Learning how to set up my Buggy.
 

I got a few weeks ago my 1st buggy, a Yokomo Bmax2, which seems a pretty nice car which I built as a kit and set it up running a mid motor.

I want to learn how to set it up properly for different track conditions (indoors or outdoors) but to also know why I am doing such adjustments.

At the moment the car pulls to the right although my handset is set with the steering even (shop set this up for me) so wanted to know how and what to adjust to get it running straight.

Also would like to know a bit about setting up the suspension and what oils to use in it and why.

Also why do people use weight in their cars - is it a stability thing?

Would this be any use to get in terms of teaching me anything?

http://adhpublishing.com/shop/store/...rc-car-basics/

Also, is there any upgrades worth buying for the bmax2, if so what n why please?

Any info/tips etc. greatly appreciated
cheers
Phil

This here
http://users.telenet.be/elvo/

I found was a great setup guide that explains the mechanics and over all do's and donts of setups.
If you read through that and then look for the setup info for your car on here or on other forums such as petitrc then you should be able to get the 2 together and build up a good understanding of what adjustments you need to make to get the car going how you feel comfortable with.
but always remember that at the begining you should only make small adjustments and always write down what you have changed so that you can refer back to it and see if it made the car handle better or worse.

and dont be afraid to ask the people at your local track for advice, the other racers are generally always happy to help and guide new guys

This is because the servo horn isn't centered on the servo. Use the transmitter trim to adjust, or if it's a long way off it will need taking off the servo and doing right.

Have a read though the xray setup guide. It's really clear and very informative.

See what setups other people are running at your club as well.

Looks very in depth and scientific - will work my way through it but also use it as a point of reference, looks an interesting read for sure, many thanks for that :)

will get someone to show me next time I go to the club and hope its just an adjustment on the handset rather than the servo, thanks :)

will check both of them out cheers :)

Also try looking at the Hudy set up book. It is aimed at 1:8 petrol, but if you ignore the sections on engines all the rest about car set up is very useful

http://www.hudy.net/xhudy/products/p...0cab6f4e5d6df6

cheers chris will check it out :)

PS - has the shell arrived yet (est delivery between next weds-Friday but hope it might land sooner?)

Google xxx main chassis set up guide

cheers, might be worth buying from the U.S as a reference guide once read :)

JQ has quite a good guide as well, located at the bottom of the page.

http://jq-products.com/the-news/43-t.../160-the-guide

I know there is an app for phones as well that is pretty good but can't remember it just now

Most important thing is building the car correctly - so first thing to solve is the car pulling to the side. You need to make sure that the moving parts move freely and the fixed parts are fixed firmly.

Next most important thing is tyres - copy what others are running.

Just run the car in kit setup first. Driving and tyres makes so much more difference than the setup. When you are running consistent laps, then you can think about changing the setup to find more speed.

looks helpful that pal thanks :)

yep cant argue there pal, when I next goto a club I will ask the experienced people to see if the servo horn looks straight, it does to me but would prefer a second opinion.

tyre wise I did speak to other guys at the club and got the same tyres and most I think, mini spikes, used on a smooth, slippy floor with bits of carpet sometimes, just need to wear them in more to get more grip as I struggled on one particular tight corner, but that could be my driving lol but I was also told the new tyres are mo good on the slick surface, so I guess that's a tip for future racing too maybe

Doesn't matter if it looks straight, it matters if the steering is central when the servo is central.

great not just a 10min quick fix then lol

Will take 2 min take the servo horn off turn the power on you'll here the servo centralise then screw it back on, make sure your steering trims set to 0 and you put it back on so the steering a strait and your done.

ok great, will have a fiddle when I get chance, fingers crossed :blush: thanks a lot :)

Where are you racing?

being a newbie the speed I go at I wouldn't call it racing lol ( I know it aint just about speed) - still in sunday driver mode getting a feel of the car etc but at the moment I am just going to 10 electric at cullingworth, but also hoping to go indoors with batley buggy club at whitcliffe and poss bury metro too, just depends what days and times the last 2 clubs run over winter :)

Phil, you are more than welcome to ask me any questions, I will answer them as best I can and try and get you in the right direction. Neal Lewis and Jim Furniss run the same car as you, and I'm sure they wouldn't mind helping you out.

The best thing to do is fiddle around your self and find out what changing stuff actually does.

thanks a lot James :)

will have a fiddle and look at the other guys set ups in depth if I can between races and get a few tips;)

Phil,

If you are ever down at Bury Metro there's plenty of people who can help you out, were running indoor and outdoor through the winter.

As for the setup guides that have been suggested none of them are without glaring inaccuracies, compare the Arno setup page to the Hudy/Xray guide and you will see exact opposite theories on certain aspects.

The Arno (Btinternet.com...) website is the most accurate amongst the opinions of the racers I speak to and has a nice summary page showing what happens to the handling if you raise this/lower this that can be useful.

I would however avoid the Xray guide like the plague,
It's nicely presented but in my opinion is littered with blatantly incorrect information which isn't going to help.

No theory however can make up for the feeling the change makes to you on track so when you do make small adjustments at a time as the previous poster suggested. For now though, as said earlier just run the car in stock guide with the correct tyres to let you build up a feel for the car. When you have a feel you can start to make small changes.
If the car feels better after the change then great but if not you can go back to your neutral car and start again. What Isn't recommended however is to make a change then change something else to try to achieve what you set out to do. This rarely works unless you really know what you are doing so it's always better to undo what you did, go back to your default setup, think what you want the car to do?, Check the guide to see what change may offer this then give it a go.

If you are still running the standard front springs I suggest you get some harder ones they will make a huge difference to handling on the front making it more stable, less likely to oversteer and generally easier to drive consistently. Harder front springs are nearly always used on high grip astro tracks also.

Hope this helps a little,


Chris

that's great Chris thanks a lot. Funny, I was reading about springs yesterday and will buy a selection in once I get my car running straight.

I was going to try some softer ones on the front for cullingworth as I think I read that for a smooth, slippy surface then softer are better. As cully is a village hall and a tight, twisty track I thought I would give em a whirl and see how the car handled and felt.

Slippy floors can make a car want to understeer with a 2wd as the front tyres do not hook up as well as they would on grippy surfaces like astro and carpet. Due to this you are correct that softening the front spring will help the car through tight and slippy sections.
However all setup is a trade off, if you gain a lot more of A you will lose performance somewhere else. For example if you tune your steering for more initial grip (start of the corner) you will generally lose grip towards the exit and vice versa. People talk of the perfect setup but in reality this doesn't exist it's just finding a compromise on how the car behaves on track to suit your style .

A spring set is a good idea but on your first visit run the car as it is now to get a feel for the car then when you do try a harder/softer spring you should be able to feel whether it's better or worse for you.
Softening the front spring as you say may be a good idea to get the car to turn in but if the track has carpet sections it will bt twitchy with a soft front end.

It's all about prioritising what setting would be most suited to the majority of the layout in my opinion.


Chris

hey Chris - I've already been to cully a couple of weeks back which was my first time indoors with the car, blummin loved it too. Going again this Friday and will still have same kit springs on so will be good to see how I and the car do 2nd time round :)

Also been over to Batley outdoors too in the astro 3/4 times on a non club day again to get a feel of the car and see how we went, I know totally different surfaces but all in all it went ok

once I sort out my brca membership after their agm and find out what days and times Batley and Bury run over winter I can see about joining the fun and learning a thing or two :)

I'm more than happy to help you out where I can and I'm sure Neal will do the same. It's amazing how a little adjustment can make the car so much better.

awesome pal thanks very much�� will take you up on that for sure ��