If there's one thing I see a lot when it comes to race chassis' from 1/10th up to 1/28th, it is lowering CG and grouping the weight of the main chassis towards the center of the chassis. Chassis' have been getting narrower and narrower for a while in larger scales (On-road EP cars at least); For Mini-Z, when I saw the MR03's super-narrow battery-tray & chassis profile side-to-side, I thought that this can only be a positive. Am I right? Or is the 02 with its wider side-side profile' battery tray better?
I know the 03 main chassis has lots of material removed. This can mean chassis Flex. The 02 chassis had much less holes/material removed so many people say the 02 is stiffer.
What I am wondering is, why does it seem that the 03 chassis takes a lot of flak about how it flexes, how the 03 chassis is fragile, and how the 03 chassis is too narrow? I thought:
-Narrower the chassis, the better. Better weight centralization. Faster directional response.
-Lighter 03 chassis = Better for all-out racing. No bulk.
-With 03 chassis, chassis has better flex which can aid in traction gains, particularly for certain types of driving styles and certain driving surfaces.
Are these points correct?
If the 03 chassis is fragile by some racers standards, what are some options to make the bottom plate stiffer? There's the Kyosho CF bottom plate, but some say it is bulky and in order to use the stiffener you must raise you cars' suspension and CG to avoid grounding the chassis on RCP. Anyone use the bottom 03 CF stiffening plate with success? What other ways can we stiffen the 03 chassis?
Is there any instance where a racer would choose a wider-profile chassis over a more compact, better-weight-centralized chassis?
I saw a while ago how some guys left chassis fastening screws out of the chassis assembly in order to let the AW chassis better flex. Is some flex better for RCP tracks? Or no flex is best for RCP? Which would it be? And when would a super-stiff chassis be best suited for a track/condition - RCP? Regupol? Carpet? Is there a chassis "flex chart" we could follow for each surface? Less flex for some tracks, more flex for others? ANd which?
How bad/good os the Kyosho CF 03 stiffening plate kit? Useless? Worth tinkering with? COuld we permanently glue a flex-preventing CF plate directly to the bottom of the flexing chassis'? If the 03 needs stiffening up, whats the best way to do it?
OR - Is the 02 chassis design (CHassis-Design ONLY - Not front suspension, rear suspension, nothing else - Just chassis design. Which would be 1st pick for a top race event for all you seasoned pros out there?
T.Y. in advance, as always