Lazer zx-5

[jonathan challenor]

Hi can anyone tell me how to set up my zx-5 for indoor racing with a track that consists of slippy and grippy surfaces the track also has a few rubber mats and some fairly large jumps. also i don't know if the motor influences the set up, but if so i am running a 10x2 team checkpoint motor.

Looking forward to hearing from you. Thanks

[CraigM2610]

hi there

i have no idea how good this set up is...i found it in an old racer mag lol

front:
oil-40
pistons-kit with two holes drilled to 1.5mm
springs-kyosho yellow
shock pos-tower-top middle
shock pos-wishbone-outside
ride height-driveshafts level

back
oil-30
pistons-kit with two holes drilled to 1.5mm
springs-kyosho blue
shock pos-tower-top middle
shock pos-wishbone-outside
ride height-driveshafts level

gearing (10x2) 17/76
cell position-rear

hope this helps

Craig

[jonathan challenor]

Thanks Craig im sure this will help

[JCJC]

Looks like Nigg's original setup, (direct links not working in setup section), but yellow minipins will make most difference, you can afford to run slightly harder suspension and sit lower, car will not be bounced around like on grass, think smooth and keep away from any brick walls !

[jonathan challenor]

Thanks i hope all this will work =)

[jim76]

also don't run the front one way. i ran this on carpet first time i got my lazer and it was undriveable, turned in so much it just span itself.
run the diff up front with a one way layshaft, if that's too agressive then just run the diff.
low and stiff is also the way forward as already said. I'd also run the rear roll bar (then again i always run the roll bar!)

[jonathan challenor]

thanks everyone and i was wondering how i could stop it from spinning out. i must loose about 3 seconds a lap due to this now i might be able to keep up with other people =)

[RogerM]

First thing you need to do is work out if it's too much front lateral grip or not enough rear .... more tricky than it might seem at first.

Easiest way is to stiffen the front springs and see if that helps ..... although it is likely to dull the cars response and make it kick it's nose up over the bumps but try to ignor that for now .... does it cure the spin outs? If it does your probably too soft all round ..... try that next.

Once you have the springs somewhere near then work on the oils to correctly damp the springs.

Once you have that then start to wrok on the link positions.

Forgot to mention that I normally do this process with the upper shock position in the middle hole (inside of middle 2 if a 4 hole tower) and the lower mount (wishbone) out on carpet ... in on rough surfaces or dirt.

If you can work out what the car is doing on corner entry -- mid corner -- and exit along with posting your set-up we might be able to point you in the direction of an improvement.


On the whole the order of set-up changes (most effect to least) are

tires
springs
oils
links
shock positions
castor
wheelbase

Get the tires and the shocks right and your a long way towards a result ... I think of the other adjustments as a fine tunning aid.

A couple of people expressed concern to see the whole front end of my RB5 in pieces between the first two rounds at a recent indoor event ...... some felt I may be making too many adjustments at once .... the following round the car went TQ ....

[jonathan challenor]

well at the moment i am running

front
shock position in tower middle
shock position wish bone out side
oil is 40
one-way diff
yellow springs
also i had a little experiment with it and i have put the 1.5 mm roll bar on it and the amount of times that it span out weren't as frequent and it helped it over the jumps a bit

back
shock position in tower top
shock position in wish bone in side
oil is 30
green springs

motor 10x2 team checkpoint
gears
pinion 18 tooth
shaft 84 tooth
tires yellow mini spikes and some times yellow mini pins all round
also which hole should i put the steering tie bar in on the knuckle arm

[sosidge]

Looking at your setup it seems that the full one-way diff is your biggest problem, this is almost certainly what is causing the car to loop around.

If it is the slippy bits where the car spins, try running with full-time 4wd and no roll bars. If it is the grippy bits, increase roll stiffness at the front to stop it hooking in.

I ran a Lazer a couple of times at Teesside, and although I didn't set the world alight (far from it), I found that the car was pretty driveable with the kit setup with the following changes.

Front: Inner hole on wishbone, #500 oil, camber link in outer bulkhead hole
Rear: Outer hole on wishbone, #350 oil, camber link in outer bulkhead hole
Drive: Diffs front and rear, centre one-way
Cells: Rearward.
Ride height: Driveshafts level

This was on worn yellow minispikes.

I don't know if Martin Illsley is seen at Teeside much these days but if you see him driving a Lazer then that is probably my old car and probably still has my setup on it, I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you took a look.

Dave A.

[jonathan challenor]

thanks after all this my buggy should be running perfectly

[RogerM]

I agree .... swap the front one-way for a shaft one-way to begin with ..... not everybody can drive quickly with a one-way diff (please don't take that in any other way than constructive as it is meant)

What pistons are you running front and rear?

What link positions are you using front and rear?

I don't understand why the rear roll bar would help over jumps ..... now if the jumps are directly after a fairly tight corner the extra roll control might help the car enter teh ramp straight and true.

If the rear roll bar is helping it might still be a front end problem ..... the extra rear roll control preventing the whole chassis rotating into the corner.

What effect does moving the cells front and back do for you? If the cells forward makes the problem worse it's almost certainly the front end needing stiffening a little .... or a shorter more angled (down at the inner end) front link.

[jonathan challenor]

shock pistons are 2b all round i think and i forgot to mention earlier that i was running the one way on the shaft and not the diff and what do you mean by the link positions.

by the way i am fairly new to the sport so thats why i really don't have a clue but Gary at TRCC said he doesn't think it's my driving style so thats one posotive thing at least

[josh_smaxx]

Originally Posted by jonathan challenor

Gary at TRCC said he doesn't think it's my driving style so thats one posotive thing at least

I thought he said it was your driving style

[jonathan challenor]

no josh he said it was the set up, if you miss heard

[RogerM]

By link positions I mean the positions of the ball studs on the top suspension links (some people refer to them as camber links ... top arms ... etc.)

Part of the reason I am getting a ZX5-Sp to try is that traditionally Kyosho have always produced a naturally neutral car. That means it can be adapted to most driving styles so don't worry, we will get you there.

Without being able to see you drive the car it is going to be a bit of a slog but so long as you feedback what each set of changes do for you we'll get there.

[josh_smaxx]

I think he will be driving at teesside regional so someone may be able to report back from there.

[JCJC]

You need to look for a setup sheet thats close to what you are driving on, grass, astro, carpet. you won't find many for the ZX-5

get some blank sheets and note your starting positions, make small changes, one step at a time, make notes, so if you notice improvements you know why, if things get worse you can back track.

Here is a setup thats easy to understand
http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/setupsh...iscactus06.pdf

i may/may not apply, but you can see which holes Pavidis used. you can navigate to this sheet from the oOple kyosho setup links, a lot do not work, but still one or two in there.

afterthought: What works for other drivers may not work for you, driving styles vary, specialy the top guys

[sosidge]

Jonathan Challenor - by any chance was yours the Lazer with nasty handling in the bottom final at yesterday's regional? Reddy/bluey kind of body?

For some reason I noticed your car as I was waiting for my final. Have you found that it only loops around on right hand turns? Looked that way to me.

If so, I would say there is something mechanically off with the car. Not a setup issue.

Either the settings are uneven from left to right, or something is binding on one side of the car like a bearing or a driveshaft.

Give the car a thorough going over to make sure no parts are damaged and everything moves freely. That may be your problem.

[josh_smaxx]

That might have something to do with the huge metal plate screwed to the bottom of the chassis holding it together