Front Spool, Diffs, One way ????

[groovesafe]

I have a FT TC3, and at the hobby shop i noticed all these different types of gear options they had - a front spool, your average diff, and a one way...

I was wondering what does each one do, and how do they perform out on the track...?

thanks,
steve

[Grizzbob]

Well, a regular diff(which is what comes with the car) is the easiest to deal with & adjust. It allows the diff to slip a bit(or alot if you run it loose), & of course it's designed to allow an outside wheel to rotate faster than the inside wheel during a turn(that's to maintain grip through corners). Now, a one way can also allow the outside wheel to rotate faster than the inside one, but when it does, it's freewheeling(not powered), but both front wheels will be locked together in straight line acceleration. One-ways are good if you have a lot of grip available(like on a carpet track, for example) & you want to carry more speed through sweeping corners, they give you more aggressive steering(but they also disable front braking action, so you car can spin out easier, you have to change your driving style to roll through corners without using the brakes to take full advantage of a one-way). And then spools are basically a locked diff, there's NO slippage(& no diff rings, diff balls, etc. a spool is simply a solid piece that takes the place of the diff & should be a bit lighter). Spools can give you the locked feeling under acceleration(likie a one-way), but they scrub the outside tire in a corner, so the car will push more going into a corner(& to compensate, many guys are trying things like using the TC3's rear shock tower up front with the outside shock mounts on the newer front suspension arms, using different steering blocks & different bodies to increase front downforce). many believe with the right setup, a spool can work best, giving much of the feel of a one-way without any of its disadvantages. If you're just starting out, though, I'd recommend you stick with a regular diff up front for now, save the one-ways & spools for when you've refined your car's setup & your driving style to take proper advantage....:cool:

[groovesafe]

thanks for the explainatin :)