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Old 2008.04.11, 10:25 AM   #1
andreophile
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New chassis screw boss question

I ordered a Blue-Gray chassis for my AWD, as my stock smoke-grey chassis showed signs of cracking/breakage near the screw bosses. I've noticed that the stock screws are self tapping and as a result they, well, screw over the chassis after repeated insertions and removals. That's why I've also ordered Atomic Ti screw set.

Now that my order's been shipped and expected anytime at my doorstep, I'd like to clear some doubts:
(1) Are the Ti screws self tapping?
(2) Does the Blue-Gray chassis come with pre-tapped screw bosses?
(3) If no, how do I tap the screw bosses if the Ti screws aren't self tapping?

I've also ordered tune-up componets like camber knuckles, different front and rear toe control tie-rods, adjustible ball diff, and a Kyosho spring set. So it'd be great if people who've already tuned their MA-010 for a hard, slick laminate surface share their setup specs with me.
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Old 2008.04.11, 10:59 AM   #2
mk2kompressor
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1,yes they are self tapping
2/3,nope,i usually screw into all the holes before assembly
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Old 2008.04.11, 01:09 PM   #3
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Thanks for the heads-up.
Yikes! Looks like I'll have to be super careful when tapping them in for the first time.
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Old 2008.04.11, 01:18 PM   #4
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here is another couple of tips for you.

1) when you tap the threads for the first time, go slow, and stop when the screw bottoms out.

2) when repeated removal and installation of screws is neccessary, set the screw in the screw hole, turn backwards(like removing) the screw untill you feel the first row of threads pass the endpoint and slip down a little, the screw inwars as normal.

3) DONT OVERTIGHTEN THE SCREWS!!! Sounds simple, but I have done it several times untill recently. I bought a ratcheting precision screwdriver. I always leave the ratcheting motion as if I were going to remove the screws. EVEN WHEN TIGHTENING! The ratcheting gear mechanism is strong enough to run the screws into the car if the holes are threaded properly, and as soon as the screw bottoms out, the ratchet will kick in and "slip" to keep you from overtightening the screws.

I have not had any problems with the screws backing out of the plastic, only the alloy motor mounts, in which I tighten thoroughly because the metal can take the torque needed much better than the plastic.
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Old 2008.04.12, 08:07 AM   #5
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Thanks for the tips, that'll save me a lot of headache when making the switch.
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Old 2008.04.12, 10:47 AM   #6
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I put an SP chassis in, I didn't do anything special to tap the holes. I just screwed the scres in like normally. Sure, they were kinda hard to get in the first time, but tapping each one would take a lot of time. It didn't cause any problems the way I did it, jus make sure you have a good screwdriver so you don't strip any screws. On slick surfaces like linoleum, I just use 10 degree tires and call it a day. I want to try ball diffs. Since your already spending the money, tell me what you get out of them please lol.

On slick surfaces, it seems the biggest "prep" I can do is actually not to the car but the floor. Clean the surface very well to prevent the tires from picking up dust and stuff which frequently prevents the sticky rubber from collecting particles and thus no longer making contact with the floor.

I wouldn't trash a chassis over some wallowed out holes, you could probably put a drop of glue in the holes of the chassis, and then retap them again. However, my chassis, like yours, was cracking....which probably is a really good reason to change one out.

Last edited by Action B; 2008.04.12 at 10:51 AM.
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Old 2008.04.12, 12:41 PM   #7
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I'm dying to find out how the ball diff affects power handling myself. From what I've heard so far, it provides smooth, controllable drifts. I guess there's only one way to find out. I'll definitely keep you guys posted on it.

The dry torpical climate here only exacerbates the dust problem, so I always make it a point to mop the floor clean before letting loose. One notable setup detail would be to see how my 1.5° camber will fare with the my completely flat, wide slick tyres at the rear. I can imagine the front round slicks to adjust the contact patch to accomodate the new camber angle, but wont the wider and flatter rear tyres have to deal with a much sharper edged inner rim digging into the floor and thereby causing the outer tyre rim to lift more off the ground than the front round slicks.

You guys might not face this problem with the wide, flat slick tyres, because the softer and more compliant RCP and carpet surfaces accomodate the sharp inner tyre rim and hug around it to increase the contact patch. However, when you consider a hard laminate flooring, it has absolutely no compliance and therefore has to rely on the pure mechanical weight of the chassis to push down upon the tyres to ensure maximum contact patch area. Since my MA-010 chassis weighs dot 100 gram + 38 gram for the Audi A4 DTM body, I wonder if that would be enough for optimally pushing the wide flats onto the floor for a better contact patch. Has anyone running on hard flooring noticed this phenomenon?
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Old 2008.04.22, 02:23 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Action B View Post
I put an SP chassis in, I didn't do anything special to tap the holes. I just screwed the scres in like normally. Sure, they were kinda hard to get in the first time, but tapping each one would take a lot of time. It didn't cause any problems the way I did it, jus make sure you have a good screwdriver so you don't strip any screws. On slick surfaces like linoleum, I just use 10 degree tires and call it a day. I want to try ball diffs. Since your already spending the money, tell me what you get out of them please lol.

