Car tuneing tips from the experts

Here is a guide to setting up various types of things on your touring cars, have a read through it may just help with unsolved problems.

CONTENTS

* Tips for Tuning Touring Cars from Tamiya
* Suspension Tuning Tips from Serpent
* Pro Secrets - RC Tires

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TIPS FOR TUNING TOURING CARS FROM TAMIYA

The Tamiya 415 is the current IFMAR Touring Car World
Champion. Below are some tips for tuning touring cars from
Tamiya.

Shock Oil
Use heavier oil in hot weather and lighter oil in warm weather. If
your rc touring car is understeering, try lighter oil at the front.

If car is rolling excessively, try using heavier oil at the rear.

Coil Springs
If understeering, use softer springs at the front. If oversteering,
use harder springs at the front.

Shock Position
For high speed tracks, place shock absorbers to a more horizontal
position. For technical tracks, place shock absorber in a more
vertical or upright position.

Front Stabilizer or Anti Roll Bar
This will reduce the side grip of the front end. It will reduce
chassis roll and may result in understeer.

Rear Stabilizer or Anti Roll Bar
This will reduce the side grip of the rear end and reduce chassis
role.

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SUSPENSION TUNING TIPS FROM SERPENT

Team Serpent is well known for producing high quality gas or
nitro powered on-road rc cars. Here are some suspension
tuning tips from the Team Serpent website.

Increasing front track-width will result in more understeer, while
decreasing it will result in less understeer and faster steering
response.

In general, more suspension travel (less downstop) makes the
car more responsive but less stable. It is also better on a bumpy
track.

Decreasing the ride-height (lowering the car) gives you more
grip. However, because of changes in suspension geometry and
decreasing ground clearance, there are also negative consequences
to doing this.

In general, more negative camber means increased grip.
Nevertheless, it should always be adjusted such that the front
tires wear flat, while the rear tires should wear slightly conical
to the inside.

Toe-in is used to stabilize the car. In the case of oversteer (the
rear end losing traction before the front), adding extra rear toe-
in may help, but this makes on-power cornering a little more
difficult. If the car is too stable and pushing (understeering),
removing some front toe-in will remedy this.

Anti-roll bars are used to adjust the car's side- raction. In general,
increasing the hardness of an anti-roll bar on one particular axle
decreases the side-traction of that axle and increases the side-
traction of the other axle. For example, if you make the front
anti-roll bar harder, you decrease the side-traction of the front
and increase the side-traction of the rear. This will result in less
steering (more understeer).

Changing the front anti-roll bar has more effect on turning-in
(entering a turn, decelerating, off-power).

Changing the rear anti-roll bar has more effect on powering-out
(exiting a turn, accelerating, on-power).

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PRO SECRETS - RC TIRES

If you are going to race on-road rc touring cars with rubber tires,
you will need to budget some money for tires in order to be
competitive.

For example, a set of tires might be good for only 4 - 5 runs
(20 minutes of run-time) before they start losing grip. Although
the tire may look good on the outside and look far from being
worn out, their grip level is gone.

When racing, ask the fast racers how often they change tires.
You'll be surprised to learn that they probably use new tires
every race day.

If you're on a tight budget, you can try applying oil of wintergreen
to your old tires. Oil of Wintergreen can be bought in drugstores
and will help soften and increase the grip of old rc rubber tires.

Hi
An excellent write up, but Winter Green products are specifically banned by the BRCA. I'm therefore assuming this document originates from the states or elsewhere in the world.

Thanks for that bit of info didn't realise that, do you know of anything that can be used as a substitute for winter green and also do you know the reason it was banned.

Thanks Marti

Hi Marti wintergreen was banned because of the smell causing headaces in confined spaces, and it is also a skin iritantand has been banned for some time

Substitutes: A lot of the current additives are linseed oil based but as of april 2010 all oil based additives for BRCA 12th Nationals have also been banned to help protect carpets getting soaked in oil and this being paddeled all over the hall. BRCA sanctioned events will only be allowed to use water based additives of the Jack the Gripper type.

In touring cars we have been experimenting with different oils and found ep 80 Gear oil to be very good produceing good grip from the off and reducing tyre wear, i think this is due to the sulphur element in the oil which reacts with the tyre compund as this is one of the main binding chemicals in the rubber compound

Smear it on ,bake it in clean off the excess re heat tyres and go.

try wd40 it works ok if wiped off before the race

jeff clifton wrote: as of april 2010 all oil based additives for BRCA 12th Nationals have also been banned to help protect carpets getting soaked in oil and this being paddeled all over the hall. .

And WD40 is . . . . . . . . . An oil

For touring car not 1/12th

as in out door on tarmac ?

No point using additive outdoors so indoors

So let me get this right . . . . .

You use WD40 as tyre addative

Yes.

He sure does gazza and it works...... my reaction was exactly as yours is till i tried it.

Coke works well to gave connor mega grip at ddmcr....lol

Coke is a well known cure for low grip tarmac been used for many years at variuos venues. Just think what it does to your insde,s. Its good for clening the Queens coinage to.

Water based additive as in jack the Gripper will be the only additive allowed at 12th circuit indoor Nationals this year (Although it has to pass the test of being the only additive allowed at the World Champs in Germany first). (see 23th section rules and regs for 2010/11)

Additive is a must outdoors if you want to be on the pace straight away as it takes a couple of laps for the tyres to comein otherwise, and with the National field so close over the five minutes you cant afford to waste a fraction of a second whilst your tyres warm up .

Above should read (12th section) .........oops.