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Just ordered a set of those top gray Trinidad wheels.

Just wondering if the gear boxes were identical. What I am getting at is can I drop those 48p internals with a slipper clutch into an Ultima like I was hoping to......

The updated case has a holder for the shaft spacer, which only really does anything during assembly. They also placed the bearing on the inside of the case making it incompatible with old cases

yellowdatsun wrote:I have always liked the tops pointing forward. Real cars, RC cars, doesn't matter. They look odd to me pointing backwards, as not being as aggressive.

I really believe that shows how different we humans perceive things. To me it just looks totally wrong if they point forwards, but then again I feel the same when I see a natural phenomenon that shows similar things. It always hurt my senses when I see images of comets going one way, with the "tail" sticking forwards (due to no atmosphere), as well as flags on a sailboat pointing forwards if the boat have the wind from the back. I guess it's my OCD kicking in

TomEG wrote:A friend of mine once had a 1:1 Ford Escort RS Turbo. It came with wheels not unlike the design of the Optima wheels, only the spokes on all four wheels were slanted the same way. So on the right side they were facing backwards like on the box art Optima, but on the left side the spokes were slanted forwards. It always bothered me. Just google "Ford Escort RS Turbo" and you'll see what I mean. It looks really weird.

That does look weird, indeed...it's a result of cheap manufacturing. The company only made one wheel type, not right & left wheel types. So, they're not truly directional.

There's a clone RC of The Fox that had that issue; "fake" directional wheels that clawed forward on one side, and swept back on the other, due to only one single mold being used to make the front & rear wheels instead of a mold for right & left versions. I think Jeff (gomachv) built one of those, can't recall what car it was, though.

TomEG wrote:

yellowdatsun wrote:I have always liked the tops pointing forward. Real cars, RC cars, doesn't matter. They look odd to me pointing backwards, as not being as aggressive.

I really believe that shows how different we humans perceive things. To me it just looks totally wrong if they point forwards, but then again I feel the same when I see a natural phenomenon that shows similar things. It always hurt my senses when I see images of comets going one way, with the "tail" sticking forwards (due to no atmosphere), as well as flags on a sailboat pointing forwards if the boat have the wind from the back. I guess it's my OCD kicking in

I think pointed forward. For a comparison, its like a directional saw blade. Teeth point forward. Especially if a directional wheel has a name like SAWBLADE.

TomEG wrote:A friend of mine once had a 1:1 Ford Escort RS Turbo. It came with wheels not unlike the design of the Optima wheels, only the spokes on all four wheels were slanted the same way. So on the right side they were facing backwards like on the box art Optima, but on the left side the spokes were slanted forwards. It always bothered me. Just google "Ford Escort RS Turbo" and you'll see what I mean. It looks really weird.

Wasnt just the Euro Ford Escorts. Out 91-94 GT models had directional. All were 1 way. so wrong on one side. (reason the 85-96 7 spokes were really popular.

alien3t wrote:

TomEG wrote:

yellowdatsun wrote:I have always liked the tops pointing forward. Real cars, RC cars, doesn't matter. They look odd to me pointing backwards, as not being as aggressive.

I really believe that shows how different we humans perceive things. To me it just looks totally wrong if they point forwards, but then again I feel the same when I see a natural phenomenon that shows similar things. It always hurt my senses when I see images of comets going one way, with the "tail" sticking forwards (due to no atmosphere), as well as flags on a sailboat pointing forwards if the boat have the wind from the back. I guess it's my OCD kicking in

I think pointed forward. For a comparison, its like a directional saw blade. Teeth point forward. Especially if a directional wheel has a name like SAWBLADE.

On the other hand, although "pointed forward" indeed looks more aggressive, "swept back" would be slightly more aerodynamic. Either way, it's really down to personal preference.

Non-directionals, for the clay track. I think the body looks fabulous in dark metallic gray.

Anyone know how strong the frame rails are when you "case" a jump? Wondering if I should cut a layer of either fiberglass or CF as a bottom skid plate the length of the rails?

And don't gimme no lip about the rear tires being backwards

yellowdatsun wrote:Anyone know how strong the frame rails are when you "case" a jump? Wondering if I should cut a layer of either fiberglass or CF as a bottom skid plate the length of the rails?

And don't gimme no lip about the rear tires being backwards

as long as you label them. whats left or right.

alien3t wrote:

yellowdatsun wrote:Anyone know how strong the frame rails are when you "case" a jump? Wondering if I should cut a layer of either fiberglass or CF as a bottom skid plate the length of the rails?

And don't gimme no lip about the rear tires being backwards

as long as you label them. whats left or right.

Label the wheels, or frame rails, hehe.

Those of you planning to race your Optimas might consider adding wings; from what I recall, the Optima tended to land front-down more often than not, which would be an even bigger issue with the much larger jumps on modern tracks.

Your rear tires are backwards

yellowdatsun wrote:All of the "paint", aside from the white, are stickers. Just mask the windows, and paint it white, the rest is stickers.

Wow thats interesting, the rear yellow section looks like it might be tricky to apply to the concave rear window area