well, the LHS suprised me with some replacement steering plates available for the F1. they were red colored plastic tie rods and came in a set of three with -0.2, -0.4, and -0.6 settings.
at $7.99, why not? after installing the -0.2s i found it made an immediate difference in straight line stability. naturally this is expected when you have toe-in but you'll quickly learn to appreciate the difference it trully makes once installed. Of course , adjusting the steering trim is needful at the onset but once completed you'll have an F1 that wants to track almost instintively in a more direct line especially when entering into and during a long straight. no more struggling to keep it straight cause it almost does it for you. what a wonderful feeling.
For those unfamiliar with toe-in, basically it's where the front of a wheel is angled toward the centerline of the car. so for example, when looking from the top of an F1, the front wheels would be pointed slightly inward. With this arrangement, the wheels essentially oppose each other in moving toward the vehicle's center resulting in a much straighter tracking.
Toe-in does have it's negative side nameley increased tire wear and decreased turning radius (understeer). I'll skip the tire wear issue in this review. With the front (or toe) of the wheels adjusted inward, understeer is created due to the decreased angle of the 'inside' wheel (depending on which way you're heading) when facing outward. Hope that makes sense. anyway, basically with toe-in, you'll have to adjust when approaching tighter corners due to the understeer.
At the LHS, i'm limited to a 25 foot x 14 foot carpet track in layed with 1" pvc pipes. With the MZR.com motor, i had to really adjust to a new driving line on each of the narrower corners. As such, i didn't bother trying out the -0.4 and -0.6 plates since i knew it would've made turning that much more challenging within the confines of the track.
i would recommend getting some toe-in steering plates (tie-rods) to anyone who might be struggling with keeping your car in a straight line. Though it will affect turning radius, it's well worth the trade off having struggle free steering in the straights.
i welcome any comments, critiques or additions to my review.
thank you for your time.
Cheers.
MiniZ. what's the story on those alloy tie rods (and knuckle arms)? i'm bound to break these plastic replacements eventually.
You are right West.F1, these toe-in tie rods are a must have. I bought these for my 2 mz Modena and GT3 and the difference is huge. No more wandering in the straights, the cars go from point a to b like an arrow There is a drag effect I guess if you use the 0.6 making the top speed decrease a bit so just take the 0.4 wich is a good compromise.
I dont think the alloy are worth the money, I am almost sure the plastic red ones are as durable as the original.
i've been planning on getting the alloys because my eratic driving style has led me to replace three of them so far not to mention a few knuckle arms. however hitting the pipes might be minimized now that i'm tracking straighter.
[03/22/17] MZR was on vacation, didn't... : All kidding aside, the host experienced a bit of a server meltdown last week and efforts to restore the site to a new server took longer than anticipated.
The current server is temporary until - more»
[11/25/15] Did You Hear? Our Black... : Hey Racers,
We're getting started a bit early with our Black Friday sale this year. Generally we're not supporters of retailers opening early on Thanksgiving, but in our case, we're - more»
[06/30/15] shop.tinyrc.com: Have You... : Hey All!
Just a quick reminder to everyone that we post all of our shop.tinyrc.com Newletters here on the MZR Forum. If for some reason you miss them in your email inbox, you can always see the - more»
There is a drag effect I guess if you use the 0.6 making the top speed decrease a bit so just take the 0.4 wich is a good compromise.
Linear Mode
