Setting and troubleshooting

 Setting

If you are buying a ready to assemble RC car, in most cases you need to do some setting on the car so that it can be controlled properly.  This is very important if you plan to drive the car on the track.  It is less important if you just playing it on your backyard.

The assembly process of the chassis is the first step of the setting.  Please make sure that the car is assembled based on the instruction manual. If any part of the car is not assembled correctly,  the car becomes unpredictable and difficult to drive.

The handling of the car depends on the input from several components.  The main component is the suspension. The suspension consist of the arms and dampers.

Suspension

Every RC car has four suspension arms.  Two in front  and two at the rear.  In most of the car the front suspension arm is different from the rear.  Do not assemble it in reverse order.  Make sure that the suspension arm can be moved freely up and down.  Do not overtighten the arms. The position of the arm should be on par with the length of the damper. 

Damper 

Damper or arbsober consist of shock and spring.  A proper damper would be a shock oil damper rather than a friction damper. If you are buying a standard kit like tamiya TT01 or TT02, it is recommended that you upgrade the damper to a shock oil damper. The oil use on the damper is a silicone oil and the thickness is measured by numbers. Thinner oil will make the movement of the damper smoother and responsive. Thicker oil will make the movement of the damper stiff and slow.  I use 500 shock oil on my cars.  If you prefer a more thinner oil you can try 200 or 300 shock oil. It depends on your driving style and the stiffness of the springs.  A soft damper will make the car more responsive and better traction. However if the damper is too soft the car will move around easily, unpredictable and difficult to drive. If you setting the damper too hard, the car will be unresponsive, difficult to steer or making a big radius circle and less traction. It is a medium setting that work better for the car rather than too soft or too hard. Do not overfill the oil until it is so stiff. The shaft must be able to move up and down  smoothly.  

Springs

Springs are very important when you are setting your rc car.  When you are buying a damper set or a ready to assemble kit, the springs are provided in the box. For a start you can use the springs that comes together with the kit.  The stiffness of the springs are range from soft to hard. Again a medium setting is better than too soft or too hard.  Some drivers prefer a stiifer springs in front and softer spring at the rear. Stiffer spring in front will make the front end responsive and easy to turn. Softer spring at the rear will give better traction.  You may need to find the setting that suits your driving style.