Team Associated Factory Team TC4 Setup Tips by Lufaso
There are many variables involved in
setting up a Team Associated Factory TC4 radio controlled racing car.
It is not possible to give a setup that will work with all tracks and
driving styles. I give a starting point for the various parameters
involved in setting up the Team Associated Factory Team TC4 based on the setups I have tested. Thoroughly read the manual given with the Factory Team TC4. CompetitionX also has information, updates, and tips. The Team Associated RC Handbook is useful. Read RC Car handling to begin to understand what each change will make. HPI also has a tuning guide worth reading.
Construction and Assembly
Chassis/Components:
Start
with the Team Associated Factory Team TC4 Kit (#30102). During
assembly, check each part and remove the flashing if necessary. The
chassis preparation starts with sanding the outside edge of the chassis
and also the battery slots. If you do not sand the battery slots, it is
very likely that the battery tape will be cut. Team CRC has a nice
description on how to prepare a carbon fiber chassis.
Front/Rear Suspension:
The front and suspension should be free and smooth. Without the shock
installed, the arms sould raise and fall freely under their own weight.
Check the inside and outside hinge pins to ensure they are straight.
Bumper: The dense front bumper can be lightened by taking some material from the underside with a Dremel tool.
CVD's:
I break in the CVD's, bearings, and differentials by using an old motor
hooked up to a battery pack or motor run-in feature on the LRP charger.
This will free up the drivetrain before you get to the track.
Shock Assembly:
Follow directions included in kit. Apply Green Slime to build a smooth
set of shocks, and lightly coat the shock shaft/o-ring seals. Fill the
shock bodies with desired weight oil and bleed the shocks. The most
important tip is to ensure the rebound is equal on both shocks. I
typically assemble shocks with very little rebound, but the most
important part is that each is equal. Wrap a piece of paper around the
shock shaft, the use little pressure to hold the shock shaft,
minimizing the chance to scratch with pliers. Measure the distance from
the shock body to the ball cup and adjust until both are even. Read
more about shock oil weights at Team TWF8. ws.
By following the instructions and a little practice, the stock shocks
work just fine. I have never had one leak that was properly assembled.
Weight : The car is under the ROAR minimum weight. Add motor cooling fans (AE #31036) and heatsinks (narrow #3927, wide #3928, or wrap around #31049, or use extra lead weights (AE #1595) to balance the car.
Handling
Setting the Tweak:
I don't claim to know the best way to set the tweak on the car. I'll
describe how I set the tweak using a Niftech tweak board, but similar
tweak boards will work as well. Feel free to send me a suggestion on a
better method. First make sure the tires (if using foam) sizes are
close to even. Check to make sure the shock springs are the same length
(these do vary!). Make sure the shock body to beginning of ball cup is
the same length. Set the ride height to 5-5. 5 mm at each corner. Make
sure the camber is set properly (~-1 to -2) for the tires to wear
evenly, no coning in either side of the tire. Remove the wheels and set
the droop (equal right to left) to whatever is appropriate for the roll
center setup, tire size, etc. . Reinstall the wheels and have all
equipment installed like the car will be raced. Ensure tweak board is
level in all directions. Place the rear tires on the solid portion of
the tweak board, with the front chassis flat on the part of the tweak
board that rotates, or on top of a level spacer. Adjust the shock
setting to obtain an even tweak for the rear. Now place the front tires
on the solid portion of the tweak board, and rear part of the chassis
on the part that rotates, then adjust the tweak for the front. After
the front and rear are adjusted separately, place all four wheels on
the tweakboard. The tweak should be very near level. Perform any slight
adjustment if it is necessary, but don't make all the adjustment in a
single shock, spread it out evenly over the 4 shocks. Be sure to press
evenly on the center of the suspension after each step and adjustment
to make sure there is no bias and to settle the suspension. I record
the distance between the collar and shock hex.
In my opinion, it doesn't matter at all
what the tweak board shows, it's how it handles on the track. After
following the above steps drive the car on the track in practice. If
the car doesn't handle evenly on the track, then adjust all four shock
collars until it steers evenly left and right. After getting the car to
handle evenly, put the car back on the tweak station with all 4 wheels.
I measure/estimate how much the bubble is off center and write it down.
I do the same thing for the front and rear, with the chassis resting on
the tweak plate, recording the values for the tweak offset on the tweak
board. Remeasure the shock collar to hex distances. Now I have a
setting that will allow me to purposely adjust the car so that although
it is not tweaked according to the tweak board, it handles evenly on
the track.
