Kind of hard to buy parts for a buggy when the one I want isnt released yet. Normally the PRO kits are released first, then the newb models come out... CEN has me pissed... but its in a good way for them that is. They have a lot of hype built up towards it, and I definitely want the pro kit... NOW! Oh well, i'll have it by march.

Of course, the pro kit will definitely include many of the option parts you see in the picture

Congratulations to Andrew Smolnick and CEN Racing.

7th overall in the A Main of the Maxy Race.
http://www.neobuggy.net/modules/news/

Matrix is actually in 3rd, 7th, and 10th. Andrew, Jose Zayas, and Shawn are all CEN factory drivers

1 1 76 45:19.33 Samuele Lenzi (Italy)
2 8 72 45:23.31 Miguel Villalobos (Venezuela)
3 4 72 45:34.60 Jose Zayas (USA)
4 9 71 45:23.99 Luis Perez (USA)
5 3 71 45:35.31 George Velazco (USA)
6 0 70 45:10.35 Daniel Ferreira (Venezuela)
7 5 70 45:31.82 Andrew Smolnik (USA)
8 7 70 45:32.26 Bobby Moore (USA)
9 6 69 45:00.96 Sean Kersten (USA)
10 2 49 32:33.78 Shawn Blackwell (USA)

_____________________________

Best Regards
CEN Racing


*******************************CONGRATS TO TEAM CEN*******************************************

Regards,
Jr.

Congrats also for William Copley of CEN Racing for placing 11th
Good Job Guys, Keep it up!!!

Hi all, just got hold of my Matrix, and I'm extremely excited...... but as a relative newbie to nitro engines I thought I might ask a simple question.... Anyone tell me whats the optimal running temp of the engine, I'm using a Venom smart monitor and want to set the fail safe but not sure what temp to set it at.... I've looked around on the net...but unable to find anything definative

Thanks in advance


Fulcrum.

Fulcrum

Try 180 degree as a start and go from there.

mine is running between 230-240 with lots of smoke and good power. the motor seems sluggish
until it gets over 220. but after that it rips pretty good.
hey cen have you had any problems with the diff ends? i had the peice that the bearing rides on
break away from the case. dont know what happened or how it could have happened.
my lhs has already made it good. now i just need some good weather!

Trackman, are you still pleased with your matrix or do you wish you would have got another buggy?

ive allready got two 777s that ive been racing the past year. but so far im impressed with the design
and tunability of the matrix. it seems to handle the woops and rough sections a little better than my 777s.
im not abusing it but i am being aggressive with my driving. little changes in set-up make a big difference
on this buggy. other than the freak problem with the diff it is holding its own. the test will be when we get
a deccent weekend weather wise. get 10-15 kyoshos and xrays at my track, then see how it does
against competition. really hard to judge running alone. but i will let you know how it turns out.
this snow sucks!

Thanks for the updates trackman, keep em coming

so dawgnasty have you ordered one yet?

O.K. guys i order my CEN Matrix, I should have it on December 15. Man! I can't wait to take it the track, its my first gas buggy. I had an old RC10 worlds car in 1994 but never raced it. Thanks for all your help trackman.

dawg check your diffs when you get it. they give you a pack of assorted shims in the box. my diffs were
a little tight, i added the shims and they were smooth as glass. the internal gear mesh was just a little
too tight. im still trying different diff oils to see what suits me best. so far lighter oils are working best.
if anything else pops up ill let you know.

trackman thanks for the information keep me posted.

Thanks everyone for the replies..... I'm using a venom smart temp monitor and its temp sensor is around the bottom fin of the head, still with what I think is a very rich engine I'm getting temps of around 300 deg F. Any ideas??? Here's a pic too.....

Fulcrum how long have you had your matrix and how does it run? i search and saw where you said you had just got it on the 10th. But i would still like to know how it runs?

I've had the matrix for a week now..... and to be honest the thing seems very quick all round. It's very well built with stuff on it that you would expect on much more expensive buggies. The radio gear again is faultless including high torque metal geared servos...which you just dont expect for a RTR. But in saying all this, I'm a little dissappointed with a few things, I'm still having trouble with the engine temp, I have it very rich and I'm still getting temps of 260 deg F, mind you, its still very quick off the start and at the top. Another thing is the wing.... its too small and the mountings are are poor, the graduated holes on the wing mount ripped the first time it went over...there needs to be some alloy around here...I think. Also I find the body ill fitting and a little troublesome, but this is a minor thing really.

