Understanding RC Damper (Part 2)

Hai! Kembali lagi ke bagian kedua. Dan yang ingin saya bahas untuk kali ini adalah seputar kompresi & rebound. Di akhir topik ini, saya ingin anda melontarkan pendapat anda mengenai topik yang dibahas. Tuangkan apa yang anda pikirkan.
Hi! Back to round 2. This time, let's talk about compression & rebound. At the end of this post, i want your participation, shares on what are you thinking about this topic. Don't hesitate to give me your opinion, let's learn together.

Shock pada RC maupun mobil asli itu sama, menggunakan piston dan minyak sebagai medianya. Sewaktu lower arm naik keatas, piston shock juga bergerak menekan minyak ke sil shock. Karena ada tekanan dari piston, minyak akan berpindah melalui lubang yang ada dipiston. Semakin banyak jumlah lubangnya, jumlah minyak yang berpindah semakin cepat, volumenya lebih banyak, dan gerakan piston menjadi lebih ringan, begitu juga sebaliknya.
RC shock and real car shock absorber shares the same method, using piston and oil as medium. When lower arm goes up, piston in shock cylinder pressing the oil against the shock bladder. Since piston pushing to the bladder, some of the oil will escape through orifices in the piston. More orifices, oil transfer will be faster, more volume transfered, and quicker piston movement, vice versa.


Setelah piston mencapai titik kompresi maksimum, piston tersebut harus kembali lagi ke posisi awal, inilah yang disebut dengan rebound. Pada proses rebound, banyak yang mengaitkan dengan penggunaan spring, karena pemahaman umum yang dipakai adalah ketika shock melakukan kompresi, seluruh energi terserap di spring dan ketika spring sudah mencapai batasnya, dia akan mengembalikan seluruh energi yang dia serap dengan melakukan kontraksi atau rebound agar spring kembali ke ukuran awal. Dan bagaimana dengan shock? Shock berfungsi memperlambat momentum dari spring.
After the piston reaching maximum compressing point, it must be return to its intitial position, that is rebound. Common sense used by many RC drifter, that rebound correlates with spring. Whenever shocks compress, its spring does absorb energy from bump, and release the same amount of energy to kick back to it's initial position. And what does shocks do? Just slowing the momentum of the spring.

Sampai titik ini tidak ada yang salah. Tapi, pernahkah anda mendengar istilah full rebound? half rebound? dan no rebound? Saya akan bahas ketiga metode ini di bagian 3. Pertanyaan diskusi kali ini adalah, dari 3 metode itu, mana yang sering anda pakai dan kenapa anda pakai metode itu?
Up to this point, everyone's argument is right. But, have you heard full rebound? half rebound? and no rebound? I will explained it on part 3. Discussion time! From those 3 method, which way you prefer to use and what's your thinking about that method?

Understanding RC Damper (Part 1)

Peringatan! Posting ini 100% opini saya, kalaupun ada "teori" yang salah mohon maklum. Silahkan kalau mau diskusi, bisa posting di comment box dibawah. Tidak ada yang salah atau benar.
Warning! This post is 100% coming up from my mind so, there is a chance that my "theory" may be wrong. Please do share your thought in the comment box below.

Halo! Kali ini saya mau sharing tentang shock atau biasa disebut damper (wong jowo kenalnya "sekok"). Di mobil asli kita kenal dengan istilah shock breaker. Ada juga shock breaker yang jadi satu dengan spring atau coil, makanya disebut coilover shock (per di atas shock breaker). Di RC (remote control), yang sering kita lihat adalah model coilover.
Hello! This time, i want to shares to you all about shock a.k.a. damper. In real car, we call it shock breaker. The other one is shock breaker with built-in spring a.k.a. coilover shock. Mostly in RC, coilover is the favourite.

