How to set up the V12 part 1

With the years of my R/C Car history and with the event of Ardent race way here in the Midlands the Mardave class has really come alive again and with the likes of some touring car people now into the Daves
( as we call them )
I was asked quite a few times re the setting up of these little cars and how to get the best out of them . . .

Well where I start

I will start with the basic setup But just for a bit more Information I must point out this is for the

On Road Circuit . . . .

NOT BANGERS or HOT RODS and I must also point out that this is taken very serious. .
Just like touring cars and 1/12th if you want to go charging ramming into others DONT. . .
You will get others upset and maybe even banned from the club SO YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED . . .
So no ramming or T boning OK


OK so you just built the kit and you are now wanting to race this little beauty against the other lads what’s the setup

Well there are others out there with a set up that works for THEM and them ONLY

now if you just got yours and your playing around at the local club with others then that’s great I hope your having fun and now you want that little extra bit more now to beat your mate . . . .
S0 where do I go and what do I need. . . .

Well welcome to the beauty of Mardave racing there are 2 sorts of Daves to race but more of this later

I have set mine up as in below and found it works a treat. . .
I have also set up this for the New Guys and they all so found it works great so start from here

1 Rear bearings is a must makes the car roll and is more free
2 The cobra battery tray instead of the plastic lexan tray and Velcro ( its ok just my preference )
3 Springs Mardave do a set of 6 . . Soft, Medium and Hard ( 3 front and 3 rear )

I use hard rears and soft fronts so start from here as a basic set up / starting point

OK first tyres

This is the most important part of this little car I have no idea what may be in the kit so first of all they need to be 54pink medium or as on the packet V54P these work just about every where I race so that’s what we want on the rear then the front tyres now this will depend on YOUR driving style but to start with go for 44* (that’s 44 shore or Jap 44*) don’t worry about this as some times there is high grip and there is low grip but as a starting point we will go from here you will use all the compounds so don’t worry trust me its not wasting money . . .
( LOL how can you waste money on a Dave its peanuts compared to others )

So first of go and buy

Tyres
Fronts 40,42,44,46 and 48's one pair of each

Rears 54P x2 54SE x2. . . the 54P are a 38* and the 54SE around a 25*

Then we want rims wow such a wide range here but if you are using the Mardave Diff then you can only use the V2B six spoke or V2W (white ) as these are the 6 spoke for the Diff and I must say I like the V2's all round as they are quite strong

Mardave/Kamtec does a wide selection and these are below and what I use

Tyres all tyres sold in pairs

V54PU UFRA Pink Purple Med/Soft Sponge
V54P UFRA Pink Medium<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< Sponge Standard used just about every where 38shore
V54PS UFRA Pink Soft Sponge
V54SEG UFRA SE Gold <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<For low grip cold halls . . Ardent in the winter 25 shore
V54JS UFRA JAP SOFT
V54J UFRA JAP MED<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<Rears
VJ52 52 SHORE UFRA
VJ50 50 SHORE UFRA
VJ48 48 SHORE UFRA
VJ46 46 SHORE UFRA
VJ44 44 SHORE UFRA
VJ42 42 SHORE UFRA
VJ40 40 SHORE UFRA
VJ38 38 SHORE UFRA<<<<<<<<< Fronts





The most important thing on any car. . . Get this wrong and you car handles like a spinning top . . . .

Ok here is what most of us have found out and a Good starting point

the rear tyres for ther Dave is 54pink mediums NO MATTER WHAT TRACK

If the track has No grip then you need to let the additive soak in to the 54P ( 15mins ) if still no Joy then you will need the 54SE's

For the fronts its all down to your driving style so you will need possable one set of each till you know your driving style but the rule of thumb is thus

Fronts Now this is the hard one ( LOL Pun intended )

Soft tyre is OVER STEER just touch the stick and its done a 360* turn so lets say this tyre is 40* Shore . . Go up a grade

42*
44*
46*
48*
50*
52*

Hard tyre is under steer FULL lock and it still wont go around the corner So lets say this is 54* shore . . Go down a grade

Ok so wats under steer and overster. . .

On under steer you enter the corner and it goes wide on over steer it turns so tight and possable you hit the barrier

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Above is under steer you want the Green line but it goes the red line so lets say these are 48*
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Above is over steer you want the Green line but it goes the red line so lets say these are 44*

So in theory you would use the 46*

Right so you have your tyres glued and trued to say 52 / 53diam rears and 48 / 46diam fronts

Ok so you want to go and try ity out. . . . well hang on just before you do you want to set it up on a tweak / laser level
What you say is that well not to worry I wil show you how to do this with 2 £1 Coins its a good guide to set up the tweak on any car



OK with that done we now need to set the rear droop whats that well again its easyer to show you so here goes



So there you go your now ready for the track go and have fun

I was Racing at Ardent last night and a Young chap called Mark Wynne had the VRX and had it built as per the kit the only problem is the rear posts are still STOPING the rear pod from moving

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So these still need sanding / choping down etc and also as its the VRX the rubber gromits are still under the wish bones [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] with the cross brace, This as it may work for others but I found it a total waste of time and if like me you start to find the steering is not consistant then bin them and the cross brace as it does nothing that low down and go for the brace across the top of the king pin as in my video


Part 2 to follow soon

That is brilliant gazza this has helped me loads maybe you should talk with gary irving and get to make a dvd that people can purchase on set up tips and tricks

Sounds great . . .

So instead of it being on here I could sell them the DVD [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

So do I delete it now or later [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Ps Im gonna call you Rodney [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Wicked stuff Gazza
great info
the sort of info you need when your on you own!

will be writing this down asap!

Si

Great read Gazza, I'm going to try everything you've mentioned.

Thanks!

Thanks for pointing me to this thread Gazza.....

One thing about the droop video......did you know if you run the ball diff you can modify the rear hub on the diff to accept other wheels, a old trick that works well, all you need is a hacksaw and cut another/or more slots into the hub