RC Setup Troubleshooting

When we first announced that we were working on So Dialed, a lot of folks started asking for what is essentially a troubleshooting guide - how to fix common handling problems.

As we have been cataloging various settings and what they do, we just worked backwards to try to come up with just such a guide for y'all. Here is what we came up with - there are a bunch of handling conditions, each with a list of remedies you can try.

The remedies are not necessarily in order. We tried to prioritize, but every car is different, and other settings may affect the ones you are working with. So, please use this as a list of things to try - don't feel like you need to start at the top, you may want to just start with whichever is easier to implement on your car.

We will have a similar guide available in the app when it launches, because it isn't always convenient to look things up on the web.

Also, please note, some items here are only relevant to off-road (like jump handling, etc,) so please make sure the advice is relevant before applying it to your situation.

With all that said, good luck, and we hope this helps!

Reduce understeer

• Thicker rear anti-roll bar / thinner front anti-roll bar
• Softer front tires / harder rear tires
• Higher rear roll center / lower front roll center
• Harder springs / heavier shock oil / smaller shock piston holes
• More Ackermann angle
• More caster
• Increase shock angle (less upright)
• Bias weight towards the front
• Less trail

Reduce oversteer

• Thinner rear anti-roll bar / thicker front anti-roll bar
• Harder front tires / softer rear tires
• Lower rear roll center / higher front roll center
• Less Ackermann angle
• Less caster
• Decrease shock angle (more upright)
• Bias weight towards the rear
• More trail

Increase on-power steering

• Less front toe-in
• Thicker rear anti-roll bar
• Increase caster
• Lower front roll center
• Less anti-squat
• Longer wheelbase in rear
• Thicker fluid in center & front diff / lighter fluid in rear diff [4WD]
• Use laydown transmission layout

Increase off-power steering

• Less toe-out
• Thicker front anti-roll bar
• Less rear droop
• More Ackermann angle
• Shorter wheelbase in rear
• Lighter fluid in center & front diff / thicker fluid in rear diff [4WD]

Decrease chassis roll

• Thicker anti-roll bar
• Raise roll center
• Decrease ride height
• Raise inboard camber link ball studs
• Lower outboard camber link ball studs
• Longer suspension arms

Increase chassis roll

• Thinner anti-roll bar
• Lower roll center
• Increase ride height
• Lower inboard camber link ball studs
• Raise outboard camber link ball studs
• Shorter suspension arms

Avoid traction roll

• Decrease ride height
• Thinner rear anti-roll bar / thicker front anti-roll bar
• Harder front tires
• Higher front roll center / lower rear roll center
• Less caster
• Stiffer front springs for on-throttle traction roll / lighter for off-throttle
• Lighter rear springs
• Raise roll center

Improve straight-line stability

• More caster
• Less front toe
• Lighter rear shock oil / heavier front shock oil
• Less front camber / more rear camber
• Less toe (toe closer to 0)

Improve corner stability

• More negative camber
• Thicker anti-roll bar
• Less anti-squat
• Wider rear pivot width

Quicken steering response

• Raise roll center
• Heavier front shock oil / stiffer front springs
• Increase ride height
• More caster
• Heavier rear shock oil / stiffer rear springs
• Harder rear tires / softer front tires
• Less droop

Increase forward traction / avoid wheelspin

• Less camber (make wheels more upright)
• More anti-squat
• More rear toe-in
• Lower roll center
• Bias weight to rear
• Loosen slipper (esp on low-grip tracks)
• Lighter clutch springs [nitro]
• Use standup transmission layout

Avoid bottoming out on jumps / landings

• Smaller piston holes / heavier oil
• Increase ride height
• More droop

Improve handling over bumps

• Lighter springs / more or larger piston holes / lighter oil
• Increase ride height
• More caster / kick-up
• Lower center of gravity
• Longer wheelbase
• Increase shock angle (less upright)
• More flexible chassis (fewer braces) / suspension arms