It has been 1 year in the Awesomatix A12 journey. Since its October 2020 launch, the A12 has been, without a doubt, the most popular 1/12th scale car in the USA and Canada racing scene. Everywhere we look — A12s keep showing up! Over the last year, the AwesomatixUSA Racing Team has continued pushing the boundaries of the A12 platform trying to understand how to further refine its performance and improve its functionality.

Background

A tale of two front suspensions - Trailing Axle vs Zero Trail (inline)

When customers purchase an A12, it ships with a traditional Trailing Axle setup that has been common on 1/12th scale cares going back to the 1970s. However, unlike most other platforms, the A12 has an optional Zero Trail Axle, or inline axle, that is available. Throughout our testing, the AwesomatixUSA Racing Team has found the Zero Trail Axles to be one of the biggest improvements for the A12 on high grip black carpet.

To try the ZT configuration, customers can purchase the A12-ZT kit that is sold by Awesomatix and AwesomatixUSA. The A12-ZT kit produces the same overall wheelbase length as the kit Trailing Axle setup by using a Suspension Plate (A12-C1205-ZT) that is 3mm shorter than the stock configuration.

For customers who don’t want to try the Zero Trail Axles, the Suspension Plate from the ZT kit is still very useful for Trailing Axle configurations as it produces a 3mm shorter wheelbase than the stock configuration.

Ultimately, the choice between using Trailing Axles or Zero Trail Axles comes down to racer preference. Both configurations are fast and both configurations continue to win races; however, they produce a slightly different “feel.” Zero Trail Axles allow for less overall scrub of speed at the center of the corner in high grip situations. That being said, our traditional 1/12th racers often prefer the speed scrub they experience on corner entry with the Trailing Axle configuration.

Challenge One - Wheelbase Change

In March of 2021, Awesomatix released the A12-C1205-1.5 which reduced the wheelbase by 1.5mm from the stock configuration. Early testing of shorter wheelbase setups showed that a shorter wheelbase with trailing axles helped create a more balanced and faster car. The shorter wheelbase created more initial steering and increased response in almost all conditions. A12-C1205-1.5 was used to win 2021 Snowbird Nationals Mod 1/12th class.

Going into the 2021 ROAR On-Road Carpet Nationals, AwesomatixUSA released a limited set of 6mm shorter suspension plates designed to give racers running the Zero Trailing Axle front end a shorter overall wheelbase. The new shorter plate was wildly successful from the start with multiple cars in the 1/12th Stock A-main using this configuration.

Challenge Two - Obtaining more front suspension ride height

One of the challenges that the AwesomatixUSA team faced at the 2021 ROAR On-Road Carpet Nationals was that when using Zero Trail axles with both 5 and 6 degree caster posts we quickly started to run out of front end ride height. As a result, this forced us to run larger diameter tires and less front end droop then we wanted. However, despite these challenges, the A12 platform still prevailed — taking the TQ and Wins in 1/12th Stock, SuperStock and Modified classes.

New Products from AwesomatixUSA

After extensive testing and product development, AwesomatixUSA has finally created a solution to the A12 wheelbase and ride height challenge when running small tires. Available today, AwesomatixUSA is happy to announce a variety of new front suspension plates in different configurations. All of these front suspension plates are designed and manfactured in the USA from high quality 2.5mm thick carbon fiber.

Race Results

ZT hubs and AUSA-A12-C1205-2.5mm-4 A12 4mm Shorter 2.5mm Thick Suspension Plate

Joe Trandell - Winner 1/12th Stock - 2021 Halloween Classic
Shawn Rayfield - A-finalist 1/12th Stock- 2021 Halloween Classic
Joe Trandell - 3rd place 1/12th Stock - 2021 NYGP
Miles Schneese - A-finalist 1/12th Stock - 2021 NYGP

ZT hubs and AUSA-A12-C1205-2.5mm-5 A12 5mm Shorter 2.5mm Thick Suspension Plate

Michael Hanulec - TQ 1/12th Stock - 2021 Halloween Classic
Michael Hanulec - A-finalist 1/12th Stock - 2021 NYGP

ZT hubs and AUSA-A12-C1205-2.5mm-6 A12 6mm Shorter 2.5mm Thick Suspension Plate

Michael Hanulec - 3rd place 1/12th Super Stock - 2021 Halloween Classic
Michael Hanulec - A-finalist 1/12th Super Stock - 2021 NYGP

Use Case Matrix

Depending upon the overall configuration the A12 inner and outer chassis frame (AM1203 Battery Plate and AM1204 Chassis Plate) require modification to alter the position of the servo and servo saver within the car.

Race Car Pictures

In the upcoming week or two AwesomatixUSA will have two exciting solutions to help racers who want to run the 5mm Shorter, 6mm Shorter and 7mm Shorter Suspension Plates. Until then we thought we'd share the different solutions that our racers have done themselves during the prototype phases.

Manual Chassis Modifications

Installation pictures from Michael Hanulec's TQ Stock 1/12th from 2021 Halloween Classic outfitted with the AwesomatixUSA A12 5mm Shorter 2.5mm Thick Suspension Plate. Inner and Outer chassis have minor modifications done all with just a Dremel cutoff wheel. A 1.5mm thick shim was used to shim out the servo saver.

Industrial Chassis Modifications

Installation pictures from Clayton Young's A-main Stock 1/12th car from 2021 Halloween Classic outfitted with an earlier specification of the 6mm Short Suspension Plate. Inner and Outer chassis have major modifications performed on milling machine.

Friday, October 29, 2021

Optional A12 Suspension Plates by AwesomatixUSA