The Build.........

Hi all reading this. First an apology as I’ve not updated this for a couple of months, mainly due to time away during Christmas and a few other things that have cropped up since my last post which have eaten into my time.
I’ve been wanting to get the next post out, focusing on when I built my kit. Those of you who’ve bought an RTR (Ready-To-Run) car may not think this applies to you, but some of the key pointers will help you out too when it comes to maintenance and, more than likely, repairs!

When building your kit or about to do some significant maintenance on your car, the first thing to do is make sure you have read the manual. I know it sounds like a wimpish for a proper man to say, but you won’t feel like a proper man when your car breaks down on its first run because you’ve mixed up the screws, or diff, or suspension arms, or shock seals etc. etc.
Basically there are quite a few things that can be inserted wrong or built the wrong way which will not only shorten your run time, or ruin performance, more importantly to those on a budget it could cost some $$$ to fix.

So a few handy tips when building your kit:

• Read the manual all the way through.
• Read the manual all the way through again!
• Have the manual open to the section you need as you need it (particularly important during maintenance and repairs).
• Make sure you have all the correct tools for the job (no Irish screwdrivers etc.).
• Have a tidy work space with plenty of area around to place things (using a small coffee table or your lap on the sofa is definitely not recommended!).
• Try as best you can to only take the parts you actually need for that section of the build out of the packets and boxes (so that you don’t lose random screws or bolts by accident).
• Try to give yourself a few hours uninterrupted time to build the kit. Nothing is more annoying or potentially messes up a build than having to pack it all up mid-build because your partner needs the kitchen table back when you’re half way through building your diff.
• Double check your work (Once you’ve finished a section, double check it against the manual to make sure it is right before moving to the next section).

I know this may sound obvious to some, or overly pedantic to others, but if you build the kit wrong to start with then you will have parts break, the car may be a nightmare to drive, and/or it may ruin your “killer run” when you find yourself in the zone during a final.
Another thing that may be handy is to check out a good forum (like oOple) or the manufacturer’s website for build tips. As hard as they try sometimes there are errors in the manual, or a part molding issue, that isn’t always obvious so they upload videos or walkthroughs for the workaround.

Finally something that is often forgotten:
Give the car a couple of “shakedown” runs once completed. Either around your driveway or at the club on a race evening. Either way, take the first couple of runs easy, even turn down your throttle end point to make sure, so that the diff can bed in and the moving parts go through a few actions. This way you can double check the screws and fit of parts afterwards for any loosening or excessive play (movement). Also if anything does break you will be doing a slower speed and will normally see/feel it before it goes, so, it may not do as much damage as at full race pace. Build up the speed with each run, checking out the car after each run and by the end of the meeting you should have the car running at race pace and have picked up any issues early.

This is also where the advantage of running a popular car for your club lays. If anything does go wrong there will be plenty of help from people, who may have gone through it before you with that specific car, so it should be easily and simply repaired to get you ready for the next heat.
Hopefully these few tips will help when it comes to putting together, or carrying out maintenance, your first car. And these tips carry over for all forms of RC racing, not just the buggies I run. Once I had my car together I was itching to get down to my first club night to hit the track, although as I found out I hit quite a lot of it in my first few nights of club meetings!