Awesomatix A12 Front End Build and Tune

Описание: Full detailed build of the Awesomatix A12 12th RC car front end. All option parts considered together will a full tuning guide.

My name is Mark Payne. I am part of the Awesomatix A12 UK Team. I have been racing 12th Scale cars since their inception in 1978. At age 59, I am slowly getting slower (!) but some of my pace has been returned by the fantastic Awesomatix A12!

Please leave comments saying what you found helpful or indeed what was a waste of your time. I have some experience in making videos for YouTube but it takes an age to do them like this. This 30+ min video has around 4 man days invested in it for example.

Thanks to my team mates, in particular, James Stewart, Nigel Hale, Mark Stiles and Mark Jewitt for help and encouragement. Thanks to my sponsors Zen Racing and 6K Racing for continued commitment to 1/12th racing.

Sections

00:00 – Intro
02:03 – 1. A12 Front End Design
02:55 – 2. Front Plate Options
06:30 – 3. King Pin Castor and Camber
10:31 - 4. Servo Choice
12:16 - 5. Servo Mounting
13:54 - 6. Servo Savers
17:06 - 7A. Steering Block Options
27:25 - 7B. Springs
36:07 - 8. Steering Links
38:22 - 9. Attachment Tips
41:00 - 10. Droop Setup
43:30 - 11. Ride Height
45:15 - 12. Steering Geometry
55:35 - Outro

Section Notes

Servo Saver.

XR372503
https://www.zen-racing.co.uk/catalog/...

Sagami XR006 and XR007 Plates

https://srf-online-store.com/en/colle...

https://srf-online-store.com/en/colle...

5.1mm Reamer for King Pins
https://amzn.to/3QoIggw

Kyosho 15K Diff Grease

https://www.zen-racing.co.uk/catalog/...

Awesomatix Front Spring choice
C is N/mm
Gold Kit SPR12FM “Medium” 6.5mm
Silver Kit SPR12FS “Soft”C2.5 6.5mm
Copper Red SPR12F-C1.7 C1.7 7.8mm
Light Green SPR12F-C1.3 C1.3 7.6mm
Bronze SPR12F-C1.1 C1.1 7.8mm
Black SPR12F-C0.9 C0.9 8.5mm
Pink SPR12F-C0.7 C0.7 Unknown

King pin cap

Reve D RT-003
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2545704041...

King pin extender shims

1mm for Original AT1204 type blocks
0.4mm for AT1204-S Blocks

Shim count
Assuming King pin extension above:
6 x 0.2mm shims for original steering blocks
10 x 0.2mm shims for short blocks

Standard Front Plate C1205
Supplied with original kits. Builds “standard” wheelbase
Uses C1201 servo Plate (kit standard)

Later Kit Front Plate C1205-1.5
Running kit change at end 2021.
Still uses C1201 servo plate
1.5mm shorter wheelbase c.f standard

ZT Zero Trail Plate C1205-ZT
Provides standard wheelbase with AT1204-ZT optional Zero Trail steering blocks (in Line)
Provides 3.0mm shorter wheelbase (c.f standard) when stock steering blocks are used.
Use the C1201-ZT servo plate for ZT blocks
Use the standard C1201 servo plate for standard blocks


-6mm Short Plate C1205-6
Will make a short WB car 6mm less than standard . If ZT steering blocks are used then WB will be 3mm shorter than standard.


Servo MKS50P

Standard stuff about ZT hub:

The blurb says “With the “zero trail” front hubs the axles are lined up with the centre of the steering hub. These hubs provide a smoother steering feel in some conditions due to more Ackermann build”.

The ZT steering block does limit outer wheel angle down from around 18 degrees (standard) to 15 degrees as the inside wheel will lock stop itself relatively quickly. The ZT ball mounting point is closer to the centre of the king pin and further inboard on the car. Hence the inside wheel turn rate builds very quickly resulting in the increased ackermann mentioned effect mentioned above.

Is this faster? In high grip this may scrub less speed at mid corner however in general I find the car harder to drive. I suffer from a lack of confidence when a car does not straighten up and track the straight well and the inline axle is not good for this.