Base setup for 2010 EX1.5R

[Dking]

Here is what I believe should be the box stock setup for the new car. This setup is very balanced in every way. It goes threw bumps very predictably and can carry more throttle threw any section of the track. Its very stable when working the throttle on or off the line. Everybodys first or second comment when driving it was " Wow, I can put it any where I want " and when a buddy put this setup on his car everybody agreed that it was 98% the same car so the setup seems pretty easy to copy from car to car. No two cars are the same incase some of you didnt know.



Front end.
Upper arm hinge pin bushing: down
Upper arm shims: arm back/shim in front
Camber: 2 degs
Toe: 1deg out each side
Bump steer: 1mm shim under both inside and outside ball studs on tie rods
Sway bar: stock 2.3
Droop: 95mm shock length center to center
Shock position: outside on arm and on tower
Ride height: 27mm

Rear end.
Camber link: Middle inside on tower, inside top on hub
Hub: Middle wheel base, upper hinge pin hole (hub down)
Camber: 2 degs
Anti squat: up
Sway bar: stock 2.8
Droop: 113mm shock length center to center
Shock position: inside on arm and outside on tower
Ride height: 28-29mm
Wing: stock wing low, flat and forward

Diffs: 5 front 7 center and 3 rear

Now the shocks are prototype at this point. I will list what I have to get it close but Im in the middle of testing new pistons and should have a finished set in the next couple of weeks. The new shocks will bring this car up to the same level as Kyosho and Mugen.

Casters new tapered pistons. Plug 3 holes and then drill the 3 open ones with a #55 drill bit. All 4 are the same and put in shock taper facing down.

Front shocks
Losi 30wt with Losi silver front spring with 12mm preload.

Rear shocks
Losi 20wt with AE rear black spring with 6mm preload.

[PitMan]

casters new tapered pistons !!!!!


anyone else know anything about this

[Dking]

Dont worry about the pistons and oil. I just found out the tapered pistons I have been struggling with are wrong and have been wasting my time. Just run what ever piston/oil you have now to start with. As soon as I get ahold of the old pistons I will have a REAL shock setup for this car.

The rest of the setup is spot on.

DK

[audriusv]

Ok. But still more info and especially pictures about "Casters new tapered pistons. Plug 3 holes and then drill the 3 open ones with a #55 drill bit. All 4 are the same and put in shock taper facing down." would be great! Maybe someone will have some benefits from this :)

[Dking]

Ok. But still more info and especially pictures about "Casters new tapered pistons. Plug 3 holes and then drill the 3 open ones with a #55 drill bit. All 4 are the same and put in shock taper facing down." would be great! Maybe someone will have some benefits from this :)

What Im doing with the shocks is giving the car more "pack". By that I mean when the car lands from a jump it doesnt bottom out. There is almost no pack in the stock shocks, thats why the car gets thrown around on rough tracks. Since I have upped the pack in the shocks I have been able to push harder and drive faster threw every section of the track. Plus the way I have the car setup it sticks and rotates any where on the track. High speed or low, high or low grip. Its very neutral and stable but still catch's everybody in the corners and can really lay down the HP.

Let me know if you need any other info.

DK

[PitMan]

so whats your typical shock setup dk

did you have tapered pistons as a test or experiment

or were these supplied by someone and were wrong !

[Tron]

Dking, I am having a problem with pushing on the track. I am using your setup except for the diffs I am running are 3/5/1. Off-throttle is where I am having the pushing. On power I have a ton of oversteer.

Other than that the buggy seems great and goes where I point it...I just can't push it or it will oversteer and the back end comes around in a hurry.

Any advice on how different your diff fluid setup would be or do I need to look elsewhere?

[Dking]

so whats your typical shock setup dk

did you have tapered pistons as a test or experiment

or were these supplied by someone and were wrong !


The tapered pistons came in the kit. They are slippery and have a taper on the bottom and flat on top. They are 1.3mm x 6 hole and 1.4x6 witch should be correct valving but for some reason the piston came out .004 in dia smaller than the bore. There just slopping around in there. I had to plug some holes to get them to work semi close. I just found out the old pistons were good and have a team mate close that says he has a set for me to try.

Crossing my fingers they fit properly.

DK

[Dking]

Dking, I am having a problem with pushing on the track. I am using your setup except for the diffs I am running are 3/5/1. Off-throttle is where I am having the pushing. On power I have a ton of oversteer.

