TUESDAY 13 NOVEMBER, 2012 |
Spec-R R1 & S1 Electric Touring Car Assembly
by
Spec-R R1 Electric Touring Car Assembly
The new Spec-R R1 is the hottest topic among competition electric touring car enthusiasts this year. Don't be fooled by its low price tag, this is undoubtedly the best equipped touring car chassis under $300USD. The kit comes with full carbon graphite chassis; complete set of ball-bearings; sturdy aluminum transmission mounts; fully adjustable alloy shocks; new gear differential, etc.... The Spec-R R1 has everything you'll find in any comparable competition Touring car kit costing 40% or more.
The
R1 utilizes popular dual belt driven 4WD layout with ultra narrow transmission design. The narrow transmission allows the use of a variety of suspension mount angles and positions for fine tuning.
The motor mount is designed so that it
does not rest against the upper deck, the flexing of the chassis is therefore not affected or limited since the motor mount and upper deck do not interfere with each other.
About the new R1 gear differential, it is a new design with inner ball bearings within the outdrivers. This results in less play and a smoother drive train. While this increses the weight of the differential slightly, the performance and durability gain are still worth it.
Other bonus items included are the kits are the motor fan mount and battery strap which are not commonly found in comparable TC kits.
The R1 assembles well together without any difficulty. Some of the plastic
parts may require little trimming coming off the part's trees and some moving
parts may require an extra shim or two. Besides the most common tools and
lubricants, we recommend you have the following ready before assembly: Metric
hex wrenches; 4mm/5mm shims of 0.1 - 0.3 thickness; #1000 fine sandpaper;
Anti-Wear grease; Team Associated Green Slime; high quality CA glue,
etc.....
Prep the chassis with CA glue on the graphite chassis edges. If you use
strapping tape for securing the battery, file the edges as shown to minimize
tape tearing.
Make sure all the major alloy chassis parts line up properly and face the
correct way.
Trim the excess plastic from the differential gear with X-Acto knife.
When using certain brand of spur gear, you may have to remove the little
plastic shown for proper fitment.
Make sure there is no excess wobbling when you are finished tightening the
spur gear, . Tighten each screw incrementally as shown.
Use fine sandpaper to sand the surface and pre-thread the screw holes as
shown.
Pay careful attention to this step. The X-ring is there to prevent fluid
leak, if there were excessive play between the X-ring and shim there may be a
chance of leakage. Make sure to shim the X-ring properly.
Use Team Associated Green Slime to seal the X-ring against the large metal shim to prevent fluid leak.
The same goes for the oil seal, trim with X-Acto knife and apply Team
Associated Green Slime.
Make sure the oil seal is evenly seated on the diff half. Assemble the
gear diff once without using diff fluid, check and make sure the internal diff
gears can rotate smoothly.
Fill the diff with fluid up until it is leveled with the cross pin.
Most manufacturers make the bearing holder a little larger to prevent slop
and movement. In case the gear does not rotate freely after assembly, trim and
sand the plastic bearing holder shown until it is smooth.
Carefully tighten the bulkhead and shock tower; repeatedly test the
drivetrain smoothness.
This shim on the outside is used to offset the slop in the spur gear
assembly, make sure there is no play on this shaft.
After minimizing the free play on the shaft, add or remove shims to
minimize slop.
Use a tiny amount of CA to secure these two small bearings. This will
prevent the steering mechanism from wobbling.
Pay attention to the size of the red shim on the right, it is smaller than
the one on the left. If not assembled correctly this will result in steering
binding.
Add a shim here if there is any excess movement.
File the upper deck next to the spur gear. This will prevent unwanted
rubbing when chassis is flexing.
Remove the upper deck screws; bend the chassis a little and observe any
binding between spur gear plastic and upper deck.
Make sure the entire drivetrain is bind free.
Apply Anti-Wear grease on all A-Arm pins. Note the direction of the
A-arms.
The suspension mounts are not symmetrical. Make sure they are facing the
correct way otherwise the A-Arms will bind.
