Need Help On R/C Terms

[LosiMan3456]

I just was wondering what some of these terms mean. Consider the following: Backlash, Camber, Caster and Front Camber Carrier Location. Can anyone tell me the definitions to these terms?

[B3 Bomb]

ok here we go
1. Backlash the thing that happens when dogbones have alot of play in them. CVD's reduce this.
2.Camber is the angle of the tires as viewed head on.
3.Caster angle of the King pin I think.
4.The last one is very spacific?
any thing else?

[LosiMan3456]

Yeah. What are Kingpin balls and What is a kingpin. I feel so stupid asking these Q's. I am 11 and know A little but not all I would like to know. Also it said in my XXX manual that the gears need some backlash to opperate properly. Does this mean they need a little play to operate properly.

[R_C_MAN]

Yes your spur gear and pinion gear need a little play. You shouldn't feel stupid at all asking these question because that is how you learn.
Caster I believe is the same thing as "kick-up".


[This message has been edited by R_C_MAN (edited 01-01-2001).]

[SirSpeedy]

The font hub carrier is the block at the end of the front suspension arm, that holds the spindle. The front carrier camber location is which hole the upper camber link is mounted in on the front hub carrier. The Triple X has two holes, use the outer.

The kingpin is the pin that is vertical in yhe front hub carrier. When you turn the front wheels, the pin that the front hubs "hinge" on is the kingpin.


Caster is how much that pin is inclined, or leaned back. Your Triple X has 30 degrees of caster stock. Kick up is how much the front of you chassis is 'bent' up. Although that contributes to the caster on a design like the Triple X, it is done for other reasons on the Triple X.

Camber is the top of the tires leaning in or out. Negative camber is leaning in, positive is leaning out.

I hope you can understand this, chassis tuning is very complex, I would run the kit setup until you feel you are better than the car, then start making small changed ans see what happens

See ya.....

[Nairb]

Here's my definitions for ya:

1 - Backlash - This was effectively explained as "play" or "slop" between two moving parts in a transmission system.

2 - Camber - When you look at your tires from the front or back of your truck/buggy/car, camber is the measured angle of how much the top of a wheel is tilted relative to the bottom of the wheel. If a wheel is straight up and down, it has 0 degrees of camber. If a wheel tilts out (away from the car's centerline) at the top, it has positive camber. If a wheel tilts in (towards the car's centerline) at the top, it has negative camber. Most race cars need a bit of negative camber to keep it from rollong over when it is turned hard.

3 - Caster - This can be explained as the angle the A-Arms or hinge pins make with the horizontal plane or what angle the kingpins make with the vertical plane. "Kickup" is another way of explaining it. If a car has zero Caster in the front, the hinge pins are totally flat, or level. In this case, the wheels will go straight up and down when the suspension is compressed or decompressed. If a car has caster, the hinge pins are at an angle with the horizontal, or the front of the pins are higher than the rear of the pins (I've never seen a case where the opposite would work). This allows the wheels to go up and back when the suspension is compressed. Because of this, the car can continue moving forward while the front wheels move up over a bump. In short, caster is good, especially for off-road vehicles.

4 - Front Camber Carrier Location - This is simple where the pivot ball for the Camber Turnbuckle is. On the newest trucks and buggies, it is on top of the kingpin on the outside, and it is usually on the shock tower on the inside, but the XXX and XXXT have it on the front bulkhead or something.

5 - Kingpin - This is the shaft (like a hinge pin), or axis, that the wheels pivot on when they are turned by the servo. The wheels are bolted to an axle that is snug inside a "spindle" that the steering tierods attach to (with a pivot ball). This spindle has a hole through it, and the kingpin is the shaft that goes through that hole. The kingpin is usually perpendicular (at a 90 degree angle) top the hinge pins and A-arms. Once again, its main point is to be the axis the wheels (and their "spindles") pivot on when you turn the wheel.

6 - Kingpin Balls - These are simply the pivot balls on the top of the kingpin on newer vehicles. The camber tierod snaps onto it by way of a ball cup.

That may be more than you wanted to know, but it's a full explaination.

Hey, Sir, you beat me to it. Oh well...

[This message has been edited by Nairb (edited 01-01-2001).]

[SirSpeedy]

Whew...

Did you type all that? Surely you did a little cut/paste?

I was trying to keep it simple. He said he was only eleven.

.....lol.....

[LosiMan3456]

Hey Thanks Sir and Nairb. I understood it thorouhly. If I need any other help I will ask. In the back of the manual it tells how to adjust these but it does not give the definitions or where they are. That helps out a lot. Thanks! Now all I have to do is put a batt, motor, hook up my Atom ESC and GO!

[Nairb]

Yeah, I typed it all. I guess I felt like explaining it as thoroughly as I could...

[Nairb]

RPM makes a nice Camber gauge; I use it all the time. It's not very expensive, and it's very easy to use. This is probably the only setting (in the list I defined) that you'll be able to change on your XXX.

[XXXER]

I agree with speedy when he says that you should go with the outer hole, and if you are feeling ambicious, out the caster block on the "upper" mounting position, meaning, put the little spacer on the bottom, i also took out 1 gold washer, that gave me plenty of steering wihtout messing with it alot. and i really suggest you get orange springs for the front. Well, that is all, if you notice your car having bad push, do the above things, and it will be good to go.

[LosiMan3456]

Hey XXXER from all your replies on the other Topic "Who has triple-Xs" I ended up getting orange springs. I was reading in the back of the manual very closely because my track is a tight indoor one. So I was reading to see what cahnges would be better for me and my car.

[LosiMan3456]

Ok I understand all these terms now but how do I measure them. For Example I looked at my front tires and noticed they had some negative camber, but how do I know how many degrees of camber I have?

[BadRacer]

I had trouble with this for a while and im still learning new terms....LOL http://www.rccaraction.com/ubb/smile.gif

[J mAn]

you get used to it by just going on this forum and reading alot of the threads.

[rc10gt_bb]

ya, I was still confused about all that until reading this thread. I think I want to go mess with my car now.