Some Tips & Parts

Practical TIPS

Motors
There are plenty of motors in the market today. From the reliable
Tamiya series and the Auldey Champs to the AC Power
motor. Choosing a motor is very delicate as it is what will make or
break a car. The most essential consideration should be "USE" -
meaning what kind of track are you going to race on - TECHNICAL or
SPEED.
If you are going for a technical track you can use the Tamiya
ATOMIC TUNED motor at the most to avoid the car from flying off
the track. For tracks with many uphills, use the TORQUE TUNED
and compensate with gearing to keep up with the others. In
technical races, the trick is to qualify for the next round by making
your car stick to the track. Another guys car may be faster at the
onset, but surely will have greater chances of flying of the track and
being disqualified.
If you are a speed addict and love racing fence cars or trikes, the
best motors are those sold by AC. The ULTRA Dash and Mach Dash
of Tamiya may also do for intermediate racers. But these motors
will be no match for rewound scratch built ones that have bearings
and stronger magnets.
Motor choice depends on the type of track you wish to run or race
on. Here are some data on Tamiya Motors.
Photo Name RPM Torque Comment
Power
Consumed
RPM
with
Load

TORQUE
TUNED
MOTOR
13,600
RPM
14.5 g-
cm.
Good for uphills
and curves. Tech
motor
1200 mA
12000
RPM

REV TUNED
MOTOR
17,600
RPM
10 g-
cm.
Good top speed
for tech straights.
Tech motor
1500 mA
14300
RPM

ATOMIC
TUNED
MOTOR
15,700
RPM
10 g-
cm.
Best for super
technical courses.
1300 mA
15700
RPM

PLASMA
DASH
MOTOR
29,000
RPM
20 g-
cm.
Raw power for
speed tracks.
4100 mA
25000
RPM

MACH
DASH
MOTOR
23,400
RPM
15 g-
cm.
Faster than a
Hyper dash.
Speed Motor
1900 mA
20,800
RPM

ULTRA
DASH
MOTOR
29,000
RPM
20 g-
cm.
Good climbing
motor. Speed
with uphills
4000 mA
24,000
RPM

JET DASH
MOTOR
23,000
RPM
22 g-
cm.
High top speed
with high
torque.
Speed motor
4000 mA
28,000
RPM

Motor Tuning and care
Once you've bought a Motor, make sure to fine-tune and care for it.
Fine-tuning means breaking in the motor before racing it. I use 1
1600 AA cell to run the motor without any load until the battery runs
out. I find this to be sufficient enough to make the carbon brushes
sit well on the commutator. After which I run the motor without any
pinion on 2 600 AA cells for 10 minutes before I finally race
them. Breaking in and tuning the motor ensures less scratches on
the commutator and therefore, a longer life and faster run.
After racing, I usually spray the motor with an anti-static fluid to
clean it. Some people spray WD 40 but I prefer LUBE IT UP as it is
less oily.
Lastly, if you are a frequent racer and know the tracks where you
race well vis-a-vis you car performance, it would be cheaper in the
long run to buy 2 or 3 of the same kind of motor as it may save you a
little money and at the same time prevent too much stress building
up on just one motor.


Batteries
These are the life blood of a mini 4wd! I prefer using the SANYO
Twicell 1600's and the Radio Shack 1500 mAh's as both brands are
NICKEL METAL HYDRIDE. Although these batteries are on the
expensive side and takes more time to charge, they are
rechargeable and do not store MEMORIES unlike their Nickel
Cadmium cousins. As time passes, Nimh's as they are more
popularly known, outlasts the NiCads.
Battery Care
Battery matching is also essential to get the most juice out (more
power and longer run time) of them. Discharge rates of each single
cell must be the same to that of its partner to ensure that both
batteries are dishing out the same amount of power. Just imagine
being in a race and one battery discharges faster than the other, the
second or third heat of your car will be generally slower if your
batteries are unmatched! Try getting a Tekin Charger or a Novak
charger to help you monitor your batteries.
After races, discharging is a must if you are running on NiCads as
they will store unwanted Memory. Use a flashlight if you don't have
a discharger, but as soon as the light comes off, stop discharging to
avoid damaging the cells.
At about 50 uses, cycle your batteries by charging them once and
slowly discharging them. At this point you will definitely need to
match them again.


Cleaning
Cleaning your car is an essential part of this hobby. As these are
mechanical moving parts, it is prone to collecting dust and other
items that may cause binds - WE CALL THESE BINDING.
Typical examples are hair strands that collect in wheel wells and
axles. Dust in gears that act like sand paper during continued high
speed use thereby destroying gear meshing.
Gears
Do not over grease your gears. Instead before a race, dip all your
gears in WD 40 or a similar brand of lubricant. The oil will stick to
the gears thereby lessening the need for greasing.
Bearings
Dip your bearings in the lubricant as well after spraying with anti-
static spray. Binded gears will heat up the plastic and loosen its
hold. Worse, it may even break the bearing wells.
Dirt is the enemy of an efficient racing machine. The more dirt, the
less performance from the motor or the batteries.


