Fabiix 2000 - Mid Engined conversion from 1994

[minichamps11]

Thought I would share these pictures of the Fabiix mid engined conversion for the Schumacher Cougar 2000 from 1994/5 - not sure how well known this chassis is as it's pretty rare. I'd be interested to hear from anyone who used to race one.

Cheers,

Ian

[Synergy]

Jeroen has one

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.asp?cid=85819&id=15092

I have spoken to those who tried them, reports were not good, more an experiment than a fully developed racing platform.

[minichamps11]

Knew Jeroen had one, I photographed the magazine (RRC Feb '95) for him & then thought others might be interested, don't think he's ever raced his though (might be wrong there).

Did Fabiix ever make anything else?

[Mad Racer]

Isn't it funny that back than they were on a good concept of a mid motor 2wd but it never took off.

Tekin had a 2wd mid conversion for some buggies as well and even R.P.M did too i think. Fast forward over a decade and it's all coming back, Schumacher, Losi, X5 and others are all now on mid motor 2wd design.

To be honest from i understand the concept was great back than but couldn't produce the rear grip that 2wd needs. In the add it stated a slightly damp track which would of helped the design a lot.Now with better C.A.D technology , suspension set up and the most important tire advancement it seems to be back in flavor.

A very rare find.
Mark

[jeroen206]

look here for some information

http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=26289&highlight=fab2000
http://www.oople.com/forums/showthread.php?t=17266&highlight=fab2000

[GJW]

very interesting cant say ive heard of this variation. thanks for the good read.

[minichamps11]

To be honest from i understand the concept was great back than but couldn't produce the rear grip that 2wd needs. In the add it stated a slightly damp track which would of helped the design a lot.Now with better C.A.D technology , suspension set up and the most important tire advancement it seems to be back in flavor.

As I understand it, the mid-motored thing took off here when X-Factory started adding a 4th gear (second idler gear) and allowed the motor to be reversed - simply speaking it means the inertia of the spinning motor compresses the rear suspension, aiding rear traction. Before this, the motor "lifted" the back end causing some odd handling quirks.

The 4 gear X6 conversion was when mid-motored cars got very popular in the UK

[Mr. ED]

This ad already mentions 2 designs: for standard and contra rotation so maybe they already gave that ascpect some thought

[dangermouse]

Isn't it funny that back than they were on a good concept of a mid motor 2wd but it never took off.

Tekin had a 2wd mid conversion for some buggies as well and even R.P.M did too i think. Fast forward over a decade and it's all coming back, Schumacher, Losi, X5 and others are all now on mid motor 2wd design.

To be honest from i understand the concept was great back than but couldn't produce the rear grip that 2wd needs. In the add it stated a slightly damp track which would of helped the design a lot.Now with better C.A.D technology , suspension set up and the most important tire advancement it seems to be back in flavor.

A very rare find.
Mark

Even before that, when the Cat XL came out you could buy it in 4wd and 2wd versions.

[minichamps11]

This ad already mentions 2 designs: for standard and contra rotation so maybe they already gave that ascpect some thought

"Contra-rotating motors", what is that about? Obviously I know they run in reverse compared to normal motors but the only brushed motors I knew of that did that were those sold in matched pairs for Clodbusters and Double Dares, but weren't they 19/20 turns or similar? No good for buggy racing.

[Mr. ED]

you missed my point: the normal rotation moters would require a 4th gear or other solution to make the car run forward as it is pictured in the ad above.
(But true; there's nothing saying that what we see in that picutre is not the contra-rotation version).

Pitty we only have this ad to go from and not the mentioned review in the march 200 issue of RRC

I do by the way not agree the tires are the only thing which makes the difference of why it works now and less back then. So many things have changed: typical track surfaces, brushless moters, lightweight high amp packs, long suspension arms, better shocks and geomtery overall, high speed servos, low weight electronics, body and wing aerodynamics.
And even now mid-engine is ont the best for every racer and every type of track. Just check in the losi 22 thread and you'll see team drivers in the US and UK opt for different layouts in general.

[YZ-10]

I guess that would be this issue then I still have all my old mags, shall I scan it in?

[Mr. ED]

If the article is inthere, yes please.

[DerbyDan]

I do by the way not agree the tires are the only thing which makes the difference of why it works now and less back then. So many things have changed: typical track surfaces, brushless moters, lightweight high amp packs, long suspension arms, better shocks and geomtery overall, high speed servos, low weight electronics, body and wing aerodynamics.
And even now mid-engine is ont the best for every racer and every type of track. Just check in the losi 22 thread and you'll see team drivers in the US and UK opt for different layouts in general.

Well, back in 94ish we all ran yellow or green compound Schumacher Mini Spike tyres..... we are still using them now & they are identical! So I don't think that tyre technology is a factor for why mid-motor cars are popular now & not back then.

To be honest I think its a combination of the fact that 'Mid Motor' is currently the in-thing & that many of the UK tracks are now laid on Astro Turf which very high traction and have more large ramps for the mid-motor cars to exploit with their in-air adjustability.

The Cougar2000 wasn't exactly the best base to start with for the Fabiix conversion as it was always an 'edgy' car to drive in the first place - making it mid-motored would have made it even trickier!

Not meaning to sound disrespectfull to the companies producing mid-motor converstions - Atomic Carbon, Vega etc - I don't think that these companies have done masses of development... I just think that the chassis they've chosen to convert happen to have just responded well to the simple flipping of the gearbox onto a nice new chassis & adding an extra idler gear. Most tuning seems to be done to the individual driver's tastes by moving/adding weight to the chassis.

Mid-motored R/C cars are certainly not a new thing - remember the Kyosho Raider... not to mention that most IC cars have almost all been mid-engined.

Having recently seen Euro Champ Lee Martin throw his rear motored Tamiya 201 around a track in front of the mid motored competition i'm not convinced that Midship 2wd is better

[minichamps11]

Having recently seen Euro Champ Lee Martin throw his rear motored Tamiya 201 around a track in front of the mid motored competition i'm not convinced that Midship 2wd is better

Lee will be awesome with anything.....down at my (club) level of driving I've been swapping between a Kyosho RB5 and Fabien's MCS RB5 conversion and there's not much in it in terms of outright fastest laps, however the mid engined car allows me to lap steadily without making as many mistakes - it's more consistent for my driving style.