I AM PRETTY NEW TO OVAL RACING AND I THINK THAT ONE OF MY BIGGEST PROBLEMS IS THAT I DONT REALLY HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT DOES WHAT SO I AM GOING TO PUT A LIST BELOW OF JUST SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I DONT UNDERSTAND IF YOU CAN PUT YOUR .02 IN AND JUST TELL ME HOW EACH THING IS GOING TO EFFECT THE CAR THAT WOULD BE AWSOME AND IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT YOU DONT SEE ON THE LIST THAT MIGHT BE HELPFULL PLEASE ADD IT..... I WILL START FROM THE FRONT AND WORK MY WAY TO THE REAR,, ANY HELP WITH THIS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED AND IT WOULD MAKE MY RACE DAYS A LOT FUNNER SINCE I WOULD HAVE A BETTER IDEA OF WHAT CHANGES I NEED TO MAKE.....

1) PUTTING SHIMS ON THE FRONT AXLE BEHIND THE TIRE
2) PUTTING SHIMS ON THE KING PINS ESPECIALLY ON THE TOP
3) ADJUSTING THE UPPER A-ARM FRONT TO BACK ON THE CASTER BLOCK
4) PUTTING STIFFER OR SOFTER FRONT SPRINGS
5) MOVING THE CENTER SHOCK UP AND DOWN ON THE SHOCK MOUNT
6) ADJUSTING THE TENSION ON THE CENTER SHOCK
7) MOVING THE BATTERY TRAY FOWARD AND BACK.
8) OFFSETTING THE T-PLATE AND OR THE POD
9) MOVING THE SIDE SHOCKS UP AND DOWN ON THE SHOCK MOUNTS
10) PUTTING WEDGE IN AND TAKING WEDGE OUT OF THE SIDE SHOCKS
11) THICKER OR THINNER SHOCK OILS ON ALL 3 SHOCKS
12) ADDING OR REMOVING SHIMS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE REAR AXLE
13) ADDING OR REMOVING SHIMS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE REAR AXLE

I AM SURE THERE ARE SOME THING THAT I AM MISSING SO IF THERE IS ANY CHANGES THAT YOU MAKE TO YOU CAR THAT MAY BE HELPFULL UST POST WHAT THE CHANGE IS AND HOW IT EFFECTS THE CAR... THANKS AGAIN
David "DOUGHBOY" Ridings

1) PUTTING SHIMS ON THE FRONT AXLE BEHIND THE TIRE
2) PUTTING SHIMS ON THE KING PINS ESPECIALLY ON THE TOP
4) PUTTING STIFFER OR SOFTER FRONT SPRINGS
5) MOVING THE CENTER SHOCK UP AND DOWN ON THE SHOCK MOUNT
6) ADJUSTING THE TENSION ON THE CENTER SHOCK
7) MOVING THE BATTERY TRAY FOWARD AND BACK.
8) OFFSETTING THE T-PLATE AND OR THE POD
9) MOVING THE SIDE SHOCKS UP AND DOWN ON THE SHOCK MOUNTS

11) THICKER OR THINNER SHOCK OILS ON ALL 3 SHOCKS
12) ADDING OR REMOVING SHIMS ON THE RIGHT SIDE OF THE REAR AXLE


#1 putting shims between the rim and the axle will make your front end wider...wider means less steering

#2 placings more shims on top ..takes out spring sag..less steering

#4 stiffer = less steering softer = more steering...sometimes a track is so damn rough you gotta go way soft up front..like old MTR


#5 the center shock is a leverage point..raise it up and it moves the weight off throttle further forward of the front end....move the center shock angle down towards the t-plate will place the weight off throttle closer to center of the car..you can also on most good cars move the entire shock forward or back as well...

#6 some will argue...but adding tension to a spring on any shock realy just adds ride height...you will try to keep the chassis and the rear pod level with pack in the car....

#7 .99cent answer rule of thumb the shorter the track= move them back
long tracks move them up...off throttle the weight of the batteries can help in cornering...big tracks your on throttle more and can use the weight on your left front tire to steer...

#8off set off set t plate and pod = mombo rear bite
on ceneter t-plate off set pod= med rear bite
on cenetr t plate and pod = alot less rear bite..
my old school thinking is this...plant the rear make it steer...off set off set
this may depend on track and speed you run..

moving the side shock angle up and down...the higher = linear spring feel
that is a 12lb spring is 12lbs all the time

move the shock angle down...makes the spring more progressive..stiffer the more the car leans into a corner....like using a progressive spring....


shock oils on the side shocks can detemine how hard the car turns

cenetr shock oil will depend alot on springs used and track...smooth tracks stiffer spring
bumpy track softer spring

soft spring stiffer oil

all of this is on the net and is not a secret.....danny b's black book should be the racers bible and in everyones pit box

i think i got most of that right? lol at least it works for me...but hey it is me were talking about...lol

#6 some will argue...but adding tension to a spring on any shock realy just adds ride height...you will try to keep the chassis and the rear pod level with pack in the car....

I wouldn't "argue" about it,
but I disagree that it does nothing but change ride height.
It changes the preload on the spring, and on the center shock..
that changes a lot...
I'm also not convinced that trying to keep the pod level is of great
importance either... often times when using a softer spring,
you have to preload it more to get the pod level..
Result... if you wanted it softer... you really didn't gain much
if you preloaded it a couple of turns...

