Tag Archives: anti squat

Mar 06 2016
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JQ USA Tour, THECar Advice

Preparing for your main – THINK!

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Today I attended the Spring Classic at Dialed In Raceway. For once in life, I made all the right decisions going into the main, and my car was AWESOME! I managed to win the race after a good battle. I figured it would be a good idea to highlight the things I think about and change for main events.

In America, for me the main event has always been very difficult, because the temperature drops a lot, the track is wet/damp, and it’s dark. Driving under the lights makes everything seem to happen a lot faster, and I just can’t adjust. But this time it was different.

The first thing to think about is temperature. If the temp drops a lot at night, you have to change to thinner shock oils. I don’t change the diff oils, only the shock oils. Today I went from 450/350 (30/27.5) to 400/300 (27.5/25). This resulted in the same feel as in the day time. I also went to Super Soft Grid Irons from AKA, instead of Soft Impacts or Grid Irons in the daytime. The track is clay, and it was damp with no dust on the line, so grid irons I figured would be the best. They were dialed (in).

The next thing to think about is set up. For the main, you need to have an easy car to drive. My car was good, but it could be easier to drive, so I went to 1 deg anti squat from 2. I did this because there were a few ruts on the track, and also, I wanted my car to be more forgiving, and smoother. As I mentioned before, I struggle at night, and I wanted a safe car.

I thought about camber, and swaybars, but did not change anything. The car was too good. I made sure the engine tune was good as it changes, normally leans out at night, and I just decided to try and not make any mistakes, even if I was a few tenths slower per lap. It worked perfectly and I won.

I did not need to change airfilter, clutch, or clutchbell bearings for the main because I only ran one qualifier due to a short rain shower, so that stuff was ready to go.

So there you have it. Think what will be best for you, look at the track, and try and make the right decisions. It’s all about YOU, not other people. You have to practice, and test, so you know what you need. All drivers are different, and the biggest mistake can sometimes be following someone that is very talented. They adjust their driving, I can’t do that, I have to adjust my equipment.

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Mar 04 2016
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driving, JQ USA Tour, RC Tracks, THECar Advice

Anti-Squat – Change That First

Assuming that you have a good suspension set up, you should not start changing that as soon as you feel that you suspension isn’t working right. There are other things you do first. One such thing is anti-squat.

For the White Edition LV, a good suspension setting would be grey springs all round, 7×1.2mm pistons front, 450-500 JQ oil or 30-32.5 Losi oil, 7×1.3mm pistons rear, 350-400 JQ oil, or 27.5-30 Losi oil.

Anti-squat mainly works when you accelerate, it stiffens up the rear suspension and stops the car from squatting. This makes the car faster on smooth high bite tracks, but when it gets bumpy the car starts bouncing around and the wheels don’t stay on the ground. The car also jumps better with more “pop” with more anti-squat. I think anti-squat also affects corner entry, you have more steering into the corner with anti-squat, specially if you are landing a jump into a corner.

But the downside of anti-squat is bumps, and that is why the first thing you should do if your car isn’t handling bumps well, is to reduce the anti-squat. Go from the stock 2 degrees to 1, and then if you like it, try just 0.5 degrees. The car will feel softer, you will have more rear traction, and it just has more of that “wet rag” feel. Wet rag is the term is use for a car that just sticks to the track and slides over all the bumps. Imagine dragging a wet rag over a bumpy surface, it’s just going to follow the surface perfectly, adjusting it’s shape to the track.

So why don’t you just run less anti-squat all the time? Because when the track is flat, or the traction is high, adding anti-squat is faster, the car squares up and accelerates faster out of corners, and will just be more responsive and carry more speed. That’s why.

The Video

Not the greatest video, but it’s something. Notice how the rear bounces higher in the first clips, and how the rear suspension doesn’t compress as much through the corner. With less anti-squat at 25 seconds, it jumps flatter into the corner and watch at 31 seconds how the rear actually absorbs the bump and compresses a lot. That never happens in the first two clips. Watch again!

Entering the corner, you can’t really tell a big difference, but actually driving the car, it really did make a difference in feel and confidence entering the corner. The most important fact about the last clips, is the very last clip. If everyone is using the same line, and it gets bumpy, CHANGE YOUR LINE! I literally just went 1 foot to the right, and it was perfectly smooth. That makes a difference. If you pick smoother lines, you will be faster, because the tyres will be on the ground more, and that’s what moves you forward, or stops you when braking.

Finally, below you can see a lap on the track. When it get’s bumpy, remember anti squat, and line selection.

 

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