haplm's XV-01 carbon mod

[Dims]

Hey everybody.

I checked out new dampers to lift up the car a bit.
As I read the thread I was awaiting more problems but I went out for some cheap Trackstar dampers with a length of 68mm which is a good start with the original dampers. That gave me a ride height of about 22mm.

Only thing to consider is, the Tamiya damper came along with 5mm ball heads but big bores usually going with 5.8 to 6mm.
Fortunately I got some of them laying around so I could handle that.

I wasn't clearly thinking as I ordered the long damper stand. I could live with what I already achieved. Since I'm not planning to attend a race for fun or more as hpalm i don't have to do something more.

With the long damper stand the 68mm shockies are to short but I also ordered some Absima shocks with a length of 77mm.

The back of the car wasn't a big deal but the front of my LibertyWalk BMW body is not made for the long damper. I would have to cut the bumper parts and maybe I will do it sometimes later anyway.
Or I have to change the body shell to get the other pair of Absimas in place.
So... Im going with the long damper at the back of the car and the 77mm Absimas and leave the common damper with the Trackstar 68mm in the front.
Car is a bit aggressively locking because it's kneeling down in the front part.

Personal goal achieved. I'm putting usual drifter body shells and lift them up to get them on a dirt track. Loving to combine 2 fully different kinds of tracks and cars.

Pictures following.

[haplm]

Originally Posted by Dims

Hey everybody.

Car is a bit aggressively locking because it's kneeling down in the front part.

Pictures following.

That's the motor in the front. Front shocks require much heavier oil, and perhaps smaller holes (less holes) in the pistons as well. Just make sure you don't overdo it, the car should have wheels on the ground all the time. If it is jumping on small obstacles, then you are using either too heavy springs or oil, or both.

[Dims]

Thx for the hint.
Actually I had that combination by accident. The trackstars at the front are harder than the absimas at the back. Absima shockies came along pre-filled.

Next weekend I should be on a mixed track and can watch out how the car is doing.

[KellyC]

I picked up the carbon chassis from eBay and have a question about "sanding the edges and using superglue."

I assume I'm just roughing up the edges to help the glue bond the carbon to keep it from cracking/breaking up... correct?

I'm also nervous about sanding carbon. Any advice? What type of sandpaper do I use? What grit?

[haplm]

Originally Posted by KellyC

I picked up the carbon chassis from eBay and have a question about "sanding the edges and using superglue."

I assume I'm just roughing up the edges to help the glue bond the carbon to keep it from cracking/breaking up... correct?

I'm also nervous about sanding carbon. Any advice? What type of sandpaper do I use? What grit?

You can glue it even without sanding, as sanding only makes it looks nicer, IMO.

And don't be nervous - carbon is actually quite an easy material to work on. It can be easily drilled or sanded. Just wear some protective mask when you do the sanding, the dust is carcinogenic.

BTW - if you spill the glue outside the edges, just wipe it with a paper napkin. It doesn't stick to the glossy parts of carbon easily, so you should have plenty of time to clean it.

[BulldogSRT]

First off this thread is awesome and packed with alot of info I have not found anywhere else. I am doing a 75mm Big Bore Shock upgrade, using TLR 22 shocks since I had them laying around and are almost the same as AE's. My question is where should I start in spring rates. I currently have these springs on hand:

1.95 lbs. Grey Durango
2.6 lbs. Red TLR
2.9 lbs. Orange TLR
3.2 lbs. Silver TLR

I understand the weight of the battery, esc and servo all will affect what springs to run. I am just looking for a solid starting point. Then I can get some others springs between the 1.95 and 2.6.

Thanks,
BulldogSRT

[haplm]

Hi, thanks.

The spring rates that I'm using very much depend on the surface. However, good all-round setting for this converted chassis is 2.85 in the back, and 3.0 in the front. Just beware that stock car is somewhat heavier in the front, so there might be bigger difference in spring rates.

Originally Posted by BulldogSRT

First off this thread is awesome and packed with alot of info I have not found anywhere else. I am doing a 75mm Big Bore Shock upgrade, using TLR 22 shocks since I had them laying around and are almost the same as AE's. My question is where should I start in spring rates. I currently have these springs on hand:

1.95 lbs. Grey Durango
2.6 lbs. Red TLR
2.9 lbs. Orange TLR
3.2 lbs. Silver TLR

I understand the weight of the battery, esc and servo all will affect what springs to run. I am just looking for a solid starting point. Then I can get some others springs between the 1.95 and 2.6.

Thanks,
BulldogSRT

[haplm]

I've just realised that this thread deserves an update :-). The car was working well for past year or so in terms of durability. However, from the traction standpoint, it suffers during corner entry. When brakes are applied and I try to steer into the corner, there's a period of time when the car just slides straight, and then it suddenly steers hard into the corner. I believe that this is caused by the one-way pulley overdriving the front. While it really helps during acceleration, it disengages rear wheels during braking, which means that all the braking load is in the front, and there's a short period of time after braking starts when the car is simply unable to steer (as the front is under too much load).

So, the thing that I'm going to try is to remove the overdrive, and install one-way set in the front. That will do pretty much exact opposite of how it works currently - front will be freewheeling under the brakes, rear will be braking - ie. corner entry should be smoother. Corner exit should be actually even better with one-way in the front. I wish I could retain the one-way pulley, but I can't. There would simply be no brakes :-).

Also - meet XRay XB4 Rally - first XRay sort-of-TC shaft-driven car. It was built using XRay XB4 buggy, T3 touring car, some parts from Kyosho TF5, and a lot of customisations. It basically takes fully enclosed XB4 diffs and shaft drive train, complements it with TC arms, and mounts all that to scaled down custom-made duralumin + plastic chassis.



This is going to be my main rally car from now on, which means that even more modifications will be done to the XV chassis, as I no longer need to worry that I wouldn't have a working car I could race :-D. The XRay definitely deserves its own thread which I hope I will be able to start soon (with more detailed pictures).

[Nicadraus]

Wow! Your XV01 build is impressive. I'm going to use this as reference once I build my own rally kit. Thanks for the great ideas. ��