How Do You Drive Your 4wd Buggy ???

[kayce]

Originally Posted by dexter24

Although i have turned the EPA down on the radio to control the power of the motor better i think i will buy an 8.5t motor and see that works out

6.5 to 8.5 isn't that much of a change

[Richard Lowe]

Originally Posted by dexter24

I try to be smooth on the throttle going round the track but have noticed other drivers blipping the throttle when conrnering...........does this help ???

Nope, it's a bad habit mostly from driving nitro's

It's perfectly fine to make fast stick movements but you should never 'stab' at them. Newer drivers that haven't developed their finer control sometimes attack the sticks on and off like a switch to approximate what they need but they find their way eventually, smooth controlled aggression is what you're aiming for

[Dave Dodd]

what i do to stop having too much steering or not enough is to turn the servo speed down on the tx, then no matter how erratic i am with the stick its not exaggerated on the car.. also feeding the power in helps.. all above comments have nailed it...

[James]

Make sure your brains turned on, don't be lazy on the sticks, focus and practice..

All of the above i have failed on this year

[eyeayen]

What everyone has already posted is spot on.

Learning the track is vital, hitting apex's as often as you can will speed you up, and remember, fast into the corner - slow out, slow and controlled into the corner, hitting the apex, fast out

[Jnunu1]

Just to say this is one of the best threads I have ever read. Invaluable..

[Big G]

Although I'm no super star I'd advise popping in a 7.5 motor and learning with that. It'll be decent enough to get you down the straights and handy in the infield.

I've kept up with much higher ability people through the infield with my 7.5... then on the straight he pulled a 10ft lead out on me lol.

[kayce]

Originally Posted by Big G

Although I'm no super star I'd advise popping in a 7.5 motor and learning with that. It'll be decent enough to get you down the straights and handy in the infield.

Then at that rate he might as well leave the 6.5 (turned down epa) in it.

[Disco-Panda]

[QUOTE=Big G;583241]Although I'm no super star QUOTE]


HAHAHAHAA Gareth you are My Hero!!!!!

[Disco-Panda]

Originally Posted by smOkin

focus and practice..

This is the advice a top UK driver gave to my father

[Big G]

Originally Posted by kayce

Then at that rate he might as well leave the 6.5 (turned down epa) in it.

firstly the roll eyes smiley is really insulting...

secondly if you run a fast motor and just turn down the ETA the speedo and motor don't function properly and because you know you have that power you just go and use it. you aren't being forced to use what you have.

Relate this to playing gran truismo on the playstation. jump in a fast car and there's no challenge at all. use a equal car and you have to drive so much cleaner and better to win. The slower motor will teach you to learn your lines and carry speed before you increase your power.

[brooksy]

I agree with big g,ive been running a 5.5 in my cars for the last two years and not improved one bit really. So,as I decided to buy myself an x2c I thought I'd try a milder motor,7.5. Ive since got more confident in driving and far more consistent with my lap times. So ive decided to give it a go in my fs2 for the next round at worksop and hopefully I can do the same in 4wd as I have in 2wd. SPEED IS NOT EVERYTHING. (only took me two years to find out).

[kayce]

Originally Posted by Big G

firstly the roll eyes smiley is really insulting...

secondly if you run a fast motor and just turn down the ETA the speedo and motor don't function properly and because you know you have that power you just go and use it. you aren't being forced to use what you have.

Easy big fella - Don't get your panties in a knot, mate.

Second, and like I said earlier, the difference between a 6.5 and a 7.5 is hardly enough to make that much of a noticeable difference. And, for cripes sake, if you're going to suggest enough of a motor change at least make it viable - like a 8.5 or even a 10.5 (since he's running indoors and really can use the complete range of throttle).

[discostu]

Originally Posted by kayce

I'm not going to get into a bunch of back-&-forth about set-ups - because it's my opinion that every new guy is way too obsessed with the term, while the reality is that (because of differences in driving style) odds are my set-up won't work for you just like someone else's set-up won't work for me - as realistically, it's one of those things you learn over time relative to your own personal preferences...

So I'm just going to cover general driver tips ~
1) SLOW DOWN - it seems that every new guy equates going fast to slapping in a fast motor, but it usually only equates to them hitting harder when they do wreck. I've always used the simple equation, fast motors are for big tracks and slow motors are for small tracks. Even if it means sacrificing a little on straightaway speed, a slower motor choice is easier to drive cleanly on the infield sections where corner speed means more than raw speed. So, while 4wd cars require the user to be on the throttle more aggressively than a 2wd (which require more throttle control), it also results in people over-driving them because they've got too much power on tap. That's why I always tell guys, when you can make the A-Final with a "stock" (speed) motor then and only then are you ready to move up to a fast/modified motor.
2) DON'T CRASH SO MUCH - it also seems that new guys are way too obsessed with lap times, when in reality if they would crash less often they'd go faster (total laps). If you look at the truly fast guys you'll notice they can go through a heat or a race without crashing EVER, and that should be your goal. I was told way back in my early days that "crashing and needing marshalled costs you 1/2 a lap, at least" - and thus, if you're wrecking 5-6 times a heat it's not hard to figure out why you're 3 laps behind the fast guys. Lap times don't count unless you're able to do them lap after lap. (also, refer back to Rule#1)
3) BE REALISTIC - lower your expectations, if you do the basic math and if there is a 1-in-10 shot you're going to win and that by the time you do factor in the "fast guys" that leaves you a "mid pack guy" more often than not. Not everyone's got the talent to be one of the "fast guys," and the sooner you wrap your head around the idea that you're not going to win the more fun this hobby will be over the long term - and the more proud you'll be on the rare days that you do manage to eek out a win.
4) BE A MAINTENANCE JUNKY - one of the mistakes I see by many new guys is that they put the car away after each meet and don't even look at it until slapping it on the pit table at the next meet. "Close enough" isn't good enough, if you have any plans on ever being one of the fast guys, and there's no such thing as "too much maintenance." The smoother these cars work, because of being freshly rebuilt, the more consistent they perform on the track, and the more consistent the car is the greater the opportunity for the driver to be consistent (instead of relying on a car that's worse every time they drive it).
5) IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT IT'S FOR, DON'T USE IT - I see a lot of guys using settings like "drag brakes" and most often I can't understand why. Drag brakes is primarily (designed for and) used in on-road racing on high traction surfaces, and seldom if ever is it of any use in off-road racing on more slippery surfaces. It's designed to slow a car down every time you get off the gas, when you're charging into corners very fast - but if your car is fishtailing all over the place either because your car is unweighted and not settled because it just landed a jump, or because there's little to no traction available because of the surface, you're just making the car harder to drive.

