Nitroaddict

Well - I picked up the Reflex Yesterday. I will post some photos of the build process in the upcoming days. Taking my time, since I wont be getting the engine header and pipe for another 2 weeks.

So far I have assembled the front and rear diffs, as well as the optional front one way diff. I have also completed all four hub carries, pillow ball setups, and CVD's.

Only time will tell if this is a better kit than the NTC3 for racing, but so far I have noticed several things that impress me.

-The gear diffs vice ball diffs are much more fluid and well built
-The CVD's are titanium
-so are all the tierods
-4mm chassis compared to 2.5mm on the tc3
-carbon fibre shock towers, and upper chassis brace

there are other things too, and like i said, not sure if any of these features will show an improvment over the ntc3, but they do seem to be a lil better quality.

Another thing i have noticed is that Trinity's favour for style has crossed over into this kit. silly things like crome pulleys, two tone cvds pillow balls and the like, they spend alot of time on eye candy as well as performance. AE abides by the form follows function theory. The eye candy doesnt had any performance aspect to the vehicle, but it is nice to look at.

well, thats about it - as i said, i will post some pics in the next few days of the build process. still havnt decided between the 3 engines i listed in the forum Earlier. any ideas would be helpful

Day 3

the photo below shows the completed pillow balls and knuckles as well as the titanium CVD's. also, in the background, u can see the servo saver with attached titanium turnbuckles.



below is the completed front suspension. u can begin to see the quality and structural integrity of the suspension. one of my beefs with the ntc3 was that the front shock tower was attached to the front diff. during races, this would become damaged and make the car undrivable due to the top shock tower stripping out of the top diff. After racing the NTC3's for a year, i have more lower front diff cases than i know what to do with, since they come in pairs. the suspension setup of the reflex eliminates this.



the picture below shows the now completed rear suspension, and brake assembly. as u can see, trinty has chosen to use aluminium and carbon fiber extensivly throughout the car. If anyone else choses to build this car make sure that you not only file down some of the edges, where the carbon meets belts, ect... but use CA all around the outside to prevent pealing in the event of a crash.



Day 5

here is a photo of the hardest thing i had to work on during the entire build process. My cat.



everytime i would walk away for a minute, she would try to get up on the table and either bat the pieces around, or eat them. needless to say, im glad i had some spare bolts. I caught her sneaking up to the table when i took this pic.

The next photo shows just how committed trinity is to detail. this is a pic of the shock shafts and plunger assemblies. as u can see, even they are aluminium. amazing.



here are two more photos with the shocks installed and the carbon fibre top plate on. still have a ways to go. have decided to use the new Sirio .12TRP to power rthe vehicle. Installing a hitec 311 servo for throttle and a 635 for steering.



Well - thats it for now. I still need to install the electronics, batts engine and pipe, as well as some other minor accessories.

I have picked up the trinity 1100ma cell for the rcvr, and am going with another novak synth rcvr to use with my Hitec Lynx 3D TX. The engine and pipe are on order, but wont be here for another week or so. Please post any questions or replys.

I will post more photos of the final completion stages, as well as break in and how it does at its first race.

dg2b

Nitroaddict - congrats on the reflex. IMHO, it will be a better racer that the ntc3. More flexible in chassi setup, non-existense chassi flex, many parts interchange with the kyosho v1r and with some mods, you can convert it to the kyosho v1rr evolution.

BTW, it you have not already picked up an engine, get one with an sg shaft and then get a kawahara centax for it. The centax will be a good addition to the setup.

Which reflex did you get? Is it the team version?

Nitroaddict

dg - i looked at the team only, but chose against it, due to the overt cost factor.

I replaced one of my NTC3's with a centax clutch, and noticed only a minor difference. since i dont really need the adjustability, i will probably save that cost for a while. the std clutch in this kit is a double 3 shoe system, so it should grab pretty well.

I purchased the optional one way front diff, but am not going to install it at this time.

Havnt purchased an engine yet - however, am almost certain that i will pick up the Sirio SR12TRP.

Going with the factory trinity one piece pipe and header. I will have some pictures posted of the build process this weekend

dg2b

My son is running the non-team reflex nt. He have a front one way, using the OS TR engine with the 3 shoe clutch, and using the one-piece rd logics turbo (roar legal) pipe. The clutch does grab properly as it is and the car does well out of the box.

