turning radius
 

I have been working on my Bit, and find that it has a much larger turning radius on left hand turns, compared to right turns. I have switched every part i can think of in the front assembly to try and fix it, but nothing really works. What could be the cause of the uneveness in left/right turns?

I would say that they wheels are not turning as much to the left. If you look at it while it in your hand and turn it one way and then the other are they turning the same amount. Something might be binding up or loose.

i've changed the steering magnets, and the entire assembly's both right and left in my car, and the turns only seem to get bigger! I can't get it to turn small

Could it possible have to do with how the steering coils are wound on each side? Like if one has less wire, it might not have as much strength in that direction?

i have a bit of problem with that, but i think they're all like that. It seemed like the radius was getting larger everytime i would run. I fixed that problem by running the car on a damp napkin to clean the tires. This braught me back to normal turning. Yes the right is still better than the left, but not by much, i'd say about an inch or so.

ok, thanks!

i'll try that trick tonight if i have some time...glad to know i'm not the only one

some cars are just like that, but not all of them. Running them on a smooth surface with hard (bit racer) fronts and soft (bit char-g) back tires and a fast motor will hide the difference pretty well, along with a soft stablizer or the QFM springs.

Assuming your magnet is centered, and there is no wheel binding - I found by GENTLY and SLIGHTLY bending the steering spring ends in one direction or another (either away or towards the center pin) it may help. Not enough that they lose contact with the center pin, but just enough that there is not quite so much tension on it.

I have found that this will either increase or decrease the radius in one direction or another.

I agree with that last post!! It all depends on the steering spring orientation. If the spring is bent to one side that can cause bad alignment, it has nothing to deal with the other steering components (except when the magnet is out of plce).

you could always try different tires on the left and right side. hope that would help

You should check if the tires spin equally at both sides. Happened to me and found that some hair stuck in the front wheels was causing the problem.

Diego

Hi everyone,,

I find that tires affect the steering alot! Sometimes there is a difference in the tires from left to right,, (maybe the sun was able to cook only one tire or side?) anyhow, when the tires were replaced the problem went away.

Maybe you have a tire more dirty than the other?

-Bunta out

goodorange, another thing that can happen is that one of the wheels on the rear axle can become loose. This happened on one of my cars, and the result was that steering in one direction was extra tight, and the other direction was awful. Pull your rear axle off and see if one of the wheels moves freely. They should both be locked.

I've tried everything listed here and I can't find the problem yet with one of my little cars. Right turns are about 2x the radius of left hand turns. I adjusted the spring so that it would hardly even return from the right; no appreciable difference in turning radius. Carefully checked the copper wires (one may have been in contact previously with a bit of bare wire leading to the motor); no appreciable difference. I made sure the magnet was centered and clean, glued in place and that both coils were clean and glued in place; no difference. I've checked the front tires and both spin evenly, checked the back and both are solid on the axel. I've adjusted the suspension from rigid rigid rigid to loosey goosey and nada. I did notice some bright marks on the positive coil leads (possible chips in the coating?) but these are evident in both left and right about the same so... :/ I suppose I could get some enamel and paint the wires to help insulate or something but is that even a reasonable thing to try? Are the coils hollow? Would trying to insert a piece of piano wire into the middle increase the flux? Any suggestions :)

jeez..i think ya stumped us..wow...ive got no idea!:D

I'll say it again. It is the STEER SPRING.

You need to bend one of the leads slightly away from the center pin. Not enough that you lose contact with the pin, just relieve some of the tension. You will find your car turns sharper now. If it is wider, you have "de-tensioned" the wrong lead. Bend the other lead out a bit (again, not to the point where it loses contact with the center pin when reassembled!)

I've bent both out, and both in. No effect on the turning radius, but a definite effect on straight travel. With the slack on the spring the car would "wander" a lot more.

OK - then I am stumped too. Usually, there is a disproportionate amount of steer spring tension on one lead or the other, which makes it harder for the magnet to pull the steering assembly in one direction or the other. Therefore the car tends to turn better in one direction, as the steering assembly can move easier in one direction.

I've got a couple of cars like that as well, what I did wasn't so technical but... I stopped trying to fix it and just enjoyed playing with them, you could accidentally make it worse too if you mess with it too much. It's just a small defect that can be compinsated by driving style. Works for me. ;)

Just my $.02

my first bit had a wide left turn...
i tried everything to fix it...then i noticed the problem.

the leads to the coils should be glued on the side facing the black plastic chasis..not towards the magnet. for turning right the coil was glued correctly...for turning left..the coil was glued with the leads facing the magnet...so the magnet will not sit on the coil flush..it sits on the leads..thus the wheels do not turn all the way since the magnet does not move all the way over.

i tried to remove the coil and glue it back in reverse..(swap polarity on the wires if necessary) but the glue was too hard to remove from the coil...showed the hobby shop where i got it from and
he was like..yeah..that sucks..and let me swap it for another.

the new one works great.

I have that same problem too,Except that it is much more severe.It makes a big turn going left, and Spins Out! going right!It's pretty wierd but I will try the methods here.Later,Munim.

I think I found the problem!I looked at the rear axle and it seems that the tire on the right is pushed out more from the chassis making the right side have more ride height than the left, I pushed on the axle a bit and know it works well.It still spins out though, very litte though.

I'll check the coils tonight and see which way the leads go. I do notice even holding the car in the air that when the wheels go right they don't have as much "kick" as they do moving left. Hard to explain but easy to see.

Actually, it looks like one of the coils isn't wrapped as neatly or as tightly as the other! I checked a friends that doesn't like turning in the opposite direction and found the same thing so It looks like the coils themselves may be the culprit. I'll try rare earth magnets and see if that fixes the problem.