I have not tried adjusting the tweak by the X-acto blade method. Read an alternative method 1 and 2 for using the MIP tweak board. HPI also describes how to set the tweak.
Tires: are one of the most important aspects of the car. Jaco Double Pink for
the rear, and Orange/Double Pink on the front work well for foam tires
on carpet. A tire durometer can match the hard/softness. There will
always be an approximately gaussian distribution of tire compounds, as
the range of compound density in foam rubber production will always be
present. Matching the tires can be useful, often a car that is "tweaked
" may just have a mismatched set of tires. If you get multiple sets of
front tires at the same time, match the width of the orange foam. A
more narrow orange strip will give more steering than a wide orange
strip. Apply CA glue on the sidewalls will prevent the tire separating
from the wheel when the tire becomes very small, or when spearation
occurs due to the high cornering speeds. CA on the sidewall also
slightly stiffens the sidewall for high traction surfaces. Rubber tires
are more straightforward, but I only have experience with premount
CS-27 since that is what many races use.
Foam Tire Size:
The 'best' tire size is the smallest in which enough traction is
available for the entire 5 minute run, and maintains enough ride height
to meet ROAR rules 0. 125" and not drag and rub on track. Typical tire
sizes for carpet range from 2. 2" to 2. 3" on the front for a smooth
track. Tire weight is a major factor in determining the size to use. On
very low traction asphalt tracks that are dusty, I prefer to use larger
tires, sometimes as large as 2. 5" to obtain more side bite due to
sidewall flex/roll.
Ride Height:
The car is riding too low when the front of the chassis/body mount
screws are blackened after a run. I typically run the ride height at
about 0. 150" to 0. 175" (approx 5 mm) for very smooth tracks and a stiff
suspension setup. For a softer spring setup or rougher track, a higher
ride height of 5. 0 mm or above should be used.
Turning circle:
Adjustment of the turning circle is critical in obtaining consistent
and equal left and right steering. The dual rate should be adjusted to
100%, then the individual right and left steering endpoints adjusted to
the maxmimum physical value allowed (steering block touching carrier).
Take the car to the track and place it next to a board. Turn the wheel
right to the maxmimum and drive the car in a half circle. Mark the spot
of the outside tires. Pick up the car and place it back against the
board. Turn it to the left and drive a half circle. Decrease the
steering on the side that has a smaller turning circle and repeat until
both left and right turning circles match. The dual rate adjustment may
then be turned down to about 80-95%. I leave extra adjustment in case
the car has a slight understeer, which I increase the steering during
the race. The minimum possible amount of steering throw should be used
on the track in order to have the greatest sensitivity and control in
the steering. Excessive steering throw and a understeering car is very
inefficient because the front tires will be scrubbing speed, although
it is easier to drive. This has to be balanced with the ability to turn
the car around in case of a crash.
Tire Traction:
The standard traction compound for use on ozite based carpet is Paragon
Ground Effects. There are many important factors in it's use - which
can be quite an effective tuning agent. The length of time the traction
stays on is important. For tracks with low traction, it should be
allowed to soak in for a longer period of time. On high traction track,
a few minutes may be all the is necessary. The amount applied is also
considered - in most cases I see racers putting on much more than
necessary for the track conditions. This can actually slow the car down
as the softer tire tend to scrub more speed - slowing the car down and
reducing run time and efficiency. It is also beneficial to change tires
each run to prevent traction build up. I typically run only one set of
tires a few times a day (using those same sets again the next race day
and I sometimes alternate between 2 sets. Indoor tracks which do
not allow Paragon, but do allow odorless traction compounds, I have
tried Paragon Traction Action, FXII, Corally 'Jack the Gripper' and TQ
Orange based traction compounds. The compound should be allowed to soak
into the tires for longer than paragon (approx 35. minutes if
possible). Rubber tires are an entirely different matter that depends
on the tire, traction applied to the track, and track temperature. Try
Paragon FXII and see what the fast guys are using.
Front and Rear Springs: On
high traction carpet where the steering is high, I use the yellow,
purple, or copper on the front. The rear spring is most often copper,
or the same or softer than the front springs. It depends on the amount
of steering needed, bumps on the track, and responsiveness desired. RCracingingreece.com has a comparison of different manufacturer springs.
