how do I do setup?

[emerilnut]

Hey there guys.

I was wondering if there are other cheaper alternatives to setup boards than the Hudy tweaker? $100 just seems to much for me to pay to adjust camber and caster.

What other tricks do you guys have for setting up the chassis to get consistent steering and handling performance out of your cars?

About me, I have a nitro car, with a .15 engine and just want to get it faster and handling better.

Thanks

[TCorzett]

I don't know how complicated the set-up is for a nitro car compared to an electric, but here's what I use...

First I use a droop gauge ($5) to see how my A-arms are doing. Then a venire-caliper ($15) to check the spacing on the shocks (set it to the recommended). A camber gauge ($25) to check the front and rear. And finally a tweak station ($45) to make sure everything is balanced. This takes care of everything but the toe-in/out, but with my car that is set by blocks rather than turnbuckles. I just recently got this process worked out and am noticing much better wear patterns on my tires (better setup). I’ve seen a few people with the Hudy or other brand setup systems and they look great, but all the do is measure toe-in/out, camber, and a few other things that you can get from one or two gauges. You still need a tweak station to make sure your shocks are balanced. If you really wanted the exacting precision of a Hudy setup system, you get what you pay for – but I don’t see it necessary for most weekend warriors.

- Todd…

[groy]

Well that add's up to just about the $100 mark. You could get a set up board, it's a nice dent in the wallet but work's great.

[TCorzett]

All that adds up to about $100, but it does more than a Hudy setup system. All those systems do is check toe-in/out and camber (maybe a few other things too). They don't however check how ballanced your car is. If you buy the setup system you still need the tweak station and other stuff to get your shocks ballanced. Overall they are very good at what they do, but they don't do much.


- Todd...