chris wilkinson

hi guys just to let you know that we have now been joined by chris Wilkinson on the site. Im sure you guys will be intrested in anything Chris has to say as he has a wealth of knowledge with the Mardave and i for one are very happy that he has joined the site.
hopefully Gazza will do some write ups on ther new products that chris is making so stay tuned guys big and better things are due to come

Admin wrote:hopefully Gazza will do some write ups on ther new products that chris is making

Yea the first one is prices cant justifiy the rear pod price as we can get Xray / Associated etc

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CAL-3340 CRC GEN X LOW PROFILE MOTOR POD LEFT OR RIGHT

Price: £13.49


So for both is only £27

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BMI-DB1055 BMI DB12R LOWERED LEFT POD PLATE Price: £17.99

BMI-DB1054 BMI DB12R LOWERED RIGHT POD PLATE Price: £17.99


So for both is only £36


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Mardave Blocks £43


So next time on ebay i will be defo buying this [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

£39.99 £3 cheaper PMSL

Wish i had brought one when he made them the last time, dont think he will make any more..........boohoooo

ok they have sex written all over them *orders*

Gazza wrote:

Yea the first one is prices cant justifiy the rear pod price as we can get Xray / Associated etc

Yeah that's because the xray/crc/associated rear pod's aren't made in the uk. The fact that the mardave blocks are made in the uk will push the prices up as the cost of the materials and the machining costs are far more over here.

I have to admit that chris has done a top job on the alloy rear pod but I may just stick with the nylon one a bit longer

They look great but for that price they should have adjustable ride height, not just be an expensive copy of the plastic ones

@Karl

Not really mate a guy on ebay made some as in above picture £3 cheaper possable at work or home so its not expensive to make really

Now if like james says just do it like 1/12th and GT cars with adjustable ride height like he told us and these are easy to do so like the CAL-3340 CRC GEN X LOW PROFILE MOTOR POD LEFT OR RIGHT
and it can use the plastic adjusters and there only £27 a PAIR

Why go all that way to make alloy ones and not have them adjustable does not make sense so we are now down to the famous research and developement ( R&D ) and it just shows Chris is deffo not listening to what drivers / customers want ( supply and demand )

But like this now opens up the chance for people to make alloy blocks them selves as Mardave now use them

Oh I wish I had a miller now I would be knocking these out by the bucket load and possable half the cost I cant see where Chris is going with the Dave there is us Ardent ( pun intended ) racers who know what the V12 wants and im sorry to say this is not it. . . why oh why Chris wont take me up on my offer of testing stuff and have my comments to make good stuff i'll never know and its based for the Circuit racer as well. . . oh well back to yet another cock up
1st with the VRX and gromments under the steering blocks ( inconsistant cornering )
2nd was the Sensorless Mtroniks brushless and now this

Im sure the words R&D mean nothing but hey I have tried

I think the new pod that Chris has done is real fine and dandy what some of you forget is the cost of setting up a milling machine to produce these items. Gazza you talk about x ray there parts are mass produced in china /japan were labour and costing is next to nothing. a bowl of rice will get the job done in their country.
FOR GOD SAKE WE ARE BRITISH ITS MADE IN BRITIAN BY A BRITT SO LETS BE PROUD OF WHAT HE HAS DONE!!!!!!!! and we all know we will be ordering a alloy rear pod in the near future.

I like the pods but needs to be more blue...... Pmsl I think the machining on the mardave pod looks better and alot more detailed than the other bespoke mardave pod from eBay and I woul say it looks more than £3 better also.
That said the final price is a touch high and it would push the price of the next special edition kit way up and neither bespoke mardave pods feature ride height adjustment as of yet.

As for using the associated crc etc pods the problem may well be has anyone actually tried a mardave axel for fit with the plastic oval bearing carriers?

As for mardave r and d I love the mardave g2 brushless and have run mine in everything and it's out lasted how many systems of yours Gazza?

Oh Gazza what have i ever done to please you LOL.
One day i am sure i will do something.
So moving on what would you guys like on your Mardave TCar edition ?????

