I am frequently asked " How can I make my Cobra go faster?".  This, in itself, is not surprising but what does often stagger me is when the person asking the question cannot tell me what is wrong with the way that it's going now.

To set-up any car you have to have reached a stage whereby you can say that it will not; turn in, take bumps, go down the straight, etc, etc.  If you have just purchased your Cobra and you are trying to relate what it looks like compared to the various illustrations within these pages, please remember that it has taken me four or five years to reach this stage.  What I would suggest is that you start, if you have not already started, by bringing your car up to the TQ spec.  This will mean that you have a slipper clutch, ball bearings, stiffer front shock tower and adjustable camber.  Also, since you are unlikely to have a carbon fibre chassis tub, the plastic under tray, which Mardave sell as an optional extra, is a good idea.  It keeps the wet out and gives you somewhere to attach the body using Velcro.

The slipper clutch is covered elsewhere (Link to Slipper Page).  Apart from giving the "slipper" facility it also enables you to use 48DP gears, which are widely available .  You can fit spur gears from the Associated range and this will enable you to achieve the correct gear ratio (Link to Gearing Page).

Many new starters are tempted, or should I say that their dads are dispatched, to by the quick modified motor, long before the rudiments of car control are grasped.  This is a really bad move for everybody except the model shop who are going to end up selling you better batteries and a better speed controller to cope with the extra amps that the new motor is going to demand.

At Southport we run a Dirtspec Championship.  This is a class of racing where the motor is limited to no less than seventeen turns and everyone has to use Schumacher Blue Minispikes on the rear wheels.  These motors are sealed and have plain bushes rather than ballraces and cost about £15 instead of the £50 that you will spend on a fast modified motor.  The strange thing is that over five minutes there is hardly anything to choose between them.  The Dirtspec motor will give you five minutes from 1400mAh batteries and only needs the lowest spec speed control.  They do not go down the straight so fast but they are a damn sight easier to control on the tricky bits. (Link to SRCC Dirtspec)  Why not ask your club to give it a go.

Car control is far more important than a quick motor.  Looking back, I should have bought a fast servo long before I ever purchased a quick motor.

What I am getting around to saying is that you do not have to spend vast amounts of money to improve the performance of your Cobra.  To start with, fit the slipper clutch and ensure that the gears are meshed correctly.  When checking the mesh, turn the spur gear through one complete turn, checking for play all the way round.  The pinion should never be in hard mesh, so there should always be at least a little free play between them; which you can feel by rattling the spur gear backwards and forwards without moving the motor pinion.

Fit the adjustable top links to the front and rear but do not go mad on the camber.  I find that between one and two degrees is fine.

Try the car in this condition and practice until you can do five a fast minutes without the aid of the marshals to put you back on your wheels.  You should then be in a position to say why it will not go fast enough.  The apparent fault will depend on your driving style and the surface that you are running on.  If you have a specific question please e-mail me or use the guest book.  Don't be put off by the request for a URL, it is not necessary.  To be honest I don't think you even have to leave your name but this would help if you need an individual answer.

Happy racing.