I am still playing with his setup. I will drop it in the hudy this weekend and set it up to mimic (exactly like) my v1r setup. It will be at the track on Sunday so I can share with you the setup if it is any good. The track is medium size but is a technical track so I might have to play with gearing too.

Good luck. Looking forward for some good pics of your ride.

Nitroaddict

Thanks. setup tips would be appreciated. To help u judge, here are the two local tracks i race at:

smaller track:



Larger track:

Rex2342

I wish I had access to a track.The closest one to me is 4 hours away.I've been trying to get my LHS to set one up but they want to build an Off road track.I have a few in door tracks but I can't run nitro in them.

dg2b

Rex - it you can make it to the tracks once, you will be amazed on how well a car runs on a prep track. Lots of fun.

Nitro - those tracks looks great and technical. Do you know the measurements (width and length) and also do you have pics of the other half showing straight aways? This way, I can see if the track I/we run on is almost the same and the setups will be a good starting point.

Nitroaddict

click below for my photo gallery. u will find several pics of both tracks.

http://www.rcnitrotalk.com/gallery/s...at=500&thumb=1

dg2b

Nitro - I finally got my son's Reflex to react properly on a track as if the car is on rails. The track layout looks similar to those tracks you posted.

Here are the setups (used Hudy board and gauges):
FRONT
diff: 40K
spring: ae reds
shock oil: 60 wt
toe: -1.5
ride height: 6mm
droop: +2

REAR
diff: 10K
spring: ae reds
shock oil: 60wt
toe: -2
ride height: 6:5mm
droop: -1

No sways. Trinity shock oil used.

Can't recall the tires for sure but I believe we tried 35 shores all around and also Yoks med/med all around.

Nitroaddict

thanks for the heads up, similar to my setup now. cept im running 40,000 in the front.

6mm ride hight? wow thats tall

dg2b

Thanks for noticing. My mistake. Let me correct the ride heights.

Front: 4mm
Rear: 4.5mm

Nitroaddict

whew! scared me there for a minute

Nitroaddict

well - the car is complete. only waiting on the engine, pipe and header. after completing it - i noticed that the belts are really tight. if u push it, it doesnt roll very far. not sure if this is normal. anyone with a belt drive kit - can u give me some insight?

i have decided on the RB Concepts RODY V12 for an engine. should be potent enough i think. will be picking it up on friday along with the trinity one piece pipe and header.

here are some photos of the completed car.








i will post some photos of the engine when it comes in, as well as the final pics of the car, engine and everything together.

once it is broken in, i will post some comments about the engine performance, as well as the chassis itself

Nitroaddict

Well - i picked everything up yesterday. Here is what I got.

- RB Concepts RODY modified V12
- RB Concepts .1mm head shims
- 2 RB Concepts #7 Cold glow plugs
- RB Concepts X12 1 piece polished pipe/header
- Serpent Centax II clutch
- 4 serpent pinion gears.
- 8th scale motor saver air filter
- Gallon of Odonnell 30% fuel

Total Price - 585.00

--------------------------------------------

Today i finished installing everything and going through all the checks. All was well - begin break in proceedures per Rody Roem's instructions.
Most engines in the past I have broken in are usually a bear to start and keep running during initial break in. This one was not that way. It fired in less than a second on the starter box for the first time. Settled into a nice idle, no matter how rich the settings were, the carb never loaded. During the entire breakin process, this engine did not stall once!!!
All I can say is WOW! On the final break in series, I was maintaining the temp at 190-192 degrees - and even at that super rich setting, it was faster than my CV-R. This thing is gonna scream.
One of the coolest things is the sound! At idle, it lopes, sounds like a seriously race cam'ed V8!! At higher RPM it gets on the pipe, and mimics the sound of an F-1 car. One of the sweetest sounds I have ever heard.
The only complaint i have about the engine, is that the head bolts are flat head screws, instead of allen bolts. When Rody reinstalled them, he must have either used a torque wrench, or have arms like a gorrilla. I bent two screwdrivers trying to remove them so that i could install the shims. Finally got them off with a carbide snap on screw driver.
Tomorrow I am bringing it down to the track for final needle settings, and basic suspension tuning. I will report back with the final power results. I will also have pictures of the final car and engine tomorrow as well.

z style

what kind of car is that? and did the parts come CF or did you buy those seperate?

dodgy Guy who luvs rc

Nice Car have fun with it

raceme

about the belt question. if you can turn it 45 degrees around then its juss right. but dats juss what i learned in auto class not sure if it goes with rc cars. i have a electric belt. it will wear our faster if to tight

Jarret

Looks nice.

