Sakura D4: Dialing in the Setup

I was able to spend a day running the D4 at the local track, and do some tuning.  I posted a video a few days ago, and some people were interested in the setup.  I didn't start with exactly the settings in the manual, based on my experience with tuning for our local track.  The Surface is epoxy, and is fairly smooth.  It compares favorably with polished concrete.  We have found that this surface requires a very balanced setup overall.  Here is what I started with:

First up, corner weights.  This chassis balances very well and comes out nearly perfect L/R balance with only 2 grams difference.  With a 5300 battery mounted in the middle of the chassis (standard) the rear weight is almost 57 percent.  This had me a little nervous at first because our track has favored 50 percent rear weight setups so far.  Keep in mind that these weights are with the body on.

Next up, Alignment:

Sakura D4: First day on track

Our local track was open yesterday and I was able to get the D4 out for it's first test.  Things did not go very smoothly at first, as I was fighting a car that seemed erratic and did not handle well.  Several changes made it better, but far from good.  Then, a breakthrough... the gyro started freaking out and the steering servo started moving on it's own.  The Yeah Racing gyro apparently was not working; possibly from the beginning.  I had a spare MST gyro in my box and switched over to that.  Suddenly the car was transformed.  It was pretty balanced and hooked up, only requiring a few more changes for good results.  I will be doing a few more tweaks to get it dialed all the way in, and plan on publishing my setup info in the blog soon.  But I left yesterday feeling pretty good with the progress.  This is a solid chassis out of the box.

Here is some video with the progress of yesterday's tuning:

Sakura D4: Chassis Detail Shots

Snapped a few detail pics of the competed 3 Racing Sakura D4 roller.  I really like the look of the natural aluminum over the pink.

More Pics...

Sakura D4: Build Tips

Having finished up the 3 Racing Sakura D4 build, I thought I would share a few tips that could help the build and setup process go a little smoother.

The single biggest tip I can give is to buy a 3mm (M3 x 0.5)tap and use it everywhere that a 3mm screw needs to screw into a plastic part.  The only exceptions would be where the droop screws go on the control arms and the screws that hold the battery retainer plate (the one that swings away for loading the battery).  For the rest, pre-threading the holes will help the assembly process go much smoother, and you will be able to more accurately tighten the screws.  This helps prevent stripping the plastic by accident and rounding out the hexes in the screw heads.

Next...

Project Sakura D4: Intro and Unboxing

After a longish wait (choose the free shipping option...) my 3 Racing Sakura D4 combo arrived from RCMart.  The combo included a nice RC OMG servo, Yeah Racing gyro, and NOS bottle balance weight.  Not bad for $159 shipped.

I really like the overall design of the D4, and from the pre-production pics that 3 Racing released, I think that it will have a lot of potential.  I plan to do a series of posts that detail my build and show some key areas of detail.  Initially I want to stick with stock components, and demonstrate that you can build a nice car out of the box using some craftsmanship and attention to detail.  Just because it is a "cheap" kit, doesn't mean that is will drift like one, or that it is necessary to spend a bunch of money on upgrades.

Let's see what's in the box!