Driver's Edge 101

charles · #1 05-04-2006, 08:21 AM

Hey guys,
i have a problem. i'm practicing my driving skills as much as possible for the first race of the season. i'm driving a savage 25 with 40 series bowtie tires, i'm having a hard time figuring out how to take the corners. i've tried taking corners with some throttle, only to find that it seems to drift to far and hit the rail. i then tried to take the corners with no throttle and then accelerate out of the turn only to find that it slows me down alot more than i need to. to narrow down what may be causing the problem. i put into consideration that the track may be too loose? or my tires are not gripping the ground like they should? (time to try the crime fighters!) lastly, i also considered trying the sway bar set sold at the hobby shop. so, what else can i try and why?

p.s. ....what does the abbreviaton lol stand for?

that_one_guy · #2 05-04-2006, 09:04 AM

first off, lol stands for laugh out loud

i dont know if i can help or not with your turn prob... just try different things, and pay attention to the fast guys...

MikeWz · #3 05-04-2006, 09:49 AM

If you're drifting in the outside rail when you're semi-on throttle, you may want to try increasing rear toe-in. Just by a degree...MAYBE 2. This gives you increased turn-in, but will decrease high-speed stability so be careful. Also, I'm not sure about on the Savage, but on the monster GT if you replace the grease in the rear diff with 10K wt silicone oil (stock grease is roughly equivelant to 1K) it gives you more on-power steering because the back tires tend to slide a little.
Another suggestion is try starting out the turn a little wider, slow down before the turn and then "romp" the gas, this should break the back tires out a bit. For tighter turns, turning and locking the tires at the same time can help skid the truck around otherwise very difficult corners

Kuya · #4 05-04-2006, 10:40 AM

What kind of turn are we talking here as in how many degrees?
Are you driving the proper line?
Also, how much does you body roll in the turn if it rolls at all?
Do you have your Savage's suspension set up right for racing?

The Savvy is built tall and with that, no matter what tires you put on it, it likes to roll a lot in turns. If you haven't already, drop your ride height by inverting a shock and removing a spring from each side.
losi_racer13's ride has that done

That eliminates a lot of roll. try it if you haven't already done it. If you still want all 8 shocks, you could always rebuild all shocks and add limiters which will drop the car but then you can't take your truck flying in the air without risking bottoming out.

DarkSavage · #5 05-04-2006, 01:00 PM

Hey Hey dont take my ideas, haha . im just kidding but that setup is for onroad! this is losi racer on my new name. umm Alright i dont race offroad but try this buy a foot of fuel tubing, then take off all your shocks, then dissasemble your shocks till you only have the piston and the shaft, then cut about 3/4 inch off each fuel tubing pieces and place is in each on of your shock shafts. After All of the fuel tubing is in.
Put NEW shock oil in and try different weights right now im running 50wt but thats for onroad so i would say try 40wt with your stock black springs all around...Hopefully this would help, see how since i put all the INTERNAL shock limiters ''fuel tubing'' how the suspension now is Bones level...running bones level is the best all around setup.

Malhovic · #6 05-04-2006, 02:24 PM

All I can say would be to make sure that you are pulling the correct driving line...sit on the way outside and slow down a VERY small amount and then right before the turn give it full throttle and turn into the turn. You will drift the turn and that will give you the best speed/kickoff ratio when you come out of the turn. Just make sure that you DEFINATELY change that rear diff to 10K weight as it would be more suitable than stock. Along with that, I like to have my rear tires toe-in about .5° as it seems to drive the best for me...I try to keep the front tires at about tor-in/out at 0°. I have better turning and when I whip the truck into the turn it slides around just like you were in a drift car. Once it comes out of the turn, if you counter-steer correctly you should be parallel to the track lines and be between the center of the track and the outside wall. Once you get this down you will be all set to go. I found the best way to practice was actually on a volleyball court. I would take a fast, tight turn around each of the net's poles and since then I keep doing it to get better and better and I am just about there!

Good Luck!!!

Kuya · #7 05-05-2006, 02:26 AM

I myself use limiters in my shocks to keep the roll to a minimum. Works great on on and off road. Malhovic is right about the driving technique. Like in any professional race, it's always "out, in, out". Start on the outside, cut in where the apex of the turn is close to the middle, and end outside. And then add the basic throttle off drift technique, where you come up to the turn, throttle off, turn into the turn, then throttle on and counter steer.

On a savage, there's a lot of body roll so drifting the truck is real touch and go; that's why suspension is key.

DarkSavage · #8 05-06-2006, 01:28 AM

Yup, Suspension is a BIG issue you need to work on with savages, but soon as you get your suspension down your truck will be handling ALOT better, Right from stock shock formation its terrible, you need limters for sure. Also Try getting some lcg tvps. Twisted Toys sells some good ones and Fast lane Machines has nice ones also. Also try different techniques to drive your truck around corners, i slow down and throttle blip is through the whole corner then blast it.