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8 stay-tough
tips
Words:
Derek Buono
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RC vehicles of all
types are
subjected to stresses that would destroy full-size cars if the forces
were "scaled up" and applied to them. It’s truly amazing
what the typical RC car can take, but all cars have their limits. This
article will show you how to extend those limits and help ensure that
your car makes it through all three qualifiers and the Main in one
piece (or that it lasts for a full day of backyard fun without a trip
to the bench). None of these tips is very complex or expensive, so why
not give them a try?
Install
titanium turnbuckles
Most kits come with steel camber
links that are generally strong but will bend if loaded just
right. Titanium simply won't bend or break (and if you do
crash hard enough to tweak titanium, the turnbuckles will be
the least of your broken-part worries). Lunsford titanium tie
rods are the most popular and are sold in a wide variety of
sizes, from itty-bitty touring-car lengths to long truck links
and even fat, 1/8-scale sizes. Lunsford also offers ti hinge
pins for many vehicles. If you replace the turnbuckles and
hinge pins, it's less likely that one will bend or break and
potentially end your run.
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Seal
the transmission
Most tranny cases have a
good seal, but even the tightest cases may allow dust
into the tranny. A thin film of grease between the
tranny halves followed by a wrapping of decal material
or vinyl tape over the seam will just about eliminate
any chance of grit entering the tranny. Replacing the
large diff bearings with sealed bearings will also
reduce the chance of contamination.
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Apply thread-lock to all
metal-to-metal connections
Nitro vehicles require more
thread-lock because they usually have more screws that thread
into metal, but all RC cars can benefit from the strategic
application of thread-lock. Top spots include jam nuts that
secure ball ends, setscrews in outdrives, wing button screws,
diff screws and output-shaft screws in metal-gear servos. On
nitro vehicles, be sure to hit the engine-mounting screws, the
linkage-collar setscrews and the screw that holds the clutch
bell on the crankshaft if your car does not use an E-clip.
Wherever you find screws threaded into metal, apply
thread-lock.
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Install captured ball cups
The ball cups included with most
kits grip their ball ends well and won’t pop off unless you
really clobber something. But as the cups are popped on and
off for maintenance, and as they wear with use, they loosen
and come off more easily than they should (such as when
someone taps your car in a corner). You could replace them
regularly as insurance against such mishaps, but your best bet
is to install captured ball ends. GS Racing makes the parts
shown, and you can also get captured ball ends from Du-Bro,
OFNA and other sources. Install the ball ends with a pan-head
screw or washer over the ball, and they simply can't pop off.
A warning, though: if your car pops ball ends because you hit
everything in sight, leave them in place; the pop-off action
is probably sparing your car from having broken arms and hubs. |
Eliminate hinge-pin slop
Some cars have hinge pins that
extend past the suspension arms, leaving a gap between the
E-clip and the arm. This allows the E-clip to flex back and
snap off if it's struck. To prevent this, fill the gap by
sliding an O-ring over the hinge pin before you reinstall the
E-clip. If your car's arm mounts have sufficient bulk, you can
get rid of E-clips altogether by using a setscrew to hold the
hinge pin in place. With a drill bit of an appropriate size,
make a small hole in the arm mount in line with the hinge-pin
bore. Thread the setscrew into the hole, and tighten it until
it holds the hinge pin in place. Don't use this tip unless
there's plenty of material around the hinge-pin bore, or
you'll weaken the arm mounts.
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Keep the diff's thrust bearing dirt-free
The presence of dirt is a main
cause of thrust-bearing failure. Most kits have some kind of
cap to keep dirt away from the thrust bearing; use it. If your
kit isn't so equipped, or if you've lost the cap, try placing
a piece of foam in the outdrive, over the bearing. Cut the
foam slightly oversize so friction will hold it in place
(here's an easy way: use a pair of pliers to clamp a concave
washer against a piece of foam tire insert or similar
material; the washer will cut a perfect foam plug). Install
the foam in the outdrive and check for dogbone clearance; the
dogbone should not be deeply squishing the foam, but it's OK
if it just touches it.
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Heat-shrink CVDs
If you haven’t lost a pin from
a CVD yet, you're lucky. Despite the thread-lock that MIP
includes with the CVDs, even the most careful builders
occasionally throw a pin. Prevention is simple: remove each
axle and use some heat-shrink tubing (Du-Bro offers an
assortment of sizes) around the axle's “bell” to capture
the pin if it loosens. Just be careful not to allow excess
tubing to hang over and rub the inner hub carrier.
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Flare the exhaust header
No matter how many zip-ties you
wrap around your exhaust coupler or how tightly you cinch them
down, couplers seem to slide off during those long Mains. You
can greatly reduce the chance of this happening by flaring the
ends of the manifold and exhaust pipe. Just insert a
screwdriver into the open end, apply pressure to the side of
the opening and give it a spin. As the photos show, this
creates a "lip" on the pipe. Now the manifold and
pipe have a little more "bite" on the coupler, and
with a pair of tight zip-ties, they should stay in place.
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