Dirt Oval Setup Troubleshooting Guide

Looking for setup help with on-road or off-road racing? Check out our Ultimate RC Setup Troubleshooting Guide.

Tips for using this guide:

• Start at the top: Recommendations are grouped by impact, so pick things to try from the top of the list first. Every car is different, so some cars will react differently to some changes.
• Test everything: This guide is directionally correct, but racing physics are complicated, and factors like weather and track surface  can combine to do surprising things. Remember to do your own testing to see what works for your situation.
• You have options! Our goal is to give you options to address any handling problem. Some approaches won't be possible due to your setup or parts on hand, so we offer several options.
• One change at a time! To truly learn how your car reacts in a given situation, make one change, test, and record the results. The So Dialed RC Setup App & Race Log is ideal for this!
• Check your baseline: Before trying these solutions, Make sure you don't have any settings wildly different from the kit setup. If you do, set those to the default first before trying anything new.
• Ask around: Folks at your track may already have solved the problem, and racers are (generally) happy to share knowledge, so feel free to ask!
• See a mistake?  Let us know!

‍Increase steering / reduce understeer (push)

Corner entry / off-power

More impact

• Shock springs: softer right-front (RF) or harder left-rear (LR)
• Stagger: smaller RF tire
• Toe: front toe-out, more LR toe-in
• Camber: more negative FR camber
• Caster split: more RF caster than LF caster
• Droop: more rear droop
• Wheelbase: shorter

Less impact

• Front wheels shimmed towards left
• Kick-up: less
• Anti-squat: more
• Gear diff fluid: lighter

Corner exit / on-power

More impact

• Softer left-rear (LR) spring, or harder right-rear (RR) spring
• Toe: front toe-in, less RR toe-in
• Droop: less front droop
• Wheelbase: shorter

Less impact

• Rear wheels shimmed towards left
• Anti-squat: more
• Gear diff fluid: heavier

Decrease steering / reduce oversteer

Corner entry / off-power (hook)

More impact

• Harder right-front (RF) spring
• Harder right-front tire
• Stagger: larger RF tire
• Toe: front toe-in, less LR toe-in
• Camber: less negative FR camber
• Droop: less rear droop
• Wheelbase: longer

Less impact

• Front wheels shimmed towards right
• Rear wheels shimmed towards right
• Kick-up: more
• Anti-squat: less
• Gear diff fluid: heavier

Corner exit / on-power (loose)

• Stiffer left-rear (LR) spring, softer RR spring, or harder left-front (LR) spring
• Toe: front toe-out, more RR toe-in
• Droop: more front droop
• Wheelbase: longer
• Anti-squat: less
• Gear diff fluid: lighter

Improve straight-line stability / reduce twitchiness

• Toe: less front toe-in
• Camber: more straight
• Caster: more
• Longer wheelbase

Traction

More traction all-around

• Softer tires (unless they are too soft and deform or break down under load)
• Shock springs: softer
• Shock angle: lay down more (in at the tower, out at the arm)
• Damping: lighter shock fluid, more/larger piston holes
• Tire diameter: larger
• Wet tracks: synthetic foam tires instead of natural
• Dry tracks: natural foam instead of synthetic
• Grooved tires instead of regular (front-to-rear inline grooves for side bide, lateral grooves going across the direction of motion for forward/braking traction)
• Rubber tires: softer inserts / open-cell inserts
• Rubber buggy tires on smooth tracks: shaved or ghosted tires (tread worn or sanded down)
• Lower roll center

Less traction all-around

• Harder tires
• Shock springs: harder
• Shock angle: stand shocks up more (out at the tower, in at the arm)
• Tire diameter: smaller
• Damping: heavier shock fluid, fewer/smaller piston holes
• Rubber tires: harder inserts / molded inserts (for high-grip tracks)
• Higher roll center

More front traction

• Increase front toe-in

Less front traction (reduce twitchiness)

• Decrease front toe-in

More rear traction

• Increase rear toe-in (avoid too much toe on high-traction tracks)

Chassis

Less chassis roll

• Harder springs
• Ride height: lower
• Damping: heavier oil, fewer/smaller piston holes
• Less droop
• Higher roll center (lower inner camber link)
• Anti-roll bar: use anti-roll bars (ARBs), or thicker bars (esp for high-grip tracks)

Avoid bottoming out

• Ride height: higher
• Damping: heavier oil, fewer/smaller piston holes

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References: Murfdogg Chassis Tuning 101, HUDY tuning guides, other un-credited sources