Front and Rear Oil: On
high traction carpet, I range I use is Associated 60-40 wt with #2
pistons in the front, with Associated 50-35 wt with #2 pistons in the
rear. On tighter tracks, decrease the weight in both shocks
simultaneously if the cars handling is close to desired. Decrease the
oil viscosity if the tire size is large or the car is chattering in the
corners. See the setup sheets above for what I use for different
tracks.
Arm Mount Shimming/Roll Center: See
the next to last page of the TC4 instruction manual for how the arm
mount shimming affects the kick-up, anti-dive, anti-squat, and
pro-squat. Anti-dive reduces weight transfer to the front on
deceleration entering the corner. Kickup makes the front suspension
stiffer. Anti-squat makes the rear suspension stiffer and gives the car
more entry steering and reduces rearward weight transfer on power.
Pro-squat increases rearward weight transfer on power. Generally, on
carpet a lower roll center is used. For rubber tires, try the standard
settings. There are some software programs, such as the Roll Center Calculator that one could try to calculate the roll centers. Experiment to see what works best for you.
Chassis Rake:
The chassis should be very nearly level - to within 0. 5mm and this is
another way to tune the handling. By having the front end lower than
the rear, more steering can be obtained and conversely having the rear
end lower the the front will create less steering. Note that is valid
only to a small tuning amount and can not be taken to extremes (>1. 0
mm).
Caster:
More negative caster gives more high speed steering, and less low speed
steering. Typically use 2-4 degrees total, with 4 being standard.
Front and Rear Camber:
I use a Team Associated or RPM camber/caster gauge to measure and tune
each side to measure the same. I use about -1. 0 to -1. 5 degrees of
camber, which allows the tire to wear evenly. I adjust the camber until
the tire wears evenly and do not use this as a tuning parameter on
carpet. On rubber tires, slightly less camber (-1 degree).
Anti-Dive/Kick-up:
More anti-dive reduces weight transfer to the front on deceleration
entering corners, and reduces caster. Kick-up makes front suspension
stiffer and adds caster.
Anti-Squat/Pro-Squat:
More anti-squat makes the rear suspension stiffer, more entry steering,
and reduce rearward weight transfer on power. Pro-squat will increase
rear weight transfer on power.
Front and Rear Shock Position:
A more vertical position is stiffer, more responsive, but less
traction. The setting correlates with the spring and oil choice.
Experiment to see what works best for you. The more vertical the shock,
the stiffer the spring force, and conversely the more angled the shock
the suspension is softer. As the shock changes angle upon travel, there
is some progressive response.
Wheelbase: Moving the front or rear wheels towards the center of the car will result in more traction at that end of the car.
Sway Bar(s): Sway
bars are an effective way to fine tune the car. The baseline setup is
to use the stock front sway bar. Set up the car using all other
available parameters before fine tuning with a rear sway bar. I use the
stock TA or thin 0. 055" BRP swaybar on the rear to control body roll
and amount of steering. The multiple swaybar kit, with 3 thickness bars
is available AE. Setting the sway bar.
1 - Make sure you have the droop set, and it's equal on both sides
(I. e. if you're trying to run less droop on one corner- not
recommended- then do it after you set your rollbar)
2- install the bar and make sure it moves freely on the tranny mounts.
3- install the pivot balls and caps, make sure not to over-tighten the
caps and the ball moves freely.
4-hook everything up
5- hold on side down against the stop and press up on the opposite arm
out at the hub. If there is a "dead spot" with no resistance, lengthen
the link on that side, if there is a lot of resistance, shorten the
link. Check the opposite side as well and repeat until there is equal
resistance when pushing up
6- double check your settings by flipping the car upside-down. hold one
side against the stops and inspect the gap between the droop screw and
the opposite stop. Check and see if both sides are the same. If one gap
is larger, shorten that link (remember that also grows the gap on the
opposite arm so use small increments.
In the end you should pass both tests and each side should move at an
equal time when lifting the opposite arm. Be careful not to shorten the
links too much and pinch the upper ball inside the eyelet. If you can't
shorten the left side any more, then it's time to lengthen the right.
Hopefully none of your swaybars are so tweaked that you run out of
adjustment. Then, just re-bend the bar or preferably get a new one.
Gearing:
Gearing depends on the track size, motor and
driving style. A good starting point can be found in the TC4 manual,
which is about 10 teeth over the number of turns in the modified wind.