Di bagian 1 ini, saya menjelaskan singkat saja mengenai cara kerja shock. Saya rasa sebagian dari anda adalah pemain RC, jadi untuk komponen sudah tentu anda paham sekali (paling tidak pernah merakit atau membongkar minimal sekali). Berangkat dari kesimpulan ini dan mayoritas pembaca blog ini, maka saya tidak perlu menjelaskan kembali komponen-komponennya.
In this part 1, i will briefly explained about basic of how shock works. I think much of you are RC driver and don't need explanation about shock's component (at least, you have had built new shock or re-assembled factory built shock).

Fungsi utama shock adalah meredam getaran yang ditimbulkan dari jalan yang tidak rata. Dalam dunia balap, shock berperan sekali dalam mempengaruhi pengendalian mobil. Bagi sebagian pembalap RC, ada yang mengira fungsi shock kalah penting dari per (spring) yang dipakai. Tidak salah, juga tidak benar.
Mainly, shock are used to dampen (that's why they call it "damper") the shock/vibration coming from imperfect road. In race world, shocks are the major issue to your car handling performances. For some RC racer, they thought that spring is the most important rather than shock. Not 100% wrong, but not 100% correct.

Spring atau per, fungsinya menahan berat mobil dan menjaga postur mobil supaya tetap seimbang, baik kondisi jalan mulus, jalan bergelombang, dan tikungan. Sedangkan shock, fungsinya menstabilkan gerakan mobil dan meredam getaran yang ditimbulkan dari kontak ban dengan permukaan jalan.
Springs handle the weight of the car and keeping the car level in flat roads, uneven roads, and corners. Meanwhile, stabilizing car movement & soften impact from tyres & road surface is what shock breaker do.

Untuk dunia balap mobil RC, fungsinya bertambah. Baik spring dan shock berfungsi menambah mechanical grip dan meningkatkan karakter pengendlian mobil sesuai yang diinginkan. Secara umum, setting spring dan shock harus linear atau berbanding lurus, misal: spring keras identik dengan shock breaker yang keras dan sebaliknya. Prakteknya ada temuan yang menarik sekali untuk dibahas, dan akan saya jelaskan pada postingan berikutnya.
For RC race car, there's more to it. Spring and shock also added mechanical grip and increase car handling characteristic just like the driver want it. Based on theory, spring rate and dampening action must be linear, like harder spring goes for harder dampening action and vice versa.


Jadi, apakah anda masih berpikir spring itu fungsinya lebih penting daripada shock?
So, are you still saying spring setup more important than shock setup?


(ke Part 2)

SUBJECT: [RE]ACTIVATE

Beberapa bulan belakangan ini saya sudah lama tidak mengisi blog ini karena banyak hal dan sekarang saatnya aktif kembali dengan semangat baru.

Tahun 2014 sudah menginjak bulan ke 4 dan ada momen yang perlu dirayakan pada bulan Maret kemarin, yaitu peringatan 1 tahunnya JXR016 Evolution.

Kehadiran JXR016 rupanya memberikan dampak secara langsung pada peta persaingan pabrikan kit-kit tenar. Dan dalam waktu yang relatif singkat, kunci evolusi JXR016 menjadi trendsetter teknologi kit drift profesional.

enRoute benar-benar melakukan riset mendalam sehingga yang dihasilkan bukanlah revolusi, melainkan evolusi. Dengan mempertahankan platform chassis FMS yang teruji dan handal di berbagai macam karakter sirkuit drift, enRoute sangat berhati-hati dalam memberikan revisi pada JXR.

Berangkat dari JXR003, enRoute memperkenalkan JXR pada dunia RC drift. Chassis karbon lebar dengan penggunaan bahan plastik pada suspension arm, c-hub, knuckle, pulle front one-way, dan pulley CS berbahan plastik. Pada JXR003, enRoute sudah memberikan bulkhead dan solid axle belakang bermaterial aluminium

Lanjut ke JXR007, cukup banyak perubahan signifikan yang dilakukan oleh enRoute. Steering crank V2 yang memperbaiki sudut ackerman menjadi 0, motor mount V2 yang mengubah pengaturan kerapatan spur dan pinion menjadi lebih fleksibel, C-hub plastik dengan sudut caster 8* yang meningkatkan handling kit secara signifikan, dan knuckle V2 berbahan aluminium yang membuat sudut belok lebih patah. JXR007 memiliki kode nama baru, yaitu JXR V2.