New items so far

New Carbon Flexi Chassis
Alloy Pod
Front Adjustable a arms
TC shell
Damper tubes
Shock system
Dish Wheels

Just a few parts ready to roll out on new kit

Chris

im the other way i have to say,,,,, i like chris's new rear pod but think the ebay one looks much nicer and more sturdy using thicker ali, do this on a CNC and once the program is written just sit back and print cash it would cost penny's to produce these in this country and why bother to anodise them leave them in ali it would bring the price down, in a day and age where people are proper bra-sic and all sales are suffering why make things so dear .................!

Isn't there another guy who makes parts for dave's, in fact designed alot of the parts for the dave and has his own machine shop................... i think his name is Lea ,make be someone could speak to him about them.... just a thought.

My phone is always on mate, so if your out there call me. As for price CNC shops are flat out. British industry is gaining strengh again but for small qty's they drive the price not us.
Thanks for comments and as always taken on board
Chris

Tomo wrote:

As for using the associated crc etc pods the problem may well be has anyone actually tried a mardave axel for fit with the plastic oval bearing carriers?

yup put a 12th pod on my Saloon project thing, the diameter on a mardave axle is the same as a 12th axle.

WELL guys chris has opened the door for us mardave guys to say what we want and need thats brilliant news im sure Chris will take onboard comments. He sorted me with my radio top guy.
I for one think we are all moving in the right direction so guys list if you notice more racers are turning towards the circuit dave as money for some is tight. KEEP UP THE GOODIES CHRIS

maybe a 2nd tc style shell option?? dont get me wrong the speed 6 looks amazing i mistaked someones on here for a proper tc not a dave lol but a few more options would be cool also
other than that keep it up chris car sounds good

v12mardave wrote:

Oh Gazza what have i ever done to please you LOL.

Pass dont know what LOL

One day i am sure i will do something.

Told ya send them to me for testing. .. I almost live at Ardent and you will have an unbiased result
So moving on what would you guys like on your Mardave TCar edition ?????

New items so far

New Carbon Flexi Chassis <<<< I prefer GRP like we had in the old days cheaper than Carbon and does the same

Alloy Pod <<<there must be a cheaper alternative dont get me wrong its nice but hate the price like most others and no ride height adjustment

Front Adjustable a arms <<<<< hard one this do you do it like the 1/12th cars or what ?

TC shell<<<<<<<<<< Brill love it

Damper tubes <<<<<<<<< Stay well away from these not needed unless the back end is like a 1/12th or GT10

Shock system <<<<<<< As Above

Dish Wheels <<<<<<<<<wheels are wheels

Just a few parts ready to roll out on new kit

Chris

And the price is . . .

Recent additions to the Mardave V12 - bring it all on, that's what I say!

Alloy pod - I've used the eBay one on my SuperDave and found it very good at keeping my motor cooler. Compared to using the same motor in my standard circuit car the alloy pod kept the temperature lower by around 8-10'C. The new Mardave version has added cooling fins so I am guessing that it might even do a better job. Lower temperatures, less motor wear and longer life to your gear. Yes, it is pricey but it also looks more intricately machined than other potential options. It is a shame that there are no ride-height cam options but, hey, that might come with time. Mine is already ordered, enough said...?

New Carbon Flexi Chassis - WOW! I never really expected this but I can't wait to see it! I've made enough of my own ones over the years and love working with this beautiful material, but having someone do all the hard work for me is a real luxury. Putting aside cash already...

Front Adjustable a arms - again, done this myself on my SuperDave and found it to be a real asset to tuning performance. Tuning is not the only thing though, the reduction in slop and wobble makes the front end much more predictable and positive through the corners. Oh, and it is tougher too.

TC shell - The Speed 6 is a relatively simple but massive step forward in my eyes. It handles a treat and really makes the V12 car look like a real race car when on the track. If it looks like the real thing it tends to go like the real thing too.

Damper tubes - another idea I ripped off my old 1/12 circuit car and threw onto my SuperDave. Again, it made the rear more predictable, especially during high speed corners and during fast direction changes. They are simple, easy to maintain and tune and add that extra dimension to the car's handling that I feel is currently missing.

