# rc18r



## 802YoungRc (Sep 20, 2010)

hey everyone i just had a question in generla about the rc18r.. what are some good ideas for setting up this car on a banked oval carpet track.. anything is good to know.. also hop ups ideas??

Thanks
Ethan


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## NoMercyRC (Nov 2, 2010)

i had a rc18t an i hopped it up with alot of aluminum parts but if you dnt put locktight on the screws you'll lose them. but if anything i would recomend the CVDs if your going to run brushless but other than that the rc18R 18T an 18MT is pretty much a tough little car. an if your goin gto be running on carpet you really dont need any hopups on it. but thats just my opinion...


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## 802YoungRc (Sep 20, 2010)

NoMercyRC said:


> i had a rc18t an i hopped it up with alot of aluminum parts but if you dnt put locktight on the screws you'll lose them. but if anything i would recomend the CVDs if your going to run brushless but other than that the rc18R 18T an 18MT is pretty much a tough little car. an if your goin gto be running on carpet you really dont need any hopups on it. but thats just my opinion...


what is a good brushless motor for 1/18th scale.. i run 1/10th scale so i have a idea of what im doing with it just dont know what is good in the mini world haha


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## NoMercyRC (Nov 2, 2010)

802YoungRc said:


> what is a good brushless motor for 1/18th scale.. i run 1/10th scale so i have a idea of what im doing with it just dont know what is good in the mini world haha


i ran a castle creations sidewinder micro in my 18T an it did good. you could also run the mamba pro micro too but really its up to you. i heard the hobbywing EZRUN systems are pretty good.


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## lawton70 (Nov 28, 2010)

*my setup*

I raced on a banked oval briefly, I usually race the 18r on a carpet roadcourse. Here is what I noticed:
1) In a banked oval there is a TON of downforce around the corner. You need to stiffen up the shocks as much as you can. I would recommend the exotek 18r towers. They are the only towers that change the stock shock geometry. The stock geometry can't handle the downforce because they lay the shocks down too much. The exotek towers let you stand them up. I ran gold springs/50wt in front, blue springs/40wt in back.

2) I run a 25A hobbywing system, 7800kv. This speed control and motor is actually very good. To giva a comparison, I ran 6 cell NiMh and the 7800kv. Compared to the 1/10 pan cars which ran 1 cell lipo with 13.5 turn brushless I was about 2 tenths slower a lap.

3) On a banked oval the battery position does not have to be offset as much as a flat oval. It seemed to work well with the car balanced from left to right. Perfectly balanced I noticed the right side of the chassis had drag marks.

4) I'm not sure how the stock plastic chassis can handle the downforce. You can hold the car by the front and back and twist it about an 1/8 of a turn, which is over 1/2 an inch. that means you have a 1/2 inch of suspension without moving the shocks. I use the exotek 18II chassis which stiffens it up considerably. My son has the 3Racing graphite chassis, which is actually stiffer but not as good IMO. I have a friend I race with that made a brace for his chassis and it seems to work well.

5) I agree with the idea of CVD's. If you slide out to the wall it is going to hit real hard. I actually hit hard enough once that my MIP cvd sheared off right at the joint.

Other than that, get some tires that work for your track and practice.


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## Hangtime (Jan 2, 2007)

Do the exotek 18r towers change the body post positions? I see two kinds: exotek & exotek pro.


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## lawton70 (Nov 28, 2010)

Sorry for the confusion. There is only 1 kind of exotek towers for the 18r, the 'pro' shock towers.
Here is a link to see the pic here.
If you buy straight from their site you can get front and back for $20.
In the picture you can see the mounting holes to attach the body posts. The mounts are wider than the stock locations. I had to make extra post holes in my stock body.

Thinking about upgrades for oval racing .....
Depending on how big your track is, Exotek has an option of an oval chassis. It is actually made for the 18T for oval racing. It is quite a bit longer than the stock 18r chassis, but if you put on the 18r arms I think it would work quite nice if the corner wasn't too narrow. I think you would have to put a stock car body on to make the wheelbase look 'right'.

