Make sure that the suspension is quite stiff because you can not accelerate efficiently when bouncing on the track.
Your overall finishing place will greatly depend on how much you crash. If you drive slower without crashing, you will probably be faster than if you drove at full speed, but crashed a few times.
If your car weighs too much it wastes the motors power, because too much the motors energy is used to move the car's own weight instead of propelling it forward. Consider replacing parts with lightweight equivalents such as aluminium parts, titanium, one-piece wheels, narrower tires, and nylon nuts.
Motor/battery combination. You can have the fastest motor, but poorly charged or insufficiently rated battery pack may not be giving the energy the motor needs to perform to it's full potential.
Poor tire choice. Tires poorly matched to the track may end up wasting valuable motor power as they spin in place; good traction is key. The harder the surface, the smaller the spike on the tire. If the surface is soft or has a loose layer on the top, the tire spike will require to be longer to try and get down to the harder surface below. Rougher surfaces and many corners suited to rounded profile tires for their cornering traction. Smoother surfaces are suited to flatter profile tires for their maximum flat surface traction. Choose the tire that most successful racers are using at that track as these are likely to be the best.
Only start editing the setup when you are fully used to the standard car. Make sure you can get around the track without crashing and then change one thing at a time. If the change benefits the car then keep it and write down the change you made. If the change makes the car worse then remove the change until it was in it's original form.
Gearing. Use the gearing that came with your manual or motor for best results. A smaller spur gear and a larger pinion will increase the top speed of your car but decreases acceleration and draws more electricity from the battery. Fewer teeth on the pinion gear means more acceleration but decreases the top speed and allows for longer running times
Tires loose on rims. Are your tires securely glued to your 1-peice wheels? Tires can spin on the rim and cost you power. Also tries can come flying off during racing.
Adding stiffer graphite front arms may work better with your suspension because they won't bend under the load.
When you race, take notice of the starts in your class. If you're noticing a big pileup in the first turn quite often, wait a second after the start to go. You can then let everyone else crash while you navigate through the pileup and take the lead.
NEVER THROW AWAY ANYTHING! You'll never know when an extra part could be made up from a broken one!
If you have trouble putting your antenna through the tube, put some black grease on the entrance of the tube to lubricate it.
Position the on/off switch so that when the switch is ON, when it is towards the back of the car. So that if a rock or something hits it as you're driving, it won't turn the car off.
Instead of cutting a hole in the tire for venting, drill a small hole in the wheel itself so you don't ruin the tires. This helps prevent the tyre from 'balloning' in hot weather.
Put electrical tape over the rear chassis screw holes to protect the screws from filling with dirt and getting scratched.
Make your car look like a Factory Car from the inside. Take the wires that go to the receiver and wrap them around an Allen wrench. This will make a "spiral" and look much neater. Also adding shirt clips hold the spiral without adding much weight.
To protect your motors, put them in old pill pots.
Keep your spare crystals safe and organised by storing them in a seven-day pill container, each pair in a different day or buy a specially designed case for them. Never leave them at the bottom of your tool box.
Buy a peak charger as soon as possible to improve speed and runtimes. This also keeps your cells in better condition.
TYRES
Using the MG tyre (V53) on the front of the car can help to make the car less twitchy when turning into corners. To keep good traction, use the kit Softs on the rear. If you want more steering, use the Softs at both ends of the car.
SUSPENSION
Leave the front suspension alone but tighten the nuts on the rear suspension to stiffen the springs enough to stop the car leaning over when it turns. This will make the car more stable and reduce uneven tyre wear. If the car slides too much, loosen the nuts a little and try again.
Reducing suspension travel may improve handling on smooth tracks. It is recommended when fitting the Ford and 205 bodyshells as they have less clearance over the tyres. Check to see that when the wheel is at the top of the suspension travel, that it does not rub on the body. If it is, then the body will cause extra wear on the tyre and extra drag on the car. Reducing the travel is easy. Remove the E-clip from the top of the king pin and add one or two rubber O-rings. Alternatively remove the E-clip, the spring and the kingpin and add spacers underneath the kingpin. This helps reduce the travel as well as lowering the ride height.
Change only one thing at a time, then test for results. Making several changes to suspension or tyres at once may cause confusion; you won't know which adjustment produced which result. Ask and observe other drivers set-ups. Look at the results and watch the cars that lap fast and smoothly without crashing. These drivers are people to ask for advice from. One way to improve the steering on your car is to add caster. This involves packing the front of the suspension arm. To do this, remove the screws and add some washers between the arm and the chassis at the front arm of the wishbone. This will give you more steering at low speeds. A longer screw may be required at the front to accommodate the spacers.
RIDE HEIGHT
The front ride height can be lowered by turning the wishbones upside down. Packing under the front of the wishbone to induce caster will also reduce the ride height (see suspension set up). The ride height of the rear suspension can be left alone. Alternatively remove the E-clip, the spring and the kingpin and add spacers underneath the kingpin. This helps reduce the lower the ride height as well as reducing suspension travel.
GEAR RATIOS
The choice of motor pinion gear will affect acceleration, top speed and endurance. A larger pinion will generally give a higher top speed but will slow down acceleration. It will also draw more power from the battery. If the battery goes flat before the end of the race, choose a smaller pinion. A smaller pinion will increase acceleration and endurance but will reduce top speed.
FRICTION & DRAG
Reducing friction and drag is less to do with lubricating the car and more to do with ensuring free running of wheels, axles and motor. Check that the front wheels spin freely, particularly on full lock both ways and at full suspension travel. Tyres can often rub against the chassis or body on full lock. Ensure that the rear axle bushes or bearings are pressed firmly and squarely into their mountings so that the axle runs freely. These should also be lubricated frequently for best efficiency.
BATTERY OUTPUT
Maximum performance from your car requires maximum battery power output. A peak detection charger is highly recommended as the original charger is very basic and can easily overcharge your batteries. Peak chargers give you faster acceleration, higher top speeds and make your battery packs last much longer. The recommended rate of charge is around 4 amps, trickle charging is not recommended. If you do not have an automatic charger, an indication of when the battery is fully charged can be gauged from it's temperature. Whilst on charge it should be cool but when fully charged, it's temperature will begin to rise. The pack will be completely charged when it is warm to the touch (25-30 C). It is not harmful to recharge a battery pack immediately after using it, although it is not recommended, but it's capacity will be slightly less than if it had been charged from cold. Better performance will be gained from using two battery packs (or more) alternately, allowing them more time to cool between races.
DYNAMIC BRAKING RESISTOR
This is generally seen to be an improvement. When fitted to the speed controller board it will produce a braking effect when the speed controller is in the neutral position. This gives more steering at lower speeds.
SPEED CONTROLLER
Cleaning dust and grime from the standard speed controller board will improve reliability and can be achieved by using either a pencil rubber or a fibreglass pen. Dremel such tools can be used as well as sandpaper to remove stuck on grime although the circuit board might wear out quicker if cleaned like this. ESC now legal for racing, are seen as a great improvement especially in racing on carpet because it is not really affected by fibres it picks up when racing. ESCs give faster acceleration, higher top speeds and longer runs than the standard speed controller.