Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 3:58 pm
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.
<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.
Hope this is of some use
David:)
Don't ask ...I know nothing.
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.
<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.
Hope this is of some use
David:)
Don't ask ...I know nothing.