Building a Rc drag racer
Building a Rc drag racer
If you want to build a rc drag racer, there are a number of possibilities.
1. Buying a purpose-manufactured chassis;
2. Modifying an existing rc car;
3. Buy existing components to build a dragster;
4. To self completely custom build a drag racer.
In all cases you should aim to build and keep in mind:
An as fast and light as possible racer which just has to go straight ahead.
The main issues here are:
The lowest possible center of gravity;
High rigidity;
Robust transmission from motor to shaft;
Achieve sufficient grip;
Much weight on the backend / rear axle.
Less important are the following issues:
Steering / steering capacity;
Buying Rc Dragster kit
If you choose to purchase a specially for drag racing fabricated chassis and a body, you may initially olso need to choose which type of drag racer you want to buy. The choice of readymade rc drag racers is very limited, so you'll soon end up with a kit or separate chassis and body. There are kits and ready-made models available from about € 80, - excl. shipping up to € 600, - and more. Of course you will encounter differences in quality but there are relatively inexpensive chassis with quite good results. On our pages you can find drag race brands and suppliers of complete rc dragster kit`s and suppliers of rc drag racing parts. You will, if you only buy a chassis with a body, still need to think about motorization, speed controller / esc, wheels with tires and in some cases a good transmission. Of course you also need a transmitter and receiver but those do not cost much. A simple 2 or 3 channel transmitter is sufficient. Preferably choose a 2.4 ghz transmitter to avoid interference.
Rebuilding a Rc car for drag racing
Do you want to start with an existing rc car and adjust it for drag racing then this can be done best with an onroad racing model, and more specifically a "pan car". The starting point of an onroad racing model rc car has many characteristics of a dragster. They have a very low center of gravity, are often very stiff and are quick and light. With this kind of cars you`re a long way if you get rid of luxury, adapt the gearing and motorization. You will have to remove the differential on most modern models or tighten it so it will not slipper. After all you do not want to go in a curve during a drag race and you do not want one wheel that starts to spin in a way that you`re suddenly all over the track while you just wanted to go straight. If you want to use a buggy or truck you will have to lower the center of gravity, adjust suspension (make it stiffer) and you will need, in almost of all cases, a good wheeliebar.
As already mentioned are so called "Pan cars" most appropriate to use. A pan car is actually a rc racing car with a minimal amount of components all directly attached on a generally flat plate. Also, most if not all pan cars, have a rigid rear axle and wheels / rims just clamped around the axle with a "Hub". The actual wheels are fixed on the hub. Most drag racers, even the special dragster kits are based on the pan car principle. This is also called the "Bolink principle".
Building a dragster with existing components
It will not surprise you that if you want to build a dragster with existing components, you will use a lot of pan car parts. After all, what could be easier than just screw components directly on a base plate. Fortunately, the various brands are fairly standardized. For instance axles are always 1/4th inch (6.35 mm), and there are various brands, various "Hubs" for wheels and gears to clamb on a shaft. Please note that shafts, bearings, wheel bolts and parts a like will have American sizes.
To custom build a dragster
If you want to totally custom build, you will have to let your imagination run free and you should look at the different ways in which standardized components are used and what they look like. Just in the case you can really make everything yourself and are in possession of the various machines required to make all essential elements this an option. Before you get to this, you will need to begin by taking the requirements of the dragster that you want to build and see what it must meet.
Start with a base plate of carbon (light and strong) or with an aluminum chassis. Take into account, especially in top fuel dragsters, the flexibility / rigidity of the base plate. It may depend on the engine placement and transfer but considerable forces are released.