If the suspension is a little tight, use a screwdriver handle to lightly
knock on the A-Arms for a perfect fit between the A-Arm pins and the suspension
holders.
The universal joints come pre-assembled. For optimal performance,
dis-assemble; clean and add Anti-Wear grease the universals before
assembly.
Take it easy and slowly when tightening the KingPin screws, tighten the
screws in alternate order.
We recommend tightening the two M3 set screws on the side before locking
the center set screw.
When assembling the shocks; remove the excess plastic from the part's
tree. The plastic washer is directional and the notches face the O-rings.
Coat the O-ring with Team Associated Green Slime. Same goes for the shock
shaft's thread.
This is a tool that came with the kit. The purpose is for rebound
adjustment.
Take your time when assembling the shocks.
Enjoy!
Spec-R S1 Electric Touring Car Assembly
Spec-R S1 Electric Touring Car - Assembly:
About a month after Spec-R shocked the RC community with its amazing R1 electric TC, the company releases an amazingly affordable Sports version of the R1, called the S1.
The S1 is based on the successful R1, the chassis is made with composite material instead of carbon graphite. Plastic parts replace alloy parts from the R1 to lower the costs. Anti-roll bars are optional on the S1.
Due to many metal to plastic contacts, pay attention not to overtighten various screws for the S1. The plastic suspension pivot balls and shims tend to deform over hard use, as a result you may want to replace them with the metal pivot balls from the R1 before building the kit. A 3.0mm Arm Reamer can help free the suspension movement.
Unboxing the Spec-R S1
In order to get more clearance for the drive belt, file the upper deck as shown. We recommend doing this before assembly.
Before using strapping tape to secure LiPo battery pack, file and smooth out the sharp edges to prevent tape tearing.
Trim all the flashing or excess plastic from the plastic parts to ensure a perfect fit.
Tighten the screws of this 3-piece motor mount evenly and incrementally. Do not fully tighten one screw first before another.
Do not over-tighten any screws when tightening the plastic transmission mounts. Make sure they sit snug.
When using certain brand of spur gear, you may have to remove the little plastic shown for proper fitment.
Slowly tigthen the spur gear screws and make sure it does not wobble.
Remove plastic trims or flashings from the diff casings.
Use Team Associated Green Slime to prevent fluid leakage.
Pay attention to the gap here. Since X-ring is used to seal the gear diff, make sure you shim the diff outdrives without leaving out a large gap. A large gap may result in fluid leakage.
Fill the X-ring with Team Assoicated Green Slime to ensure a leak-free diff.
Assemble the diff without diff grease to check for diff operation. File/Trim the internal diff gear if necessary to make sure it is spinning smoothly.
Do not overfill the diff, this shows how much grease is recommended, up to the cross pin is enough.
With the diff gear installed there may be excessive slop. However, do not shim the gears until the upper deck and shock tower are both installed.
If you find the belt touches the chassis, file the chassis to ensure belt clearance.
Use shims to eliminate steering rack slop
Carefully tighten the M3 screws as shown and make sure the steering rack is free from binding.
Put the upper deck on before taking care of the side to side spur gear slop. This shim on the outside is used to offset the slop in the spur gear
assembly, make sure there is no play on this shaft.
After minimizing the free play on the shaft, add or remove shims to
minimize slop.
Pay attention to the orientation of the suspension mount.
Metal pivot balls and metal shims are recommended. Otherwise use 3.0mm Arm Reamer to free up the suspension movement.
The universal joints come pre-assembled. For optimal performance,
dis-assemble; clean and add Anti-Wear grease the universals before
assembly.
Take it easy and slowly when tightening the KingPin screws, tighten the
screws in alternate order.
Use #1000 sandpaper to sand the hub carrier in case the it is too tight with the A-arm.
When assembling the shocks; remove the excess plastic from the part's
tree. The plastic washer is directional and the notches face the O-rings. Lube the thread of the shock shaft before assembly.
Make sure all 4 shocks have the same rebound. This is the last step of chassis assembly before going into the electronics.
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