Pitlane Bits

Pitlane Bits

Jewel-box crystal case

Here's a clever way to keep your crystals safe and organized. Take a CD jewel case and remove the section that held the CD. Next, use a hobby knife to cut out small squares of thin foam rubber (toolbox drawer liners work great) as shown. A typical jewel case can easily hold 35 crystals

Better receiver seal

Dirt that accumulates inside your receiver can cause glitching. Open your receiver's case, shake out the dirt, and then close it. Seal the receiver case's seam with tape. Also cover the unused third channel or battery slot (if you run an electric car) with a clear piece of decal material or tape. This tip is also good for speed controls; you'd be surprised how much dirt can get in through the setup-button opening

Magnetized Parts Bowl

There's nothing worse than losing a screw, E-clip, or other small metal part when you're wrenching on your car, so Matthew uses a magnetized parts bowl from Sears to hold small parts when he works on his gear. Make your own magnetized bowl in any size by adding a stick-on magnet (available from the craft store) to the bottom of any metal container. You can also use the magnetic container to find lost parts when working over a carpeted floor. Just slide the magnetic base over the carpet until it grabs the missing item.

Manual throttle mod

Any racer knows that turning on your radio in the pits is strictly forbidden, but in order to tune your nitro mill properly, you need to operate the throttle. The solution: make a manual throttle by using a long piece of throttle rod that's bent at a 90-degree angle. Tug on the upturned end with your finger, and you can actuate the carb without moving the throttle servo.

On my Mark

It's always a good idea to stop your engine with the piston at the bottom of its cycle, so when the engine cools and slightly contracts, the tapered sleeve won't squeeze the piston at the top and ruin the engine's close tolerances. To know when your piston is at the bottom of its cycle, remove the glow plug and turn the engine over manually until the piston travels down. Then mark the flywheel with a solid line at the bottom. Do this once, and you'll always know when the piston is in the proper position.

Graphite glitch-proofing

A graphite chassis is a huge performance booster, but it can also cause serious radio-glitching problems if your antenna wire comes in contact with the graphite. To prevent this from happening, use a piece of heat-shrink tubing to further insulate the antenna where it touches the graphite. Just cut the correct length needed for your application, and slide it onto the antenna.

Chassis Markup

On most nitro vehicles, you have to reset the gear mesh whenever you reinstall the engine. If you thoroughly clean your vehicle after every day of running, you'll have to set the gear mesh quite often. If you know your gear mesh is perfect, before you remove your engine, scratch lines on the bottom of the chassis plate to show exactly where the engine-mount screw heads are. Next, fill these scratch marks with a bright paint, and wipe off the excess. Now, you'll be able to quickly reinstall your engine with confidence, knowing that your gear mesh will be perfect.

Frugal Film

Many bodies come with overspray film on the outside of the shell. If your new body doesn't, cover the outside with a single layer of food wrap. Apply a little heat with a hairdryer, and the material will conform to the body for a perfect fit.

Safe Window Openings

It's common practice to cut out windows and holes for ventilation or to gain access into nitro bodies. The sharp edges of a Lexan body can deliver a nasty scratch or even cut a crew member's finger as a car speeds in and out of the pits. To keep your digits safe, line the openings with fuel line. Just slit one side of the tubing and press it onto the exposed edge, and use a bit of glue to secure it.

Rim reminders

After tyres inserts and rims are all glued together, there often isn't a way to tell your various combos apart. When you finish putting a set together, write the insert’s firmness, the tyres compound and the offset of the rim on each rim. This is a 53-compound tire with a medium insert on a 2mm offset rim.

Razor smooth tires

The excess material produced when tires are moulded is called 'flashing.' The inside bead usually has a thin film of it that can get in the way when you mount the tires. You can use scissors or a hobby knife to remove it, but that can be time-consuming and clumsy. To get a clean cut quickly, use a safety razor with a fresh blade.

Clean with agitation

Electric jewelry cleaners are great for cleaning small parts such as bearings and clutch components. The vibrating action works well to remove dirt and built-up gunk. The basket holds the parts and keeps them away from the dirt that falls to the bottom. For best results, fill the trough with jewelry cleaner or WD-40

Secure your servos

Run rubber grommets on your nitro vehicle's servos. They will reduce the likelihood of damage to the case ears, they'll decrease vibration, and they'll also help to prevent glitching

Transponder number reminder

Store your AMB personal transponder numbers in your cell phone’s address book for easy access. You always have your cell phone in your pocket, so you'll be ready with your transponder number when the race director asks you for it.

Paper-clip body clips

Lose your body clip while you were out bashing? No problem. Make one out of paper clips. Cut the clips down to size with wire cutters, and then bend them into the shape of the body clip. If you want, you can get fancy and use colored paper clips.

Avoid screw screw-ups

To make sure you don't mix up the hardware when you take your car or truck apart for maintenance, put the screws back in the parts as you remove them. No more wondering which screw goes where.

Stay-put fuel line

If the fuel line on your nitro vehicle keeps slipping off the fuel-tank pick-up, double up the end of the fuel line. Slide a 3mm length of fuel line over the jaws of a pair of needle-nose pliers. Next, spread the piece of line, and slide it over the end of the fuel line that goes to the tank pick-up. The fuel line will be clamped into place.

Fish-tank bearing cleaner

Place a small plastic bowl filled with solvent on top of a fish-tank pump to clean bearings and other small RC parts. The pump's vibration works as an agitator to dislodge small particles from inside the bearings. You can also place a small mesh screen inside the bowl to lift the parts and allow dirt and grime to pass to the bottom of the bowl