dnano spinning out of control before topspeed?

[Straywalker]

Hiya,

I had my dnano for a month now.. 'nd I've added new hopups to solve my problem but it's still there...

whenever I'm trying to cath up with the mini-z on the long straight, my dnano will spin out of control on 'bout 4/5 throttle - even when I throttle up slowly...

I've got the Gyro, the balldiff, ballbearings and are waiting for the aluminium hubs 'nd sterring plates (don't expect the last one's to do so much help on top speed.. but it's nice to have the extra weight) but haven't noticed any improvement other then when cornering 'nd better traction when accelerating.. still spins out before top speed

I'm running with the xspeed on 9T and the Audi R8 chassi.

so.. anywun experiencing the same?

[Millertime]

Do you mean it spins out just going straight at top speed or when trying to corner?

[lornecherry]

...try the following; re-install the stock motor and see if the problem duplicates; if so, then it is probably a differential setting problem. Try the stock differential, and again, see if the problem duplicates. (Me thinks that the X-speed, as others have mentioned, may be just too much for this car ... bigger motor means more precise differential settings.)

From a purist perspective a 1/43 scale should not run as fast as as 1/28th, but I'm probably in the minority on that opinion. The smaller car (as in the real world) should corner better, equalizing things ....and therefore on a technical track you ciould/should have an advantage, whereas on an oval, you might get your rear-end handed to you.

I doubt Kysoho had its own breathern in mind when building the dNano; matching cars from different classes? ...well, what would happen if you paired a Z with a 1/18th or 1/10th scale. Again, straight line is higher on the larger scales, so don't worry about your car vs. Z's ...just try and find the right balance of handling, speed and grip.

You have so many hop-ups and there has not been a lot of "testing" as to see what works well with what and on what surface with what tires. So, you are the guinea pig. That said, let us know how you make out and what you try.

[MrNanoTrax]

i 2nd lornecherry's comment... y do people try 2 race cars from different scales? its bound 2 b unbalanced in 1 aspect or another. u wanna race with your buddy's Z? get a Z of your own ;-)

[-J-]

When you say 'spinning out' do you mean completely swapping ends, or veering off to one way or the other?

Completely swapping ends could be a diff problem, but is more likely simply a lack of rear grip. What surface are you running on and with which compound tire?

If by spinning out you mean veering off to the left or right, it's most definitely a diff problem. Try completely disassembling the diff, cleaning it with rubbing alcohol, and when you reassemble the diff, only lube the diff with a really light oil; something like bearing oil. I've found the type of lubrication used is much more critical than any amount of spacers etc.

The x-speed motor with only amplify any grip or diff problems you're having. Lastly, it could just you need a little more getting used to the car.

[Straywalker]

whoa lots of replies!

Yes, I have tried with all three setting on the diff.. same thing happens..

It's a spin.. It's a 530 degree spin... I always end up with the back where my front used to be... :P

Nah, I know I shouldn't race the bigger cars.. but I sometimes lend my Formula 1 to the kid so that him 'nd me can race together with our friends 'nd there's like zero DNANO's here in norway anyway (just started selling them in the shop here a week ago 'nd he hasn't sold any yet..).. boring to be alone on the track..

but, don't mind the Mini-z vs Dnano, I've been driving Mini'z Formula 1 since summer 2002 'nd came number three in the official Kyosho national race in 2003 'nd didn't stop driving Mini-z F1 until summer 2006.. just recently my coworker bought himself a mini-z 'nd I had to get my old "Schumacher Ferrari" Masterpiece from the dark caverns (the closet)... fun, but wun of the sites he visited to buy more hop-ups (so that he might have a chance against my Ferrari) mentioned the Dnano - 'nd I was sold... I like the fact that my car-case now is reduced to "almost nothing"..

The spin happens on the straight.. not in the corners... I would say it happens after about 4 meters (10-12 feet) into the straight (which is 7 meters long).. 'nd yes.. there's more power left when it spins out... oh, 'nd the track is built by some rubber-mat-thingy.. shouldn't really spin like it does on the wooden floor at home.. 'nd I use the stock tires.. Haven't found out which sort they are.. If I ever find the secret formula of which tires goes in front 'nd which goes in the rear, I will buy myself some more skiddish wuns for the front.

My theory was that the Audi R8 is to wobbly 'nd high.. maybe the x-speed is only for the Le Mans Porsche 'nd Mazda's?

But I'll apply the alu front things when they arrive 'nd try that.. don't think it will change anything other then the weight ratio (=better cornering) so the next step wil be swapping back to the ol' boring stock motor 'nd 6T gear.. (or buy them cool looking carbon rear suspension plates)

Is there really no-wun else experiencing this?

[Millertime]

Just to be sure I'm understanding the situation correct: You accelerate down the straight and it takes off fine, but after some distance it spins out without any steering input?

[lornecherry]

I have one more trick for you try:

Get some Plastercine and stick a gob or two on either the front or rear of the car to try and balance it out. Probably the "light" rear end and the differential are combining to make you spin out. I'm guessing are getting some tail-wag from a light rear-end/big motor, and that is turning into snap oversteer. More grip on the back as other have suggested (10 degree) and some plastercine on the back should fix it. I remember having this probelm with a hopped-up Bit-Char-G and the weight thingy helped a lot.

