XRAY - Model racing cars

I have a question: If I have no problems with traction roll, is it best to have a narrower track width or does this have any other negativ effects?

thanks

I can only answer from a book/theoretical point of view, as I'm not that experienced at setting up race cars or driving them. From that perspective, narrower track width will slow you down in corners by causing more weight transfer between inside and outside tires. More weight transfer means less overall traction, and that demands slower corner speed.

Both of you are somewhat correct. There are really two areas where grip is affected concerning any setup change. I refer to them as:

1. Initial grip (initial corner entry or reaction in chicanes)
2. Full roll grip (more mid corner as the chassis rolls to its full lean angle)

Stiffer dampening in the front may give quicker reaction and initial grip when running foam tires on a high bite track. However, it will probably reduce full roll grip mid corner (especially if the track has any bumps). A driver may interpret the feeling as more grip/steering since his car turns in quicker and may not notice any mid corner push unless the traction came down on the track.

Then when you factor in tire slip angles, surface traction/condition and maximum load for each tire, the picture gets even a little more muddled.

There are general rules of thumb that the setup book refers to. However, one small setup change on a foam/carpet car running on a high bite track may give a completely opposite reaction to the same exact change on a rubber/asphalt car running on a low bite track.

Thats why the final recommendation for any driver regarding setup changes is always 'test it on the track yourself and keep notes'.

This is interesting and touches on the subject that perplexes me. In the real world of sports cars chassis stiffness and lack of roll are the accepted directions. In the 1/10 world, flex seems to be the accepted way to get grip. Narrow track width inducing more role would seem to be aligned with this strategy. Now at our club I spoke with various members and none had used sway bars, or had but could not get on with them. THis seemed strange to me and I have to say we added them and it had a noticeble +ve effect from the off. Maybe it is just the way we have our car set-up.

We took the T2 out yesterday for its first run, setup pretty much as per the recomemnded setups plus max. track width but we found it too loose particulalry off power at corner entry. The next run will have the just arrived sway bars added, suspension stiffened a bit and maybe some rear droop taken out to manage the corner entry looseness although the spring changes may do the job anyway.