Do you also need the blue motor pod plates? They are GPM products and can be purchased at HobbyEtc. If you will take some used pod plates, I have some I could sell. Let me know.

David,

Are the pod plates lowered?

Thanks,

Brian

DL: Did you get the e-mail I sent you? I got no response back so I wasn't sure if you recv'd it or not.:devil:

The GPM pod plates have identical dimensions to the Associated plates. A #4 ride height adjuster should handle any tire diameter you want to use.

CMW - I got your email and replied with a question. Did you get my question. I will not post it here. I personally consider it as sensitive information.

Davidl: I never recv'd anything back. I don't know, maybe my wife accidentally deleted it. Try my Hotmail account at IanTypeGuy@hotmail.com. That way I'll be sure to see it without any chance of deletion. Thanx. :devil:

OK, CMW. I tried the new address. YSHM

Hey I have a question for the speedmerchant guys:
Where can i get the dampner tubes? I had been running the car for a while when i was informed mine where cut too short. I switched over to the CRC tubes since that was the only thing they had that would fit. They seemed like they worked ok, but I 'm just wondering how much that affects setup? I have been going with white side springs, heavy losi in the tubes, .20 fronts, and 80wt with a black spring on the center shock. Thanks.

You can purchase the dampner tubes from www.hobbyetc.com. The part number is SMRDT.

Sorry I have been off line a couple of days and I see a Speedmerchant question. My first comment is, "how do you know the dampers are too short?" Just because someone tells you that is not indication that the ones you are using are not producing the damping required for your setup. I did look at your setup and want to mention that you are on the stiff side. Is there a reason to run the white side springs and the heavy fluid? This combination makes the car hard to drive on the carpet tracks I am used to. Are you racing on a different surface?

Additionally, I you do need new dampers. Standard Bolink dampers used by the oval crowd are the same parts. They cost $8.95 per pair.

Anyone have any pics of the rear end of the Rev3 they can send me? My batteries are coming from World Class Batteries and I'm going to head to either Y-city or Ultra for some practice ASAP!

CypressMidwest - are you the Ian from CORCAR yesterday?

Thanks,
Blake

I just got a carpetknife and am looking for a good asphalt setup for the regionals. I'm new to this car. Any help would be appreciated.

TS - I suggest you go back through the postings on this thread. There is a lot of REV3 and Carpet Knife stuff here. But just remember that these will only be baseline things for you pavement event. You must be able to tune the car once you get a perspective on the conditions.

Thanks. I've looked over the posts and got alot of good info. I got the car used and am not sure what side springs to start with.

Orange springs are the softest. Start with those. They give more rear traction. If the track is so tight, with chicanes and flip backs that require the car to recover quickly for the next turn, move to blues. I really doubt you will have a need for whites on a paved track.

Thanks. The track is very big (150'x80')with very wide corners. Any runtime secrets? Last time with my other car I was dumping at the 7:50 mark with a 10dbl. I think setup as trigger finger were my main problems.

I have sitting in front of me a Speedmerchant Rev2 and a Carpet Knife v3.1. Both are in almost the same condition. I don't have a need to keep both. Which should I keep and which should I send to e-bay?

Blake

In the REV2 you have everything that is on the REV3 except the ability move the batteries forward. I don't think is a big deal for you and it is something I mentioned a while back.

I ran the car in batteries rear configuration in 2 of the 4 Triple Crown races last year where I participated. I used batteries forward at races where I didn't do as well as I had expected. I used batteries rearward in races where I met or exceeded expectations. The car is very stable and fast with batteries rearward when the track conditions dictate the need for rear traction. Everytime I raced with batteries forward, I ended up in trouble. It takes a lot of practice to get used to driving that configuration because the car is so aggressive. I know many pro level drivers that do not like the aggressiveness of the REV3 with the batteries forward. The two configurations drive so much differently that you wouldn't believe that you have the same brand of car. Based on all of that and the idea that you will be racing 75% of your races at tracks that require rear traction, I suggest that you use the batteries rearward configuration, which is the same as the REV2.

I can't say anything about the Carpet Knife because I never raced one.
I can endorse the REV2 as a very capable chassis that will be exceptional for all of your racing if tuned properly and driven expertly. Those things will be up to you and not the car, which ever you select. I hope that helps. Good luck and have great finishes.

