Mugen MBX8 Toe block meassurements

It’s been a while, but I’m racing again since June 2019 after a 4.5 year break and I will try to post something on this blog from time to time.

Mugen came out with the optional +2mm and +4mm toe block this summer for the MBX8 vehicles. I was wondering how they would affect handling of the car and how much toe in they offer. So I ordered both blocks and started measuring.

I installed all the blocks in my car with the middle insert for the rear toe block. I then put the car in my Hudy setup bench and try to figure out the toe in. The Hudy bench isn’t super accurate to see 0,25° increments, but I measured multiple times and took the average value. For example, with the stock block I measured 2.5°, 3.0° and 2.75°, so I took 2.75° as the average value which should be correct.

I have also measured the wheelbase, because when you take away toe-in, the wheelbase gets longer and you should compensate by moving the rear hubs forward to achieve the same weight balance and axle plunge.

I haven’t driven with the +2mm and +4mm blocks yet, but that’s on my list when the weather gets better. I’ll report back when I have tested them.
Beware that they probably won’t be useful on low to med grip tracks since they take away rear grip. But the car should be smoother on turn in and have more corner speed on high grip tracks. At least that’s the theory.
I know that Adam Drake and Ryan Maifield used the +2mm block in their buggies at the ROAR nats which was high grip. And Shin Adachi uses +4mm block from time to time on high grip tracks.
And if you own a truggy, these probably are certainly worth a try. I have driven an MBX8T one time and it could definitely use more steering.

Here is the table with the measurements. In case you have any questions about this, leave a comment and I’ll do my best to reply asap.

Measurements made with middle insert in rear toe block
Front toe block	Toe in	Wheelbase	Wheelbase difference
0mm (stock)	2.75°	321mm	0mm (base)
2mm	1.75°	323mm	+2mm
4mm	0.75°	325mm	+4mm

Smoother Mugen shocks (Losi mod)

Hi guys,

The Mugen shocks are great with the standard parts, but you can get them smoother with a simple mod.

Here are the parts that are needed for the mod:

• TLR5074 – Team Losi Racing Low Friction Shock Shaft O-Rings (8)
• JQP-R-0010 – JQ Products 3.5x7x1.5mm Shock Bushing (8)
• 5 x 7 x 0.1mm or 5 x 7 x 0.2mm shims (optional)

What you basically do is change out the Mugen O-rings with the Losi low friction ones and the middle Mugen spacer with the 1.5mm JQ spacer.

This is what it will look from top to bottom:

• Losi low friction o-ring
• JQ 1.5mm spacer
• Losi low friction o-ring
• Stock Mugen spacer (the flanged one)

The Losi o-rings aren’t always 100% leak free.But it’s easy to solve that. First you could try to submerge the o-rings for a few days (3-5 days) in shock oil so they swell up. If they still leak,  you can fit 1 or more 5 x 7 x 0.1mm shims over the flanged Mugen spacer to squeeze the o-rings a little more.
It’s important that you don’t use any bigger shims, because the o-rings won’t get squeezed if the shim is bigger than the plastic spacer. (thicker shims are allowed, but none that are bigger in diameter)
Now turn the bottom cap down, fill them and enjoy your leak free super smooth Mugen shocks 😉

Here are a few pictures of what you need to get rid of the leaking if it occurs. Try to use as little shims as possible, because more shims add more resistance. Just enough until they stop leaking.

5x7x0.1mm shims

Top view

Side view

Racereport: Buggycup race 1 @ Raco 2000 (Utrecht)

I’m back from Utrecht and I had a great time over there with my mates and my Mugen!

Too keep it short: The track was very bumpy and I saw a lot of racers (including myself) struggling with finding a good setup that suits the bumpy astroturf track. On Saturday afternoon, my car was going quite well to be honest after a few setup changes. My setup was far off from what I usually run on astroturf tracks. But my car was going well with the Tourex X300 tires. They were very forgiving, but they gave my just enough grip to go fast.