Other than that the buggy seems great and goes where I point it...I just can't push it or it will oversteer and the back end comes around in a hurry.

Any advice on how different your diff fluid setup would be or do I need to look elsewhere?
The diffs are too light. When you get on the power most of the power goes to the front and adds a bunch of steering but when you get off the throttle it will have less weight transfer and less steering. 5,7,3 works in everything. I would start there.

Camber and ride height will have the most effect on how it handles after the diffs and springs are set.

DK

[Mr Fusion]

I have gone to smaller hole pistons to get more pack, to keep the car from chassis slapping so much. Last weekend, I went from 1.3 to 1.2 on front shocks. I ran 1.2/40 front and 1.3/30 rear with stiff springs all around. If I had more track time, I would have played with the oils, but barely managed to get a working car on the track as it was. Funny thing is that Cattlett happened to have about the same setup on his car, except he was running the soft springs, at least up front.

[audriusv]

Hi,

at the moment my car chassis are slapping all the time... So I have to look for pistons with smaller holes or just to plug holes on stock pistons and drill new? And am I right that you are suggesting to use these shock springs:

LOSI LOSA5457 REAR SHOCK SPRINGS 3.1 SILVER-2.8 8IGHT
LOSI LOSA5452 FRONT SHOCK SPRINGS 2.3 x 4.7 GREEN 8IGHT?

At the moment car is a little bit twitchy when I push acceleration hard. Could it be related to shocks?

Btw., what metric size would be "#55 drill bit"?

Thank you!

[Dking]

Hi,

at the moment my car chassis are slapping all the time... So I have to look for pistons with smaller holes or just to plug holes on stock pistons and drill new? And am I right that you are suggesting to use these shock springs:

LOSI LOSA5457 REAR SHOCK SPRINGS 3.1 SILVER-2.8 8IGHT
LOSI LOSA5452 FRONT SHOCK SPRINGS 2.3 x 4.7 GREEN 8IGHT?

At the moment car is a little bit twitchy when I push acceleration hard. Could it be related to shocks?

Btw., what metric size would be "#55 drill bit"?

Thank you!Hi
I think Mr Fusion is using the stock pistons? If so his piston/oil would probly be closer then my setup. But incase you feel like making pistons then a #55 is 1.4mm. but that is only with the new tapered pistons.

http://www.losipartshouse.com/servlet/the-25263/LOSA5452-15MM-SPRINGS-2.3%22X/Detail

http://www.losipartshouse.com/servlet/the-25266/LOSA5457-15MM-SPRINGS-3.1%22X/Detail

Those are the springs. That and the 5,7,3 diff setup should have your car dialed in pretty good. With my setups, 95% of the time, if the car dont feel right then change tires.

The car stock is lose on power and tight off power. Are you still running the stock setup?

DK

[audriusv]

Hi
I think Mr Fusion is using the stock pistons? If so his piston/oil would probly be closer then my setup. But incase you feel like making pistons then a #55 is 1.4mm. but that is only with the new tapered pistons.

http://www.losipartshouse.com/servlet/the-25263/LOSA5452-15MM-SPRINGS-2.3%22X/Detail

http://www.losipartshouse.com/servlet/the-25266/LOSA5457-15MM-SPRINGS-3.1%22X/Detail

Those are the springs. That and the 5,7,3 diff setup should have your car dialed in pretty good. With my setups, 95% of the time, if the car dont feel right then change tires.

The car stock is lose on power and tight off power. Are you still running the stock setup?

DK

Well, everything stock except diffs at 7/10/3 and shocks 40wt HPI oil with red springs, and high force wing... But I am not happy with my settings... :)
About pistons. I do not notice what pistons is in my shocks, but I have another bag marked with 1.2, with six holes. They looks like tapered from both sides... a little bit... Are they new pistons or not? How many holes do I have to make on front and on rear shocks pistons?
Thank you for helping novice!

[Mr Fusion]

The new tapered pistons are flat on one side and have a big taper cone on the other side. The regular pistons are just rounded a bit on the edge, but are otherwise flat.

Yes, I'm using the regular (non-tapered) pistons. When the big bore shocks first came out we had 1.3 and 1.4 pistons, and now have 1.2 also.

Setup last year was something like 45-50/1.4/firm spring up front, 25-30/1.3/soft spring rear. But right now I'm trying a stiffer setup with more pack... 1.2 and firm springs.

