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grab yourself a tiny ko propo esc they are very tiny and have always been the best of the best

KO Propo VFS-1 Competition 1,2,3 just ask masami

Here's another little tip to look out for with wheels. The mounting hub on my Parma wheels are actually thicker or deeper than my Jacos causing the stock wheel mounting screws to have less threads going into the axle hubs by about half. Make sense? Here are a pic to show what I mean.



On the left is a Jaco wheel with the stock mounting screw fully seated in the wheel and on the right is a Parma wheel with the same stock mounting screw showing about half of the threads. The stock screws are 1/4". I replaced them with two packs (4 screws to a pack) of Factory Team 5/16" blue aluminum screws, Associated part number 4145. The same screws that mount the servo.



Now, here's a pic of the Parma wheel with the new screws...plenty of mounting threads. And the longer screws can be used on the Jacos as well without issue. Just a little tid bit to keep your wheels firmly mounted no matter what brand you use.

Man,thanks for that!
My 12L4 is going to look good with some fresh foams.
I'm guessing I'm going to need quite a few shims for that wheel-is it only the left wheel I have to shim?
Wouldn't that make the wheelbase unequal?
Do the kit shims do the trick,or do I need something thicker?
Dude,you're so much help...

Yea, you'll need a bunch and you'll probably want to make it as even as you can with he shims you have. Not sure of the ill effects if it's a little unbalanced. I'll have to check and see how I did mine. If you needed to you could get away with using something thicker as long as the inside diameter is 1/4", same as the axle and outside diameter is less than the ride height adjusters (the plastic pieces that hold thew bearings and the axle) so they don't bind. The only advantage to using something thicker is not having to gather up so many of them. Disadvantage would be added weight if you use bigger steel washers. If you do use something with a larger diameter, make sure you put it on the outside of the shims closer to the axle hub, away from the bearings to keep the washer from binding with the bearing sides and the ride height adjuster. The kit comes with 6 shims stock, 3 each side. I just checked my L4, my left hand side has 13 shims and there's just enough clearance between the tire and the lower pod plate and the right side has 8, so I'm a little out of whack, but it still runs. I'll have to get some more to even it out. Glad I could help.

Forgot to mention:

Check out Mark Payne's blog, http://markpayneblog.blogspot.com/, he's got a lot of good tips and techniques that can be applied to the L4's strut front end and motor pod.

Wow,thanks a bunch,man!
Time to get shimmin'.
I stumbled upon Mark Payne's blog last night.
Lots of great info to absorb....

I believe there a few companies that make shims specifically for shimming the offset rear wheels. I got a pair of them with a pan car I bought a while back, they're a single piece of flat aluminum with the holes for the mounting screw drilled into them. I'll see if I can find them and post a pic for you guys.

Hey,thanks for that Adam.

The Futaba mini servo and rx arrived and are in...Just need to stow some coin for a Futaba MC601C ESC.
The servo's a sweet little unit.
A *little* unpleasant filing off the unused mounting tabs off a new servo,though!

Time for a wheel alignment,huh?

Found the best deal on the best shims I've come across...I didn't have enough AE shims to do the job and like the idea of only a couple of .100" shims than 12 of the AE jobs!
Custom Works do 'em in .50" and .100".
Sweet.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0095p?FVPROFIL=&FVSEARCH=custom+works+%3CB%3Eaxle%3C%2FB%3E+%3CB%3Espacer%3C%2FB%3Es

Here's an update on my little 12L4.
Went with a Futaba MC601C ESC,only $49 from Tower,nice and compact,has the ability to be programmed and data logged with a PC and handles down to 9 turn motors on 6 cells.
It fit real nice and runs my Reedy KR 10x2 with ease.
Found some Du-Bro 1/4" x 0.20" shims I had in stock and they worked perfect to space the rear wheels out.
Came 4th in my first 1/12th scale carpet race,too!