belt/shaft

[footey]

can people help me id like to no the advantages and disadvantages of belt drive and shaft drive buggys :rolleyes: :rolleyes:

[DCM]

As far as engineering goes, the shaft will spool up quicker but a belt will give less resistance as the RPM increases. Downside of the shaft is that the motor is mounted longitudinaly, so on and off the throttle will cause the chassis to rock back and forth side to side, a belt will rock front to back, and with the motor orientation, will force the rear down.

[footey]

so dcm which is better:D

[jimmy]

I'm amazed you say that - when you have a shaft drive buggy which doesnt work that way steve! :p

[footey]

ok jimm which would u say is the best for somone who doesnt like lots of maintance and will be racing indoors only :D

[Southwell]

Id go for shaft. With indoors you want as much punch out of corners as the drivetrain allows, a belt drive will always be slower in this respect.

[jimmy]

Not all belts are created equal, but I do like the shaft mainly because its sealed and reliable (for me). I had a bad experience with the XX4 where 3 belts snapped - im told because I had badly adjusted the slipper.
I badly adjusted the slipper on my BJ4 at the Euros - and it wheelied !!!!!! give me wheelies over snapping belts ! :D

Seriously though, it depends what you like. I think the belt does give a little smoother power delivery

[Southwell]

I see belts as a rubber band, when you accelerate they stretch and then catapalt the car forward, whereas the shaft is just direct and depending what motor your running will give pretty savage acceleration!
I ran my xx4 for 7 meetings and never replaced a belt, they wern't even worn when i came to sell it!

[jimmy]

I snapped 3 belts in 3 meetings. Wouldnt mind but broke 2 drivers trying to fix the first snapped belt beause of the stupid rear shock tower mounting.:rolleyes: good car but needs updating.

(what can I say, it was an unlucky day! ;))

[Southwell]

Sounds like an unlucky month :P

[PaulRotheram]

Sounds like you need an x5 :o only one belt in there, and no taking the rear tower off :)

[stefke]

I ran several belt cars (Schumacher CAT series) and several shaft cars (Predator, Lazer ZX5), but now my mind is made up : after the ZX5 i'm going back to belters. I like the smooth power delivery and IMHO a good designed belt car like the Schumacher CAT2000 beats any shaft car in terms of reliability. The original Predator i had was a nightmare and the Lazer was becoming one. :mad:

I have a TRF501 on pre-order now. Never liked the XX4 design.

[Northy]

But the current Pred (X10) is bullet proof and guaranteed! :o

G

[DCM]

Jim, I think I got the best of both worlds, shaft drive, transverse motor!!!!

[stefke]

Are you talking about the Tamiya DF-3 ?

I've read a lot about that car and the design intrigues me, but I haven't read any decend race report of it.

[jimmy]

Not enough people are racing it, thats the main problem. It looks good, anyway, review coming soon! :)

[DCM]

it was balaned enough to keep up with 19t tourers on carpet last weekend, and now the rear diff has full steel outdrives, thinks the 12t might go in for it's next run.

Jim, if you need any help, pm me or MSN.

[stefke]

Ok, sounds nice, but I want to see it proove itself on track with the likes of an XX4, BJ4, ZX5, ...

Just wondering : why would Tamiya bring out a TRF501 when the DF3 performs good enough ?

[jimmy]

The DF03 was never released as a top level racer, hop-ups are coming out to improve it, and the design is certainly very good.
Many people would have thought Tamiya would TRF' the DF03, but they chose to totally bypass it and copy another manufacturers car.

I think the fact is that Tamiya were not that interested in off road racing until with a minimal budget one of their designers made a concept car that attained 2nd at the worlds warmup - and tamiya see the possibility of becoming world champions again so put money into it. If the car had finished last at the warmup I suspect we'd not even be talking about the 501X because it would be just another Tamiya racer that never appeared.

[DCM]

Tamiya have even slipped in a tuned up DT-02 (2wd buggy) at some Japanese meets, although this has been an 'employees special' as it isn't brilliant, if it was good, then a TRF developement car, lol.

The DF-03 is on the lines of a basher car which, in this case, with a few upgrades, would make a reasonable club/regional car....

[neiloliver]

How many belt driven real cars to you see?.... exactly!

N

[shinytopman]

How many belt driven real cars to you see?.... exactly!

N

LOL.....

DAF33, Volvo small auto's, Fiesta Auto's on the drive train side, plus to add to that how many engines run a timing belt as well as blowers !
cheap and efficient

;) Im sure theres more on the trans side of things tho.