[audriusv]

The new tapered pistons are flat on one side and have a big taper cone on the other side. The regular pistons are just rounded a bit on the edge, but are otherwise flat.

Yes, I'm using the regular (non-tapered) pistons. When the big bore shocks first came out we had 1.3 and 1.4 pistons, and now have 1.2 also.

Setup last year was something like 45-50/1.4/firm spring up front, 25-30/1.3/soft spring rear. But right now I'm trying a stiffer setup with more pack... 1.2 and firm springs.
OK. So mine are not tapered. So I will change to 1.2 in front. What oil would you suggest for rear and front to try first? Here is the track

http://img541.imageshack.us/img541/7381/kaunotrasa.jpg (http://img541.imageshack.us/i/kaunotrasa.jpg/)

Thank you!

[audriusv]

Here is what I believe should be the box stock setup for the new car...

Front end.
Upper arm shims: arm back/shim in front
Bump steer: 1mm shim under both inside and outside ball studs on tie rods

Rear end.
Anti squat: up
Droop: 113mm shock length center to center


Started to set my car by Dking's instructions and have few questions.
Please, post some pics how to set "Upper arm shims" and "Bump steer"?
If track is bumpy do I still go with "Anti squat: up"?
My shocks length from center to center is ~124mm... I am in doubt that I can shorten my shocks to get 114mm... Is there somewhere shorter shafts for shocks? Or some mods to do that?
Thank you!

PS: my native language is a lot different from English so sorry but some settings are not clear for me without pics :)

[Dking]

Audrius...did you get my reply on rctech?

DK

[expertbasser]

5,7,3 works in everything. I would start there.

DK


DK:

Even Truggy?

MY reason: On another Truggy of mine, I went 10K, 10K, 10K & 35 wt shock oil front & back.

HAS a great semi neutral feel. LOOSE when I wanted it, & tight when I needed it.

I can "sprint car" around the local tracks sweeper & never spin out.

WOULD I be better with that setup on my K8T or go the "normal" way of 5,7,3?

Thanks!

[audriusv]

Audrius...did you get my reply on rctech?

DK
Yep DK, I get it! Thank you!

[Dking]

DK:

Even Truggy?

MY reason: On another Truggy of mine, I went 10K, 10K, 10K & 35 wt shock oil front & back.

HAS a great semi neutral feel. LOOSE when I wanted it, & tight when I needed it.

I can "sprint car" around the local tracks sweeper & never spin out.

WOULD I be better with that setup on my K8T or go the "normal" way of 5,7,3?

Thanks!
Well, I have never had a truggy but, I have driven a few buggys with a 5,5,5 diff setup. It does FEEL really good but the clock doesnt like it. The car is a bit too tight in the corners to hold real good corner speed. It will be a bit harder to hold on to but it will ultimately be faster with a 5,7,3 or even a 7,7,3 or 5,5,3 setup. This is one of those things that you need a clock for testing.

HTH
DK

[flatusboy]

Started to set my car by Dking's instructions and have few questions.
Please, post some pics how to set "Upper arm shims" and "Bump steer"?
If track is bumpy do I still go with "Anti squat: up"?
My shocks length from center to center is ~124mm... I am in doubt that I can shorten my shocks to get 114mm... Is there somewhere shorter shafts for shocks? Or some mods to do that?
Thank you!

PS: my native language is a lot different from English so sorry but some settings are not clear for me without pics :)

You can always add "spacers" inside the shock body - under the piston to shorten up your length.

http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c233/donniker/cutaway.jpg

[cobraman]

Hi,

at the moment my car chassis are slapping all the time... So I have to look for pistons with smaller holes or just to plug holes on stock pistons and drill new? And am I right that you are suggesting to use these shock springs:

LOSI LOSA5457 REAR SHOCK SPRINGS 3.1 SILVER-2.8 8IGHT
LOSI LOSA5452 FRONT SHOCK SPRINGS 2.3 x 4.7 GREEN 8IGHT?

At the moment car is a little bit twitchy when I push acceleration hard. Could it be related to shocks?

Btw., what metric size would be "#55 drill bit"?

Thank you!

Can someone verify that the Green springs are for the front shocks and the Silver for the rear as stated above? On the Losi 8e's that I see running at our local track have the Green springs on the rear and the Silver on the fronts.
Thanks!

