Zipper and MaDDman's Tyco R/O Project Cars
by Steve Medanic and J.P. Duda *SEE PHOTO TIPS AT BOTTOM*Accompanied by single digit
temperatures, snow and sub-zero wind chills the big test came and went. The setup isn't really that important except for the fact that the cars were all set up flat and level with the traction magnets and both front and rear
bulkheads just skimming the high rails. The complete setup for the cars will be published later. Maddman's tire heights were .345/.444. Zipper came with his cars. His racecar which has done well in local racing and several backups.
Maddman had his test car. For you Iowa HOPRA fans this was not the Tyco that worked so very well out there and that Bill Dyal ran in SS at the Milwaukee HOPRA nationals but the Enduro car which was reworked into a sprint car for
the test. The gauntlet was set earlier in the week by Maddman with consistent 3.2-3.1 runs on Red with the car in SS trim (BSRT narrow AST tires instead of slip on silicones). SIR has a serious home track advantage and the fast
times came with Maddman at the trigger. Zipper's primary car also came down to 3.2-3.1 laps. Zipper's backup car was not up to snuff and a rebuild began. New bulkheads and traction magnets did the trick and the car eventually
also came into the 3.2-3.1 range. All of the ceramic magnet Tyco cars were in SS trim. BSRT, Quicker and Legend silicone/sponge rear tires worked well with independent fronts. Gearing was 7/25 with all of the cars except for
Zippers backup. A late change to shimmed stock motor brush springs didn't improve
straight-line speed but radically upped the low-end torque. The torque coupled with 7/25 gears was breaking the rear tires loose coming into the
straights. This was causing snap oversteer and inconsistent laptimes. 7/24 gears were used to soften the car up. This critter should eventually be quite quick once the new parts break in. Maddman's car and Zipper's backup car used
Prototype MaDD Courage C32 bodies. Zipper's primary car had a Thunderbolt Pugeot.
Later that night Maddman got out some other toys. First the SGP. This particular SGP
was a very good HOPRA Modified but just wouldn't work with the slip on rears. Uncontrollable! Massive snap oversteer. 3.3 was about it. A full 3/4 second down from
what one would expect with the car in Modified trim. Next the Protech was dragged out. This was an older play car which was not tricked out for the test. Scale Auto
HOTT White "A" compound silicones on double flanged rims tires were tried with 7/23 gearing and 0.400 fronts. Needless to say this was a wide pan chassis. The car was fun
to drive and immediately got into the 3.2-3.1 range with more potential than the ceramic magnet cars. SIR is a very tight 50' sectional plastic track. It's not point and shoot. The track
requires excellent handling and good momentum. It's not a track for a poor handling or inconsistent car. The ceramic magnet Tyco's in SS trim were fun. If we had to race
Club Stock cars on SIR the Protech would be the hot ticket. The SGP would run second and the ceramic magnet Tyco's wouldn't make the cut. If the ceramic magnet Tyco's
were given AST tires and the Protech's were forced to run slip on silicones I would still probably be running the Protech. The ceramic magnet Tyco's just don't have the downforce.
Maddman tried the ceramic magnet Tyco with various slip on silicones earlier in the week on Quicker and Scale Auto double flanged rims. With the slip on silicones tires
tried (AJ's, HOTT, Wizzard low and medium profile) the club stock ceramic Tyco is just not a fun car to race. It's way too inconsistent to have fun with. The most fun cars
are the ones that you can go doorhandle to doorhandle with the guy in the next lane and race. The Tyco ceramic magnet club stock car could be a great cheater car with folks
pushing the envelope everywhere in order to get that much more downforce, grip, etc. What is needed to make this type of car work is a tire with low grip that breaks away
in a controlled slide instead of suddenly breaking away. The current crop of slip on silicones doesn't do that. At least not on plastic track. Get the right tires and spec some
really tall minimum tire heights (say .360"/.460") and you could have fun. As tested Maddman's and Zipper's cars were very close in overall setup. Some minor
differences in pickups but that's about it. Zipper's primary car featured lots of Gold plated parts and has some serious smoke down the straights! The important things that
came out of this test were the sharing of ideas, tweaking and bench racing. The car's didn't necessarily work well at the beginning of the test but sharing of ideas, careful
measurement, different parts and ideas made all of the cars faster and more consistent at the end of the day. More later-
Steve
Zippers Tyco Set Up: You are correct! The slip ons really make you drive the car. In fact, we tried the HOTT
slip ons first! If a beginner would drive each type car, the AST's would be much easier for them to drive. If things are easier, you might get them to stay in the sport a little longer than the Christmas holiday season.
So OK, here is the list that seemed to be just about universal to the cars we built. Some of these are obvious but just Bear with me. 1.) Get a pinned chassis( or do one yourself) HT 172.
2.)
Get a couple of rolling chassis. Ask Nicky at SA for #.
3.) Tyco 440 pick up shoes #235 BSRT.
4.) Motor brush springs # 200 BSRT.
5.) Motor brushes #218 BSRT.
6.)
Double .009 pick up springs Wizzard. ( sorry )
7.) O-ring fronts Use # 314 BSRT.
8.) Double Flange hubs ( rear ). Size to track, all are different.
9.)
Slip on siicones. Size to track, all are different.
10.) Splined rear axle. #HT 220.
11.) Gear spacer HT 302 BSRT.
12.) Lexan body.
13.) Body mounting pins.
14.)
Arm shaft spacers Protech# PT 001, 002, 003.
*****options*****
In no particular order-
Independent Fronts, zapped and matched magnet sets, BSRT AST tires, Delrin gear set.
Since you have a few chassis, and bulkheads you will be able to experiment with different combinations. Zipper |
