5th Coil

[FF21]

What effects will you have by moving the 5th coil backward or forward and what kind of track conditions would you do either one for?Thanks

[rubbinsracin]

to the best of my knowledge, the further out it is...say 36" you have traction at a lesser rate but it stays hooked up longer. shorter, say 32" you have more instant traction, but it doesn't last as long.

does that sound correct everyone?

[cushionbumper]

That's my understanding also.
CB

[Matt49]

Yes moving it back will give you more instant traction but at the cost of loosing traction further down the straight.
Also, if you get your 5th coil too far forward, it can cause a throttle push because it is unloading the front tires when it "lifts".

[FF21]

Thanks fellas.I may try the closer in on a 3/8 track and the farther out on a 1/2 mile.

[Egoracing]

Something that gets overlooked is spring rate to track design. If you are on a track that you really never get out of the gas a lighter spring is sometimes better as you are not loading and unloading it as much and a softer spring helps it use the chassis for traction.

[ALF401]

I probably shouldn't say this but...... several years back I noticed that a racer buddy had a rat tailed micro switch, a light on the dash and he always could beat everyone off the corner. I looked at the set up and he told me that he never let the liftbar travel more than 3". The micro switch would turn the light on on his dash when it traveled more than 3". He tuned his spring rate with the light. He would get it to barely flash when under hard throttle. He said over three inches and the rear tires unloaded and that was what people felt. I know his spring rate was a lot different than the normal set up recommendations from the various chassis builders. Lift bar spring use is an overlooked area of traction! Just food for thought!

[AmickRacing]

Since we're on this topic... Can we dabble a bit into gas pressure for those is us who are using a gas shock on the 5th arm?

[ALF401]

3" compression from static ride height? What makes 3" the magic number? Would this vary from chassis to chassis? In the past I've always based spring changes on 'feel.' It's interesting to know there may be a consistent number to work to, even simply using the rubber indicator on the shock shaft.

:)

The rubber indicator on the shock tells you how much it moves, but not when it moves. You hit a hole or a bump in the racing surface when you hit the throttle and you don't get a true reading on the shock travel indicator.