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Set-Up tips.

Since every track is so different I am using my local track for all referance to set-up.  Feel free to email any specific set-up questions for your local track.

PLRC track in Streetsville, ON. Canada is a very tight medium traction unprepared ashault parking lot surface.

STEP 1 - SET TRACK WIDTH

Using a Huddy board with the set-up decal, line the chassis up perfectly with the center line on the board.  With either the wheels on or Huddy gauges on look straight down at the axle line, lined up with the width gauge and adjust the individual track widths making sure the left and right are the same on any axle pair is crucial to having the car accelerate and brake straight.  Depending on the tire brand, wheel off-set will make the track width 2-6mm wider over all, so you can measure track width with the wheels on for a more accurate setting.

Reading: L-96mm + R-96mm = 192mm Track width.

STEP 2 - SET RIDE HEIGHT

With the wheels that you will run (this is important since if you change wheels of a different circumfrence you will have to change ride height affecting droop, camber and toe) set the ride height at the four corners marked in the picture.  Press down on the chassis and allow it to rise and settle the suspension by rolling it back and forth a few centemeters.  Make sure that 1 and 2 are the same height and 3 and 4 are the same height while trying to keep the spring collar settings equal side to side.  Usualy 1, 2, 3 and 4 should be the same height but thats not always the case.

Reading: 6mm of ride height at all four points

STEP 3 - SET CAMBER

As shown in the picture the left front is set at -2* camber.  Set the other 3 wheels at the camber you want, it makes no difference where you start or the order of adjusting but make sure you re-settle the suspension frequently while adjusting. 

On my car the left and right do not have the same camber due to a majority of right handed corners and a fast right hand sweeper that would cause the outside of the left side tires to cone.  I run -2.5* to -3* of camber on the left and -2* on the right.

Reading: -2* camber

STEP 4 - SET TOE

Set the front and rear toe while re-settling the chassis after every adjustment and before checking the setting.  I push the car back 1 cm to take up any slack in the seering linkages/ball cups making the wheels toe in any play.

If the toe is out more than 5* on the front, recheck the camber because caster affects camber on turns.

Toe specs are usualy measured as 'total toe', meaning the left toe angle + the right toe angle = toe.   ie. L/F .5* out + R/F .5* out = 1* toe out.

Reading: 1* L/F toe out.

STEP 5 - SETTING TWEEK

The last step of set up is making sure that the tweek is perfectly level.  Make sure that if you run sway bars that it is disconnected at one end at the arm.  After setting your tweek make sure the sway bar is not tweeked and that the disconnected ball cupligns up with the ball on the arm.  There is no need to turn the car around on the tweek station for re-checking as you are setting tweek for all 4 corners no matter which end is on the level beam.  Set the tweek with the rear of the car facing you at the bubble gauge end(its just easier to see the gauge).  In the 'tweeked' image the bubble is off a bit to the left, that means the right side of the beam is heavy (low).  Start by turning the left rear spring collor to tighten the spring a quarter turn.  What ever you do to a spring you must do to the oposite corner equally so tighten the right front spring a quarter turn.  Recheck the bubble.  If the bubble moved to the right your doing it correctly.  If the bubble is still not level you now start again with the other rear spring (right rear) but loosen it a quarter turn and also loosen the opposite corner in the left front

STEP 6 - SETTING DROOP

Throw away the droop gauge the kit came with as its totaly useless because it will not measure actual droop but the difference to the chassis to suspension arms.

Step 1 - Setting droop is very easy, with the car on the Hudy board settle the suspension.  Use a ride height gauge and slide it under the back of the car untill it just touches the chassis.  Looking straight down note the reading on the gauge.  (This is not ride height because of the shape of the rear bumper the reading will be about .5-1mm off of the actual ride height)

Step 2a - To check the droop just slide the gauge under the chassis untill the tires just lift off the board and look at the new reading.  The difference between the two readings is the actual droop.

Step 2b - To set your droop to a specific number, slide the height gauge under the chassis to the height needed (desired droop = step 2 - step 1 readings) then adjust the droop screws so the tires just slightly touch the board.

Reading: 3mm of droop.