One-Way Diff's......Advise Needed

[terryh]

Hi

I'm pretty new to rc racing and have only raced at West London twice so far, which I intend improve on now that I have experienced just how good it is. And, I have only ever used a ball diff on the front so for those of you that now the track well, am I better using a one-way and would I need to drive a certain way if I do. The car's an xray btw.

Terry

[nismo]

ok if your new to racing AVOID !!!!

i knwo a top racer at wlrc and he uses a ball diff. i went back to a ball diff and i have had a whole winter series. with a one way you have to coast into corners i.e. no breaks as it will have no breaks on the front so it will effectivly work like a hand break causing you to spin out. its benifit is more turn in and better acceleration but honestly stick to a ball diff for now. its a diffrent style of driving needed and smoother throttle and steering which isnt how everyones driving style is.

tried a spool...... sme of the benifits of a one way more acceleration more on power steering but with a spool you have breaks on all four wheels ... i have never run one of these so not 100% on its driving style but i have heard about alot of happy people with their spools (locked solid diff)

hope this helps

Nick Annett

[Mark Stiles]

One-ways are good for fast tracks with open, high speed corners. You can't run brakes, and therefore you've got to be a smooth, accurate driver. I use one around west london (got knows why when I re-read the above statement!), and I like it. However, I'm used to having no brakes, as I also race 1/12th circuit during the winter, which also requires smooth driving. If you can get a one-way to work on a track, and also drive with it well, it will usually be quicker than using a diff or a spool. However, if the type of track doesn't favour it's use, then you'll have to use one of the following alternatives;

Spools (solid front axle) allow you to run brakes. therefore, you can run deeper into corners, hit the brakes, and then hit the throttle coming out of the bend. As described, this requires a slightly more aggressive style, although can also be effective if you're a bit smoother. Spools are more suited to twisty tracks, where straights lead into sharp corners and technical sections. Spools are easier to drive than one-ways, and also allow for easier overtaking. However, they cause a lot of wear on compinents such as driveshafts, and put a lot of strain on the drivetrain in general. Therefore I try and avoid using a spool if I can.

Diffs are what you get with most kits, and many people only use them for indoor carpet racing. However, like spools you can run brakes, and they are much easier to drive than a one-way. They don't put as much strain on the drivetrain as spools, but you'll notice you get a bit less initial turn in and on-power steering. Therefore, you may need to adjust the setup to accomodate this. You can improve this slightly by tightening the diff, making it behave more like a spool. This is quite popular, and is what mr kerswell uses pretty much everywhere I think.

Something that has impressed me lately is the new system on the x-ray FK-05, where there is one diff that can be converted into a spool or a one way, or a combination of the two. Very neat!

[nismo]

mr kerswell was the insanely quick diff driver i was refering too. mark holloway has also used this in his car at a couple of meetings and has proved to be very quick. thye basically use a really tight diff which is sorta like a spool so its re named spiff. i found this doesnt work if its wet unlike a spool which works well in the wet

[terryh]

Thanks guys for your incredibly detailed and helpfull replies. In the main, my rc experience is on slippery wooden floors which means you have to try and be smooth as any quick movement of the steering will just spin the car out, I dont suppose this is a similar experience as a one-way but if nothing else it has taught me to try and be smooth.

I would like to still try a one-way and your advise and help has at least given me a guide as to what to do, so my plan, or at least my wish is to spent a bit of time after racing has finished at the next meeting (10 July) and give it a try, if of course it's possible to do that, i'm sure you guys will let me know.

Once again, many thanks for your help.

See you on the 10th.

Terry Holmes

[nismo]

try it during practice ...thats what i did i liked it to start with but now im finding it so easy driving with 2 ball diffs simply becasue its more relaxed. but if you dont try it you wont know so ...go try it race it and enjoy it ...after all isnt that what we do each time we come down to pole hill park every other sunday ?

[Debbie]

Hi Terry

I am going to test a one way dif in one of my cars after the meeting on the 10th so if you don't fancy stripping your car, you'd be very welcome to give mine ago.

A couple of things I do know is;

If you do use the brakes at all when you have a one way in (straight line or not) you will lose control of the car almost instantly as the back try's to keep going when the front has stopped, hence the tendancy to spin out.

If you get your lines correct (and you do have to be very accurate) you get far better steering and acceleration out of the corner.

Thats about all I know, not much, but I hope it helps.

Debs

[nismo]

makes the car feel a bit nerveous so good stabe setup needed

[soto]

guys whats the big deal with one ways? just turn your brakes down and turn into corners smoothly and you'll be fine. i also find that turning the steering travel down helps alot with a one way i have mine at about 48% sometimes 39%. depends on the track layout.

also watch for wear on the outdrives and these get hammered with a one way.

hope this helps

[terryh]

Well, i gave it a go yesterday and I can certainly see how you could improve your lap times with a one-way, turn in is better as is powering through the corner and speed out of the corner, but after doing 17 laps in qualifying (my best yet :) ), i went down to 15 in my second final with the one-way installed. I think this was due not just to the fact that a one-way is harder to drive but also due to using my practice pack of cells (my fault, cocked up earler in the day) and the race being scrappy so I went from 10th to about 4th then back to 10th again :'(

Anyway, I'm going to try using it for the next couple of meetings and see how it goes, it takes practice and if it improves my lap times, then it's got to be worth a shot, after all, I certainly couldn't do any worse :D

[Mark Stiles]

Terry,

The track was much slower during the finals than it was during qualifying; the 19T A final was nearly a whole lap slower than during the heats! Round 2 was the fastest I think.

One ways are also tricky if you're trying to overtake someone, as you can't use brakes. therefore, trying to pass on the inside going into a corner is very difficult. Usually its a matter of hoping the car infront makes a mistake.

I went from 3rd to 1st to 7th in one lap during final 2 on sunday. Unfortunately I ran wide at the middle hairpin, and then got rear ended coming onto the stright on the first lap! I don't think I had the pace to win it anyway; I think Mr Dibbol was using new tyres for the finals.

[X RAYMAN]

Hi Mark cant take the pace it was quick on sunday just to let you all know that i was on tyres that i used for round 2 and 3 and both finals but was using the right tyres for the weather as it was bl***y hot that day it just went right for me that day as i have had some very serious problems lately as for a one way diff i was useing a one way solid in my xrayfk05 on sunday which works very well in the car :D

[Mark Stiles]

How does that solid/one way work then? Obviously running a yoke means I haven't got the possibility of running anything similar.

[Mark Holloway]

You can if Yokomo do a one way propt shaft? Not sure if they do or not. You would then run the solid axle in the front with the one way propt shaft. I have no idea what it would drive like as I have never had the experience of testing it.

Ian.... What benefits does it have over a conventional solid axle or one way?

[Stuart Cann]

Yokomo do a 1-way PROP (no t) shaft.

The only advantage I can see is that it might give more aggresive initial on power steering.

Stu

[X RAYMAN]

HI Mark it gives you more power out of the corner and initial solid 4wd at first the goes into one way mode great for tight tracks as you see on sunday also it does give you more power on steering as well :D :D

[nismo]

i heard a certian 19t driver was running really quick with a spiff a really tight diff . i tried it and it was much better maybe you should try this.

avoid a center one way in a shaft drive car