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Tamiya TRF420 MM and TRF419 FWD Track tests and setup


After a long wait due to the Corona restrictions I could finally get back to my radio control.
I spent two training days at the MCC Türkheim(http://www.mcc-tuerkheim.de/) where I could test new parts and find first setups.

First a few words about the track, so that my findings are classifiable for emulators:
The track is 210m long, at the narrowest point 4m wide and has a grain size of 0.8. For an asphalt track it had mid traction.

Tamiya TRF420 MM testing.

For my TRF420 Mid Motor Chassis from H2RD, which I have already used successfully at the ETS in Daun, I received the following parts for testing:

  • 2.0mm lower deck (original conversion lower deck is 2.5mm)
  • Cut 2.0mm top deck
My testing started with the indoor setup but using the above mentioned new parts. I soon realized that the balance of the car is already very good, but it do with some more grip and traction.

I then started to increase the Upper Arm Spacers by 0.5mm all around. The effect was immediately noticeable, so the next time out I went further and increased the front to 0.8mm and 1.0mm in the rear.

I also focused on the camber. According to the principle "a lot helps a lot" I tried 2.5° in front and 3.0° in the back. In the first few laps it was very good, but from the 4th minute it got more difficult and tended to slip over all 4 wheels. I put this down to overheating / over-stressing the tyres. I verified this by setting the front to 2.0° and 2.5° rear and the car was more planted and the tyres only started to overheat after 6-7 mins.

To adjust and optimize the steering behaviour at the entry and exit of the corner to the conditions of the track I tried a lot different droop combinations. There was a lot of tweaking and it took a long time to find the right combination.

Last but not least I played around a little bit with the weight distribution. The 18g behind the spur gear mentioned in the setup sheet below were at initially in front of the servo at the start of testing. I omitted them and installed them again later at the noted position. This had an enormous effect, which I had not expected: Significantly more steering with a car that is still stable.

TRF420 Set-up




TRF419 FWD

This new conversion set from H2RD has enabled a lot of TRF racers to cheaply experience the resurgence of FWD that is happening at tracks all over the world. I was very happy that I got one of the conversion kits directly from the first batch and so I was able to install it early.  It makes me very happy that I could give a second life to my "old" TRF419X and make it a contemporary car in a class that I was very excited to try.

As a bit of background, I have driven other makes of fronti once outdoor and once indoor, and both times it was great fun.

Before I talk about testing, a few words about the setup and the conversion kit itself:
While assembling the kit, I noticed quite early that the type and construction of the battery holder does not suit me at all. After a post on Facebook, a back and forth of ideas and drawings and the subsequent 3D printing of the resulting parts, I was able to implement some of my ideas for optimizing the battery holder. A big thank you at this point to Craig and Marc!

Everything was finally installed and the Fronti was ready for testing.

For the body I had decided to use the Blitz EK9, because this was the body that was often used in Daun and other races. I also hoped to get that little bit more of rear stability from the large enclosed rear spoiler, which was often missing from the frontis of some drivers. It would not turn out to be a bad choice.

Finally it went on the track and I was totally amazed. The Fronti was almost drivable like a normal touring car. And that without having any idea of the setup. In the beginning my standard 419X setup from the previous ETS season was used.

I didn't make a lot of adjustments to this setup and on the first day of testing I focused almost exclusively on finding a driving style suitable for front-wheel drive.

On the second day I focused on working on the set-up The biggest changes were the change of the suspension mount at the front of the rear from 1D to 1C.

It is important to note that I used the wheel carrier of the TT-02 with 2.5° toe-in on the rear axle. All in all I got a toe-in of 3.5°. Quite a lot for my feeling and I would never drive a normal touring car like this. But it worked great on the Fronti.

As another point, I tried a little bit on the flex options of the chassis.
With the 419X as a touring car it was usual to mount the bulkheads with only two screws each.
The conversion kit offers a lot of possibilities for stiffening the rear part. To cut a long story short: The best thing for me was the handling at the end of the day with all bulkhead screws and the stiffening of the top deck at the rearmost point.

Another point I would also like to raise. Due to a lack of 500k or 1M diff oil I have only used the spool so far. Here I absolutely have to test a lot again, because I expect very big differences.

I am already looking forward for my next testing session to try out more and more with the new cars on asphalt.

TRF419 FF setup



Hope to see you soon at the track
Domink Ruf :)

Conversions available from H2RD here (Click Link)
TRF420 7718879479870025900

Post a Comment

  1. Hi very great article.

    Inwant to ask what's the use of adding so many spacers on the upper arm of your TRF420?

    ReplyDelete
  2. This changes the roll centre. The raised inner links lower the roll centre which makes it a bit more soft on the way into a corner but can give you more speed mid corner.

    ReplyDelete

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