On slick surfaces, it seems the biggest "prep" I can do is actually not to the car but the floor. Clean the surface very well to prevent the tires from picking up dust and stuff which frequently prevents the sticky rubber from collecting particles and thus no longer making contact with the floor.

I wouldn't trash a chassis over some wallowed out holes, you could probably put a drop of glue in the holes of the chassis, and then retap them again. However, my chassis, like yours, was cracking....which probably is a really good reason to change one out.
I'd like to add something here. When I used to race the MR01 chassis with my brother in his garage, we cleaned it throughly, made our track out of chalk, hoses, and what not, and sprayed the turn's with sugar water. When the water dried, the sugar stayd and made for a very grippy surface. We could go flat out on the turn's and not spin at all. This might not be necessary with AWD, but might help depending on how slippery your surface is. Just make sure you clean up when your done so you don't get unwanted visitors.
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Old 2008.04.22, 03:43 PM   #9
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Another note on the screws. Screw slowly in and out. You create friction when you screw fast and that may shorten the life of the plastic threads that you created when you first screwed them in. I find that this technique has lengthened the time until the holes strip out. Stripping is inevitable the only thing you can do is minimize what starts it and hope you don't have to take your chassis apart too often.

Another tip that I got from Arch2b was when you re-insert the screws screw out while applying down pressure until you feel a click then screw in the screw and it will use the original threads instead of accidentally re-threading and stripping even sooner. Hope this helps.

One more thing, I notice that you are in India. I lived there for several months back in 2005 and found it very hard to get anything Z related shipped there in a timely fashion. I hope it's easier now to get parts but somehow I doubt that shipping to India has improved much. I go to Bangalore 5 times per year by the way.

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Old 2008.04.24, 04:49 AM   #10
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@ simpleskin: Nope, getting anything shipped here is a major headache. However, the culprit behind that isn't the shipping process, but a lazy, corrupt, inept and overzealous customs department. I have tracked all my orders and they've been shipped here well before the promised times. It's the customs department that takes anywhere between a week, if you're lucky, to six months for clearing the orders.

This is especially true if your order is of a large value. My last Mini-Z shipment was close to $300 and therefore the customs dept. decided to "detain" it without even intimating me about it in any way. In such cases, since the victims don't know that their shipment has been detained, they usually let go or claim insurance. Sometimes they even receive their orders after 4-6 months, or in most cases, the customs dept. conveniently marks them as unclaimed and auction it off/have it for keeps.

Fortunately, I knew how this works and hence I went to their office and endured a crap-load of red tape to get my shipment cleared. The next time you order something, immediately contact your local "Foreign Post Office" (in India) and the first signs of delay. Either that or you need an agent to do that job, which is what UPS does. UPS shipments generally don't face these issues because they have someone liasing with the customs to clear your package. Having said that, I still haven't received my chassis which was shipped on 9th of April from Hong Kong.
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Old 2008.04.24, 07:06 AM   #11
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Good point! Makes total sense. A few Rupees will solve most problems

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Old 2008.04.24, 08:33 AM   #12
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True, but at the same time UPS is a very costly alternative here. Last time my brother ordered a Scalextric Digital Set, he ended up paying 250 USD on shipping alone. Getting Mini-Z stuff from Hong Kong through regular mail, in contrast, comes a lot cheaper with shipping rates not exceeding $10. I have noticed that if you keep the order value below 125 USD, the package is delivered to your doorstep within 12 days because the Customs then don't bother with it. I've managed that with three Mini-Z orders so far.

The next time you order stuff to India, call your local "Foreign Post Office" for tracking your shipment. They give you a very detailed status and you can also fax them any required documents that may be holding up your package. I called them up today and I was told that I'd receive my package tomorrow.
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Old 2008.04.24, 08:53 PM   #13
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hmmm... another off topic question...
how is the mini-z scene in india??? apart from you, i haven't seen any other posters from there... any tracks there?
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Old 2008.04.24, 08:57 PM   #14
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I don't know anything about tracks but I usually bring 1 or 2 cars with me when I go. I have to switch the cars over from RCP set up to run them on the stone floors. It would be cool if there was something in Bangalore.

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Old 2008.04.25, 12:20 PM   #15
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If you would like to do a proper tap, the method is to go 1/2 turn in and 1/4 turn back out and keep repeating until your all the way in.
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