Kemudian muncul revisi terbaru, yaitu JXR V2-B atau yang lebih dikenal dengan JXR012. enRoute lebih banyak lagi menggunakan aluminium pada part-part seperti pulley front one-way dan pulley CS.

Tidak lama berselang, enRoute menguji coba chassis terbaru pada platform V2-B, yaitu chassis High Traction. JXR012 HT atau JXR V2-B HT dilempar ke pasar dan terbukti chassis HT ini memberikan perbaikan karakter grip pada JXR012.

Melihat chassis terbaru memberikan respon yang sangat positif, maka enRoute secara resmi meluncurkan JXR Evolution dengan kode angka JXR016 pada Maret 2013. Pengguna JXR016 akan memperoleh lebih banyak lagi part-part aluminium seperti suspension arm, knuckle baru, battery holder.



Mau informasi lebih lanjut?

Team Powers dominate Hobbywing Asia Cup 2013 Modified Class

Team Powers's Fai Ho dominate Hobbywing Asia Cup 2013 in Guangzhou China. TQ & A1 in modified class against Andy Moore (2nd) and Atsushi Hara (3rd).

Ho's arsenals are Team Powers Radon Pro 140A, 7200mah 75C lipo, Team Powers Primus Low Profile Servo, and Plutonium V2 4.5T motor.

Radon Pro+ Plutonium V2 4.5T Reference Setting:

TH1: Punch Rate A: 5

TH2: Punch Rate B: 10
TH3: TH SW Point: 50%
TH4: TH Slope: Linear
T1: Timing Boost: 0
T2: BT Start RPM: 15000
T3: BT End RPM: 35000
T4: Boost Slope – Boost: Linear
T5: Power Saving- Boost: No
T6: Turbo Boost: 10
T7: TB Activation: TH
T8: Turbo Delay: 0.1s
T9: TB Start RPM: ---
T10: TB on Slope: 12deg/0.1s
T11: TB off Slope: Instant
T12: Turbo K LVL: 0
T13: Turbo T LVL: 0

Suggested gear ratio: 8.4 with zero motor timing

Latest brushless ESC sports 140A with refined software and more advanced than it's predecessor, The XPS Pro. New circuitry, smaller footnote, and more lighter weight will be your advantages in racing. 

New USB Link to be used with PC through included hotwire inside Radon Pro packages.

This newest Plutonium received upgrades from the neodymium sintered rotor and new casing design which adds more ventilation and reducing operating temperature between 5*C - 10*C 

New High Performance Lipo Collection

New High Performance Servo Low Profile Collection

More info, feel free to contact us.
BB 28C6B995
WA 087839238888

New Setup enRoute JXR012 HT

Well, we're back here with new setup for enRoute JXR012 HT owner. This time, i've upgraded original shocks with Yokomo shocks and a complete spring set. Built it with my no. 1 favourite shock oil, Team Associated oil 40W on the front and my second favourite, Muchmore oil #200 in the rear arm.

Front shocks matched with Yokomo stiffest spring (orange color code). Front ride height adjusted to 5mm and no droop. What do you think about my Silver-Black combination? Front wheels using 7mm offset, 4mm wheel hub, and extra 1mm spacer. Roll center box stock. Front camber -8 degree with box stock toe out.

Since this kit was 012 with upgraded HT chassis, it have more grip since the chassis has more flex so i have to make the damping quicker and rebound faster. Yokomo green color spring was used (1 step softer than orange). For more car angle, i replace rear front toe block from #0 to #1, so the rear toe became 2-degree out (box stock 3-degree). Same 5mm ride height with no droop. Rear camber adjusted to -4 degree.

Do you like the upgraded front chassis stiffener? From black carbon to black anodized alloy.

