Cyclone S Tips: Speed. When you don't need it.

A stock motor which has high revs/rpms on a machine like the much-more motor master will most likely be useless on the track. The Motor will be likely to have very low torque, which means even though you are revving at 25,000 rpm, you will actually only getting 15,000 rpm when it is in your car because it has to push this heavy car around the track.

To race competitively in stock you need a motor with an in between of torque and rpm.
And motors which are supposed to be competitive on a motor machine when under no load are likely crap on the track.

Also, when a motor is geared in the 4.1-3.9 range, you tend to get it a little bit to hot. So be conservative with your gearing and if its a new motor, gear it below your normal ratio to see whether it needs that higher ratio.

Stock Ratios

Here is a table of ratios for racing in the stock class. The one in red is the one that I was running, whereas the one in blue is the one that I am running.

Cyclone S Stock Setup

For my setup, I am running a gear ratio of 4.206 or 4.254, equaling a 88t Spur to 51t pinion or a 89t spur to a 51t pinion. I am going to try the latter gear ratio at club next weekend to see if it is competitive, and hoping so, it will give slightly more run time, as even with the use of the SSS Racing Motor Cooler, (site to be online soon), It is still a little to hot at the end of the race.

The Camber is set to 1 degree all round, and the toe in is set to 0 on the front and 1 at the back. Front shocks: Top, third hole in, Bottom, 2nd hole in. Back Shocks: Top: 3rd hole in, Bottom: Middle Hole.

Shock Oil. All Shocks are filled with the standard shock oil supplied with the car. If I can find out the weight of this, I may go down slightly to get better cornering.

Tires: These are currently HB Standard slicks, but probably going to get some 26 degree slicks.

Weight. My weight, all 58 grams of it, is all positioned at the front of the car.

Motor: Johnson RS540, with a 3 racing fan Heatsink

Speed controller: Mtroniks Tempo11. Soon to be upgraded to a IP6 Sport as the Tempo11 is going into my F1.

Radio gear: 27 MHZ with Futaba 2PL hand piece and HPI micro receiver.

Servo: Futaba S3003, Possibly being upgraded to Tower pro MG995 metal geared.

Well thats about it for the stock setup, Batteries are the same as they always have been, Sanyo 1300 SCR's and if I need another pack I have a Panasonic 1400 SCR side by side.

Cyclone S Tips: Stock Racing. The Right Gear ratio for the job.

The point of the stock class is to create a touring car class, with cheap batteries and motors so that newbies can get into the hobby cheaply. It is a class that has grown astronomically and has been the strongest class at the National On-Road Champs for several years now.

The gear ratio is very important. When running in stock, you want a good compromise with speed and battery drain. With out the right ratio, your car may be slow, or you may not be able to finish the race. A good ratio to start at would be 4.5 final drive. This in a Cyclone S would equal a 90 tooth spur and a 49 tooth pinion. If you want to get down to 4.3 which is approximately what is being run at WRCCC you will need a 51 tooth pinion to 90 tooth spur. Of course there are many other ways of getting to this ratio, but this is the most efficient one as it is using the biggest pinion.

A gear ratio can make or break your race, and if you do not have a heatsink or heatsink fan, you may end up with an inefficient motor, drawing more current as it gets hotter and hotter. Another way to get around this is to use a thermal electric motor cooler to cool the motor prior to the race.

Setting Up A Cyclone S

Throughout this article you will find many Cyclone S tips. They should hopefully help you to setup a Hot Bodies Cyclone S so that you can race it in Pro-Stock. I personally find that a good gear ratio to run for the Cyclone is with a 27 turn 24 degree motor is around 6.5. To achieve this with the stock spur, you will need a 36 tooth pinion. Or if you do what I did, because I only had a 37 tooth pinion, I needed to get a 99 tooth spur to get a ratio of 6.52, and I am currently running a Reedy Stock Star motor. It is running well, although I do not know how many rpm's it is producing. The Shocks are running standard shock oil and the front shocks are in the second hole in on the top and the first hole on the bottom. The Rear shocks are in the second hole in on the top and the second hole on the bottom. I am currently running ATS 33 Shore foams all round with 1 degree negative camber on the front end, as it was getting to much grip and not steering properly. However when I race indoors I will change to Frewer Pink Fronts and Gold Rears or HPI Super Soft Racing Slicks when we race indoors on Astro-Turf and if running Frewer Tyres I will move the back shocks in one hole. Another Cyclone S tip is to make sure that all of your screws are tightened before and after every race. The worst thing that can happen is for you to lose a screw which you need to keep part of the car together.

Another tip is to upgrade the stock differentials to the metal Cyclone ones as they tend to heat up and seize together.

I am currently running a Mtroniks Viper Tempo11 Speed Controller which can handle motors down to 11 turns and will allow room to move up to a class which is higher up using a faster motor. Another Cyclone S tip is to run a motor heatsink, for example, there is a 3 racing motor fan on the motor and a cooler master computer cpu fan to help suck air in to cool the heat sink. This will help to keep your motor cooler, and will lengthen it's life span.

Come back soon for More Cyclone S Tips.