Dont get me wrong...I'm VERY happy with the purchase at AUD$710, I could of got it cheaper importing from the states but its hard to get after sales services when the Pacific Ocean is in the way.... Once I get the engine temp prob sorted I'll be over the moon.

I'll post some pics of it taking the jump out in the paddock soon.... I've been using a Habao Hyper 7 PCS for a bit now and it gets some serious air over the jump.... hehehe.

fulcrum i have my wing in the bottom hole so the wing is level. it helped the high speed steering
and it jumps a lot better now. i did notice my engine temps dropped some after about 10 tanks.
and like you i did a lot of trimming on the body to get it to fit better.how lean is the bottom end?
you could try to richen the bottom just a little to bring the temp down.

Hi Trackman, Just for future reference for me. What servo and tires are you using right now coz I've read that you've replaced the stock ones?


Regards,
Jr.

Double check your temp with a different temp gun. I have seen temp guns and on board systems be as far off as 70 deg.
You shouldn't tune your engine by temperature anyway. You should use temperature as a reference point for tuning.

Some reasons an engine will run hot and seem rich.

1. Engines will run hotter than normal when not fully broken in.

2. A lean bottom end will make your engine run hot while the top end is rich. (In some instances the bottom end may be so lean that it feels rich) Always look for a good amount of smoke to come out of the pipe when exiting a corner.

3. A rich bottom end will make your engine run hot and not have much power on the bottom.

4. A bound drive train will make your engine run hot and seem to not have much power.

5. Running in grass will make your engine run hotter than normal.

I hope one of these things fixes your problem if not I will try to think of some more.


Good rules of thumb for tuning without a temperature sensor.

MAKE SMALL 1 HOUR ADJUSTMENTS AT A TIME. ( think of the needles like a clock and adjust them in 1 hour steps.)


1. never tune a cold engine.

2. start out with stock setting and tune from there. (If the stock setting are to lean for your area then turn you needles out 1/2 turn.)

3. Get your top end set first.

4.Dab a little spit or water on the cooling head. it should evaporate in about 3 seconds. If it sizzles or boils it is to hot.

5. setting the bottom end. run your car to clear out the engine. bring the car in and listen for the idle to drop. this should take about 8 seconds. (some will say longer but I feel this is a safe area to be in. I usually tune mine to drop in about 6 1/2 to 7 seconds, Meaning I like the bottom end a little rich.)

6. keep your idle up just enough to make the engine idle after the drop. A high idle will make the engine run hotter.

7. Remember when you lean the top end the effects are also the same for the bottom end but with less of the effect. The same thing for richen up the top end.

8. changes in the bottom needle also effect the hot needle. (very slightly though) Most wont notice it.

jay-r i have always used futaba servos. i run the panther komodo 2 , good grip and they last twice as long
as crimefighters. im still using the stock servo for throttle/brake, it seems to have decent speed and torque.
i cant afford $100 servos just for club racing.

Thank you very much Trackman.

Thanks William for all your great suggestions...... I agree with you about not tuning an engine to a temperture BUt when I was getting over 400 deg F, I was getting worried. I'm not able to check with another temp measuring device but I think things have settled down a bit now. I just turned both the top and bottom to incredibly rich to the point where the thing would hardly move and worked back from there. The temps have been steadily decreasing to now, I'm getting resonable performance with temp around 250 deg F. I've probably had about 20 tanks thru it to date, so is that normal for an engine? ATM when the engine comes to idle it takes about 4 - 5 secs for the revs to drop BUT quite soon after that the engine stops! Does that mean its still too rich or do I need to fiddle with the idle screw ( to date I havent touched it). BTW I'm running in grass (short) so what sort of temp increase does that create?

Also because of the initial high running temps have I caused any serious damage to my engine??? The coupling between the manifold and pipe has melted and the the cable ties gone brittle and snapped off...

you might want to check for air leaks also. check to make sure the carb is tight. Also check where the high speed mixture setting is. I have a friend with a t-maxx that kept overheating and it was leaking there.