Since JXR016 has progressive caster which adds more caster while the steering maxing out and proved to be more grip added to the front wheel, so i have to add 2mm kickups which provide more bite while the steering pushed to the max.

Change the pinion to 21T against stock 92T spur. Why? because there is new motor has been used. And still sporting same CS ratio.

This is my new electronics. Imported straight from japan. Too bad, only Neon-S 5.5 available. Rated at 60A (similar with Hobbying Xerun 60A) with no turbo, paired with enRoute ZR-S 7.5T motor makes it pretty decent performance with decent price. And, the hardest part with this enRoute thingy is the manual (download only) comes in japanese language. Credit to Mr. Ando from Tetsujin that help me translate the manual for Futaba transmitters.  

My trusty power source. Zippy 50C lipoly.

I know it's weird to when you see this :) You can add more weight upfront to suits your driving style. To me, 10grams is perfect. Well, that's all my setup for now. Good luck testing and trying. And keep drifting fun, because drift must be crazy! (escpecially the drifters LOL)

Getting Linked Up!

Drifting scene in 1:10th scale getting mean and fierce. It looks like, i have to try something else to gaining advantage in every battle. Well, i hope this suspension upgrade do help a lot in every way. 

We call it....Initial Setup.

enRoute adds more colour to RC Drift scene with this limited edition JXR Evolution in Gold color.. Coming as pre-assembled kit surely save our time building it from zero.

Pre-assembled kit is pre-assembled kit. They need to be check for play or mis-alignment. Make sure you have everything ready to inspect your JXR.

Before you do anything, make sure the charger is set and battery is plug-in. By the time you finish preparing your kit, the battery will be fully charged and ready to go.

Music is our companion. Focus your eyes and hands on the kit, while your ear focus on the music.

Tissue paper. Everyone needs this. From wiping grease, glue, dust particle, and your sweat.

Since your kit is full assembled and mostly aluminium parts, you need threadlocker to strengthen your screw so they will keep intact while you drove them. Tamiya AW Grease is your number 1 choice to lubricate metal-to-metal joint.

Proper shimming will do the trick for any play on the chassis. 3mm and 5mm shim are common for JXR.

Extra part always play important rules when you need fast replacement. You name it, hinge pins, cross pins, bearings, screws, etc...

It's nice to see those small parts organized. You can try this too.

Tools are mens best friends. I agree!

Light, please guide me....so i can see clearly now.

This is enRoute JXR's wide angle universal drive shaft. It's capable to reach 60* steering angle and made from durable and high quality steel. Out of box, this driveshafts are pretty "new", no glue, no grease, no nothing. It's recommended to check out this part first after you receive this kit. The set screw must be glued and the joints are lubricated. Follow this simple steps.

Wipe of the driveshaft and joint housing with dry tissue paper to remove excess grease from bearing.

Unscrew the small set screw with 1.5mm hex driver.

Blue threadlocker like Tamiya here is will do the job. Just a dab on the set screw and tighten back in it's place. If you have red threadlocker from Tamiya, it will hold the screw stronger and highly recommended. Please use hobby grade product only. 

The next step is apply AW grease on the joint evenly. Wipe off excess grease with tissue paper.

AW grease will increase the lifespan of joints and reduce temperature on the driveshaft. If you didn't lubricate the joint, there will be premature wear and resulting in broken cross-pin, knuckle, and your dogbone.

Shimming time. 

This is JXR out of box wheel pins position. As you can see, there are a lot of gap from cross pin to outer knuckle bearing. If you running on without any shim installed, you will experienced rattle and lot of shaking on the wheel while on-throttle.

This is ideal position of the cross pin that you should achieve.

This is recommended place to insert shim.  

Sometimes, people taking on easy course, placing shim between cross pin and outer bearing. This could eliminate rattling, but, will when you tighten the wheel nut, your bearing will be pressed and can't rotate smooth and resulting more load to your motor and could cause premature wear to bearing and motor (esc too).

From my experience, this three set screw on spur holder and pulleys often come out easily. Take time to give some threadlocker. And you're good to go!