[ochitone]

OK,
I am looking for the best setup for my Caster EX1.5R. I need something that will get it to turn in the corners and handle like it is on rails. I am looking for everything from diff fluid to chock fluid. This includes everything in between. I have no setup board, but do have acess to one if it helps. I need to know everything that would help me to get the car setup to were it is dialed in. I am running the mamba monster esc/motor and it is a 2200kv truggy motor. My caster has a signal battery conversion also. I raced it yesterday and could not take the turns unless almost stoping. It got hot and shut down, so i was unable to finish the race. I am tired of Caster coming in last in my area. The car is way better than that. I did change the front arms to the stronger material, but it seems that the pivot ball will not let me get the front end looking right with the adjustment. I might need some longer pivot balls or something to. I need someone to help me get this thing going in the right direction.

Must be willling to help. I know nothing about setting up a car.

[Dking]

Hmm. Thats a pretty big request. Lets start here.

Camber and Ride height will have a pretty big effect on the car. Go get a cheap rpm camber gauge. Set camber at -2 deg ( top of the tire leaning in toward the chassis) at the front and rear. Make sure its like that before every run. Then with your buggy ready to go hold it off the ground high enough to get the tires about a 1/2 inch off the ground. Drop it. Your chassis should land with dog bones in the rear being level and the front of the chassis about 1 or 2mm lower then the rear. Make sure its like that before every run.

That will give you a start on making the car consistent from one run to the next. After its running good then you can figure out what needs to be changed. 90% of the time its tires. The caster buggy has no shortage of steering.

[bring it on]

Front
Hernandez CF shock tower, middle hole tower & inner hole arm
Truggy front mid size shocks - 1.3 pistons - 50w oil - Kyosho dark blue hard springs.
upper arm pin bushing - hole to the bottom

Rear
Hernandez shock CF tower, middle hole tower & inside hole on arm
tower side - camber link - middle inside hole
hub - top outter hole
stock Rear shocks - 1.2 pistons- 40w - caster red springs
lower arm pin bushing - hole to the bottom

5/7/2

[ochitone]

My friend is gonna let me use his setup board to get my car dialed in so that I can get a base setup of were everything is currently. I need to do a complete tear down of the car and replace any worn out or damaged parts, but can I use the hudy board with rims only to get the reading or do I need tires mounted. I will try to get the buggy in a base setup, but I do need to change my diffs to 5-7-3 which I guess is the normal recommindation for it. I read a few post up that springs also need to be changed to losi green and silver ones. Not sure why, but I will try it too. Can some one recommend fluid for shocks and settings.

Dking has given me some great help and so has Bring it On, but my car is bone stock (with the exception of fluids) and I have the red springs at all 4 corners. I am running the mamba monster 2200kv system on a signal 4 cell. Should I go back to running 2 2cell lipos to get my car setup correctly or will the 1 4cell hurt it. I guess I could run 2 4cells on it if need to convert back to 2 battery trays.

I am lost on it as I really don't know how to setup the car. I want to get a setup that works well on just about all tracks as I have no means of going back and forth with setups every weekend to accomindate the different tracks.

Thanks Guys.

[RGX Racing]

well had a chance to check out a few of the cars and have to say pretty good,
here in Southern California on several of the tracks found a pretty good set up....now from track to track there be some Differences of corse,but found a good set up for the drivers that had me look over there cars to get it "Neutral" then to go "Up" or "Down" for settings "Relating" to the "Individuals" driving styles......hope some of this can help.
also the tires had a 90% effect on the Handling,for us around "Here"

Front end.
Upper arm hinge pin bushing: down
this will help the car from being "Too Twitchy" right of fthe bat.

Upper arm shims: keep centered to "Start"
if the track gets hammered and more Rutty go "Less Caster"
(Standing more Upright) this will help the Suspension work a little better over the Bumps....need more "Straight line" stability" "More Caster"(laid Back) will be better for a "Smoother" style track,but sometimes Not always the case.

Camber: 2 degs "Standard to Start"

Toe: 1deg out each side More "Turn In" go little more toe out,but may not feel as "Stable" on "Exit"

Bump steer: now here is a tricky one but what we been trying is 1 washer around 1mm under steering Knucke, "What it does is gave the car a little more Steering in the Middle of the Corner sometimes a little more bump steer helps on a Smoother tracks so under "Compression" the wheels do not go "Outwards" so we used a little bit of Bump steer.