Lightening

Shaving off parts from your stock kit is part of the modification
process. Sometimes placing hop-up parts or changing bodies
require this process. Here are some tips and photos.
Body
Lighten the body first by boring holes and creating
"windows". Using the tip of a heated Philips Screw Driver will do
the trick for some holes. This will definitely decrease weight.
Using the finest sand paper, sand the outer body (do not perform on
Lexan) to thin the plastic a little. Concentrate on thick areas as
these were the areas where plastic was poured in during the
molding process. DO NOT SAND OFF THE LOGOs or TRADEMARKS
most specially if they are Tamiya. Some race marshalls are very
particular on this during all tamiya races.
Gears
Lighten the gears by boring holes into them, usually 4 holes will be
enough.
Chassis
DO NOT touch the chassis as it may become weakened unless you
are planning to reinforce it with FRP. Check the pictures out.



3 Photos show lightening as well as strengthening. The bottom battery plate of the VS
chassis on the upper left has been replaced to accommodate a side switch assembly. The
sides of the same car have been reinforced with front x chassis FRP mounts to avoid Flexing
to keep all four tires on the track. The X Chassis on the upper right and right features a
double chassis set-up to avoid flexing as well and lowering the center of gravity. I am not
going to show you how it's done so you can experiment. Race legal only for open races!


Gear Ratio

Gear ratio determines the speed and performance of a certain car
for a certain track. It is the benchmark for speed or torque,
therefore, motor choice is reliant on this particular topic.
While scanning through the different web sites and pages, I found
some charts that may be useful to you in helping determine the gear
ratio suited to your Tracks and car set-up. Enjoy!!
111
111
111
111
111
111


Gear Ratio Color Acceleration Speed Climbing
3.5:1 Light Blue and Yellow Worst Top Bad
4:1 Black and Flesh Worst Best Worst
4.2:1 Red and Flesh Average Average Average
5:1 Blue and Green Best Worst Best
6.4:1

Fast Worse than Worst Top
The Chart will explain the other charts and illustrations in the most simplest way.


Tires and Wheels

Your tires are another crucial factor in achieving a stable running
modified vehicle. Again the tire choice depends on the set-up -
Technical or Speed.
Large Diameter wheels are usually used for Speed while Small
Diameter wheels are used for Technical races.
There are basically 4 types of tires. These are known as the
following:
1) Stock rubber tires and Rubber low bounce tires;
2) Sponge Tires;
3) Semi Pneumatic tires; and,
4) Reston tires.


Above are the different types of tires. To the left, is the Semi Pneumatic tires
which only Tamiya and Auldey make.
For cleaning rubber tires, use sand paper or an eraser. Just rub the
sand paper or the eraser on the rubber to remove oil and dirt. This
will restore traction.
For Sponge and Reston tires, use Scotch tape. Run the tires over an
inverted piece of scotch tape to remove dirt and loose pieces of
sponge. This action will also increase traction most specially when
done before a race.
For Semi Pneumatic tires, use an eraser. Dab lightly until the rubber
becomes dull. DO NOT use sand paper as it will slowly thin the
rubber. Also make sure that the tires are in their proper grooves to
ensure balance.
Check the chart in the Gear Ratio section to ensure that the proper
wheel is used for the right gears in order to avoid taxing your
motors or batteries.
Remember this, wider and lower tires and wheels add to the
stability of the kit but also creates DRAG. Narrow and Larger tires
and wheels increases speed but decreases road contact, hence it is
more unstable.
Normal Wheel vs One Way Wheel
Normal: The speed of the wheels at both sides of a car is the same.
This is good for the straights, however the outer wheel tends to be
dragged during cornering and this may slow your car down.
One Way: The outer wheel rotates faster than the inner wheel does.
Ensures smooth cornering and is preferred for technical courses
with many curves.


Rollers

Rollers are a must when racing on walled circuits. They help your
car negotiate corners smoothly. Key points in using rollers is their
size, location and angle.
Handling Settings by Roller Size
Same size: Standard setting. Front and rear rollers have the same
diameter. This makes your car easier to run straight since rollers
are lined parallel when they contact a wall. Also minimizes power
loss.

Bigger in front: Front roller diameter is bigger than that of rear
roller. Suitable for courses with many corners since this pushes
your car towards inside of the course when rollers contact a wall.
Smaller in front: Rear roller diameter is bigger than that of front
roller. This makes your car run along with a wall. Gives stability
during cornering, but creates power loss.
Remember, Double Ball Race Rollers are counted as one piece
during official Tamiya races. They are best located at the front
rather than the rear. However, if you have cash to spend you can
use them in the rear as well.