i've been running both of my two 3 cell Yokomo Puch Maru's the last couple of days and noticed that my newer one, the Toyota wasn't running anywhere near as long or as fast as the Red Honda van. while it was still pretty fast, it just didn't have the super fast punch, acceleration and top end of the first one. at first i though that it might just be a case of cycling the battery pack, or it's internal resistance, but if i picked up each car and listened to the motor's whine, they sounded like they had the exact same pitch/rpm. the red Honda is also getting 25+ minutes of run time and my silver Toyota was only getting 15 minutes! everytime i'd drive the red Honda, it would blow me away.
i also tried switching the bodies between the two but didn't change a thing (i didn't expect it to as they weigh the same and aerodynamics don't enter into the equation). one of the only obvious mechanical differences that i noticed is that the differential is alot smoother in the Toyota, but this would make it corner better and shouldn't effect it's speed or run times.
well i finally figured it out, somewhat by chance............
since i really like the appearance of the 5 spoke Dub rims alot better than the MS ones, i picked up another set this evening to modify and mount on the Toyota. once modified, they also fit the ZZ tires alot better than MS rims do. so, i installed them and test drove it on a charge that i did this morning (9 hours ago). i expected the car to feel alittle sluggish as the cells weren't re-peaked. boy was i wrong! this thing hauls ass! and it's run time was now 25+ minutes too!
what i have determined is that, although what might seem to be almost negligible, the performance difference lies in the weight difference between the two wheelsets!
the front MS wheels, with tires, with my stainless steel insert to adapt them to the Yokomo's smaller axles weigh .42 grams ea. and the rears which i filled and redrilled (w/o a SS insert) also weigh .42 grams ea. the Dub wheels weigh only .20 grams ea. for the front and only .22 grams ea. for the rears, thus making them weigh approx half as much as the MS wheels. they don't require an insert as the holes are already the correct size. they did however, require that i make a raised band in the center of the rim to secure the tires, which i did by cutting a groove and gluing a very thin rubber o-ring into it. the results are that the new lighter Dub wheels have made the car go from fast, to very, very fast. and as unbelievable as it may seem, i estimate it to be a speed increase of 20-30%.
now my two Puchi's are exactly matched and are the "micro's to be reckoned with" in my collection.
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