General set up questions (ET48 2.0)

[PKMSM]

Do most of you use the outer hole in the servo hole or the inner? I have the Tekno aluminum horn and a Protek 170TBL servo.

Also, when you use wheels/tires with different overall diameters, do you set the ride height every time?

Lastly, I’ve read that it’s recommended to install batteries such that the battery wires face the back of the car to help prevent damage to the battery with front impacts. Does this recommendation also apply to batteries that have bullet connectors? I ask because the ESC wires on my Monster X are fairly short, but they will reach the bullets if the battery is facing forward. If the battery faces backward, I’d need to extend the ESC wires. On the Castle the battery wires are potted, which means I can’t change the wire to a longer one but will have to add to it.

 

[Billl DeLong]

1) outer
2) yes
3) yes, no matter what the design of the battery tray will cause premature damage to any brand of battery, positioning the internal solder tabs to the rear will simply extend the life a little more.

 

[PKMSM]

Thanks as always!

While on general set up topics, there seems to be differences in opinion as to whether the pinion/spur gears should be lubricated (when both are metal). I was thinking of applying a dry lube, like the type used on bike chains or even spray silicone, but if not needed I won’t bother with it.

 

[EngenZerO]

My understanding of the horn position are.

Inner - less speed more torque more resolution
Outer - more speed less torque less resolution

Other two are yes.

Pinion and Spur I just leave it be.

 

[Billl DeLong]

No need to lube steel spurs, don't want to attract dirt which will act like sandpaper and cause premature wear. Not sure if dry lubes are effective for high RPM applications either.

 

[PKMSM]

1) outer
2) yes
3) yes, no matter what the design of the battery tray will cause premature damage to any brand of battery, positioning the internal solder tabs to the rear will simply extend the life a little more.

So related to question 2 above (whether I need to set the ride height with different sized wheels):

I have assembled the car in stock configuration per the manual, and set the ride height to 32mm front and 36mm rear with 148mm wheels. To achieve 32mm in the front, the front shock collar is almost all the way up (less than 1mm of movement left), meaning that when I install the Backflip 4S wheels (~155mm dia.), I won't be able to bring the front down to 32mm. How do you lower the height in this case?

Also another question - this is not about OCD, but more for learning value: the standard droop settings in the front is 121mm, but I can't get the droop any higher than 120mm. Even with the droop screws completely out of the way, the shocks reach their limit and won't allow the arms to drop any lower. I adjust the droop screws just enough so that they stop the arm movement and not the shocks, but in this position I am at 120mm. Not sure how much of a difference 1mm makes, but again, it's more about making sure I learn about setting things up correctly. Is there a way to adjust the droop a little higher?

Thanks.

 

[Matthew_Armeni]

So related to question 2 above (whether I need to set the ride height with different sized wheels):

I have assembled the car in stock configuration per the manual, and set the ride height to 32mm front and 36mm rear with 148mm wheels. To achieve 32mm in the front, the front shock collar is almost all the way up (less than 1mm of movement left), meaning that when I install the Backflip 4S wheels (~155mm dia.), I won't be able to bring the front down to 32mm. How do you lower the height in this case?

Also another question - this is not about OCD, but more for learning value: the standard droop settings in the front is 121mm, but I can't get the droop any higher than 120mm. Even with the droop screws completely out of the way, the shocks reach their limit and won't allow the arms to drop any lower. I adjust the droop screws just enough so that they stop the arm movement and not the shocks, but in this position I am at 120mm. Not sure how much of a difference 1mm makes, but again, it's more about making sure I learn about setting things up correctly. Is there a way to adjust the droop a little higher?

Thanks.

The recommended ride height is based on race tires, which are somewhere around 140-146mm. When you're setting your ride height, you're setting what I like to think of as your suspension's "base" geometry. This will be where the suspension works best for you. Some of the team drivers like their truggies with a much larger rake, 31-38 for example. I like less rake and often run 32-35. It's driver dependent and can change based on the track and conditions. When you put on the bigger tires don't change the ride height from what you had with the race tires or you'll be outside of ideal suspension range for the truck.

There's actually a mistake in the manual for the front droop, it should not be 121. You'll want something between 114-118mm. Start with 118mm and reduce it a little at a time until the handling and jump landing gets worse, then add some back in.

 

[PKMSM]

The recommended ride height is based on race tires, which are somewhere around 140-146mm. When you're setting your ride height, you're setting what I like to think of as your suspension's "base" geometry. This will be where the suspension works best for you. Some of the team drivers like their truggies with a much larger rake, 31-38 for example. I like less rake and often run 32-35. It's driver dependent and can change based on the track and conditions. When you put on the bigger tires don't change the ride height from what you had with the race tires or you'll be outside of ideal suspension range for the truck.

There's actually a mistake in the manual for the front droop, it should not be 121. You'll want something between 114-118mm. Start with 118mm and reduce it a little at a time until the handling and jump landing gets worse, then add some back in.

Matthew,

Thank you for the response, this makes a lot of sense. I measured the wheels I used for the ride height again, and they are actually ~145mm so looks like I set the ride height using the correct wheels.

Also thanks for mentioning the error, this explains the droop setting problem in the front. For the rear, the manual specifies the droop setting @ 134mm, is this the correct number?

 

[crazy nick]

As for ride height , just make the rear so the axles are in a straight line , this is called “bones level” then the front just a hair lower than level. I do this with buggy and truggy. I never actually measure ride height.