Advice for First Time RC Car

[museguy 39]

1 hour ago, djmcnz said:

*Radio Control.

Thank you @djmcnz !

I made the edits above.

Cheers

[museguy 39]

1 hour ago, InsaneJim69 said:

Also there is no TT03 or TT05. What you mean is the M03, M05 and M07 👍

Thank you @InsaneJim69 !

I made the edits in the the Introduction above,

Very much appreciated.

Cheers

[TurnipJF 10391]

How about setting up a shared document on Google Docs or some other similar free-to-all platform, and letting your chosen collaborators add and edit the info themselves? I think there is an option for the document owner to accept or reject changes, so you could still retain editorial control?

[TurnipJF 10391]

(And if you go for the above option, I humbly volunteer as a collaborator/proofreader.)

[alvinlwh 7390]

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[TurnipJF 10391]

I can suggest a few things, feel free to take them or leave them as you see fit.

10 hours ago, museguy said:

I had gone to a local park and there was a race of Suzuki Swift RC cars on the basketball court. When I got home I looked up "Suzuki RC Car" and found that Tamiya makes the (M-03, M-05 and M-07 chassis, front wheel drive) car that was being raced. The research led me to the Tamiya website, RC cars are categorized by scale 1:8, 1:10, 1:12, 1:14 are the most common scales, although there are larger and there are smaller scale cars.

How about the following:

I had gone to a local park, where I saw a group of people racing Suzuki Swift RC cars on the basketball court. When I got home I looked up "Suzuki RC Car" and found that the cars being raced were made by Tamiya. The research led me to the Tamiya website, where I found out that while they all looked like Suzuki Swifts, the chassis beneath could have been one of several different small front-wheel-drive models produced by Tamiya, who currently produce the M-05 and M-07, and still supply parts for the older M-03. I also quickly discovered that the cars are categorised by scale and class, with the ones that caught my eye being 1/10 scale minis. Other popular scales include 1:5, 1:8, 1:10, 1:12 and 1:14, although there are larger and there are smaller scale cars.

 

 

 

[TurnipJF 10391]

11 hours ago, museguy said:

RC cars are specialized by use, on-road racing, off-road racing, bashing (having fun), and speed runs. Powering the cars are either electric batteries or nitro fuel.  There are car chassis differences of front wheel drive, rear wheel drive and 4WD. Within the chassis differences there is shaft drive and belt drive, distinguishing how the power is transferred from the motor (electric batteries or nitro fuel) to the wheels. RC cars also come either Ready to Run (RTR) or kit built.

RC cars come in many forms, typically dictated by their function which might be on-road racing, off-road racing, drag racing, speed runs, rock crawling or simply having fun, often referred to as "bashing" for example. They come with different drivetrain layouts including front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, four wheel drive, six wheel drive and tracked. The power might be transferred via shafts, belts and gears, or a combination thereof. They may be powered by one of several different power systems, broadly categorised into electric and internal combustion (I.C.). Electric systems can be further sub-categorised according to the battery chemistry, for example nickel cadmium, nickel metal hydride or lithium polymer, as well as motor technology for example brushed, brushless inrunner and brushless outrunner (not typically used in cars but common in RC boats and aircraft. Electric motors can also be categorised according to their performance potential, typically expressed in turns or kV. IC motors can be sub-categorised according to their fuel - typically nitro or good old petrol, and of course displacement. They also might come fully built and ready to run (RTR), partially assembled or in kit form.

Don't worry - this might be a lot to take in, but we'll cover this all in more detail later.

 

[alvinlwh 7390]

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[alvinlwh 7390]

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[museguy 39]

Hi All,

Yesterday I took the TT-02 chassis out of the first drive all seemed to work well, except tracking in a straight line. Even with adjusting the steering trim the can will not track straight. 

I do not find any adjustments for toe-in or toe-out. Do I need to add adjustable tie-rods ? 

Yeah Racing Adjustable Steering Tie-Rod Set For Tamiya TT02 ($7.90 plus shipping)

Tamiya TT-02B Full Trunbuckle Set ($15.20 plus shipping) Not sure if they will fit listed for TT-02B. I would prefer a kit like this as seven piece for front and rear suspension and servo. All the other kits are surprisingly expensive. 

Thank you all for the guidance ! I could not have completed the chassis without your support. Very much appreciated ! 

I need to paint the body and apply the stickers.

Cheers 

[djmcnz 755]

Actually, stock, non-adjustable tierods will be easier to tune because they're always the same length. Does it pull to the same side every time, or is it variable?

You're better off to try and solve it without adding more adjustment, even a slightly binding bearing can make a huge difference.

 

[TurnipJF 10391]

2 hours ago, museguy said:

I do not find any adjustments for toe-in or toe-out. Do I need to add adjustable tie-rods ? 

If you want to adjust toe angle, yes you do need adjustable tie-rods. However toe is used to alter the balance between straight line stability and turn-in. @djmcnz is correct - pulling to one side is unlikely to be solved with adjustable tie-rods, so it might be easier to track down the issue first before doing the tie-rod upgrade.

When you do upgrade, which is a good idea I think as toe is still a useful adjustment to be able to make even if it doesn't address this particular issue, a set like the Yeah Racing one would be best. The TT-02B one won't fit as all but one of the turnbuckles will be too long, and due to the upper arm design of the non-S TT-02 suspension, you need model-specific adjustable arms rather than simple turnbuckles to give you adjustable camber. 

