We may do another set of holes on our next run of motor mounts to allow this. Not sure when that will be though.

Hi Brian,

There are some locals who use the long shanks in buggies (RC8, Losi) and truggies, (Losi, Mugen). I always ask them how everything is running and inspect their cars every time I see them out there. So far, so good. No noticeable or abnormal wear on the gears and the motors are still smooth and quiet. They are running Losi, Castle, and Neu motors. The one guy with the RC8 races in expert buggy here and has been finishing on the podium the last few races with some SoCal competition. He's about to switch over to the new 3-shoe clutch though. That will be a neat experiment for us to watch. His friend switched and put him at the top of the sportsman buggy A-Main. I mention this because the clutch setups are slightly heavier and sit farther out than the pinions and we haven't seen anything out of the ordinary as far as wear with them either.

All of our conversions can be clutch-free :). We definitely aren't insisting that you use it. We won't be offering a direct to diff style mount though, go with RC-Monster for direct to diff style. The way our motor mount still ensures no flex at the mesh point while fully supporting the motor and providing extra cooling. The long shanks provide the easiest way for people who prefer direct drive to still be able to use mechanical brakes. We are seeing more and more people do this as the mechanical brake debate plays out. Having all of the options available on one platform was our highest priority. We haven't seen any issues with people running the long shanks.

All sounds normal (setup that is). Let's try again. A couple questions.

How hot is your slipper getting?
Can you hear the tranny shifting?
Are the shoes totally covered by the bell or is there some exposed?
Any pics of the Elektri-Clutch installed on the vehicle?
What's your top speed like? Do you feel you're calculated setup meets your actual?

Are you going to send in your old Elektri-Clutch for the new one? If so, include some of your worn shoes so we can take a look at them?

I guess that was a few questions. Hopefully we can fix this up for you. Thanks.

for tekno Rc

-How hot is your slipper getting?
i have seen temps varying from +200 degrees all the way up to 325 degrees on high bite tracks

-Can you hear the tranny shifting?
yes and if it didnt you could easly tell by how slow the truck would be going if it didnt shift

-Are the shoes totally covered by the bell or is there some exposed?
they are covered and the bell is properly shimmed, the shoes have 1 .001 shim behind them so they dont rub the flywheel

-Any pics of the Elektri-Clutch installed on the vehicle?
i can take some when i get home tonite, what exactly do you need to see?

-What's your top speed like? Do you feel you're calculated setup meets your actual?
top speed is 33mph calculated and radar varified (most of the tracks are tight and lose in my area so i dont need alot of speed)

-Are you going to send in your old Elektri-Clutch for the new one? If so, include some of your worn shoes so we can take a look at them?
im only going to send it in if we can fix the problem, other wise im not sure what i will do since im not happy with the long shank pinions. i dont have any ruined shoes at the moment but it wont take me long to ruin afew to send in with it.

One more question, how are the shoes installed?

If the two pins are 3 and 9 o'clock for example, is the 3 o'clock shoe on top or on bottom?

Your slipper seems like it's a little loose, although that shouldn't affect the clutch temp.

i have used them both leading and trailing with no affect on heat, right now my clutch is slipping alot more than the slipper, im only replaceing slipper pads and plates every 12-15 races.

i normaly have them installed leading as per tekno's instructions

the slipper is set to save the diffs and keep the wheels down when going to wot comeing out of a corner.

Just got my 3 shoe adapter.......
 

Forgive the ignorance, but which direction are the shoes to be installed with the new 3 shoe adapter. Do they go on like the 2 shoe set up or the other way. I have a set of Kyosho aluminum shoes I want to try and test fit. Btw, I am using the Tekno V3 kit for the Losi 8B and 8T.

Do you have the manual? Install them just as shown in the manual.

I have the original manual 8T that shows the proper 2 shoe installation. Then it made sense after I realized the way the motor needs to spin in order for vehicle to go forward. So I installed them the same way. Thanks.

On the new 3-shoe clutches the shoes get installed opposite of how they get installed in the 2-shoe ones.

For the 3-shoe, they go trailing. Just like a regular nitro clutch.

Thank you for the answer. When I was into nitro's I used the Fioroni clutch system so I never really had to play with traditional nitro clutch systems.

so same nothing i got from tekno the last time we talked about this problem?

Not much he can do without seeing the car in person. This clutch is working fine for many users and your situation seems isolated to me.

Have you tried to send the clutch in for a FREE replacement to the new version yet? They designed it for people who have trouble setting these things up on their own. The new clutch is foolproof.

You could have a working car in the matter of days if you do send it in.

Good luck!

Wow, i just read this whole thread and lots of good questions and discussion. just wanted to share my 2 cents.

I recently ordered the new 3 shoe clutch system from Tekno and it should be here in the morning. i am very excited to try it as i have 100% confidence in anything coming from Tekno. i will be sure to report back on my experiences with it.

i ran the 2 shoe clutch system on my first conversion without troubles but after experimenting with the longshank pinion i liked it better for some reason and have stuck with it since.

i have never had any troubles with any of my motors or the bearings while using the pinions or clutches. in fact, i tried a center diff mounted setup a while back and had many more problems like heat and having to do mods, that were not there with the chassis mounted identical setup. it wasnt a bad kit but after experimenting my preference was for the Tekno setup.

i also believe firmly that the diff mounted motor actually puts more stress on the motor bearings than the chassis mounted motor. proponents of the diff mounted motor argue that the motor is always moving with the center diff so no matter how the chassis flexes the motor will move in the right direction being bound to the center diff. this may be true but did they ever stop to consider that the center diff mounted motor is held in place by 2 small 3mm screws on one end of a 16oz motor? this means that when you land off jumps or hit large bumps the end of your motor that is not mounted is most likely bouncing up and down very slightly. whether you like to believe this or not this is true. i am willing to bet that if there was a way to test this you would see more flex at the gear mesh and around the shaft of the motor on a diff mounted motor setup than on one of Teknos chassis mounted setups. i will put $100 where my mouth is. there is no way you can argue that a chassis mounted setup has gear mesh flex and not admit that your diff mounted setup does the same, if not much worse. fact is they both have some flex. obviously both setups work but the chassis mounted setup has many more advantages like:

1. reduced heat. the chassis mounted setup acts like a giant heatsink. the motor being directly linked to your alum chassis helps in pulling heat from the motor and keeping things cooler. i have actually proved this by running identical setups in terms of motor, batt, etc and only changed the mounting style. others have seen the same results.

2. the option of running a clutch. this is not preferred by all but many love the effects of a clutch setup and are able to tune their setup accordingly.

3. the option of mechanical brakes. now technically you can have mech. brakes on any setup but i have yet to see a diff mounted conversion that is built to include or support mech. brakes. i was able to make a diff mounted setup work with mech brakes but only after much frustration and lots of modding. Every Tekno kit comes ready to include mech brakes which is a huge plus. for those that dont want to run mech brakes to save weight or for whatever reason can easily opt not to without it affecting the kit whatsoever.

So there is my bit. I will get down off my soapbox now. Bottom line is this; I have tried several kits now and witnessed many others in use at the track and i am convinced Tekno offers the best platform on the market. That is not to say their product is perfect. There is always room for improvement. But mark my words, as 1/8 BL continues to grow in popularity and starts to take over this hobby the best setups and winningest desings will be based on a chassis mounted, mech brake setup, with the option to run a clutch. Whether it comes from Tekno or somewhere else i believe this to be the most technically advanced 1/8 BL setup.