Sway bar:in front we used the Stock one, and in rear we also used the same sized one

Shock position: outside on arm, Middle on tower
a few drivers went outside to get slightly more sweeper speed on the more "Open tracks"

Ride height: 30mm front, 31mm rear

Rear end.
Camber link: Middle inside on tower, inside top on hub
we used pretty much the same to start,little more rear side bite we "Lowered" the Inside link postion on tower

Hub: Middle wheel base, upper hinge pin hole (or hub down)
same helped to keep the car from "Traction" rolling in the rutty stuff
"Indoor tracks" may want to try moving the rear hub to Upper Postion
if there is "ALLOT" of traction.

Camber: 1 deg, this will be hard to Measure? unless you have a HUDY Guage or something Similar, or get a old pair of tires and kind of watch where they wear while running in the street for "Example" try to keep the "Wear pattern" close to the "Middle"
if the track becomes more "Blown out" little more Camber in rear will help,to keep it from snapping around and catching in "Hard Ruts"

Anti squat: Down, reason for us to run Down,like most 8th scales the tracks are "Usually" choppy,and bumpy and Rutty, so for most running less for us around here helped when the tracks got "Rougher" and less anti-squat will go through the bumps better "Off-Power" wont "Buck" up the rear.

as odd as it seems? in 5 different cars? running the front the same as the rear for the Sway bar, "Starting set up seemed to work for the drivers around here??

diffs, they all ran 5k in the front,5k in the center 3k in the rear
when they wanted more "On-Power" steering they went to 7k in the center
but it had more of a "See-Saw" effect in bumpy sections as the diff was unable to unload as "Easily"

Shock position: outside on arm and Middle on tower
Wing: stock, low angle

and for Shocks we all tried 1.1 x 10 with a taper piston,on 25Wt.front and rear oil and everyone droped there times by around 1 second to 2 of the guys dropping it by almost 2 seconds.
now the only thing we did change was some of the guys put on "Associated" springs,i know many may not want to hear that! but it helped.
couple of guys that needed a little more Agressive feel went "Bronze" in the front and silver in rear, and those that "Drove" the car more..less "Point and Gas"-"Point and Gas" ran silver springs in front and "Black" springs in rear.
other thing we did do was "Bias" the "Weight"
since most of the guys ran a Bigger motor in ther car there a little "Heavier"
on that side, for example average servo bout 2.2 ounces average weight on some of the 2S packs we were using about 9.7 to 10 ounces "Roughly"
average motor being used that day we did the set ups around 12.8 to 14 ounces for the tekin's that were used on the days we did the settings.
so on the "Servo"-"Battery" side they added 7 to 9 ounces depending on the motor the "Driver" was using.
most of the guys that were running the "Tekin" buggy motors were "Lighter" which only weighed in at around 11.5 to 12 ounces depending on the Pinion they were using,so they only had to add 6 ounces to the other side, after doing these changes everyones times "Dropped"

again many different tracks and styles of driving,but this is what we seemed to help for some of the drivers in our areas.

hope some of this can be of some help

[Dking]

Very well put !! Wish I could write like that.

+1 on everything. If you look at my setup its pretty close to what you guys have and I am on the east coast. When the car is setup correctly it works EVERYWHERE. Just need to find the tires and tweak from there.

What or who's shock pistons were you using?
Also what did you guys find for droop settings?

I just switched my chassis from E to Nitro and had to play with droop a bit but that was about it as far as set up change. Had to add 2mm of rear ride height to get the chassis to sit level and the car handles really close to the same witch surprised me.

Now you say the same size rear sway bar. Same number or both front and rear use the med bar? I have been running stock (med) front and thin rear. The other two cars here tried it and haven't taken it off yet and that was 3 months ago :D

Hak...You need to get this guy to write your tuning guide. He has most of it right there.

[Dking]

Can someone verify that the Green springs are for the front shocks and the Silver for the rear as stated above? On the Losi 8e's that I see running at our local track have the Green springs on the rear and the Silver on the fronts.
Thanks!
Just noticed I missed your post. Yes, losi's run silver front and green rear. The caster turns harder then the losi so you have to kill some steering buy running the stiffer green in front and softer silver in the rear. Its been a few since I have posted that setup and really the only thing I have changed is Im running losi green front and rear. The car REALLY like to rotate now. I chopped off .6 sec/lap on a small indoor clay track when I put the green in the rear.

Hope this helps

[RGX Racing]

Very well put !! Wish I could write like that.