Another option for an oval chassis is by 'Diggity Designs'. Again, it is made for the 18t but the chassis is the stock length, so you could put it on your 18r no prob. all the rc18 shaft drive series use the same length stock chassis. Keep in mind that with a flat chassis you may need the exotek 6degree castor blocks to put the castor back in that is built into the stock chassis with the front kicked up.

To recommend a top 5 upgrades in the order I would do them in:
1) Adjustable tie rods, for camber/toe adjustments;
2) Exotek shock towers, 50wt oil, and gold shock springs to keep the body from rolling;
3) Upgrade the chassis for stiffness and ability to change your battery location;
4) MIP CVDs with MIP diff/oneway/spool (I would do a one way in front, diff in the back) to toughen the drive train;
5) A decent motor/battery combo. Brushless motor at least 6800kv and a 2 cell lipo. Depends on the size of the track and your class rules. 

Almost forgot --- Tires.
Probably THE most important part of getting one of these 18r's to hook up.
This is also a black art with these 18r's. Nothing is well documented. This is what I have learned through trial and error (mainly error):
- If you have to use the stock rubber, keep them clean with rubbing alcohol and use Niftech for traction compound if needed. Stock rubber will wear fast going high speed. They seem to last forever using stock motors though.
- If you must use rubber but are allowed to run something other than stock, look for the 3Racing 18r tires. They are quite cheap ($12 for 4), have more grip than stock, and are the same diameter as stock so you can mix and match with stock. They also seem to wear better. Note that the front tires are narrower than the rear. On the oval I used these tires on the left side and ran the stock tires on the right. Controllable with a slight on power push.

If you can/want to use foams:
In all cases with foams you have to put a bead of glue around the outside edge of the front tires, right down to the tread.
- I have not seen anyone in my club have luck with the associated 18r foams. They seem to have too much traction and roll. I never used them so I can't say for sure. They could be awsome on your track;
- the site 'thetoyz.com' sells their own house brand of foams. FYI, the rim has a larger diameter than the stock ones. Doesn't bother me because I cut the foam down so all my foams are the same outer diameter. I have used the 35 shore on the front and 30 shore on the back and this combo works quite well. I cut them WAY down to about 42mm. Decent price option. Can get them off ebay or their store. Seem to wear well. A bit more grip than the BSR foams;
- the BSR foams also work very well. This is what I am currently using on the roadcourse. They have a different compound front/rear, but don't document what it is. The best I can figure they are 'Plaid' on the front and 'firm' in the rear. Plaid at BSR seems to be double pink / Orange. No idea what 'firm' is. On the oval track I was at they seemed to wear quite a bit. Might have been the carpet as they wear fairly well on the roadcourse;
- TeamScreamRacing.com sells 'custom' compounds. Basically 1/12 scale foam on 18r wheels. I think the brand they use is Jaco. The owner sells them on ebay. I'm going to buy my next set from him. Send him an email and tell him what you are doing and he will hook you up with the proper compound(s).
- LoneStarRacing.com also sells 'custom' compounds. They only have Pink and Double pink. Again, not sure the brand but I think it is BSR. The combo of Pink rear and double pink front would be a decent setup, although it is a soft/med combo and may have too much grip for oval.

As you can see, you have quite a few options.


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## Hangtime (Jan 2, 2007)

Lawton - thanks for the amazingly detailed post. I have experienced some of what you mention & I've been down the tire selection road & currently have the Toyz tires now. I got my answer about the body posts & I have a new body. I think I'll upgrade the towers. Thanks again


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## lawton70 (Nov 28, 2010)

no prob hangtime,
I started with answering your question about the body posts, and kept on thinking about the question about upgrades for oval .... and got carried away.


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## 802YoungRc (Sep 20, 2010)

wow lawton thanks so much with all the detailed answer this will really help me  thanks you so much..


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## stimy (Oct 8, 2008)

*brushless combo*

Lawton where did you get your brushless combo from? And thanks again for the oval tips! Stimy


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