Unfortunately, it was raining on Sunday morning, although the weather forecast looked good. I decided to make a few setup changes and I choose the AKA supersoft tires for the first qualification. Luckily, it stopped raining just before drivers briefing. In the first round of the qualifications, my car was extremely good in the damp conditions. I took the 8th spot at the end of round 1. In the second qualification, the track started to dry so I switch to the soft compound Cross Braces and a ticker front swaybar. Unfortunately, that combo wasn’t really working for me. The track was too dry and my car was extremely nervous in every corner and under breaking. Even the jumps were difficult to land. I drove worse then in Q1, while the track conditions were better. I switched to the Tourex X300 syntrack tires for Q3 and my car was dialed! I qualified as 9th at the end of the qualifications so I could start on P5 in the semi A final.

My car was very good in the final after 1 more change, but I overdrive the car a little and made too many mistakes. I finished 6th, but only the first 5 guys of each semi were driving the main final. But that’s not too bad knowing that I just started my second year of racing. I ended up as 11th overall and as 2nd in the hobbyclass. I’m very happy that my car worked so well on the bumpy track.

Here’s the setup that I used in the semi final:  Setup buggycup Raco 2000 15/04/12 mbx6r

First race of 2012: NLD-BE-DE 17-18 March @ MVW Purmerend

It’s the first 1/8 buggy race of the year tomorrow. The weather forecast looks good at the moment, 10°C and no rain. Lets hope it stays that way.

If you’re intressested in the event, here’s some more information about it:

• Live cam
• Driverlist, timeschedule, rankings
• Weather forecast
• Weather radar

A race report will follow after the weekend!

Mugen MBX6R US version: teaser

I found a teaser on NeoBuggy.net that mentions that there will be a US MBX6R version available in the future. Other than that,  there aren’t any details available yet.

Source: neobuggy.net

GP Montpellier: Battle’s setup

This is Battle’s winning setup from last weekend in France!

Download

Mugen MBX6R EU Spec (Nurnberg 2012)

Mugen announced the EU spec version of the MBX6R at the Toy Fair in Nurnberg.

The MBX6R EU Spec should feature the following options:

• A +5mm chassis, which is 2mm extended in the back and 3mm in the front. Which means more mass in the rear compared to the old +5mm chassis.
• Overdrive gears in both gear boxes (42/12)
• A new rear shocktower. Probably with more upper link locations.
• A new rear wing

There’s probably more to add, but this is what I gathered from the interwebz.

Here’s a video that I found on youtube from the Toy Fair in Nurnberg:

This is Battle’s machine! The chassis on the right is the new +5mm chassis (if you have good eyes, you can EU-SPEC on the chassis). The driveshaft is probably a 3mm extended shaft to compensate with the longer front end.

Credits to Mugen Seiki and RCSpecial.com for the pictures!

New pistons for the MBX6 series: 5x 1.35mm tapered

Mugen Seiki has released a new set of pistons. The size of the holes are the same size as on the normal white pistons, but the new pistons have tapered holes. This means that they should give a faster rebound while maintaining the same damping characteristics.

Two new springs for the Mugen mbx6 series

Mugen Seiki has released 2 softer springs for the mbx6, mbx6eco, mbx6R and the mbx6T. I think these spring will perform very good in very low traction conditions. Can’t wait to try them out on damp astroturf!

E0581 – Front Damper Spring 1.5/8.5T: MBX6, 6R, 6T
E0582 – Rear Damper Spring 1.5/8.75T: MBX6, 6R, 6T

Rumor: Mugen MBX6R EU spec available in February

There are some rumors floating around saying that MSE will release a MBX6R EU edition in February. The EU spec will feature a +3mm chassis instead of the +5mm chassis, a new rear shocktower, new gears and different internal gear ratios.

I really doubt if this rumor is true, but I guess time will tell.