+1 on everything. If you look at my setup its pretty close to what you guys have and I am on the east coast. When the car is setup correctly it works EVERYWHERE. Just need to find the tires and tweak from there.

What or who's shock pistons were you using?
Also what did you guys find for droop settings?

I just switched my chassis from E to Nitro and had to play with droop a bit but that was about it as far as set up change. Had to add 2mm of rear ride height to get the chassis to sit level and the car handles really close to the same witch surprised me.

Now you say the same size rear sway bar. Same number or both front and rear use the med bar? I have been running stock (med) front and thin rear. The other two cars here tried it and haven't taken it off yet and that was 3 months ago :D

Hak...You need to get this guy to write your tuning guide. He has most of it right there.


Thanks on the Complement, i just hope it can help for others as well:) a rough base line is a good key, all the cars nowdays are Strapped! but just finding that simple base set up is tough for some Manufactures? since they do not do a bunch of R&D ??
kinda why i like it here seems everyone it trying to help! than trying to beat each other down?

for Droop? that was a tough one? cause i use HUDY Systems? and i know not everyone uses a fancy system? so i am trying to figure the easiest way to measure the droop in a way everyone can have a "BaseLine" way of Mesurement?
i figure the center of the "Shock Stand-Offs" be the easiest?
mention like this since if for some reason the Chassis is a little tweeked? or say for example some rims are "Slightly" different "Widhts"? so be hard to mesure from "Ground Up so to speak?
or an "Internal Limiter" but sometimes that is not always Practical? since you have to take the shock apart?:(
but for mine i have it at 107mm for front and 126mm rear
but i would not really use these settings? i mentione this as i notied the CASTER car is more "Aggressive" on how it Changes it's Handling when the droop is played with.
but to "Start" i would set the droop so the shocks can be put on with out being over extended, from there might have to try from track to track?

the sway bar, that is a good Question, i am glad you mentioned it.
i forgot to mention the Bar we used was 2.4mm and i am not exatcly sure of there Origin? i think they may be from OFNA?
but they were 2.4mm front and rear. :)
yes depending on track, sometimes a fimer sway bar up front will help,but this will vary from driver to driver? i notice this more so if one will have a more come in VERY hard and swing the car around
and on a wide open or a bigger "Sweeper Track" where you may feel like the car "Feels" like it wants to "Get Away" if you have a more "Flowing" or like to "Carve" the turns this may feel a little different, since the sway bars have there Effect after the car is "Leaning" a thicker sway bar is good when your tracks have a high degree of "Traction" helps too, when a track feels like your rolling on little "Marbels" or 1/10 scale diff balls all over the track.
man anyone ever been to place like that? drop the car and start to roll and your just spining in Circles!!..LOL had one like that once back east WOW was tough getting traction!!

but better yet? i will post a set up for a place that most of the Pros run at. it's crazy not uncommon for the Ryans from AE and Hartson,Saxon, Drake,and the rest of Losi and Ofna guys with Krotz to show up for Club Racing,it's like the Freaking "Worlds" every Sat night!?!?! it's NUTZ!! LOL, talk about Stress LOL
there is like 20 of us Barely Seporatd by 1.5 seconds it's like Tq be something like 8-5:04.03-then 8-5:04.05,8-5:04.06 etc. etc. for some 15 to 20 guys!?!?!
same for the 2 Indoor tracks they all race at it's crazy....
but thanks again DK i will have to check your set up for sure when i am there in your parts :)

[RGX Racing]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v495/1blade1/CasterSetupBlade.jpg

[Dking]

I just checked and the caster rear sway bars are 2.7,2.8,2.9. I have 2.3 frt and 2.7 rear.

The best way to check droop is measure the shock length. Center to center.

Also my setup is listed on the first post of this thread. Pretty much backs up what you guys have found.

Hope this helps.

[Dking]

Alright guys, a buddy got an EX and I offered to build it for him. Well, as a token of appreciation he gave me the stock shocks. He picked up a set of losi's to put on. I built the shocks with stock pistons. These shocks are better then what came in my kit but they still dont have any pack.

Well I have a few diffrent shocks here now and long story short, from what I can tell caster has fixed the defective shock bodies. But there pistons are still to small. Mugen pistons fit perfectly. I am testing 1.25x6 hole right now but also have the stock 5 hole (not sure what size). The stock bodies are a little prickly but there straight witch when fitted with the mugen piston creates a working shock.

