-rod to go so fast. All I can say is that I make sure the motor is clean, and that my batteries are in good condition (I'd recommend geting 3300's or 3700's). As long as you have a half decent esc, there's no reason why your car shouldn't be as fast as mine or anyone elses in a straight line.

Hope this helps.

Mark Stiles ( 2004 World Champion ) </font id="blue"> </font id="Comic Sans MS">

Some further advice about cleaning motors from Ed..

When he first started racing Ed was given some advice from Simon the then Chairman of the club.

Simon said if you want to go fast clean your motor. It took a long time to understand what he meant by that and just how important the advice was.

At the end of each week's racing fully immerse your motor in a tub of warm water with a small amount of washing up liquid in it.
Run the motor for 1 min in forward then 1 min in reverse.
Take your motor out and dry it, then flush it out with brake cleaner to ensure that all of the water has been removed. Once the brake cleaner has all evaporated place a little bearing oil on each bushing.

Put 1 drop of comm drop on your motor just before each race.

After every race use a cotton bud and mardave cleaner to clean the comm...keep cleaning until your cotton bud comes out as clean as you put it in

Remember the most important thing that will make you go faster is not crashing... a crash will slow you down often by the equivalent of up to half or even a whole lap.
If you just take your time and race within your limits you will go faster.
Try and avoid risky overtaking manoeuvres.... if you are racing .. sit on your opponents tail.. this will usually result in them being pressurised into making an error and you get to pass them easily.

If you have a faster car on you tail.. let them through.. in the long run you will both be faster as you avoid the risk of them getting frustrated and you clashing.:x


Hope this is of some use

David:)






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deaks
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Post by deaks »

Thanks David,

I have one question for the moment (more later! ;) ):

Does the battery capacity make a massive difference to the maximum speed or is it mainly to ensure the speed drop during a race is insignificant as the battery discharges?

Cheers,
Scott
"Sponge and a bit of Jam"
David
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Post by David »

Ouch
Pile in with a heavy question why don't you!!

I am not really the right person to give a full reply but here is some of my understanding..please correct me folks..I am sure Mr Warr will have something to say on this one.

There seems to be a number of factors when it comes to good batteries.
A higher capacity will indeed tend to mean that less of the battery will have discharged at a given point in a race. As a by product of this at that given point you would have a greater voltage left in the batteries and thus more power would be offered to the motor.

Another major factor is internal resistance. Batteries with lower internal resistance will allow a greater flow of current. You will hear of driver describing this in terms of the punch that a set of batteries has (never a great worry in the 1 meeting that I raced in).

When I first came in to racing the difference a set of batteries could make a lot of difference..However it seems to me that the latest generation are a world or two away from those of 3 -4 years ago. All of the highter capacity cells seem to have loads of punch and seem to be very similar.

I am sure anyone going from 1850 stick cells to a set of 4300 side by side would notice a difference...

But I would add that at your stage of the game not crashing will cause the greatest gains. Keep a clean smooth line and slowly improve your kit.

D


Don't ask about cars ...I know nothing.In fact just assume I know nothing about anything..I am sure you won't be far wrong.
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irs001

Post by irs001 »

I have sets of unmatched 3300 NiMh's and matched world spec 2400 NiCd's, I have often run the NiCd's in the first heat when grip is less and familiarity of the circuit isn't as good, saving the "better" batteries 'til later, and I do find that the 3300's probably give me at least an extra lap (although the individual best lap times are often comparable). Haven't used 1850's for ages, but in my experience they really didn't go the distance (5 minute races left them exhausted).

Chris generally runs 3700's and to be honest they don't make a lot of difference (which is probably why he's taken to sharing my sets of late).

Richard Pacey runs unmatched 3300's supplied by Mardave, and if I could do as well as he does then I'd be a happy man! Daniel was running 4200's the other week.

Ultimately, with the Mardave, I think that choosing a suitable gear ratio (suitable for the wear of the rear tyres) so that the motor doesn't get over-heated is probably more important than batteries so long as they're 3300's or better.
rogcos
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Post by rogcos »

What an informative topic, great work all
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deaks
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Post by deaks »

Thanks all! when I finally stop using the track wall as a guide, I'll invest in some 3300's!
"Sponge and a bit of Jam"
top-timm
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Post by top-timm »

A badly set up car is the hardest thing to drive well. A well prepared car is easier to drive and quicker. The following hints may help you to set up the car for your own style of driving.
TOE IN & OUT
1: Toe in and toe out of the front wheels. Toe in is where the front wheels turn inwards to each other. Putting a slight bit of toe in will make the car run better in a straight line and makes it more stable, but beware to much toe in will effect the cornering ability.
REAR SUSPENSION
2: Rear springs: The rear springs fitted to the cars are right for everyday racing, but if you require the springs stiffening/ hardening then place 8mm washers between the top grp mount and the spring itself. If your car shakes when cornering and when accelerating then the spring is to stiff. If the spring is to soft the car will bottom out and lose rear end grip. To set/check the spring put the car on a flat surface with the batteries in the bottom motor plate should take the weight of the car approx 3mm between the bottom motor plate and the chassis plate.
PIVOT'O' RINGED
3: The bolt that holds the front motor pod to the chassis has an o ring between it this is a useful adjustment as it works like an anti-roll bar. If you undo the nut a turn or so it will give front end sharper steering. If you tighten it down it makes the front end more stable ( less grip). This is a useful set up because it means you don't necessarily have to change the front tyres to alter front grip.



tg rogers
tg rogers
Conor Steptoe

Post by Conor Steptoe »

I have compressed my susipension loads 6 washers on each.

Conor steptoe
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deaks
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Post by deaks »

Hi Tim,

I'm interested to see what you mean with O'Ringing the motor pod pivot. Do you simply just add one between the ball headed bolt and the chassis? Currently I have it flush to the chassis, so does this mean my front end is more stable and I get understeer?

Cheers,
Scott
"Sponge and a bit of Jam"
zak f

Post by zak f »

Coner i've tried lots of things and i think that four washers work best

:D8)
Conor Steptoe

Post by Conor Steptoe »

do no mine is quite quick
Maxch
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Post by Maxch »

With my mardave i used to keep all standard(except put bearings in) and set it up with spring at the back and i set my car up with tyres, grey on the front, softest on the back.

But i was never any good at mardaves so its probably best to ignore me.:)
I'm planning to be more spontaneous in the future.
fisher
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Post by fisher »

i find pinks all round are a good combination adativing the back tyres, also my batteries are moved slightly forward but that doesnt make a difference, also bearings in the back are a must over bushes as they are so much more free to spin!
Conor Steptoe

Post by Conor Steptoe »

I got old to put some sponge under the motor casing.
David
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Post by David »

A small amount under the 2 forward corners... yep it can help.
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