this is a bad example yes agree if you dont know what it does ask and experiment unfortuantly saying what you have said in your example is wrong for starters drag brake wasn't designed for on road drivers it was designed to give a simular feel to a brushed motor setup if you knew anything about on road racing you would realise you use brakes as little as possible and you very rarly get off the gas fully because it unsettles the car and again saying its never used in off road again is wrong especaily in low traction condition it can be used to get the front of the car to bite into the corner off power and generate turn where normaly the front would wash out.

the best advice to give is practice lots experiment and understand what each setting does in your own way what i mean by this if you speak to 10 differnt drivers and ask the same question you will get very simular answers explained in a slightly different which can be confusing.

for example the question could be how do i get more steering in the corner.
the answer could be use a softer front spring which would achive this unless you need more steering into the corner then you would need a stiffer front spring which will make the car sharper and more reactive.

understand your handset aswell end points, steering curves, dual rates

stu

[kayce]

Originally Posted by discostu

for starters drag brake wasn't designed for on road drivers it was designed to give a simular feel to a brushed motor setup if you knew anything about on road racing you would realise you use brakes as little as possible and you very rarly get off the gas fully because it unsettles the car

If you knew anything about on-road racing or brushed motors esc's you'd know we used drag brakes long before anybody ever thought of a brushless motor, and that brakes are used all the time by good drivers. Sorry m8, but you're misinformed.

[Steven Forster]

Originally Posted by discostu

[/B]

this is a bad example yes agree if you dont know what it does ask and experiment unfortuantly saying what you have said in your example is wrong for starters drag brake wasn't designed for on road drivers it was designed to give a simular feel to a brushed motor setup if you knew anything about on road racing you would realise you use brakes as little as possible and you very rarly get off the gas fully because it unsettles the car and again saying its never used in off road again is wrong especaily in low traction condition it can be used to get the front of the car to bite into the corner off power and generate turn where normaly the front would wash out.

the best advice to give is practice lots experiment and understand what each setting does in your own way what i mean by this if you speak to 10 differnt drivers and ask the same question you will get very simular answers explained in a slightly different which can be confusing.

for example the question could be how do i get more steering in the corner.
the answer could be use a softer front spring which would achive this unless you need more steering into the corner then you would need a stiffer front spring which will make the car sharper and more reactive.

understand your handset aswell end points, steering curves, dual rates

stu

This was what i found out which made me try using drag brake in the first place which helped out loads when the grip of the track is ok but when its really slippy (polished/painted concrete floor) its like driving on ice...............!!!

I will try racing this friday night without drag brake on and will report back with my findings

[lochness42]

I drive it like an animal Sometimes end up without a wheel or two

[discostu]

Originally Posted by kayce

If you knew anything about on-road racing or brushed motors esc's you'd know we used drag brakes long before anybody ever thought of a brushless motor, and that brakes are used all the time by good drivers. Sorry m8, but you're misinformed.

im terribly sorry for no nothing about tc racing maybe i must have been wrong after winning 4 carpet wars championships 2 stcc cahmpionships and making 14 natinal A finals where the lowest result i had was 8th the best was 2nd

and yes the function of drag brake was there but a good tc driver would not have the need to use it for some reason auto roll was prefered to hold corner speed.

unfortuantly not misinformed personel experience

Stu Rand

[Timee80]

Originally Posted by discostu

im terribly sorry for no nothing about tc racing maybe i must have been wrong after winning 4 carpet wars championships 2 stcc cahmpionships and making 14 natinal A finals where the lowest result i had was 8th the best was 2nd

and yes the function of drag brake was there but a good tc driver would not have the need to use it for some reason auto roll was prefered to hold corner speed.

unfortuantly not misinformed personel experience

Stu Rand

Thats you told

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by kayce

If you knew anything about on-road racing or brushed motors esc's you'd know we used drag brakes long before anybody ever thought of a brushless motor, and that brakes are used all the time by good drivers. Sorry m8, but you're misinformed.

have to say when i used to run tc when it first apeared as wide tc then scale tc, i never ran drag brakes as the motor created its own drag and slowed you too much, i just relied on my own skill to brake in brushless motors drag brakes is used to replicate the brushed effect, and it can be used to help the car turn in beter dependent on track and driver style