Building the 416 for racing part 5
ALUMINIUM SPRING RETAINER
These we use because they should keep the springs better aligned in the center of the damper rod. If the spring is not well aligned it can cause more friction from the damper rod sealings.
FLOURINE BALL CONNECTORS
These minimizes the friction from the connecting points for the damper on the damper mount and on the suspension arm.
July 9, 2009
Building the 416 for racing part 4
RACE SUSPENSION
We have pre assembled new suspension components that will be used only for races. We will replace the complete front and rear uprights together with the driveshafts to limit running on these important components. The uprights are built with Square titanium wheel axles, TRF flourine sealed bearings, aluminium driveshafts front and rear and low friction lubrication for the driveshaft joint. For testing we will use the normal uprights and steel driveshafts but for races we replace them with these complete uprights.
July 8, 2009
Testing update
The recent high outdoor temparetures was a good opportunity to do some hot weather testing with track surface temperatures reaching 45 degrees. Most of the testing was done with the same specification of Sweep tyres that are used in the ETS series. We found that the tyres have a very high wear rate which is worrying as only one set of tyres is allowed for qualifying. But we expect the tyre wear will be less at the Andernach track. The Sweep tyres have a lot less grip than the normal LRP 27. The car is understeering more with Sweep but the grip level is high at Andernach so the balance might still be quite good there with the same set up.
July 5, 2009
Building the 416 for racing part 3
SQUARE TITANIUM WHEEL AXLES
These are light only 2,3 g / pc. Less than half the weight of the standard axles. Lowering weight this far out of the corners of the car should improve cornering speed and steering due to less polar moment of inertia. Soon to be tested to see if its effect can be felt on the track.
July 5, 2009
Building the 416 for racing part 2
RIEMON TITANIUM TURNBUCKLES
We have been searching for these type of turnbuckles for the upper suspension and steering arms for a long time. The Riemon Speed Works titanium turnbuckels are a lot easier to adjust because they have a hole in the middle instead of the hexagon part that is normally used on turnbuckles. These have already been on the car for some time and I’m very happy with them. Ask www.racingfactory.fi if you need help finding these parts.
June 30, 2009
Building the TRF416 for racing part 1
The Tamiya TRF 416 WE out of the box is already a high level racing racing chassis but we try to improve it. Lots of new parts in preparation for the upcoming races. Follow the building process as we prepare the 416 for competition.
June 28, 2009
New TRF 416 experimental chassis
CAD pictures of two new experimental upper chassis soon to be tested.
June 18, 2009
LIPO battery weights
With the introduction of the 100 g lighter LIPO batteries for this season ballast needs to be added to the car. The ultimate solution was to use LIPO batteries that have a flat bottom and glue heavy tungsten plates to the bottom of the battery.
The tungsten alloy material used is 60% more dense than lead and stonger than steel making it very suitable for gluing the plates to the battery. Formula 1, Le Mans prototypes etc. use this material as ballast because you get a lot of weight in a small space.
Total weight for 6 plates is 85 g and the complete LIPO battery weight is 370 g with car center of gravity as low as possible.
Gluing the weights. Using a chassis plate as template for positioning of the weights.
Center of gravity as low as possible.
Same weight as a 5 cell NIMH battery.
June 13, 2009
TRF 416 Testing may 2009
Outdoor testing started early this year with the first runs at the local track in Vasa already in April. Starting with the TRF team standard outdoor setup as a base together with lessons learned last year, the car has so far been handling a lot better than last year so I’m confident that I will have a really good car for the ETS race in Germany this summer.
Testing in may
Clubrace 2nd may
June 6, 2009