It depends on the track size. For large tracks, try up to 15 teeth
(e. g. 48 pitch, 25/72 for a 10 turn) over the wind. I prefer to use the
rollout sheets to determine the rollout number for gearing. This is
much more comparable between cars and tire sizes. Check the setup
sheets for more info.
Maintenance
Differential: The
plastic differentials require checking more often than the steel
version. Check the tightness after every run. The differential should
not slip under normal acceleration (off of a corner). The plastic
differential my heat up and grab when using a low turn modified motor.
The car will develop oversteer during the race. Check the diff
immediately after the race, it should still be smooth. Disassemble the
differential and check for parts that may be rubbing together - you
will notice a ring on either diff half. The plastic diff weight is 0. 42
oz, while the steel diff is 1. 00 oz. One compromise is plastic in front
and an Aluminum or steel in the rear. One takes a chance of breaking
the diff outdrive. The most reliable differential is steel in front and
rear, which is what should be used (or aluminum) in modified. Replace
the differential thrust spring, with initial length ~ 0. 285" and
replace when noticeably shorter, i. e. < 0. 260". Use the standard kit
greases.
Equipment
Body:
Parma Alfa (190 mm Part Number 10089)for foam tires can be lowered the
front completely until the shock tower was touching the body and the
rear I have mounted so the body is as low as possible, while meeting
the minimum body height of the particular race (sometimes 117 mm (4. 625
inches) and sometimes lower. The rear bumper cutout may only be 55 mm
(2. 165") with 20 mm (0. 787") blocks under the chassis. It may be
necessary to drill new holes for the rear body mounts. Protoform makes
excellent bodies, incliding the Stratus 2. 0,3. 0, Mazda 6, Alfa and
others that all handle great.
Paint: Parma/PSE
Faskolor is a great nearly odorless paint for Lexan bodies. A wide
variety of colors is available. Airbrushing and cleanup is simple with
the non-toxic aqueous based paint. The paintmasks make painting a nice
looking body much easier.
Speed Control: LRP Quantum 2
imported by Team Associated has performed flawlessly, even in high
temperature environments. The large capacitor in the 'worlds kit' helps
in reducing the large current spikes the battery pack is subjected to
while using the 7 to 10 turn modified motors. I have also experimented
with the LRP Sphere brushless.
Servo: 1/10 touring car racing needs a fast servo, with medium torque. I currently use an KO Propo 2343, which have a good combination of torque and fast rotation speed.
Transmitter: I
use the KO Propo EX-10 Helios with the wheel drop down extension. Put
tennis wrap around the grip to make the radio more comfortable . A few
layers of tape attached to the brake trigger helps provide more
sensitivity and quicker response for braking. The most important setup
parameters are to set the throttle high point at the maximum value, 150
for the KO. Another important setup is to make sure the turning radius
is set with the dual rate at 100%, then set the maximum left and right
turning circle. Adjust each so it is nearly hitting the physical limit,
then adjust the side that has the smaller turning circle to match the
side that has the larger turning circle. Next adjust the dual rate to
90%. I use the steering curve at -20% to -50%, which makes the car
easier and have finer control at high speeds and large radius corners.
On some transmitters this is called the steering exponential.
Cells: I
use Reedy GP 3300, however if you are a beginner you do not need high
voltage cell, and can get good performance by buying lower
runtime/voltage cells. The key is to learn the mechanically/
technically setup the car. When you are driving perfect lines and not
crashing for the entire race then the better cells will be a help, try
to get within 0. 3 sec per lap consistency. Get track time!
Battery Charger:
The method of charging NiMH cells is important. Read through forums and
what the battery matchers suggest for charging the cells, but avoid
overheating and causing damage to the cells. The LRP Pulsar 2 is an excellent choice with a variable current and peak detection limit, and can run in motors.
Driving Advice
Transition from Stock to Modified:
Don't try to drive as hard into the corners as you do in stock.
Straight line and corner speed is much more in mod, making any handling
imperfections in your car more noticeable. Mod requires a smooth SC
throttle curve, and areas in the infield require varying degrees of
throttle (1/4, 1/2, and everywhere in between). Practice is the key,
learn to be smooth before fast. Try high turn modifieds at club races,
then go back to stock for a regional or National level race. You'll be
surprised with your improvement.
Created August 29, 2005
Modified June 21, 2006
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