F1 tires have a much larger contact patch
than those used on the MR02. Once the traction is optimized,
this means more grip for the F1 versus the MR02. I would
recommend using tire tape on the F1 wheels, even with
their stepped center ring. The tires are relatively
secure, but they can still shift under cornering which
gives us that unpredictable level of squirm mentioned
earlier. The F1 also has a longer wheelbase and wider
stance, though the track width is actually quite similar
to the MR02 due to the width of the tires. The F1 is
just a larger scale in general, resulting in more stability.
The beauty of the F1 chassis is that even with it’s
increased size, the weight has stayed very close to
the MR02. As Colin Chapman once said, “add lightness”.
The F1 chassis takes advantage of its increased size
without the weight penalty that usually comes with it.
Now what to do with the weight that the F1 chassis
does have? The heaviest parts of an electric R/C car
are its batteries and motor. The F1 carries its batteries
in the center of the chassis and adjacent to each other
as opposed to the MR02 which spaces the cells on either
side of the servo motor. This mass centralization results
in a lower polar moment of inertia in both the roll
axis and the yaw axis. These are just big words that
mean that the car leans and turns quicker and easier.
This usually translates into quicker direction changes
and more corner speed - the holy grail of racing.
Now on to the motor. The difference between the F1
motor mount and the MR02 motor mounts is very subtle.
The MR02 has done a good job of lowering the motors
for a lower CG, but they still have it set at an angle.
The F1 takes advantage of the flat cans used in Mini-Z
motors and mounts it completely flat to the chassis,
lowering the CG even more. I would recommend carefully
drilling a hole in the plastic F1 motor mount so that
you can apply comm drops (preferably our Reflex Racing
Motor Hooch!) to the motor without having to remove
it. Motor removal can be a real pain especially if you
have the Kyosho roll-pitch damper.
The last thing I will say about weight is in reference
to the bodies. The Kyosho autoscale bodies are very
heavy and how their weight is distributed has a huge
effect on the handling of the MR02 chassis, even more
so than the aerodynamics. For MR02, I try to select
the widest body possible for mod (Enzo/Murcielago) and
the lightest possible body for stock (Mclaren). Even
the lightest, lowest-slung MR02 body towers over the
F1 bodies which are almost draped around the chassis.
This lower CG is a huge handling advantage, but it comes
at a price. The clearance under an F1 body is very minimal
(just like the real thing). One of the key causes of
poor handling in an F1 chassis is the motor wires or
capacitors hitting the body and binding up the suspension.
This is where I usually look first when diagnosing a
handling problem. I find that motor wires rubbing on
the body is often the cause of tweak with the MR02 chassis
as well. |