Shock system - actually, I've never really tried this but I am very interested in what Chris is thinking. Any chance of a sneak peak?

Dish Wheels - yes, they are wheels. Who cares if 'real' cars don'y have solid wheels, I appreciate the option to use them and like the look of them when on the cars.

My thinking is that the Mardave V12 chassis is beautifully simple and elegant in its design, but also the perfect chassis to tinker with and try new things. Surely the whole point of racing is to try and develop what you already have, move it on and tune it to get more out of it? The new parts that Chris has metioned seem to me to be the ideal way to move the circuit racing class on. It is a British company making good quality components for us to play with. Thank you, Chris - keep thinking along these sort of lines and you'll give us a real treat of a car to race.

James

I think Jimbojames has hit the nail on the head nice write up mate keep um coming. sooner than later the car will be seen as a true circuit racer in its own right something me and a couple of others are striving for with the BRCA more on that later.
And with Chris wilkinson on board then i think my little team will have some good news for you guys later this year.

At what point does the v12 become a 12tg circuit car in all but name?
Would a kid just starting out be able to pick one up and be competitive with the added functions making the handling dynamics just too much for a newbie to get to grips with?

P.s for those who know me I love the adjustment but I do like the idea of driver skill over hitting that sweet spot in set up wining a race.
Provide too many tweaks and play toys then you end up with a car that requires more time preparing it than actually racing it and enjoying it. This is one of the reasons I quit 12th and touring cars and I am sure little kid X, wont want to endlessly tinker, they would just want to go drive it.
And yep I know the fun for some is the tweaking but the end product is always track time

bit of a naff reply there Tomo so everything stands still for the little kid have you looked around Ardent have you seen many little kids NO mainly big kids. let the development of the v12 move forward more and more people are coming to the dave racing 2 reasons one the climate out in the real world with people having a lot less to spend secondly more and more people have seen the dave move forward with its development making it a more intresting class.
If it was not for forward thinking people we would still all be drinking from the canals and riding around in horse and carts!!!!!

Naff? Lmao there's nothing more "naff" than using the word naff.
For anyone who knows me as I stated I love the gadgets and will be building a new Dave with the shiney parts.

However as a veteran racer I have seen hardly any new blood come into our sport and no amount of forward thinking can stop our sport from fizzling out when we all get too old too race.

See the bigger picture guys, I run a mid week club trying to encourage more racers to come race and it's very tough and without these extra racers clubs will start to struggle for members as existing racers swap between classes as and when.

This is simple fact and has been written to create awareness not an argument.

I disagree Paul, the point tomo was trying to make is that you have to keep kids interested in the class,
i know at rugby pretty much none of the kids there put any time into there cars hence why they dont improve.
yet if you provide them with a car thats slower and set up, amazingly they can drive it.
The kids wont stay interested in the class if they think they have to throw money at it to get the latest and greatest and having to spend hours to get the car to be drive able.
This is strongly backed up by what has happened in 12th. There is no junior class in 12th and last season there were about 4 juniors between the 6 different rounds of the nationals. without new blood, the class will die. Alot of the current 12th drivers have been in the class since the very early days, and 99% of the drivers racing before brushless. no new drivers are competing at a high level with 12th due to the cost and maintenance. Dont let mardave go that way.

Again i use the word naff maybe you sould read and re read your comments cus my old buddy you say one thing then another thing now that is Naff Im off down the canal to fetch the daily water in my horse and cart.
The mardave has been around for 25 yrs and it will still be round in 25 years why because its moving forward and getting better each time. what has amazed me more than anything else is the back yard tinklers that have done mods and Chris is starting to take note of what guys are looking for. if left it would just remain a entry toy car good job Chris and a few others are forward thinking thats all i can say.

lol paul,
Tomo - experienced driver who will make the most and some out of his car ( providing its 2wd and on foams )
newbie - can get round 2 corners without crashing.

Who will be chasing the 10ths of a second by buying the upgrades?

You need the newbies to get to the point of needing to chase 10ths, no just trying to get round the track.
A newbie buying all these expensive parts will make a sum total of 0 difference and i can vouch for that.