TS - I need to mention some more things about pavement racing. Pay attention to the pavement for bumps and traction. Do they add a traction enhancing compound to the surface? The bumps will require a higher ride height than a smooth surface. High traction pavement will drive your selection for tires. I think purple fronts will be a winner every time. They have great traction and are hard enough to support the loads created by the car when turning. Use pink if the purple doesn't quite have enough traction. Use pink in the rear unless the traction is so high you can move to a harder compound like purple. If they use sugar water or VHT on the surface of the pavement, the purple rear may be the choice.

The next thing is the traction compound you use on your tires. The ROAR pavement nationals will only allow suntane lotion. That stuff (I use Water Babies) does a wonderfull job. You can enhance that a little by using Paragon first, wait 20 minutes, wipe and coat with suntane lotion, then wipe aggressively about 10 minutes before you run.

Good luck and may you finish great.

Thanks David! The track is very smooth and they do put down sugar water. I'll let you know how the first race goes.

bstorey: Yeah that was me. If I had paid any attention to who was signed up, I'd have tracked you down. I had the Rev. 3 with me, and we coulda discussed a little 12th scale. I like TC's but c'mon, 12th scale Rules! But,third place after not having raced TC on pavement for 3 or 4 years, not bad eh? Man that track is awesome!!! Plus Bill and Steve put on a great show. If any of you guys are ever in the Columbus area on a Sunday, bring your stuff. It's the best parking lot racing I've ever participated in!

On the Topic of which car to keep: I moved from a CarpetKnife Ver. 3.1 to a Rev. 3, and I was immediately more comfortable with the Rev.3. The Speedmerchant car is super smooth, while still being very aggressive. When I started running the car I ran the batteries forward, and it was similar in feel to my Knife, but it didn't seem to square off the corners as much, and this was reflected in the lap times. Now I'm convinced that the car will be even better at Ultra, and Y-city with the batteries in the rear position like the Rev. 2.

If you make it down to Ultra this Saturday drop by Joyce Park if you can. The sedan Nats A-mains will be Sat. and I'll be announcing. Should be pretty cool and it's only 5 mins. from Ultra. I'll be there Thurs. Fri. and Sat. :devil:

I'll catch up with you some time. I'm going to need some help getting this Rev2 setup and beginning to learn the in's and outs of this car.

I decided to keep the Rev2 but my 3000HV's came in from World Class Batts today and I realized that these cells don't fit in my chassis. What do I need to get to get these in there?

I did real well on the first two heats of the micro class (I was running the flag theme Porsche). Third heat my pinion came off. For the main I changed tires during the break to foams. After the second lap, my tires just started falling apart. When I got it off the track, the rear tires were almost completely gone. So much for those prototype tires that guy sent me.

Blake
www.2brainsdesign.com

Blake - Take a small flat file that fits in the battery slots and file the length of the slot to fit the cells. We have all done this.

Next, put orange side springs on the car and Losi Medium weight fluid in the damper tubes. Put 80 weight oil in the center shock and install the stiff black spring. Set the center shock length so the rear pod has no more than 1/2 degree of drop. Set you front suspension with 2 degrees castor and -2 degrees camber, and install .020 Associated springs. Next use TRC grey rear tires and TRC purple front tires. Install the rest of the stuff and your ready to go.

I ran this at Ultra during the Memorial Day weekend and it was very good. I had batteries in the back of my REV3 so if you do this to your REV2, it will be the same as mine. There isn't anything special on the track that will require blue side springs, but you can try them if you want after the traction comes up. Don't change anything else when you move to those springs.

Good luck,
David Lee

Thanks for the info. After I posted the message I thought that would be a good first step. Should I file the front or rear edge though? It will only be a minor change but I should probably go in the right direction.

Which black spring are you guys talking about? I can't see one on the Wolfe site and I have the Associated black spring and it's REALLY soft.

Thanks,
Blake

davidl: that was the setup i ran at Cleveland this last year. I want to start practicing soon for carpet and that is where i left off.

Brian Jucha was the one that told me the dampners where too short. He was running for Bruce for a while so i figured he knew what he was saying.

Thanks for your time

Blake,

You should slowly take material off of both the front and back of the battery slots in equal amounts. If you want batteries to drop a little lower be wary-Sanyos are bigger than Panasonics-so if you make the Sanyos fit-guess what?? The Pani's will below the bottom edge of the chassis!! If by some chance you take off too much material, you can slowly build it back up with layers of CA (super glue). Just be patient when filing your chassis. Its a part of the whole 12th scale thing!!! Chassis prep 101-12th scale style:thumbsup:

I saw an article on the team crc site that was really nice about how to finish a chassis the right way.

http://www.teamcrc.com/team_crc_raceway/chassis.htm

Anyone know where I can get emery paper? Looks like fabric instead of paper though.