[alvinlwh 7390]

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[hIghQ 149]

39 minutes ago, alvinlwh said:

Before you spend silly amount of money on unnecessary stuff, troubleshoot the problem first. HAVING SAID THAT, if the TT-02 is anything like my TT-01, it will never steer straight without some kind of adjustable turn buckle due to the steering horn not siting straight on the servo (common problem). 

 

That's where modern radios come in handy. With model memory you can adjust for that with trim or (even better) sub-trim (and after that EPA). Sevo horns not fitting on servos not quite perpendicular (or whatever the manual calls for) is unfortunately the norm, but an easy fix with such a radio.

[alvinlwh 7390]

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[hIghQ 149]

Unlike D/R, EPA does not stop at 100%, and since you put the servo horn on the servo the closest to the wanted position that you can, travel range should not be a worry. Yes, unfortunately pretty much all modern radios with all these nice features seem to come in pistol form only (with only few, expensive exceptions like the Sanwa Exzes). Easier for people who have adapted to pistol style radios, as there are a ton more options.

[alvinlwh 7390]

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[museguy 39]

22 hours ago, djmcnz said:

Actually, stock, non-adjustable tierods will be easier to tune because they're always the same length. Does it pull to the same side every time, or is it variable?

You're better off to try and solve it without adding more adjustment, even a slightly binding bearing can make a huge difference.

 

Dear @djmcnz, 

Thank you for the message ! The car pulls to the right.  The right front wheel is visibly slightly pointed more right than the left wheel. Or in other words the wheels are not parallel, the right wheel is pointed more to the right than the left wheel.

I do not see any way to adjust the wheels to be parallel. 

Thank you !  

Cheers 

[museguy 39]

20 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

If you want to adjust toe angle, yes you do need adjustable tie-rods. However toe is used to alter the balance between straight line stability and turn-in. @djmcnz is correct - pulling to one side is unlikely to be solved with adjustable tie-rods, so it might be easier to track down the issue first before doing the tie-rod upgrade.

When you do upgrade, which is a good idea I think as toe is still a useful adjustment to be able to make even if it doesn't address this particular issue, a set like the Yeah Racing one would be best. The TT-02B one won't fit as all but one of the turnbuckles will be too long, and due to the upper arm design of the non-S TT-02 suspension, you need model-specific adjustable arms rather than simple turnbuckles to give you adjustable camber. 

Thank you @TurnipJF

Any suggestions on how to true the wheels to parallel ? The car pulls to the right and the right front wheel is visibly pointed more right than the left wheel. 

I just ordered the Yeah Racing Adjustable Steering Tie-Rod Set For Tamiya TT02 ($12 with shipping) 

Do you know of an inexpensive kit to Front Upper Suspension Arm (like the TT-02S) and adjust rear toe-in ?

Thank you ! 

Cheers

 

[Original Jardasius 97]

15 minutes ago, museguy said:

Thank you @TurnipJF

Any suggestions on how to true the wheels to parallel ? The car pulls to the right and the right wheel is visibly pointed more right than the left wheel. 

I just ordered the Yeah Racing Adjustable Steering Tie-Rod Set For Tamiya TT02 ($12 with shipping) 

Do you know of an inexpensive kit to adjust rear toe-in ?

Thank you ! 

Cheers

Which set of wheels to parallel rear or front?

[museguy 39]

8 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

@museguyyou need to elaborate on the "not straight" problem.

Does it pull to one side at high speed but not low speed?

Does it pull to a random side? 

Does it pull randomly at whatever speed? 

Etc... 

For example, all my cars seem to pull to the right out of the box, even with precisely set tie rods as per the instructions requiring some trim + tie rod adjustment before they will run reasonably straight. 

It may seem obvious, but you need a relatively clean and flat area to properly test it out. 

Dear @alvinlwh

Thank you. The car pulls to the right. 

The right front wheel is visibly slightly pointed more right than the left wheel. Or in other words the wheels are not parallel, the right wheel is pointed more to the right than the left wheel.

I do not see any way to adjust the wheels to be parallel. 

Cheers

 

[museguy 39]

5 minutes ago, Original Jardasius said:

Which set of wheels to parallel rear or front?

Dear Jardasius, 

The front wheels. The right front wheel is pointed a few mm more to the right than the left wheel.

Thank you !

[Original Jardasius 97]

7 minutes ago, museguy said:

Dear Jardasius, 

The front wheels. The right front wheel is point a few mm more to the right than the left wheel.

Thank you !

An easy to true up the front is to set the trim on the steering back to zero and disconnect the servo arm turnon radio and let the servo auto reset back to zero then reinstall the servo horn.... Then place the car with all 4 wheels on its side (see the pic enclosed) and measure the front and the back of the front tires and measure the gap across the car on the front and rear of the tires until the length is the same... So adjust the tierods till the distance on both the front of the front tires and the rear of the front tires are very close to the same... AKA the small green marks on picture are the measuring points.....

[Original Jardasius 97]

12 minutes ago, museguy said:

Dear Jardasius, 

The front wheels. The right front wheel is pointed a few mm more to the right than the left wheel.

Thank you !

A better picture here the blue and pink lines should measure out the same when its almost zeroed out and green marks are measuring points

[Original Jardasius 97]

this pic may help too... Measure the way pic shows at the spot showing then do the front of the front tires then adjust till they are the same length