XRAY - Model racing cars

Hi all,

I have just finished to build my new T4 14. The car is just awsome !! And regarding to the races reports, it should be quicker than my last T3 12.

So now i have to fit and paint a new body. And i don't know why but i just realise that i have never paid attention on the body preparation as much as the car setup.

My main question is about the body positioning on the car. How low do you have to fit the body ?

- The lowest the body is, the thinner your front spoiler will be.
- The higher, the most the quantity of air will pass under your car.

It easy to understand that there is not one magical solution, but if you have some advices to understand the body positioning effect on the car performance, it would be great !!

Thanks

Generally you want to go as low as possible as this lowers the CoG and reduces the frontal area of the shell (less aero drag).

The first place to start is with the rules for wherever you're racing. A lot of countries have a minimum height for the roof. If so, aim to be a bit over this minimum, then just trim the bottom of the shell so it doesn't drag on the ground. Trim a bit at a time as you don't want to end up with a huge gap around the bottom; you'd then get more air under the car which is never good.

If there's no minimum height rule, then the limiting factor will be how low you can go before the front tyres start to rub on the wheel arches when cornering. Again, go as low as possible then trim the bottom of the shell so it doesn't drag.

Also pay attention to how far forwards the shell is mounted. Going further forwards will give more steering but less stability, especially at high speed.

Hi DaleBurr,

thanks for all these advices

We run the body as low as the rules will allow. If the body is dragging while cornering, we cut the front lip and sides until they don't drag too much.