dNano Aluminum Wheels (w/ pics)

[arch2b]

here is an interesting question:
dnano body compatibility is far more complicated than that of it's big brother the mini-z. at 1:28, all we have to do is match a wheel offset with chassis built track width and body tolerances for potential trackwidth. for 1:43, we find ourselves dealing with setting kits and all the intricate tiny peices inorder to change a body and or wheels.

would you not prefer to have wheels offered by measured offset alone or in kits that would include/require the setting kits?

it would require tabulating the chassis built trackwidth for each setting kit in order to determine what wheel offset would be needed but this would seemingly eliminate the need for altering the setting kit unless your tweaking minute details.
recently there has been new developments/products specifically to alter then chassis built track width for the mini-z so there are plenty of people that have subtle differences or preferences in these areas and the dnano has this capability built in to some degree.

[Marcro]

One thing I would like to see arch, is scale-wheels designed for use on the RC chassis. This is one thing I never understood about the Dnano. All the Mini-Z's have their very own set of scale wheels to match the given car. Why didn't they do that for the Dnano? If they can spend the time to make the scale wheels for each "body", why not for the chassis?
Some cars look okay with the stock RC wheels, while others look ugly. I'd like to see proper offsets for each body and I'd like to see more scale RC wheels. I like the aluminum wheels we already have available, but would like to see more.
I agree, changing out the body is a pain in the butt. I think their hoping you'd buy a whole new RC chassis set rather just a new body and simply snapping it on.

[fraz]

Been away for a bit, wrecked my motorcycle and am home recovering

arch: I thought about the offset thing too and I am convinced that Kyosho did it the right way. All dNano wheels are the same offset. So you can use different wheels on various cars and just change out the hubs. If you add offset to the wheels, then you make the wheels car specific and also add a ton to the machining complexity.

marcro: Scale is nice but heavy, longer time to machine, and specific to a given car. From a business standpoint, it is a non-starter. Heck even doing a given style in multiple diameters is very costly for short production runs. Personally, I am all about performance and good looks at same time. The first wheels we did "feel" same weight as plastic. No way are any of the other aluminum wheels I have seen even close. Light wheels are one of the biggest performance hopups you can get as it affects unsprung weight AND rotating mass of drivetrain.

lorne: extending the wheel lip would relly do nothing to help keep junk out of kingpins/bearings. Trust me after over 30 years in racing r/c I can safely say debris will find it's way in where you don't want it no matter what. The solution is stay on top of cleaning and maintenance and/or get a cleaner racing surface.

I have not given up on this project and other designs I am working on. I have scrapped the guy I was getting quotes from so I am trying a couple others and hopefully I can find reasonable pricing.

[lornecherry]

Fraz, arch ...you both bring up intersting points with respect to handling and overall "performance" that I have been road-testing, as I continue to develop track surfaces (a really good racing surface announcement is coming soon).

To me the dNaNo has been very close to my kart racing experience, and although I never raced shifter karts (the very fastest), when I did drive them ... speed was never the issue, it was turn-in and acceleration out of the corners that differentiated performance between the shifter karts and the slower karts. And so it is with the d'NaNo ...they are very quick out of the box ...too much so for most drivers ...it's tweakling them to go where you intend them (oversteer/understeer, camber and toe-in and turn-in) that is so very diffiuclt to dial-in, because every minute change is amplified by the cars light weight. So where am I going with this?

Racing science has certainly taken a back seat to on-track testing with the d'NaNo and strategies that worked with the Mini-Z's manifest in different ways on the d'NaNo. The very best handling (on an EVA foam-like material) has been by using 19 Rear wheels up front. I had to modify the front suspension parts to fit, but nothing major ... just a quick Dremmel and shaving down the kingpin (which also lessens weight).

I have done extensive testing with the wider front tires/rims and prefer that combination to just using stickier rubber (i.e. going to a 10 or 20 degree front). With wider fronts, there are less traction rolls and the handling is more natural with less understeer on fast sweepers or banked corners.

I have tried this mod on the Porshe and Mazda LeMans cars and will be doing the Ferrari and others soon. So if you make some light weight 19's, I will give them a try.

[arch2b]

while i agree with fraz about weight with mini-z's, i simply do not agree that less is better with the dnano. it's like putting a hot motor in an mr-01 with no upgrades (like we all did 9 years ago). sure it goes fast as hell in a straight line but as soon as you turn, your all over the place.

i like the stability the fractional increase in weight aluminum parts give you on the dnano. yes, with the wheels it's all unsprung weight, etc. etc. etc. we all know the routine with mini-z's. it doesn't necessarily translate 100% with dnano in my opinion. the speed/weight ratios is more extreme for one. now this may not hold true for those top 10% drivers that can hold a car like it's on tracks but i've never been in that bracket and likely never will. fraz may well be there and it's amazing to see it happen but what works for those types doesn't work for the average person all the time because the driving style is soo different and less controlled.

i plan on getting aluminum wheels for all my dnano's. not sure about the other aluminum hop ups but the wheels are a worthwhile purchase in my opinion.

as lorne has pointed out, i too may try the wider front wheels as well. i just have to check in with aluma-tech about new styles and ordering a couple more pairs. maybe even talk to him about anodizing colors!

[Marcro]

I've also asked him about anodizing as well and he said they can do that. I'd love to have the spokes done and have the lip's left polished.
I'm craving for a set of BBS meshed pattern wheels! Gold ones would be nice too!

Speaking of wheels, I just purchased the white Subaru WRX STI Dnano model, and I'd like to get a set of gold wheels for it. Just the normal ones, where can I order the colored Dnano wheels, and what size does the Subaru take? Can I go inch-up with the Subaru?