RS-01 Open RC F1 Adjustable Suspension Racing Chassis Version B

UPDATED

• New front Suspension Design
• 12 page manual
• Parts List (added 3/24/16)
• Tamiya F109 support added
• New Front (body)
• Motor Lid for F109
• New servo mount

Front suspension demonstration video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcflgugvOYg

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=710K5RflqO4

Rear suspension demo video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTZXX_mjeZY

Body on and shock movement demo:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLCjCuojl9Y

Introducing the RS-01 3d printed chassis designed for the Open RC F1 Remote Control Car.

I’ve named this chassis the RS-01. The “RS” stands for Riverside Speedway. The Riverside Speedway was a historic track, located on the border of Moreno Valley and Riverside, California, that hosted all of the greats from Carol Shelby to Mario Andretti. It even hosted many Formula 1 races. I grew up in Moreno Valley, less than a mile away hearing the sounds of engines filling the air, so I hold that track and it’s historic history as part of my heritage. As a homage to this great track I’ve named my chassis after it. 

About Me: I’m a car guy who learned Computer Aided Design (CAD) 5 days ago (since I posted this)… This is the first design that I’ve made. No lie!

GOALS:

The RS-01 Chassis is designed to turn the Open RC F1 into a competition RC race car. This car is a 3d printed version of competition RC cars like the Tamiya F104 Pro Ver. 2 and 3Racing FGX F1—cars that cost around $600. 

It features tunable front pushrods, adjustable rear suspension with an anti roll dampener. The front suspension translates the movement through rocker arms that then compress the shocks. The rear suspension moves independently of the main body. It is basically a Live Axle with a Panhard Bar. It not only compresses, but can also move torsionally, so if one wheel hits a rock, only that wheel will move up. 

Modular Design 

I designed this chassis to be modular. You can run 3d printed wheels, or actual plastic wheels from the store—just by changing the axles. Different motor mounts will also be easily swapped in by printing out a different rear chassis which has the correct holes for that particular setup. I did this so that people can choose which type of car that they want to build. If you just want to experience the Open F1 RC car in its full 3d printed form, then you can. Those 3d parts bolt right up! Now you can have a printed 3d printed suspension to help you corner faster and hopefully avoid crashes caused by having no suspension, BUT if you are focused on building the fastest remote control car that you can have, with the most powerful motor and stickiest rubber tires that you can find—cars that can run 80 mph, then this chassis will also work for you. In its race form it is designed to use Tamiya F104 rear motor mounts and rear axle. With these additions, the sky is the limit. Go to the track and show people how fast a 3d printed car can go!

Front Suspension: 

I chose a pushrod double wishbone suspension over a typical Macpherson strut suspension for two reasons: (1) I wanted the shocks to fit within the Formula F1 Body, and (2) believability—a pushrod suspension is the exact type of suspension that real Formula 1 cars use, so it was fitting. 

Rear Suspension: 

Rear suspension needs to move not only laterally, but also torsionally for greater control. The shock is mounted inside the car and attaches to a mount on the rear chassis. The damper controls the roll of the live axle. It will prevent the rear wheels from reacting too fast, so you can adjust the rear of the car for your particular settings and environments. Lower control arms allow the hinging action ,and the upper control arms are nearby with springs attached to keep everything level. You can swap out these damper springs for further adjustment of the car. All these parts work together to create a suspension setup that allows you to adjust the stiffness of the rear suspension by adjusting the shock settings, damper springs and even how strong the damper works through use of particular thicker fluids.

Body:

The body has minimal modifications. The Front, Lid, engine cover and bottom chassis are the only replacement body parts. All other body parts, and files can be found in the original Open RC F1 files. The Front was changed to allow room for the double wishbone suspension, the Lid was changed to allow space for the front shocks. The engine cover had to be modified to allow movement for the rear suspension. With the shocks being exposed you have the benefit of seeing how they work as well as quick access to adjust the shocks settings. 

Servo:

To be a real F1 RC car, you have to use rear and powerful servos. However, with the size restrictions of RC car bodies you need to use a low profile servo. The servo that I am using is a low profile servo from Hitech. 

Hitec RCD 31077S HS-77BB Low Profile BB ServoSpeed
(4.8V/6.0V): 0.18/0.14 sec @ 60 degree
Torque oz./in. (4.8V/6.0V): 61/76, Torque kg./cm. (4.8V/6.0V): 4.4/5.5

It has great specs and even better—a great price. It retails for $25, so it is the perfect servo to use in the Open F1 Rc car because it is powerful, and is designed for use in F1 projects like this. Servo mounts are included.

Battery: 

The battery is mounted lengthwise in the car for better weight distribution by keeping the center mass in the center of the car. The battery cage can fit any battery up to the size of the Turing nano-tech Shorty 4200mah 2S2P Hardcore Lipo Pack (96x46.4x25mm). 

Shocks: 

The RS-01 chassis uses 55mm shocks. Any shocks can work. The front shocks were modified to use longer 110mm shafts with carbon fiber tubes acting as shaft covers. The spring rate is currently 19 lbs/ft, but the great thing is that you can use any 55mm shock and spring rate that you want—it’s all tunable.

Screws and taps:

To keep weight low, I used metric taps to screw the bolts into the plastic. M3-1.0 screw taps, and bolts. 

I’m very proud of this chassis that I designed and built. I will be developing this suspension setup until it reaches all of its design goals. I will also make different body types so you can change your Open F1 RC cars looks. 

Thanks, and I hope you enjoy my project chassis the RS-01.