What body are you putting on it?



Wish I had money to build a car!!!!!!1

Everton

My Feedback: (6)

Hey,
are you sure you don't have a track near you? I'm about 2 hours from you and I got a few tracks near me. Look up a place called "Trains and lanes" that should be closer to you. its bit of a drive for me. There is a track in Limrick(sp?) I have never been there. I know there are more tracks but I'm drawing a blank right now. I'll let you know if I can think of any more.
~Everton~

Everton

My Feedback: (6)

P.S. That car looks amazing!!!! I want one. I might just have to pick one up in the future! Good Luck with the car!

Nitroaddict

to the person who asked about the carbon fibre. yes, that is all stock, and comes with the kit. it is a Trinity Reflex NT.

Well - break in is complete, this thing is just sick. and the handling is to die for. i finished the break in and suspension settings at a nice permenent track, did about 20 laps total for tuning purposes, have it set right now at about 240 degrees max temp. still running the #5 plug, will switch to the #7 cold plug next run, for final tuning. Overall i would recommend this setup for anyone who has the means. top notch racer. have a serious race the first week in december, that will be the final test.

here are some pics for everyone.

a photo of my final purchase.



here is a better photo of the engine, as well as the Serpent Centax II clutch installed.



a couple of nice photos of the completed car





here is a photo of the body, bad shot, but u get the idea. not complete in this pic, missing wing, and decals.

dg2b

Nitroaddict - Everything on your car are very nice. My x12 head screw are allens. Wonder why your v12 rody came with flat heads. A friend sent an engine to be modified and the red loctite was used. Maybe Rody did use red loctite.

Nitroaddict

dg - not sure, but i was able to get them out. i doubt he used red loctite, since everyone knows u should NEVER use locktight on head bolts. thing just screams!

Nitroaddict

UPDATE

Well - Last night was the first "fun Run" race at the local track, and here are some results that i have gathered.

This engine is just amazing. Set up for about 90-95% power, this engine just screamed. Its sound is soooo smooth, sounds like an F1 car. Max temp recorded with the body on in full race conditions was 231. Avg temp was 214. Smooth, consistant power band, and due to the short stroke bore, alot of power in the high RPM range. The modifcations by Rody increase the low end punch to big block standards. Consistant, reliable idle. No carb loading to speak of. For the entire night, through about 6 tanks of fuel - this engine never hiccuped, and never stalled once.

As for the chassis - amazing as well. Turn in is very predictable, and on power steering is crisp and sure. None of the on power oversteer that the ntc3 exibited. braking was secure and uneventful, hard acceleration was true and straight, with no pull.
This car is much easier to drive at the edge, and has a much tighter turn in and is able to power out of a turn slightly before the apex.


Here was the setup used:

Engine:
RB Concepts Rody Modified V12 3port
HSN 4 1/2
LSN 5 1/8
MSN 1/16 in from flush
.4mm carb opening at idle
6.5mm venturi installed
additional .1mm head shim installed
RB Concepts #7 very cold plug
Odonnell 30% race blend fuel

Clutch:
Serpent Motorsports Centax II
Thrust bearing set at 6.2mm from base
5.2mm from housing
16/19 pinion gears

Chassis:
Droop - 4mm
ride height - 4mm
anti squat - none
sway bars - none
front toe - 1 degrees toe out
rear toe - 1 degrees toe in
camber - 1.5 degrees
castor - 35 degrees
front diff - 25,000
rear diff - 80
40wt oil used in all shocks
Trinity blue springs used.
front one way not installed
TRC Foams 45 front 40 rear

Nitroaddict

here are some more photos, better quality of the final car, completed.