I am thinking of retiring the 12L3 and I am thinking of buying a Rev3.

If I buy the kit what extra parts should I order also?
Tweak springs, how long do they last? Which color springs are used the most?

I will be racing on both carpet and asphalt.

You will need Blue, White, and Orange side springs, then several pairs of .020 Associated front springs, then a red, copper, and black center spring. All of these springs should cover your tuning needs. Also, have 60 - 80 weight shock oil. You will need several differing ride height adjusting bearing carriers for the rear. It is also cool to have some .022 front springs. Good luck.

Thanks David.

Are you talking about an Associated Black spring or what? I've got an associated black spring and it is really soft. Is this the right one?

I raced my carpetknife of asphalt for the first time this weekend. It did pretty good but I would like more turn in. I was running orange side springs and a silver center spring.

Blake - No, there is another black spring. It is very stiff and is available from Speedmerchant, Wolf, & CRC. It is slightly stiffer than the stiff, copper spring from Associated. Track performance between this black and the Associated copper is almost the same, but the black one provides a more aggressive feel to the front of the car. Did the pod plates make it?

TSD - I am not sure which silver center spring you are refering to. Do not change the side springs unless the course has a lot of back and forth motion. Go to blue if you need the car to recover quickly for the next turn. Keep everything else the same. If the course is one slow 180 after another with time in between, go to a stiffer center spring. You should probably be at red or stiffer. Good luck!

The pod plates got here just fine...they look sweet. Thanks.

I've got everything together finally. Batteries just got here from world class batteries the other day.

Where is the best place to buy Speedmerchant Rev3 parts.

I just got a bunch of stuff from Hobby Etc. I can't stand that e-commerce site but it's the only place I know of. If they at least had descriptions or pictures that would help. It's hard to know what you're buying is what you want.

Here's the link:
www.hobbyetc.com

Blake
www.2brainsdesign.com

davidl - Thanks for the info. The silver spring I was referring to is the associated one. It's a little softer that the gold one. I'm guessing it was a little too soft?

TS

What kind of rollout are you running at Hazel Green?

I am planning on coming to the regionals there in August. I am going to try and make it down before then and was hoping to get a little set-up help before I get there.

Thanks for any help.

Scott

Runnin - I don't have my tire size handy but I had a 96/27 on a 11dbl. Runtime was really close though. I'm not real easy on the trigger though but I'm working on it. I think I ran 22 laps.

I was also running BSR purple fronts and pink rears.

TS: Thanks for your help.

See you in Hazel Green in August or maybe before.

I am now an offical Rev3 car owner. I can't wait to run it. I am looking for a copy of the manual. I am hoping someone can make me copy of it.

How do you check to make sure the side links are correct?
How do you use the dampner tubes? Pull then apart and smear grease on them?

Scott

I'm a new carpetknife owner and do not have a manual either. I would like to find a copy. I think lot's of guys use the Losi Hydra fluid on the damper tubes.

TS: contact john@teamcrc.com he will be able to help.

Tres - Thanks. Do you race in Albion? I used to race there alot before I moved here. How's Tim?

TS: Yes, almost ever weekend...

Tim is doing good.

One way to make sure the links are working properly is to remove the shocks and dampner tubes. Then move the rear pod around. It should be smooth and free with no kinks in the movement. If there is then one of them might be giving you problems.

I have noticed on the Rev3 that the rear pod is alot more adjustible than the 12L3. Is there any advantage or under what situation would you run the pod level, down towards the chassis or upwards?

Scott, as a general rule, you should always set overall shock length so that that the rear pod is able to droop down a little bit below main chassis. Set that by screwing in or out the ball cups. You should set shock length with collar so that chassis sits level with rear pod. A good test is to set-up car in race ready trim. Now try and pick-up car from the shock. The chassis should come-up a little before the wheels come off the ground. If not, you "might" have a very twitchy handling car. Now, if the chassis bends like a tent, you have set overall shock length too long and car "might" feel really lazy or chassis might bottom out in middle, causing erratic handling.

Runnin - I stiffened up the side and center springs this weekend and the car was much faster. I ran blue side and red center. Hope this helps out.
Anybody got any advise on runtime improvement? I'm cutting it really close.

TS - What batteries/motor (model and brush/spring combo) are you using? That might help us to help you better.

General things that works with all cars:
- Buy 3000's
- Make sure your gear mesh is set properly
- Take the pinion down a tooth or two