Spetz

I'm gonna hit the suspension of my TGX tamiya.

At the moment all it has over standard is a rear swaybar for better turn in as it understeered a lot.

The shocks are plastic, but seem quite good as I can change the piston from 1-3 hole piston. Is there an advantage in using these aluminum hop up bits?

And, also is there an advantage of using swaybars to harder springs?
Seeing as it'll be run on smooth tracks, spring rate can be fairly high without skipping (I assume)
With swaybars, is there issues like in real cars where they unload the inside wheel?

Finally, any point in upgrading to aluminum arms, knuckles, king pins? Stainless/titanium screws?


Please keep in mind guys, that I am not after "measurable" differences at this stage, but differences that I will notice/see/feel

GYNAIKAS

Stay away from aluminum parts. They are heavier than the plastic and once you crash they are not flexible to absorb energy during a hit. That's bad for the car and the arm is useless cause it never takes its initial shape again nomatter how hard you try. Go for sway bars but remember the harder the springs the softer the sway bar must be. If there's anything to replace plastic it should be carbon fiber and only. Even carbon sometimes offers nothing more than visual pleasure. And also titanium swrews is WASTE of money. My ex EVOLVA was full of them and the weight difference was barely countable...my pocket weight difference though was huge!

Foxy

Try to keep related questions in one thread. GYNAIKAS is right in everything he said, and I'd like to add that aluminium bodied shocks are not what the pro cars use. Plastic is lighter and smoother.

Spetz

I realise that with aluminum arms etc, that in an accident the shock would travel to the next weakest part and might break things

However, I also realise, and don't know if this is the case in small RC cars, but with flex, the contact area of the tyre to ground deteriorates. Is this something to worry about?

As far as the shocks go then, should I just use the standard ones?

Foxy

Tamiya make a very good TRF damper set which is aluminium, and if you want to upgrade your shocks that would be the set to get. They are aluminium, but they're your best option with that car. You're right about ally arms, forget about them.

Not sure what you mean by what you say about flex, but if you use foam tyres, the contact area is determined by the camber of the wheels, and wears into perfect shape within just a few laps, I don't think contact patch is something you need to worry about, if you have a way of measuring, just run 3 degrees camber front, 2 degrees rear and run foam tyres.

Spetz

By flex I meant, the suspension arms, strut towers, chassis etc will flex under cornering and thus negatively effecting handling
I don't know if this is much of an issue in RC cars but in real cars this is a problem

Are the TRF dampers a worthwhile hop up? ie, noticable improvement?


From what I have gather in my few threads, is basically besides diffs and fine tune swaybars/springs/damper oils there isn't really much point in other mods?

Foxy

For that car, no. The TRF shocks would be a big improvement though. Flex on that kind of level is not a problem, in fact 'some' flex is necessary.

Spetz

Are dampers noticable in anything else other than going over bumps?

I realise that usig thicker/thinner oil can aid in fine tuning of the handling characteristics, but in reality, aren't they primarily there to prevent the car from skipping over some bumps?

Seems like in reality if I want to get competitive, it's time to get a race car?

GYNAIKAS

Look shochs have 2 basic and reacting components. Springs and dampers. Their puprose is to convert any d-pulse (like a bump for example) disturbance (caused from the road) to a degressive oscillation. Spring stiffness is responsible for the amplitude of the oscillation and shock-oil stiffness is responsible of "how fast" the oscillation is gonna stop. The stiffer the spring the smaller the amplitude but also less energy absorved from the shock while the bump hits. Thicker oil is non responsive to very instant disturbs but ideal for smooth and small ground anomalies. Thin oil is better for bumpy tracks so that it prevents car from bouncing and maintains contact with the road.

Foxy

First tyres, then suspension setup makes the biggest differences to how your car performs on the track. They are not there just to soak up bumps. Yes, you need a better car if you want to be competitive, but you should do some learning first with that one. And read this... http://users.pandora.be/elvo/

ferrarimk13

yes, but be aware that the trf shocks cost close to $100. AS foxy said, tires are first off.

Spetz

Well it seems that I wont be doing the shocks, just gonna play around with springs, swaybars, and shock oil

From what I remember, the track has plenty of tight corners, but is pretty smooth so I'll be setting the car low and stiff and play around with camber from then on

I am still confused with the ball diff though. How much maintenance exactly is it? If I can run the car for 3+ hours before opening the diff then I am ok with ball diff. But of course every 30 minutes is ridiculous

Foxy

FORGET THE BALL DIFF! And please...stick to one subject per thread, and ideally one thread. Thanks.

Spetz

Sorry [&:]
But you didn't answer the question

GYNAIKAS

If you dont race the only maintainance for gear differentials is check for leaks. That's because the silicon oil provides mainly lubricato. If you race you'll need different settings for different tracks so maybe different oil stiffness. Also in that case, the diff must be completely and carefully filled with oil so opening the diff is something you cannot avoid.