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Old 2005.03.31, 08:58 AM   #1
Domenus
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Front springs... important?

I was wondering how important are the front springs of the suspension system.
A friend of mine said that, due to reduced scale the front suspension is almost useless... so, I tried to make some tests..
I superglued a thin piece of metal on my table, and passed over it with my F1... and what a surprise:

even using red springs and oiled titanium kingpins, i did not see any action of the front suspension.

Tried different pieces of things of different sizes.. and did not see any movement of the suspension at all..
So.. I decided to be agressive and just removed the springs.. just he hubs holded by the kingpins... and now I saw the suspension working.
I did not race this way yet.. but I'll try and see what's the difference.
Now I'm wondering... the front suspension system is really efficient? Does it make any difference?
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Old 2005.03.31, 09:21 AM   #2
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it makes a diffrents, the hard part is finding two of the same kind of springs,some of my springs are hard than the others and they are the kyosho stock springs, what surface are you running on?
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Old 2005.03.31, 10:52 AM   #3
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I use to run over carpet (@ home) and polished cement (@ parking place).
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Old 2005.03.31, 11:39 AM   #4
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Yes front springs definitely matter, but only if your front suspension doesn't bind. The SS kingpins are definitely a must because of the large offset on the wheels. The lever arm of the contact patch to the kingpin axis is huge and therefore creates a lot of jacking force to bind up the suspension under load. I usually don't like aluminum steering pieces, but I must say that the Kyosho aluminum steering blocks are a must have. I use 1 degree. For some random reason, the plastic sleeve that they use is ULTRA smooth. I've yet to feel a smoother front suspension on ANY car. I still use plastic tie rods though. Without these 2 upgrades, the front suspension is literally USELESS no matter how much grease or reaming.
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Old 2005.03.31, 01:42 PM   #5
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Domenus,I would
get some stainless steel king pin, or you can sand down the stock ones. i would not buy any other brand of aluminum nuckles unless its the kyosho ones, but first try the SS king pins, I have only had a problam once with the stock F1 nuckles. other than that i have had no problams.
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Old 2005.03.31, 07:39 PM   #6
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I'm now using GPM Racing's Alloy Knuckles (1 degree), GPM Titanium kingpins, and Kyosho red springs.
Without the springs the Knuckles move very smoothly over the kingpins, so, I think they are not binding.
I don't know.. maybe I should cut a little piece of the spring and "open" it a little more to get more soft springs? I don't know..
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Old 2005.03.31, 07:43 PM   #7
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the less coils actually make the spring stiffer...the metal is more verticle and requires more pressure to compress
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Old 2005.03.31, 08:31 PM   #8
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I use to run my mro1 with green springs but i did cut them, i had about 4 coils,it worked beter,
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Old 2005.03.31, 08:33 PM   #9
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well let me clarify....less and larger coils so the spring is still teh same height
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Old 2005.03.31, 09:51 PM   #10
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The front suspention is a place of issue with the f-1. When new the suspention works smoothly at first. But as the plastic knuckels wear they can bind even on oiled stainles steel kingpins. This can cause eratic performance. Another problem is the fact that the f-1 rear end has very little travel to compensate for the compression of a front spring when going through a turn. This can cause the car to spin out when entering a turn. I have had best results when racing road course and cup car conversions when I eliminated the springs. I used spacers to shim the front end. This works great when racing oval, you can adjust and correct the tweek of the chassie.
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Old 2005.03.31, 10:36 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Domenus
...I superglued a thin piece of metal on my table, and passed over it with my F1...
Were you doing this at "racing" speed?
Just pushing it by hand over a bump isn't going to give any kind of usable test results. The attitude of the car will be totally different when actually driven through some turns. The best test is the track. Set up a course with reasonable traction and try different springs (making sure the knuckles aren't binding). Depending on your driving style, find a set of springs that will give good handling for the entrance; duration; exit of a turn.
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