Tuesday, July 19, 2016

What else should I buy for my new A800?

Multiple times a week we are receiving the question -- "What hop-up parts and spares do you recommend".  We've queried all of our team drivers and brought back the best answers for your help. 

Which kit version?

If you were to just have one car kit, the A800A, featuring the khaki colored A800-C01B-AL chassis, is the most versatile for the various surfaces we face.  Because of this, the A800A is the predominate version of the A800 series we've been recommending, selling, and racing ourselves.  

What hop-ups make sense?

  1. Soft springs --- A700-SPR01S or A800-SPR01S-98 (1 pack/car)
  2. Medium ball studs for inner upper links --- A700-ST24M (2 packs/car)
  3. Long ball studs for steering and toe links --- A700-ST24L (1 pack/car)
  4. Titanium turnbuckles - 9x 1-1/8"; 4x 1-1/2" --- lundsford has had stocking issues, we are looking to replace them with an option from Roche/Radtec hopefully by September 2016
  5. Steering brace --- A800-C25 --- Some like the direct feel it provides. I run it in mod, but not in stock.
  6. 2.25mm carbon chassis --- A800-C01B-2.25 --- This chassis has improved flex characteristics for asphalt racing
  7. BSR hard dumper --- F50043L --- A must have for carpet racing. Newly redesigned for the 2016 indoor carpet racing season to be custom mounted/trimmed to prevent any front body flex.
For older generations of the A800 (pre-April/D2.2) we'd highly recommend investing in the strong Shock Guide Rod (A800-SPR02H). With the introduction of the D2.2 dampers the A800-SPR02H3 parts are already included within the kits.

One final point, you'll see many setups from Europe featuring carbon arms.  We've seen carbon arms degrade during heat and overall not withstand crash damage as well.  When comparing setups between alloy and carbon setups, we'd recommend lowering the damper oil weight by 5wt when using alloy arms as they flex less than carbon.  

What spares are recommended?

For spares -- don't get crazy here.  There are only a few that could prevent you from making it thru a day and we've marked them with a "*" after the part number.  
  • P01
  • P02
  • P03 *
  • P04 
  • P05 *
  • P07 
  • P12
  • P16
  • ST13 *
  • ST05L *
  • P14
  • P13-4
  • C27
  • C04AL
  • ST10 *
  • ST11 *
As usual maintenance items (i.e. not crash damage), especially when running alloy arms, the primary wear items are P04, ST10, ST11.