Project T-Mod Special [aka Vice City Racing]

[_laxmasta2039]

almost there?? this is it!! it's ssooooo fun playing with the needle and props to get it dialed in when ya know you're not about to crash the thing or break something in the engine [cough, cough, OB riggers, cough, cough]

fun part #2 comes next sunday on race day!

we'll hit the pond this afternoon, i'll post the results.

Joe

 

[Hammerhead]

Hey Lax! That engine is broken in! Believe me. I have had my fair share of laps out of it. I wouldn't go wasting your fuel. Run it a lap and if it doesn't bogg down, bring her in and lean her another quarter turn. Do this until it boggs, then bring it back rich just a hair, and you will be on the money. The needle characteristics with the 4E are very distinct. You shouldn't have any probs. Do you have any gripes about the engine. I think it is still in pretty fare condition. You should be able to get another season out of it.

Just bought my third Wave Slave. Got a brand new RZ-M to slap in her. Got the illiminations coming up on the 20th of July for the Nats. Gonna go with .21 mono this year.

Have fun! Hammer

 

[_laxmasta2039]

hammer,

the engine's great, another season at least, then it'll get a new head, sleeve, maybe crank, and anything else that's really worn- then back to the oval!

we ran another quart of fuel today [this time me and matt], at the beautifully open and obstructionless JCC pond. the boat started like a gas, every time with no trouble at all. the needle's just about set, we had it really screaming for a while but then richened it up again to "fun-run". matt adjusted the trim WHILE running, because he thought increasing the trim would allow the boat to go faster [though it was already opening the needle all the way], instead all it did was make it impossible to cut the boat off when bringing it in. i got scared and accidentally revved it right as it came in, the result was a perfectly undamaged boat except that the fuel tank slipped it's wire ties. after alot of wrangling we had to cut the ties and stuff paper towels in the bow of the boat to keep the tank in place. the setup actually steadied the boat alot, it was impossible to flip no matter how hard we tried! it would start to bounce around towards the end of the straight, but turning at full speed settled it alot! the boat ran fast but it's clear that the prop's too small, i'm gonna get a p220 or x447. the rubber coaming keeps on slipping down on the very tip of the nose, will epoxy work to keep it in place and strong enough to cushion a bump? i dont know how to get the collet off and i dont have any tools that could do it, is there any way i can get more grease/oil onto the shaft without removing it? i dont want it to rust before the race. on the the last run it made an awefull screeching noise and greyish liquid bubbled up around the plug....does that just mean the plug was loose, or maybe the backplate?

Joe

 

[Ron Olson]

Joe, Eric told me last night that you had radio problems with that boat and trashed it. How bad was it?

Kalamazoo. There is no Zoo here.

 

[_laxmasta2039]

the boat's fine, just a bent turn fin that'll be straightened in the vice and a little bit of waxing that needed to be done...the radio literally fell apart and will probably go to the trash, even if i can repair it im not gonna take the risk of using it again. the radio i have that is the same type [futaba attack] im also not going to use, its for sale in the RCZone forum. i'll let you guys know how it does on sunday [race day]

Joe

 

[_laxmasta2039]

sunday:

nice day at the pond, sunny and calm....the boat musta sensed that it was race day, it had NEVER stalled before, and it started stalling left and right in the practice runs, along with heat #1 [DNS]. John Finch very kindly installed some tiny little tabs on my boat after taking a quick look at it's ride...WOW what a difference. i ended up placing 2nd overall in Novice, behind an 8-year-old kid driving a HUGE 1/4 scale crackerbox that was a b$&*% to get around. radio was a brand new JR xr-2 that i installed right before the race, AWESOME radio. with the new x440 3 it still doesn't seem to be really going all-out, it's only going past 'bout 45mph occasionally. does anyone have any tips on increasing speed in a .21 mono? i've got the right tab bent down slightly for propwalk, running a Rossi pipe, x440 3 blade prop, strut angle at 0 degrees....when the boat launches it takes a couple seconds to get going, too rich? to lean? wrong prop?

i wanna get this thing running hard enough tp play with the Big Dogs [being the other .21 monos at my club! ].

Joe

 

[topfuel443]

joe whatcha got the pipe length set at? what kind of Rpm's is it turnin? ~ james

 

[_laxmasta2039]

i measure from center of glowplug to pipe seam right? in that case, it's 13.5cm.....i dont have a dyno but it seems to be doing ALOT of rpms.

Joe

 

[topfuel443]

Yes, you measure from the center of the head, around the header and to the pipe seam.... make sure you keep the tape measure in the center line of the header while youre measuring. My conversions are a little rusty, but the demension you give is only like a little over five inches. That doesnt sound right, it sounds like you measured directly from the plug to the weld, and bypassed the header length. Or either my conversion is way off : ~ James

 

[topfuel443]

Also, what does the spray look like coming off the back of the boat? does it go up really high right oof the back of the transom? or does it taper back nicely?~ james

 

[_laxmasta2039]

hard to remember exactly.....it doesn't go straight up, but it does seem to a bit higher than it should....what does that mean?

i'll go back and measure again, i measured straight from the plug to the seam....i know some people do that, but only if they're using the exact same header and engine as whoever is helping them. gimme a sec and i'll post the corrected measurement

Joe

 

[_laxmasta2039]

10 3/4" is what i got....that is a rough measurement taken with a peice of string....i'd work on the prop right now but we're out of rubber gloves...... :-

Joe

 

[topfuel443]

Joe, Im no expert, but that 10 3/4 is definately long for a 20. Make sure that is the actual length. You should be able to shorten the pipe up considerably and gain much more RPM. More engine RPM = more prop RPM = more MPH. You will probably have tpo richen the setting up more to compensate for the higher rpms. ***However, there are alot of variables that effect and are effected by this change. One of those is prop size. I think you mentioned you were running a 440/3 on it now, and the Novarossi is probably powerful enough to handle that prop and the added RPM. BUT, If you shorten the pipe and it doesnt pull the prop, dont get discouraged. you can try a 437/3 or 438/3. yes these are "smaller" but if you are able to turn say.....4000-6000 more RPM, it could be faster in the long run. Also if you turn a smaller prop it will be less propwalk, so you could put your one trim tab straight...= less drag = more speed. Do you see my point about being lots of variables? the speed is there you just have change & test, change & test, change & test.....then test some more.

The reason I asked about the spray is because ive seen lots of people who havent been doing this for a long time have the strut up too high, or the angle is wrong. What ends up happening is most of the "thrust" from the prop is thrown up into the air....while this may look cool, its not real effective. Im not saying you shouldnt have a roostertail, but there is a thin line as to how much. Setting the strut to a "nuetral" height and angle is a good starting point, but dont stop there as it my not be optimal. If you saw the angle on my strut of my 20 rigger you would think I was insane.....but its the fastest the boat has ever been with my current setup. It acually came loose during a run one day and found the "sweet spot" all on its own, looked like the boat switched into second gear and hit the nitrous button! So I tightened it down where it was when it came in and its been there ever since. Ok that was just luck, but I could have found that out myself if I had tried that angle. The angle and depth of the prop also have big effects on other things....i.e. the prop size you can turn, engine RPM, ect. ect.

Hopefully I havent confused you, but just know that the speed is there with the equipment you have....just a matter of finding it. ~ James

 

[_laxmasta2039]

alright i'll try shortening it some.....when we went ran 2 days ago i looked at the roostertail and it is ALL shooting out nicely behind, none going up. when we shortened the pipe before it needed a whole half-turn out to keep from stalling, i'll start with a quarter and see what it does. thanks for the advice,

Joe