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Team driver tips

Team Driver Tips from around the World

Chad Bradley Team Hong Nor/Jammin USA

Clutch Set-up
The Hong Nor/Jammin X1-CRT original equipment includes aluminum clutch shoes. In order to get them to perform consistent throughout the life of the shoe, there are a few things I do to them upon initial set-up.

X1-CR Blue Shoes with 1.0mm springs. Be sure that the shoe fit on the flywheel pin is free and will rotate with only the weight of the shoe (no spring). If they are at all tight, I drill out the pin hole in the clutch shoe to allow for the clutch dust build-up. Use a 2.5/2.6mm drill bit and give it a waggle to make the hole slightly bigger. Be careful while drilling because the anodizing may gaul up and seize the bit.

X1-CRT Blue Shoes with 1.1mm springs. Use the same process above to free up the pin hole. I also widen the gap where the spring coil fits to allow clearance for this thicker spring. Use a hand file or dremel tool and take some material from the inside surfaces of the gap (the area around the pin hole) to allow the spring to slide in the gap with little or no interference.

Be sure to use the small washer shims on the flywheel pin between the shoe and flywheel. This allows the shoe to move free when a bur develops from wear. I also use Acer Ceramic 5x10mm bearings in the clutch. They withstand the extreme heat better and will last longer than the original steel.

Sway Bars The Jammin X1-CR & X1-CRT sway bars mount on the front and rear bulkheads with plastic straps holding them in place. The center hole in the plastic strap is for a 3mm x 5mm set screw used as an adjuster to eliminate the excessive play when using different diameter bars. Before you connect the sway bar links, tighten the set screws until you feel friction on the bar while moving up and down through the travel. Back the set screw off so there is just the slightest amount of friction.

This adjustment makes the sway bar react to the slightest amount of chassis roll and will keep the chassis centered better. Frequently check the play in the set screws since they will wear and require adjusting.

Shock Adjusters The Jammin X1-CR & X1-CRT shocks have threaded shock adjusters to make quick and accurate spring preload adjustments. When I build the shocks for the first time, I turn the shock adjusters all the way to the top of the shocks and make a reference mark on the adjuster nut, so that I can refer to these marks when tuning the car or relaying to my pit crew to make a track side adjustment.

I use a cutting disk on a dremel and grind a slot into the adjuster. I will align the slot so it faces rearward for the rear shocks, and forward for the front shocks. Some guys use paint or a marker, but it tends to wear off over time.

X1-CR Body Mount
The rear body mount on the X1-CR can be lowered down. This allows for more direct air flow over the engine head fins for more cooling and gives the car a lower look. Move the mount & screw to the lower hole of the tower and the centering pin will hang into the relief area of the tower. You may need to trim some of the centering pin on the mount for it to fit properly.

Shock Building
When assembling the shocks, be sure to snap the "O" ring retainer clip into the shock body with the sharp edge of the clip facing outward. This gives it a more positive lock. You can also stretch the clip to make it slightly larger diameter. This is just a little insurance to keep the clip from popping out.

Long Wheelbase
I have found that you may increase the wheelbase by 2mm of the CRT or CR by simply reversing the rear hubs left to right. During testing on the CRT, this modification let the truck go through the bumps on a very rough track more predictable. The truck also had more steering from the middle to exit of the turn. I have not yet experimented on the CR buggy, but it is worth trying.

Brakes
A common question I hear in the pits is about brake set-up and how to keep them from sticking. The most common problem I see is that there is too much free play in the calipers. I set up my brakes with very little free play between the calipers and brake disk(s). Either with the fiber disks or steel disks. Be sure to assemble the calipers so that the slotted hole is on the right side (passenger) of the car/truck. This is the side that swings when the cam is applied for braking. Another trick is to remove the corners from the cams that are not used during braking. These corners can hit the center diff. or the opposite side of the caliper depending on how much throw you have in the linkage. Simply grind these corners to a small radius.

Fuel Tank Lid
The Hong Nor/Jammin tanks have an adjustable pressure nipple on the fuel tank lid. This nipple can be rotated to any position to accommodate your fuel line routing. It is important that this area stays sealed. I put a little longer screw in the pressure nipple assembly on the center of the fuel filler cap. I use a drop of glue on the bottom threads of the screw. Once I position the nipple where I want it, I glue around the circle part with a thin bead of thick glue (Pro-line works well). Us the straw insert to make it easier. Be sure the screw is not too long as it will start to push the plastic out the bottom side and crack the cap.

Jamie Booth Team Hong Nor UK

Toe out
On tight grass UK tracks I find that the X1CR and CRT both respond well to having 2-3degrees of Toe out on the front. Having this much toe out gives the car much more steering at low speed.

Front upper link
The front upper link on both the X1CR and CRT can have quite a marked effect on steering response. Use the middle position for consistent steering (entry and exit) or when there are fast sweeping corners on the track. The lower position really makes the car/truggy turn in harder when there are hairpin bends aproached at speed. Avoid using the lower position on fast high traction sweeping corners. The car can become more nervous in these situations.

Clutch bell bearings
The clutch bell bearings on any 1/8 car should be treated as consumable, most top racers change these bearings for every race meeting. Its better to use cheap bearings and regularly change them than use expensive bearings and leave them. I have never found an indestructible bearing for this area.

Shock cap seal (diaphragm)
On the X1CR pro uk the diaphragm on the front can get damaged in the event of a large jump. To prevent this make sure that when you put the shock cap on that the piston rod is pushed almost all the way up first. After the cap is fastend the rod should only be pushed out 5-8mm by the presure in the shock. Any more and the risk of damaging the diaphragm is greatly increased. I also place 2 small o rings on the outside of the shock shaft to act as a bump stop in the event of a heavy crash or bad landing, again this saves the diaphragm.

Front wishbones
On the front wishbones of the X1CR I grind a small amount of material away so that when the suspension is at full travel the knuckle hitting the wishbone does not reduce steering lock. On most UK tracks this is not relevant, but on dirt when using lots of droop it can help.

Servo saver
When racing the X1CR on high grip grass or astro turf fit the J-29 servo saver spring from the truggy. This spring is much stiffer and offers better steering control on high grip surfaces. Be warned though, this should only be used with top quality servo's like the Sanwa ERG-VX.