Losi Motor Man
09-20-2007, 06:21 PM
Tinkering Hints :
1.Belt Tensions Without a Belt Tensioner
Front belt tension and side belt tension were an interesting problem to deal with on the 99’ Vector. While in Florida this year one thing that Brian Bo-dine pointed out to me was that my front belt tension was too loose. His suggestion for repairing it was to take a business card and with a straight edge and an exacto knife cut about a 1/16th strip off of the long edge. Loosen the 4 screws holding the mid shaft block in place and then slip the business card strip into and under the front of the block. Then tighten them down evenly. This will tighten up the front belt and give some slack to the side belt. Fixed !!
2.Gear Diff Cleaning
The next time you rebuild your diff and you've removed the old diff balls, spray some plastic-safe motor cleaner on the diff gear to clean it off. After that, use a pipe cleaner and run it through the diff ball holes. Inspect each hole to make sure that you've cleaned them thoroughly before you begin to install the new balls. This will ensure that you've gotten all the dirt and grime out of the diff ball holes.
3.Hidden Heat sink Dirt
A clean engine will run at a lower temperature than one that's varnished with fuel residue. These residues are usually hidden between the fins of your engine heat sink. Use a pipe cleaner to remove any of those hidden dirt and fuel stuck to the fins.
4.Increase Tire Life Span
If your R/C car has four identical tires, you can maximize their life by rotating them as you would on a real car. It will take only a minute or two, but they'll last weeks longer. Start your first rotation by swapping the forward and back wheels. Next time you rotate, swap the front left wheel with the right front wheel and the left back wheel with the right back wheel. Repeat this process every 5 batteries used. Beware, you cannot do the left and right swap if your tires are threaded and are they directional.
5.Pinion Gear Replacement Time
After running your RC for a while, you will notice your vehicle makes weird noise. These noises could come from many places, one of which could be caused by the wearing out of your pinion gear. The pinion gear is the gear attached to your motor. The gear on the left is the one which has been weared out, the teeth on it looks like shark teeth's. The gear next to it is a health pinion gear. Pinion gears is the easiest to wear out because it spins at the highest RPM of all gears which means it is subject to friction with other larger gears most often.
6.Removing Glued Tires From Rims
Never ever rip off the tires from the rims if they are glued together. This will leave little bits of rubber on the rims making the rims unusable. Always remove the tires by boiling the entire wheel in hot water. Boiling water will not be hot enough to melt either the rubber or the rim but it will be hot enough to disable most of the glue.
7.Removing Servo Tape
Don't get sore thumbs from trying to remove old servo tape by rubbing it off, or make a huge gooey mess by using motor cleaner. Instead, grab a heat gun or hair dryer and heat up the servo tape. Remove the servo, ESC, or receiver. Apply the heat to the tape residue. Be careful not to melt anything. Once the tape has softened, it should come off easily.
8.Repairing Body Damage
Strong lexan repairs can be made with a hot glue gun. Use strapping tape to hold a tear in place while running a bead of hot glue along the inside of the tear. Reinforcement ribs can be applied along the inside the front bumper for extra strength.
9.Shock oil leakage
Many plastic and aluminum shock bodies and caps leak over time. This could be due to tighten those caps far too much. To fix this problem, purchase some Teflon tape at your local hardware store. Simply wrap the Teflon tape around the threads where necessary. When applying the tape, make sure the end of the tap points towards the direction in which you would turn to unscrew the cap.
10.Storing your Car
If you are going to put your car away for long periods of time, be sure to put it on some sort of stand or take off all four wheels of the car. If you don't, the tires is very likely to deform under pressure. The tires does not deform when running on the ground because the pressure is supported evenly during the wheel's rotations.
1.Belt Tensions Without a Belt Tensioner
Front belt tension and side belt tension were an interesting problem to deal with on the 99’ Vector. While in Florida this year one thing that Brian Bo-dine pointed out to me was that my front belt tension was too loose. His suggestion for repairing it was to take a business card and with a straight edge and an exacto knife cut about a 1/16th strip off of the long edge. Loosen the 4 screws holding the mid shaft block in place and then slip the business card strip into and under the front of the block. Then tighten them down evenly. This will tighten up the front belt and give some slack to the side belt. Fixed !!
2.Gear Diff Cleaning
The next time you rebuild your diff and you've removed the old diff balls, spray some plastic-safe motor cleaner on the diff gear to clean it off. After that, use a pipe cleaner and run it through the diff ball holes. Inspect each hole to make sure that you've cleaned them thoroughly before you begin to install the new balls. This will ensure that you've gotten all the dirt and grime out of the diff ball holes.
3.Hidden Heat sink Dirt
A clean engine will run at a lower temperature than one that's varnished with fuel residue. These residues are usually hidden between the fins of your engine heat sink. Use a pipe cleaner to remove any of those hidden dirt and fuel stuck to the fins.
4.Increase Tire Life Span
If your R/C car has four identical tires, you can maximize their life by rotating them as you would on a real car. It will take only a minute or two, but they'll last weeks longer. Start your first rotation by swapping the forward and back wheels. Next time you rotate, swap the front left wheel with the right front wheel and the left back wheel with the right back wheel. Repeat this process every 5 batteries used. Beware, you cannot do the left and right swap if your tires are threaded and are they directional.
5.Pinion Gear Replacement Time
After running your RC for a while, you will notice your vehicle makes weird noise. These noises could come from many places, one of which could be caused by the wearing out of your pinion gear. The pinion gear is the gear attached to your motor. The gear on the left is the one which has been weared out, the teeth on it looks like shark teeth's. The gear next to it is a health pinion gear. Pinion gears is the easiest to wear out because it spins at the highest RPM of all gears which means it is subject to friction with other larger gears most often.
6.Removing Glued Tires From Rims
Never ever rip off the tires from the rims if they are glued together. This will leave little bits of rubber on the rims making the rims unusable. Always remove the tires by boiling the entire wheel in hot water. Boiling water will not be hot enough to melt either the rubber or the rim but it will be hot enough to disable most of the glue.
7.Removing Servo Tape
Don't get sore thumbs from trying to remove old servo tape by rubbing it off, or make a huge gooey mess by using motor cleaner. Instead, grab a heat gun or hair dryer and heat up the servo tape. Remove the servo, ESC, or receiver. Apply the heat to the tape residue. Be careful not to melt anything. Once the tape has softened, it should come off easily.
8.Repairing Body Damage
Strong lexan repairs can be made with a hot glue gun. Use strapping tape to hold a tear in place while running a bead of hot glue along the inside of the tear. Reinforcement ribs can be applied along the inside the front bumper for extra strength.
9.Shock oil leakage
Many plastic and aluminum shock bodies and caps leak over time. This could be due to tighten those caps far too much. To fix this problem, purchase some Teflon tape at your local hardware store. Simply wrap the Teflon tape around the threads where necessary. When applying the tape, make sure the end of the tap points towards the direction in which you would turn to unscrew the cap.
10.Storing your Car
If you are going to put your car away for long periods of time, be sure to put it on some sort of stand or take off all four wheels of the car. If you don't, the tires is very likely to deform under pressure. The tires does not deform when running on the ground because the pressure is supported evenly during the wheel's rotations.