[Straywalker]

yups, that's right..... straight ahead.. picking up speed... going fast... faster.. super fast.. doing the "520"... curses flying around the room...

it's really annoying because you know have to find that special balance between going superfast 'nd megasuperfast 'nd it's taking lots of time to try'n error.. shouldn't be like that on a car with the manufactures hopups

[Millertime]

Maybe a softer rear plate too? I do think that you're getting wheel bounce at speed and then the diff unloads on one side, when the wheels come back down it's throwing one side harder than the other. Weight could help as well, sounds like you have power to spare so some weight to help the balance and keep it planted shouldn't be a problem.

[-J-]

What have you tried that we've suggested so far? Anything help the problem? Anything make it worse?

Here's what I would do if I were in your situation. First and foremost, I would switch back to the stock motor. The x-speed is only worsening the problem. Then I would rebuild the diff like I described in my first post. I would put the stock h-plate back on. It's softer and will provide more grip at expensive of responsiveness. I would then try and get a hold of some 10 degree rear tires. After you've done all that, come back to us and tell us if the problem got worse/better, and if any new symptoms arise. A quick video of what you're describing would help too.

I would do all of this be I add weight, but if these things don't help, or don't completely solve the problem, adding weight should do the trick.

[MrNanoTrax]

just from my experience & basic knowledge, any car running an RM Chassis will have trouble on long straights but will excel in corners... i'd suggest giving a car with the same setup but an MM chassis a go & see if the same thing happens ;-)

[Straywalker]

thanx for all your help, with the stock motor 'nd 6T the problem dissapears.. probably due to the much slower topspeedbut... but, who would like to drive around on a speedtrack with the stock motor when you only get half the speed of the xspeed?

well... it seems that the problem came with the Xspeed motor... at first I didn't have the balldiff.. only got that wun to get rid of the problem, that didn't help (tried the three possible settings available) - next thing was the gyro (read somewhere that you should have it when running the xspeed, didn't help - next thing was the ball bearings to add some extra weight, didn't help (except for faster acceleration ) - then I "rebuild" the ball diff using my bearingoil for the Mini-z balldiff.... 'nd yes I'm still using the stock H-plate, due to the fact that I havent yet received the carbon wuns yet (slow mail!)... 'nd about wheels.. I don't know what comes as stock rubber (doesn't say anywhere), but it can't be more than 20 'cause my 25's on the mini-z isn't as sticky as the dnanos.

The Audi R8 is MM out of box.

Haven't tried the Plastercine... don't wanna go experimental on a brand new car....

I still mean it is stupid of Kyosho to sell hopups that only will make the car handle worse.. the Mini-z don't have this problem when hopuped with originals! 'nd this little ... Dnano-thing, 'nd the official Kyosho hopups is costing MUCH more than on the Mini-z! Why would they sell this expensive car if the x-speed is rendered useless due to to much power? - one would really think they'd know about this flaw, don't you think?

but then again.. if it's only me having this problem ('nd so it seems from the answers in here anyway) I guess I just had bad luck when i bought it.. 'nd I really wish I hadn't, Instead of the Dnano I could have gotten myself two brand new mini-z with basic hopups (ballbearings, balldiffs, alu wheels, alu front knuckles, aly steering arm) for the same price...!!!

I'm really dissapointed... 'nd feel really stupid for beeing tricked into buying it after watching those nice youtubes.. stupid me... really, really stupid.. :P

[lornecherry]

If the problem disappears with the stock motor, you've probably got axle hop, a softer H plate will help. And make sure the differential has no grease and turns very freely (light oil or silicone powder - no grease whatsoever).

As for the plastercine experiment ...try it, it's easy to remove/add on to and wont hurt the car or it's appearence, especially if you apply inside the body. Finally, the track surface/tire combo may also have something to do with it. As a quick check on that, scuff the rear tires with sand paper to give you a few laps of temporary traction.

Be patient, you have quite a few of very experienced micro R/C experts on this forum; if the X-Speed motor is problematic, we all want to try and work through it, because motor hop-ups; if not popular now, certainly will be as the cars become more established. I'm going to order an X-speed to see if I can duplicate the problem.

[-J-]

Unfortunately, the problem is unique to you. Like Lornecherry said, there's plenty of people here who can help you solve this problem, so lets stay calm and not go bizerk on the car. Again, a video would be really helpful in diagnosing the problem as opposed to taking wild guesses.

You said you've ordered the Kyosho carbon h-plates. You can try these to see if they help, but in my experiences they created the problem your talking about. I added a small piece of double sided tape to my stock h-plate to slightly stiffen it, plus provide some dampening on the rear end. You could try this. Worked well for me. Hopefully Atomic's h-plates are softer than the Kyosho ones.

You've rebuilt the diff, which is good. Checks one potential source of the problem off the list.

Try lightly sanding the rear tires like Lornecherry suggested. That would tell us whether or not the problem has to do with rear grip or lack there of.

I can't think of anything else to suggested that someone else hasn't mentioned.