tips for racing 1/8 buggy on astro
 

Hi,

I know many UK racers run 1/8 on astro so maybe I'll find some help here :)

do you have any general tips to share to set up a car for very high grip tracks?

what tires do you use, shock positions, camber, toe settings..?

My local astro track is even more grippy than normal astroturf in the dry.

On my HPI Vorza I run:

Schumacher yellow mini pins

http://www.racing-cars.com/pp/Produc...rts/U6723.html

Fastrax green inserts (hard)

http://www.modelsport.co.uk/fastrax-...roducts/366660

HotBodies oversize 1/8th buggy wheels

http://www.hpiracing.com/en/part/67527

The combination of oversize wheel and hard insert/tyre compound gets rid of some side grip and allows you to push a buggy harder without grip rolling. This setup has consistently given me my best lap time on dry astro BUT self-discipline is essential, the car will still have a lot of side grip so you must do all your braking and jumping in a straight line.

Also i've adapted a rear sway bar to fit on the front which makes a difference (0.5mm thicker) and I run hard springs with the shocks on the outer hole on the tower.

At this time of year you might also want to get some of these for when it's wet:

http://www.racing-cars.com/pp/Produc...rts/U6751.html

And some of these for when it's really wet (i.e puddles on track):

http://www.racing-cars.com/pp/Produc...rts/U6757.html

Hope this helps!

this is a detailed answer, thanks!

I used to run prepared mini pins

http://www.heberger-image.fr/data/im..._IMGP8361.jpeg

probably the best performing tire on short & dry astro, even better when they wear but they are pretty agressive (maybe because of the normal aka inserts and wheels I used?)

aka crossbrace are good in hard compound too on astro, that's what I use outdoor at the moment it's an easy to drive tire

I'll have to modify the shock position as I didn't touch it for now. As well as shock oils and springs.

What oils do you have in your diffs?

True, wheels and inserts make a big difference. A lot of the guys here went for the yellow minipin premounts but the sidewall isn't stiff enough making them aggressive and prone to griproll like you say (but that's why I recommended the silver minispike premounts for the wet, because when it's slippery a soft sidewall helps).

TBH I never had very good results with grinding rows of spikes off minipins, if anything it seemed to make the griproll worse but that may be because even compared to other 1/8th buggies, the Vorza is a big heavy car. When I cut a row of spikes off the rears on my 1/10th ZX5 I could feel the improvement straight away.

RE Diffs, I usually run 5k front, 5k or 10k centre and 1k rear, I haven't really experimented much with diff oils but 5k in the centre reduces the likelihood of the car ending up on its roof when you brake hard on the entry into slow corners and also helps if the track is bumpy.

I could feel the difference when cutting the rows but it needs so much time that I'm looking for an easier solution :lol:

maybe these could be good, all new astro/carpet tires (coumpound I would say because the tread is known already)

6mik

http://img547.imageshack.us/img547/8180/qnan.jpg

They look interesting, if you try a set post up on here how well they work:)

I will if I get a set :)

did a few research and here are some general tips to run on astro:

- reduce the droop and the ride height to avoid traction roll
- incline your shocks (easier to drive car)
- use less toe in in the back -> it will free up the rear and make it slide rather than be inconsistent
- use thicker sways to reduce the global adherence
- use tires with a lot of forward bite but very little side bite
....

Beware of general astro setups, not every astro is the same. I didn't know this, until i had seen this myself. Also the cars can make a huge difference, comparing an XRAY with an HPI is a no go for me.

I have driven on astro most of the time, first with an RC8.2E and later with the XB9E. While i could not get the RC8.2E do what i wanted, with the XB9E i improved almost immediately with the basic setup.

We most of the time drive Tourex X300 Syntrac (buggy-cup.nl regulations), but when wet soft or super soft.

The Mini-Pins i did not try them myself, but as far i can see (on our track), they have high bite, but are unpredictable (unforgiving) even when more then one row is cut in the front or rear.

Try a worn set a pins with five or six rows left I leave the car on a dirt set up bar droppin ride height a bit an use trimmed angles in damp

You're right saying it depends a lot of the car but I just need a setup to begin with. I'll race the JQ this winter, not the XB9E that I'll use for training. We race on a small indoor track and drivers/track are agressive so I don't want to wear the XB9E too fast. I need to keep it fresh for next summer seasons (national e-buggy championship). The JQ is 3 years old in comparison and I know this buggy by heart (even if it's not as good/ strong/ easy to drive etc..)

I agree with the mini pins, they need quite a lot of work to be efficient. The car always felt twitchy with them even if it gets better when they wear out. Maybe I could give the mini spikes a try? I can be very fast on technical tracks but I need to be confident in the car.