Im sitting at 6x1.25mm all around with 40wt frt and 30wt rear and in inside hole on arm all around to start with. Next week I should be able to get to the track for testing.

Will keep you posted

[Dking]

Let the testing begin :D

http://oi51.tinypic.com/2hp5554.jpg

[Dking]

Here is the latest setup

http://casterracingusa.com/forum/[IMG]http://i52.tinypic.com/2s00jlv.jpghttp://i52.tinypic.com/2s00jlv.jpg

[DTRguy]

I want to add to this thread a little and share something that I have been researching...

First off... I have been basically using Ricks setup and it's not bad... but I wanted to do some testing to develop the car and find out if it is the best for ME. Anyhow, I happened across this thread:http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/519561-tune-camber-links.html

If you actually go through this thread you will learn a LOT of great info... So far I am about half way through it... I don't know how much more information will be in the thread but so far it has been eye opening. And, I know a fair amount about suspension tuning from my personal racing experiences.

The FIRST thing I want to say is that I did the first thing that was discussed... checking overall chassis balance with only springs (no shock oil). What I found out is that with the Caster heavy springs installed, Rear shocks-lower mount outside, upper second from outside, Front shocks-middle hole tower, inner hole arm had the buggy as close to perfectly balanced as I have ever seen. I tried a LOT of variations and everything followed exactly what one of the posters was describing. When it came time to put in oil I noticed that the above setup sheet had a similar setup as far as shock locations etc... So, I used a separate set of shocks and made sure I had the 1.2 pistons installed and used the suggested 40front, 30 rear oil weights. OMG is the car seemingly balanced! I can say that based on how it feels it should jump awesome! I don't know how well it will take the corners... Might be a tad overdamped maybe... or it might be fine! It just has a lot of pack. So it might be the best I could ever get. Interestingly it is VERY similar to the above setup sheet with the exception of the lower front shock mounting. I will report on the findings tomorrow after practice

edit:

someone compiled info here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OFPx3zyXrL2vgpD_SkOlgDgI-kCCPeXYUETFldckFDY/edit?hl=en_US&pli=1

[GSMike]

DKing, do you have a pdf of that set up sheet I can print?

[larlev]

What's the best way to determine what compound tires to use? I usually buy soft aka's or silver compound sweep's. Still don't have a good stable of tires yet. Slowly but surely.

[bring it on]

What's the best way to determine what compound tires to use? I usually buy soft aka's or silver compound sweep's. Still don't have a good stable of tires yet. Slowly but surely.

Ask or look at what the fast guys are running there.:)

[larlev]

Ya, I try too. They change so often it's damn near impossible. I need to pit next to Colter more often. haha

[colter]

Ya, I try too. They change so often it's damn near impossible. I need to pit next to Colter more often. haha

:D Yesterday was definitely funny. Chris and I were changin so much stuff it was crazy. + Different tires every round. Finally settled on AKA supersoft cities front and rear. I would try them next time you are there.
I think I figured out what was wrong with my setup yesterday. Put the wrong rear springs on. Way to stiff spring rate for that track for sure. I nearly hung onto it for TQ that third round though, lol. Anyways, I am closing in on what I like as far as springs go. I will let ya know once I settle.

[larlev]

What compounds did you like at Ours?

I'm trying to figure out what I need in my box for most tracks. The Sweeps are pretty good, but their compounds are way different from AKA. They go by red(soft), blue(xtra soft), and silver(ultra soft).

I feel I have mine pretty close. I just need to be more consistent like I am in SC most of the time. I think I did pretty well yesterday all in all. Like you said, not bad for never running there before. I would be right there with most if I had more track time.

[colter]

Soft was fine. When it was cold definitely super soft. Both will work though. Chris and I both tried medium cities as well, he drifted on them better than I did but neither of us liked them, lol.

At VCRC, as far as SC goes, I like Gladiators when the track is wet. I am running mediums on those as that is what RCHQ had in stock. They hook fine and are gonna last a long time. When the track starts to dry out I am running Enduros in soft.

For Ebuggy, I ran soft Crossbraces last time and they were pretty good. Tried Enduros supersoft, hated them. Need to try Ibeams supersoft as well. Didnt get a chance to run Cityblocks other than medium cause I didnt have others but I am thinking that soft or supersoft Cities are good once the track starts to dry. (probably rd2 on)

[larlev]

Ah....forgot about temps. Hotter use medium, colder use super soft. I remember that now