Aluminium Steering Blocks

[Alistair Williams]

Does anybody know the best place to get hold of aluminium steering blocks for the SD. Preferably in th U.K

[BC Rog]

Depends on whether you want the Suzuki ones or the Fastracks ons.

The Fasttrack ones carry over from the TC and are available from anybody with a CML account. Try Doomaniac for amazing serive on CML stuff!!!!!!

The Suzuki ones are just plain not available!!!! Trust me .... They ran out and no more have come in as yet ... sould be soon though, Hopefully!!!!!!!

Rog

[Alistair Williams]

Thanks for info. How do I contact Doomaniac - is there a website ?

[Doomanic]

You could try sending me a pm...................

[Alistair Williams]

PM sent to virgin account

Thanks

[Stu_Dale]

I was thinking of using the old steering blocks too, woukd you recomend using the C hubs from the old TC with them, or wont there be any diference which ones i used?
Stu.

[Alistair Williams]

Don't know about the C hubs.......
Have just fitted the steering blocks, and they fit great. There's a bit of fidding to do with the steering turnbuckles,but thats all. :)

[mr4man]

hi i broke the steering blocks on my sd.
i wiuld recommend the team suzuki ones.
the have no trail though but are well made and do not bend.
but i run plastic c hubs though so there is a bit of give for small impacts.
i think these blocks are in short supply at mo but are worth the money.

[Chrislong]

Whats the difference between Fastrax alloy and Suzuki alloy steering? any links to any photos anywhere?

I have just fitted Yokomo steering hubs on my MR4BC (the 3D racer :P) and the bearings supplied don't fit, does anybody know the exact dimension of the bearings??

Cheers
Chris

[Alistair Williams]

Chris, I believe the Suzuki alloy steering blocks are the same as the kit steering blocks, just made of alloy - hence they are a direct replacement.
The Fastrax steering blocks are actually off the MR4TC. They have slightly different dimensions to the kit blocks, but fit easily,with the arm being straighter and longer.
I would have gone for the Suzuki parts, but they do seem extreemly hard to get hold of. The Fastrax seem very good though.

[Doomanic]

The Team Suzuki blocks have 0.5mm trail, the Fastrax blocks heve zero trail.
Kit standard for the SD is 1.0mm trail.
All take 6x10 ballraces.

[BC Rog]

However I think Chris might have the BC special with the 6 x 12 bearings!

I personally use 6x10's in my special front and rear as the 6x12's didn't seem that good and getting good replacements was very difficult!

6x10's are ok, especially as the fasttracks alloy hubs don't flex and allow the outer race to split as the standard plastic parts do!

Rog

[scott taylor]

what happens if one of these bends and u dont know about it becuase the hole idea of them is for them not to break as easy as the normal ones
so if they arent going to break wont they just bend ::) ::)

Scott

[mark34]

Have to agree with you there scott. Aluminium ones will just bend and cause all sorts of probs.

[BC Rog]

Been running them all last season off-road and never had a problem!!

The reason the Yokomo ones break is that there isn't sufficient material between the bearings thus the highest loaded point flexes until it fatigue fails. That is why they sometimes appear to fail for 'no reason' on the track. I had this problem with the off-road knuckles too. Also they parts seem to have been cooled to fast in the moulds leading to brittle components. Boiling helps but alloy is still king.

The alloy ones are much nicer, due to the better material, and show no sighs of wear / damage. As a bonus they also don't allow the outer race of the bearings to flex and thus the bearings last longer. Bearing life, before the race cracked, was just a couple of meetings with the plastic parts. Same bearing spec lasts a season (or more) with the alloy parts.

Before somebody says they will be heavy there is a slight weight penalty yes, about 2g a part but comnpared to not finishing a race that is nothing!!

Rog

[Chrislong]

Roger,
Youve hit the head on the nail there, exactly what happened to my BC with 6x12, the front just collapsed for no reason! Currently got plastic hubs on with 6x10 bearings borrowed off a friends car, but now got the Alloy hubs from fastrax. haven't been on track yet but will be on Sunday.

Do you threadlock the king pins, they appear like they could vibrate loose easily.

Also, extra holes for steering turnbuckles, will be ablwe to sharpen the steering with these won't eye!

Chris

[BC Rog]

Chris,

thread lock is essential!!

Run the rear set of holes, trust me ... jou don't want to drive the car on the front set.........

Rog

[Chrislong]

Cheers Roger,
I will do it before weekend. Can't do it tonite.

What difference does it make using the lower pivot pin hole over the upper hole? I have been using the lower hole so the hub doesn't clash with the wishbone stopping the maximum steering lock being reached.

Chris

[AzNDRAGster]

The holes in the hub carrier? It may not allow you to run too much/little droop on the car, I use both holes.

[BC Rog]

Chris, interesting the 7° castor blocks only have 1 hole .. well they did in my kit!! Based on experience with the std. BC 5°blocks ...

Raising the hub position will require resetting of the droop to get everything back to where it was as it's a big change.

What will happen is if you go from the lower hole to the upper hole is level out the top link a bit and thus raise the roll centre a fair amount. This will give the front end more 'bite' but might make the car less stable.

My advice would be to run 7° castor blocks and then you don't have the problem of choice ;D ;D ;D Seriously, the BC needs no more agression, it's great on the 7° blocks as is. Try running the king pin ball studs (Doom knows which ones, can't remember the number now **-007F I think) if you want more bite at the front (longer link you see!!) without the loss of stability.

Rog

[Chrislong]

I didn't know that about the castor block Roger.

My C hubs are alloy, but not usual ones, they are Eagle racing ones so are 7degree, with two holes, very nice - and CHEAP. I can PM you a link to them if need be, let me know.

I currently use the lower hole, so raising the outer end of the upper link. Sharp steering? seems to be nice enough indoors.

Chris