how to wheelie?
12-16-2014, 12:13 PM
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how to wheelie?
might as well put this up while i wait for repair parts.
i want to be able to reliably wheelie my car. from a standing start, if i go wot, the rears spin out and slow acceleration ensues while it fight to find grip. same on either pavement or dirt.
from a slow roll, i get much the same thing but still breaks traction and spins more than takes off. on grass it's just too bumpy to be consistent.
at medium speed, it just accelerates. the only way i can kinda do it is if i let the car roll backwards slowly down an incline, like a driveway, then hit the throttle. in that scenario, it still spins out but without the slow forward movement the front end will lift and i can kinda get a shortish wheelie.
there's all kinds of youtube videos where drivers can seemingly wheelie at will. on all kinds of surfaces, gravel, asphalt, dirt, etc. even wheelie while going fast. they can just hit the throttle and the cars will pop up, sometimes flipping backwards. what?!?!? i wanna do that.
by way of background, my car is a hpi e-firestorm with stock brushless 4000kv motor and vapor esc. 2s lipo or 6 cell nimh = same results. tires are either stock pinned rear or badlands treaded rear. gearing is stock, whatever that is. i could go with a 3s lipo, but i don't see power as the issue. i'll probably just spin out more. what am i doing wrong?
i want to be able to reliably wheelie my car. from a standing start, if i go wot, the rears spin out and slow acceleration ensues while it fight to find grip. same on either pavement or dirt.
from a slow roll, i get much the same thing but still breaks traction and spins more than takes off. on grass it's just too bumpy to be consistent.
at medium speed, it just accelerates. the only way i can kinda do it is if i let the car roll backwards slowly down an incline, like a driveway, then hit the throttle. in that scenario, it still spins out but without the slow forward movement the front end will lift and i can kinda get a shortish wheelie.
there's all kinds of youtube videos where drivers can seemingly wheelie at will. on all kinds of surfaces, gravel, asphalt, dirt, etc. even wheelie while going fast. they can just hit the throttle and the cars will pop up, sometimes flipping backwards. what?!?!? i wanna do that.
by way of background, my car is a hpi e-firestorm with stock brushless 4000kv motor and vapor esc. 2s lipo or 6 cell nimh = same results. tires are either stock pinned rear or badlands treaded rear. gearing is stock, whatever that is. i could go with a 3s lipo, but i don't see power as the issue. i'll probably just spin out more. what am i doing wrong?
12-16-2014, 09:24 PM
#7
Hotter motor = more powerful, not hotter temperature wise. Slipper = slipper clutch which is part of the spur gear assembly. If you're spinning the tires your slipper is not preventing wheelies. I will say 6cell NiMh isn't the best choice for wheelies due to the lower power output and being heavier. And wheelies on lower traction surfaces like dirt require more power than with high traction surfaces.
I think your issue is traction and have a guess as to why. You say if you're rolling down an incline backwards you can get enough traction to wheely but not when on flat ground. When on an incline there's more weight on the rear tires increasing traction. When accelerating weight will naturally transfer to the rear on flat ground as well. But if you have the rear raised up, with lots of preload on the springs there won't be any weight transfer and the tires will spin easier. I'm guessing that's the case here because I haven't met a brushless 2wd stadium truck that couldn't wheely.
I think your issue is traction and have a guess as to why. You say if you're rolling down an incline backwards you can get enough traction to wheely but not when on flat ground. When on an incline there's more weight on the rear tires increasing traction. When accelerating weight will naturally transfer to the rear on flat ground as well. But if you have the rear raised up, with lots of preload on the springs there won't be any weight transfer and the tires will spin easier. I'm guessing that's the case here because I haven't met a brushless 2wd stadium truck that couldn't wheely.
