Supertec

We have done three days of testing with the TRF 416 in January in our attempt to try to find the ideal settings for the new chassis. Having started with similar set ups that worked well on the 415 we have now ended up with setups that are a bit softer and similar to the ones used by the TRF team at DHI cup. This is a good base to work from to gather better understanding of the car.     

But so far it is clear that the 416 is a lot easier to drive than the old one. Also the car responds well to set up changes and it is easy to change the balance of the car. It is even possible to get it to understeer a lot on carpet and that is something that we haven’t experienced in the past.

We completed a two day test with the 416 chassis on carpet. During the two days different set up changes were tested to get a good balance. We tested diffrent ackerman settings, springs and damping, droop and one way vs spool. 

A good number of battery packs were run and it seems that the handling is an improvement over the 415 MR edition. Especially the sometimes too agressive turn in that was typical for the MR edition on carpet seems to to have been corrected with the new steering system geometry.

Generally we found that similar set ups that worked well on the MR also works on the 416 so we have a clear direction in which to go to on the set ups. We also noticed that the chassis never got tweaked, a common problem with the 415. The upper chassis with 8 screws to the bulkheads is a big improvement.

In the upcoming tests we plan to try the short suspension arms and diffrent upper suspension arm positions.

The long awaited Tamiya TRF 416 chassis was assembled during christmas and the end result is impressive.

- long upper chassis for better flex characteristics, mounted with 8 screws to front and rear bulkheads, less prone to tweak the chassis.

- uprights with 5 x 10 bearings for better precision and more reliability.

- more reliable and externally adjustable diff.

- new steering system geometry. The compleate steering assembly can easily be slided out from chassis for easy adjustment of ackerman. 

- symetrical chassis for better flex characteristics.

- improved and more efficient transmission.

The only problems was that the inner suspension arm hinge pins have some slop and need to be ca glued and the central post need to be shimmed to the motor mount for good alignment.

Here are some currrent and past favorite racing cars listed.

WTCC 

The best racing today is WTCC. Touring cars built according to super 2000 rules.  

Alfa Romeo 156 WTCC 2007 developed by N-technology.

Peugeot 407 developed by Peugeot sport.

Honda Accord built by JAS

SUPER TOURING

The greatest touring cars ever built are the Super touring cars from 1994-2001. In the BTCC, STW, ETCC and STCC it was the best racing ever seen. You will understand what I mean by viewing this video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YRz1zQTDNYk&feature=related 

Production 4 door bodyshell with front splitter and rear wing, 2 litre engine 320 hp mouted low and as far back as possible for better weight distribution, sequential gearbox, very advanced suspension, driver position low and back for better weight distribution. More info at http://www.supertouringregister.com/ and http://www.supertouring.co.uk/   and pictures at http://www.stillphotography.co.uk/gallery/v/Motorsport-Photography/saloon/.

Peugeot 406 dominated the german STW 1997. Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=WIkUwmMp4mU&NR=1

Volvo S40 developed an run by TWR in BTCC. Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zvcv3gtYFp4 

Ford Mondeo built by Prodrive. 2 litre V6 engine. Famous for its 2 litre V6 engine. Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=m4aMzPzZoX8&feature=related

Nissan Primera designed and run by RML, one of the best supertourers.

Renault Laguna built by Williams.

Honda Accord

Opel Vectra built by Triple Eight Engineering

Audi A4 built by Audi Sport in germany

BMW 320i, famous for its noisy transmission Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=H8_usOvpbz8&feature=related

Alfa Romeo 156

It is nice to see that these great cars are still racing. http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fHzH8L9R4Q8   http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=s9YRadO8NP8

GT  

Aston Martin DBR9 GT 1. Amazing engine sound. Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PPTAv9t36IE

Lamborghini R GT GT1. A great project by Reiter engineering. Gives a lot of inspiration for building racing cars. Video  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xnIDAksWXKU  and  http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sLOBwnEfB2o&feature=related

Lamborghini Gallardo GT3. Probably the most beutiful racing car ever. Video

Renault Clio Cup 2007

This is a car I would like to have. 30000 Euros and you can get a brand new Renault Clio cup car with sequental gear box and data logging, built by Renault Sport. Video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=C9zZg2UYR0k&feature=related

We  are starting a development programme for the new Tamiya TRF 416 touring car chassis. We are waiting for the delivery of the cars scheduled at the end of december. We have already started some initial analysis of the steering system.

Under development…

Will there be an updated version for 2008?

After three very busy weeks with car building and lot of work on the 2007 Off-Road Euros track and facilities in Vaasa we can say that Euros 2007 was a great event but not for the Supertec 2wd. We broke the car during the first day practice with no possibility to repair it.

Great coverage from 2007 Euros here: http://www.oople.com/rc/photos/euros2007/

We found out that the aluminum parts need to be of higher grade aluminum to withstand the high forces in off road cars. Both the front and rear bulkheads and the front suspension mount bent after landing from the big jumps. 

With some handling problems on the first practice runs we got the car handling suprisingly well in the last run before it broke.

It was a major set back for this project that it broke so early as more running was needed to really see if there is any potential with this type of chassis layout. We need high strength aluminum parts to be able to continue testing it. We hope to test it later in the year but nothing is decided yet. 

Bent bulkheads.

CAD rendering of the Supertec 501 Experimental 2wd. A 2wd test chassis built from the Tamiya TRF 501 X.

Test car ready for the off road European championship 2007.

Special features on the Supertec 501 2wd.

Tungsten heavy alloy ballast under the transmission. Tungsten heavy alloy is used as ballast material in Formula 1.  It has 70 % higher density than lead giving the possibility to add more weight in a smaller space.

Non-Reversible Temperature label indicates the motor temperature.  

Unfortunately we did not manage to test the car at the Euros track prior to the testing ban due to bad weather. The only testing so far has been some straight line testing to check that everything is working. 

We did not find any big problems yet except normal things like loose screws etc. We have one test session planned before the euros to get a base set up. 

All parts had arrived by beginning of July, cut carbon fiber parts from England, components from Tamiya and Associated, belts, aluminum parts from local supplier and required hardware. Then immediately the assembly started to get the car ready before the test ban on the 2007 Euros track would come into force.

We did not face any real big problems during assembly, everything fitted together surprisingly well, probably because all the endless hours spent in front of Alibre design 3D CAD during spring 2007. Of course there were some small things that are not 100% but the important thing was to get it ready in time to be able to test before the Euros race.

Supertec 2wd test car completed.

TRF 501X Body and wing.