Front End:
Shock Location:
Leaning the shocks in (mounting them closer to the center of the tower) will give a smoother transition as you
enter into turns and improve consistency but will yield less total steering and give a slower reaction. This might be helpful on high
bite surfaces. Standing the shocks up (mounting them further out from the center of the tower) will increase responsiveness and
generate more total steering. Forward traction is also increased, as is on-power steering. When moving the shocks to a more
upright position you may find that you will have to change to a softer spring to smooth out the reaction. This might work well on
shorter more technical tracks.
Toe-in/Out:
is the parallel relationship of front tires to one another. Toe-in/out adjustments are made by changing the total length
of the steering rods. If the front tires appear to be pointing inward to a spot in front of the car (toe-in) you can expect the car to
react a little slower but have a little more steering from the middle of the turn out. The opposite is true if the front tires appear to
be pointing to points in front and to either side of the car (toe-out). This (toe-out) will make the car turn into the corner better but
will allow less steering from the middle of the corner out.
Camber Link:
Making the camber link shorter (moving it further away from the center of the tower) tends to give more off-
power steering into the turn but can also make the steering feel a bit erratic. Making the camber link longer (moving it closer to the
center of the tower) will slow down the reaction of the steering but will make the chassis more forgiving.
Camber:
refers to the angle of the wheels/tires in relation to the track surface when viewed from the front or back. Negative
camber means that the top of the tire leans inward toward the chassis. Positive camber means the top of the tire leans out away
from the chassis. You should never need to run positive camber and will always want to run at least a little negative camber. You
can use any square object to check this by placing it so one edge is flat on the surface and the other is up against the outer surface
of the wheel. There should always be at least a slight gap at the top of the wheel (negative camber). There should never be a gap
at the bottom of the wheel (positive camber). Adding 1 degree front camber will typically increase steering.
Front Kickup/Anti-dive:
is the angle of the front arms in relation to the track surface. The kickup is controlled by the pivot
blocks that mount the inner hinge pins of the front suspension arms to the chassis. You have three options with the included
mounts, 5, 7.5, and 10 degrees. The front is marked with a "5" and a "10" at the middle of the surface facing forward. If this block
is mounted with the "5" readable, there is 5 degrees of kickup, if the "10" is readable, then there is 10 degrees of kickup. The other
included pivot block is labeled "7.5" and gives 7.5 degrees of kickup. The "10" setting is best for bumpy surfaces and makes the car
very forgiving. As you reduce the amount of kickup the steering will get more aggressive entering the turn. Reducing this will also
improve front braking traction entering turns but will reduce the chassis' ability to handle bumpy surfaces.
Caster:
is the angle of the kingpin from vertical when viewed from the side. You will always run 10 degrees of positive caster
where the top of the kingpin leans back toward the rear of the car. Total caster is determined by adding the amount of kickup and
the amount of kingpin inclination of the front spindle carriers. The stock spindle carriers in the kit are 10 degree, which mean the
total caster is determined by the kickup. Reducing total caster will give less off power steering while giving more on power
steering on exit. More caster will give greater steering into the turn but less steering as you exit.
Front Diff:
Running the diff a little tighter will give less off power turn-in but increase on power steering as you exit a turn.
Running it a little looser will give more initial turn-in but make the car want to "push" (lose steering) on exit.
Ride Height:
is the height of the chassis in relation to the track surface. Initially, set the front just below the rear ride hight (arms
at level). This will work well on most bumpy surfaces. This will also generate more weight transfer and chassis roll, which can
help on slick surfaces. Lowering the ride height will make the car change direction quicker and should be helpful on high traction
surfaces.
Chassis/Drivetrain
Battery Position:
Moving the battery pack forward will give more steering and less rear traction. Moving the pack to the rear
will increase rear traction and diminish steering slightly. Splitting the pack leaving an empty space in the middle will have various
effects depending on the traction and size of the track.
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