My Optima build thread, (was Rear wing for Optima??)

[yellowdatsun]

Anyone know of a way to mount a wing to the back of an OG style Optima?

[tamiya]

off the shock tower like an Egress?

[tamiyadan]

.

[Coelacanth]

One way, but probably requires chopping off some body:


-Mounted horizontally directly to shock tower.

A better way:


-I just cut a green alloy threaded tube and bolted it to the radio plate from underneath, as tamiyadan said--this is the "official" way. Kyosho used to sell a wing kit for the Optima, and that's basically all it was--a pair of threaded aluminum posts, wing wire and buttons. If you make your own, just cut the tubes so they're just below the shock tower height.

Something like this, on eBay:

http://www.ebay.ca/itm/ST-Racing-STA30515G-Cross-Brace-Shock-Mount-Spacer-Kit-Green-Axial-SCX10-/381538399094?hash=item58d575f376:g:ZQIAAOSwiLdWAvMB

[yellowdatsun]

^^^ I like this idea, as it involves minimal work.

I think drilling extra holes in the rear shock tower and using those standoffs shown in the first pic, would be a way I could keep the rear body section. They wouldn't be in the way with the body on, but getting it on would be a problem.

Maybe drill/tap holes in the aluminum block above the motor, and use piano wire to go back, and then up? Hmmm........

[yellowdatsun]

Welp, I found some Losi wing mounts in my RC10 parts box, of all places. They fit the Optima perfectly.








Orrr.......super hill climb car!

[GoMachV]

Clearly the easiest way is to simply reengineer the whole platform
(But the tower fits a stock car also and adapts modern wing mounts)

[Coelacanth]

Welp, I found some Losi wing mounts in my RC10 parts box, of all places. They fit the Optima perfectly.

That turned out pretty good.

[yellowdatsun]

Yeh, came in a pack of four. The other two have somewhat steep angle built into them, and these are flat. So I have another option if need be. Got them on clearance along with some other stuff that "Maybe I can use someday". Sure enough, found a use for them.

[Mr. ED]

Does the bolt pattern also fit when you flip them 90 degrees?

[yellowdatsun]

Does the bolt pattern also fit when you flip them 90 degrees?

Why would you want them coming out sideways?

[yellowdatsun]

So at the track, aside from landing on it's tail constantly, the steering tie rods would pop off a lot, and I already broke one drag link.

Sooo, I replaced the optimas inner rod links with an Associated ball and cup, and also made a new drag link out of Associated parts. The drag link is now seperate, and not attached to the tie rods.

In addition, I flipped the front a-arms to get more wheelbase out of the car. The only mechanical problem was the driveshafts rubbing on the caster block holes, which was resolved by a little x-acto knife work.

I was worried at how all the changes would affect the car, but, I just drove it around the yard, street, and up/down the curbs, and it seemed to work perfectly. There were zero issues, we'll see how it does at the track.

[yellowdatsun]

Here you can see the Associated ball and cup. You can also see that I used spacers on the shocks so they'd operate more freely:





Here you can see the arms now in the forward position. The car used to be short and stubby, and very unstable. This gained me 3/4 of an inch of wheelbase, and the car is now just about as long as my B5M.





I'm lucky that the Optima has the lower shock ball on the caster block, instead of the a-arm. Otherwise this swap would have been a lot harder.

[yellowdatsun]

I do need to find a solution to the weak/small/too-short outer and upper suspension link screw. It's already stripped. It's super glued in there for the time being. Did Kyosho ever sell an aluminum caster block?

[yellowdatsun]

Here's a few more pics of the Associated parts, and how the drag link is now separate.