TLR 8IGHT-X 2.0 Race Kit Manual

Center Oil:
• Thinner - decreases acceleration, increases off-power steering, unloads front more
under acceleration, easier to drive on rough and slick tracks.
• Thicker - increases acceleration, decreases off-power steering, increases on-power
steering, better on smooth and high traction tracks.
Rear Oil:
• Thinner - increases corning traction, increases steering corner entry to mid corner
• Thicker - decreases steering mid corner, increases forward traction corner exit.
Tabletop Adjustments
Ride Height
Ride height is the height of the chassis from the ground/pit board. Ride height is measured
with the body on and vehicle ready to run.
• It is best to measure on a fl at level surface, such as a pit board.
• Drop the vehicle from 12 in (30cm) and allow the suspension to settle.
• Measure from the fl at surface to the bottom of the chassis plate using a ride height
gauge
• Front - Measure behind the bend in the chassis
• Rear – Measure under the rear gear box
• Use shock collars to lower or raise the ride height, adjusting left and right equally.
• Recheck
When the front ride height is adjusted, it can affect the rear ride height and vice-versa.
Once one end is adjusted, always check the height at both ends again.
• Front - higher decreases steering, increases weight transfer to the rear on-power. Lower
increases steering, decreases weight transfer to the rear on-power.
• Rear - higher decreases rear traction, increases steering. Lower increases rear traction,
decreases steering.
• Both – higher improves handling on bumpy tracks. Lower increases corner speed and
stability for smoother tracks.
Camber
Camber is the angle a wheel/tire leans in/out from bottom to top. It is adjusted by
changing the length of the camber link turnbuckle. It is adjusted at ride height with vehicle
ready to run.
More Negative Camber:
• Front - increases steering and responsiveness.
• Rear – decreases rear traction corner entry, increases on-power steering, less grabby in
bumps.
Less Negative Camber:
• Front – decreases steering, smoother feel.
• Rear – increases rear traction and make the rear end stay fl atter, but if traction is lost it
will be more abrupt.
*After adjusting front camber, recheck front toe in/out.
Front Toe
Toe is the angle of the tires compared to the centerline of the chassis. To check and set
front toe, the steering assembly needs to be centered and the vehicle needs to be at ride
height. Adjust the toe by shortening or lengthening the steering turnbuckles. Always set
the steering turnbuckles to equal lengths, then adjust equally.
• Toe In - front tires point inward. This will have a – or negative value (-2°). Toe in
decreases steering response entering and mid corner, increases on-power steering.
• Toe Out - front tires point outward. This will have a + or positive value (+2°). Toe out
increases steering response at corner entry, increases straight-line stability, decreases
on-power steering, smoother corner exit.
Droop
Droop is the measurement of how far the tires fall at full suspension extension. Droop is
measured on the 8IGHT vehicles by removing the tires and wheels, placing the chassis
on droop blocks, then using a ride height gauge to measure from the fl at surface to
the underside of the threads on the wheel hex. TLR 1/8 Droop Blocks (TLR72004) are
recommended or any droop blocks that are 36mm.
To reduce droop (higher measurement number), turn the droop screw for the suspension
arm clockwise. To increase droop (lower measurement number) turn the droop screw
for the suspension arm counterclockwise. After making an adjustment, compress the
suspension by hand, then allow it to settle before measuring again.
More droop (lower number)
• Front - Decreases on-power steering, increases rear traction corner exit by allowing
more weight transfer to the rear.
• Rear - Increases off-power steering by allowing more weight transfer to the front. Less
stable under braking.
• Both – Accelerates better in bumps when straight but can traction roll in rutted corners
easier.
Less droop (higher number)
• Front – Increases on-power steering with more static weight on the front by allowing
less weight transfer to the rear.
• Rear – Increases stability under braking. Decreases side to side weight transfer on
higher speed/smooth tracks.
• Both - Slides over bumps better in corners. Stays fl atter to carry more corner speed on
high speed and high traction tracks.
Shocks
Shocks
Shocks have several options for tuning, such as piston, oil, and spring. The piston and oil
work together to make up the shock dampening.
Front
• Thicker dampening decreases steering.
• Thinner dampening increases steering.
Rear
• Thicker dampening decreases rear traction.
• Thinner dampening increases rear traction.
*When dampening settings are outside the window it will result in decreased traction
front or rear.
Pistons
Pistons have three key design variations that affect dampening: size of the valving holes,
quantity of valving holes, and piston shape (fl at or tapered).
• Smaller sized or decreased quantities of valving holes provide thicker dampening.
Smaller hole pistons (1.2mm) slow weight transfer and responsiveness but improve
large jump landing.
• Larger sized or increased quantities of valving holes provide thinner damping. Large
hole pistons (1.3mm) increases traction, quicken weight transfer and responsiveness,
but do not land large jumps as well.
• Tapered pistons provide different speeds for compression and rebound. The taper face
is typically run down to increase the rebound speed. Quicker rebound speed helps the
tire maintain contact with the ground better, providing more overall traction.
Shock Oil
• Thinner oil provides thinner dampening which increases overall traction and reacts
quicker.
• Thicker oil provides thicker dampening which decreases overall traction and reacts
slower. Better for high traction, smooth tracks.
• Drastic ambient temperature changes (20–25°F, 10-15°C) require adjustment to shock
oil to maintain the same dampening. Colder temperatures require thinner shock oil,
hotter temperatures require thicker shock oil.
Springs
Springs are available in many different spring rates, which measure the force to compress
over a fi xed distance.
General
• Stiffer spring rate decreases weight transfer, decreases roll, quickens rebound,
decreases overall traction, keeps chassis fl atter.
• Softer spring rate increases weight transfer, increases roll, slows rebound, increases
overall traction.
Front
• Softer – increases off-power steering, smooths steering response.
• Stiffer – decreases off-power steering, quickens steering response.
Rear
• Softer – increases rear traction on-power corner exit, increases mid corner rotation.
• Stiff – increases straight-line forward drive, increases mid corner stability.
Shock Mounting Locations
Arm Position
• Inside – softer suspension, increases responsiveness, increases traction.
• Outside – increases stability, increases side traction, easier to drive.
Tower Position
• Inside – increases responsiveness, stiffer/thicker shocks feel, decreases side traction.
• Outside – increases initial chassis roll, increases side traction, more forgiving.
• Front – inside on the tower is easier to drive, slows steering response. Outside on the
tower increases lift off jumps, improves bump handling.
• Rear – inside on the tower increases mid corner traction. Outside on the tower
increases traction corner entry.
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