Hi all,
my Local hobby shop is starting up a stock mini-latemodel oval class and being new to Racing in general I am completely clueless when it comes to oval ... if anyone out there can give me a starting point on how to set up my car to make it handle better I would be very thankful for any help ... Currently im the slowest guy out there and its not because im crashing its clearly because the others cars are handling far better than mine and i have no idea how to fix or close the gap between us ...

and thanks in advance for any help given ... feel free to pm me

Are you running the car stock? What are the rules for the track? What type of track, dirt or carpet? About how big is the track? What batt? These answers will help us help you.

The late model comes with a pretty large pinion and you may be overgeared unless you are on a large track.

Ozite Carpet track, only rule as far as the car is we must use a stock motor ... I have already geared down to a 13 pinion since its not a large track and i was considering changing the shocks over to associated rc18 shocks since the stock ones leak like mad and im tired of rebuilding every time i run

The Best Thing To Do Is To Ask The Fast Guys At That Track And See What Mods They Have To There Cars And How They Have There Cars Set Up.. Thats Where You Will Get The Best Info Especially If You Are Asking Questions That Are Track Sensitive

Ozite Carpet track, only rule as far as the car is we must use a stock motor ... I have already geared down to a 13 pinion since its not a large track and i was considering changing the shocks over to associated rc18 shocks since the stock ones leak like mad and im tired of rebuilding every time i run

Are you charging your battery at 1.5amps? If you have more than 1 battery find out which one is the best and run it all night, just let it cool down before you charge it(they get better as night goes on). Keep up with motor brushes run 3-4 nights/practices change out before they trash comm or replace motor(both are cheap!). Next soften up right side, try leaving stock/or thin spacer in rt frt. On right rear move shock in all the way on top. Left side keep lft frt same as rt frt(spacers), try adding another stock/ half thickness spring clip to lft rr. Adjust tire camber for wear(lenghten/shorten tie rod as needed). If you can change shock oil try 30w/40w(adjust to your feel). Run the stock spoiler on the body, put some rack in the body front to back(move the front down till it touches track on turn entry then move up one hole rt frt on the rear of car move up 3-5 holes from stock location, try and see what feels good for you). Try these and talk to the guys you race with if they are fast they can help you to get fast also.

Kris

Thanks for the tips... as for asking the other racers at my track most are very tight lipped when it comes to setups which is very understandable but it would be nice if 1 or 2 could point me in the right direction ... guess they all are glad that theres always someone other than them coming in last

Well what is the car doing? Spinning out? Pushing? Generally, these cars are loose out of the box because the rear springs are stiffer than the fronts. If you're loose or spinning out, try swapping your right rear spring with your right front. (so you'll have black LF, silver RF, silver LR, black rr). That should tighten the car up quite a bit. If the car is doing the opposite (pushing) swap the LF and LR instead.

Matt

I run a small strip of black electrical tape around the outside of the right front tire. Now the car turns and doesn't appear loose or tight. I also run a heavy spring on right front as well. Short high banked carpet oval. Fast laps are 3.6 seconds. Don't know how that compares to your track but I am running a 14 tooth pinion.

Well what is the car doing? Spinning out? Pushing? Generally, these cars are loose out of the box because the rear springs are stiffer than the fronts. If you're loose or spinning out, try swapping your right rear spring with your right front. (so you'll have black LF, silver RF, silver LR, black rr). That should tighten the car up quite a bit. If the car is doing the opposite (pushing) swap the LF and LR instead.

Matt

Matt, check your messages you need to clear some out, I'll try again this evening.

Kris

Matt, check your messages you need to clear some out, I'll try again this evening.

Kris

All clear...only 7 of 25 in there.

Matt

Thanks for the tips... as for asking the other racers at my track most are very tight lipped when it comes to setups which is very understandable but it would be nice if 1 or 2 could point me in the right direction ... guess they all are glad that theres always someone other than them coming in last

Now I know where you get your tips from :woohoo:.

ms31

Could you post the info about the track that is opening in smithton,pa? It looks nice and the track could make for some exciting racing!

Thank you, Kris

Here's the thread (it's in the on-road section):

http://www.hobbytalk.com/bbs1/showthread.php?t=225625

Thanks for the info!

Kris

Cars Pushing through the turns just a tad to much Any Ideas how to get it to turn A a little easier i can deal with a little push but this is just a bit to much

Is it pushing into the corner or off of the corner?

To correct Pushing In-
Softer RF and/or Stiffer LF

To correct Pushing off-
Stiffer RR or Softer LR

Those are the basics that you can do just by moving spacers.

You can also loosen it up by changing shock positions. Shock positions many times can be more of a drastic change though, so only move your shock over one hole at a time. Basically, the more straight your shock stands up, the better it will work (softer). So to correct a tight-in condition you could either stand the RF shock up or lay the LF down. To correct tight-off you can lay the RR down or stand the LR up.

Hope that helps.

Matt