12-17-2014, 04:31 PM
#9
Defiantly a power issue.... 4000kv on 2s.... U need more power
yes traction plays a roll in wheelies but power is the bigger factor. checkout some of the videos on YouTube.
u will observe that straight off the line while the front is lifting up generally the rear tyres have no traction, it's only when the front wheels are completely off the ground with all the weigh on the rear does it regain traction.... Well sometimes... But my point is a rc car can still wheelie when the wheels loose traction providing it has enough power
there is also some other things worth looking at
another big factor is the ESC's punch setting
quality and discharge rating of the battery
Slipper adjustment
shock oil/dampening
yes traction plays a roll in wheelies but power is the bigger factor. checkout some of the videos on YouTube.
u will observe that straight off the line while the front is lifting up generally the rear tyres have no traction, it's only when the front wheels are completely off the ground with all the weigh on the rear does it regain traction.... Well sometimes... But my point is a rc car can still wheelie when the wheels loose traction providing it has enough power
there is also some other things worth looking at
another big factor is the ESC's punch setting
quality and discharge rating of the battery
Slipper adjustment
shock oil/dampening
12-20-2014, 08:08 PM
#10
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Good advice given so far. I think one big problem is that the firestorm has a pretty long wheelbase. Weight distribution (not power) is going to be the main factor here. The longer the vehicle, the less likely it is to wheelie. Like others have stated, you can add weight to the rear, but then also do whatever you can to lighten the front, and get the overall ride height as high as possible. But doing that will result in fairly terrible handling for anything other than wheelies. Hope it works...get that thing pointed at the sky.
12-21-2014, 12:20 PM
#12
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well, i have 40 wt oil in the shocks and the preloads about 3/4 of the way down cuz i kept bottoming out on stair jumps. i can back off the preload a bit tho i don't really want to keep slamming the chassis again. i'll have to find some happy medium
the trucks actually lower than stock cuz the previous owner had non-oem wheels on there. stock is 102mm tires, 85mm on there now. i just bought a set of the stocks wheels so i'll try that next. i suspect that'll help on the chassis slamming front as well. if that's the case, i'll probably change the shock oil down to 25 or 30.
the trucks actually lower than stock cuz the previous owner had non-oem wheels on there. stock is 102mm tires, 85mm on there now. i just bought a set of the stocks wheels so i'll try that next. i suspect that'll help on the chassis slamming front as well. if that's the case, i'll probably change the shock oil down to 25 or 30.
12-21-2014, 03:09 PM
#13
Do it.... Just try a 3s lipo... Or even Google HPI Firestorm 3s lipo,
honestly u are wasting ur time messing with 2s if u are seeking wheelies
i could make a big convincing post about why u need 3s and most suspension adjustments don't do much (providing the setup in in the rough ballpark setup) but...this is a lot eaiser....
http://youtu.be/osx2STm32Mo
honestly u are wasting ur time messing with 2s if u are seeking wheelies
i could make a big convincing post about why u need 3s and most suspension adjustments don't do much (providing the setup in in the rough ballpark setup) but...this is a lot eaiser....
http://youtu.be/osx2STm32Mo
12-21-2014, 05:15 PM
#14
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Success!!
I got everything I need yesterday and today so with my steering fixed I tried it out. Wheelies great from a standing start and can kinda sorta get the front up when accelerating from a roll. I did everything simultaneously so tough to say what the magic bullet was but I highly suspect it was a traction problem. Here's what I did:
New wheels in stock size
Slightly tighter slipper clutch
Backed off the spring preload
Added a wheelie bar
I really suspect the wheels cuz they don't spin nearly as much at this correct diameter but also its massively greater width just means more traction. Probably doubled the contact patch. After all that I think a 3s would better sustain the wheelies and would mostly likely flip it on its lid from a standstill.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
I got everything I need yesterday and today so with my steering fixed I tried it out. Wheelies great from a standing start and can kinda sorta get the front up when accelerating from a roll. I did everything simultaneously so tough to say what the magic bullet was but I highly suspect it was a traction problem. Here's what I did:
New wheels in stock size
Slightly tighter slipper clutch
Backed off the spring preload
Added a wheelie bar
I really suspect the wheels cuz they don't spin nearly as much at this correct diameter but also its massively greater width just means more traction. Probably doubled the contact patch. After all that I think a 3s would better sustain the wheelies and would mostly likely flip it on its lid from a standstill.
Thanks for all the suggestions.