Hey Kat on #6 I find hard to say. If you add tension to the center spring yes it raises ride height but it also tightens the center shock spring. There is many reasons why teams make harder and softer center shock spring. If it was just for ride height then why would teams make so many diffrent kinds.

Personaly I beleive that center shock can change the cars handling. If i whent to a harder center spring then the can will have more turn in but will push coming out RIGHT!!

But if I put a softer center spring in then the car will not cut as much but it will be loose coming out Correct?? Same thing with center shock tension. The more tension then harder the shock. When you tighten the shock you are adding weight to the center spring witch is the same as adding a harder spring just in smaller adjustments. Correct??

Not trying to prove you wrong. Just want to make shure im doing things right.


Thanks

Taylor

where did you find on the net danny b black book at???

It's in a link on the IROAR web site

http://www.iroaronline.org/dannyb.html

guys if you put a 6lb center spring on your car..it will be 6lbs no matter what you do...

yes adjusting the shock collar will change the handling..but not the 6lbs the spring had when it started...and no way in haties am i gonna try and type out excatly what adding a turn or two to the center shock does and doesn't do..it is a fine adjustment...as far as moving the collar.. now changing the weight of the spring is another story...

smooth =stiffer
bumpy = softer

do you see what happens on a off-road truck when you adjust the shock collars? the truck raises and lowers...but the spring rate stays the same.....it is a lil different for our cars but not a ton. well just my .02 anyways....

that is all true provided the shock is not fully extened and moving the collar adds pre load. I see a lot of guys make that mistake, especially with the HPI shock.

it is a rule of thumb to get that shock pistong close to the center of the shock at resting point with it ready to race. very good point cliff..

there is so many fine do's and dont's in oval racing it's crazy..

danny b's black book is a great refrence point.

Thank's Kat, now I will feel smart for a couple of days. LOL

So Let Me Get This Straight You Want Your Shock Piston When At Rest To Be Perfectly In The Middle I Have Always Set Mine Up To Be Fully Extended Or Close To It So It Has That Much Moe Distance Of Throw

I Do Want To Ask One More Question About These Adjustmens On Your Castor Blocks You Have 3 Hole Or On Some Sets Like The Irs Ones You Have 6 Holes What Does It Do To The Car By Moving The Hinge Pins Up And Down And In And Out On Those Castor Blocks

Check out the L4 Manual on www.RC10.com it gives a good idea on what they do.

Taylor

spend 5.00 and buy the new 12l5 castor blocks..set it and forget it....

guys if you put a 6lb center spring on your car..it will be 6lbs no matter what you do...

I don't think anyone is disputing that.

My disagreement was with that a collar change only changes ride height.
That isn't true. It absolutely changes the preload on the spring, which in turn
changes the way the total rate is calculated.

yes adjusting the shock collar will change the handling..but not the 6lbs the spring had when it started...
It changes the way the car interperts the spring.
It "thinks" there is a stiffer spring there.


do you see what happens on a off-road truck when you adjust the shock collars? the truck raises and lowers...but the spring rate stays the same.....it is a lil different for our cars but not a ton. well just my .02 anyways....

It's more than a lil different.
What you describe is a basic math principle, that being that if you
add equal to equals, the result is equal.
No question... if you crank the collars on all four corners 3 turns,
you have done nothing but change the ride height.
But if you crank one collar down 3 turns, you have changed the way
the car interperts the spring values, because you have changed the corner
weights. It now thinks and reacts, as if there were 4 new springs on the car..

Let's say that your 6# rf spring with zero sag,
requires 4oz. of weight transfer to make the corner compress .100".
If you add say .040' in shims, you have added preload to the spring.
Ride height has not changed.
Now, it is going to require 5oz. of weight transfer, to make the corner
compress the same .100"..... because first,
you have to overcome the 1oz. preload ..
In essence, you have put a stiffer spring there, by adding preload.
You will have more dynamic weight resting on the rf and lr now,
the same as if you had put a stiffer spring there....

well dan you typed it all out,lol..

very good post no way in heck i could say all that with my fat fingers..and yes i agree with that..thank you

I see a lot of guys running the 10 degree angled caster blocks on the left front - What does that do compared to the 0's.

Ok im no expert but i do have a little knowledge on the subject. The rate of a spring never ever changes. A spring is rated by the amount the pressure it exerts increases with every inch of compression it undergos. So a 6lb spring takes 6lbs of force to compress one inch and 12 lbs of force to compress 2 inches ect ect. This is called a linear spring rate. Hence the progressive spring rate so it may go 6lbs for 1 inch, 18lbs for 2 inches ect ect.

Hope that makes sense

what differences will i see in my car between fiberglass t-plates and metal ones and how will a stiffer t-plate effect the car or how will a soft t-plate effect the car

Depending on what class you run will effect what a t plate does. Personally i have never felt any difference between a steel and comparable fiberglass plate. Steel plate can be esialy tweeked and really mess up your handling and u may not find it untill you take it out of the car. For stock ive always ran a075 glass plate which gives a crisp turn in and a free exit but in modified you need a soft plate for more side and forward bite.

Obviously as with every setup component it really depends on preference and the track you race at.

I see a lot of guys running the 10 degree angled caster blocks on the left front - What does that do compared to the 0's.

general answer-more steering