Poor straight line steering control

[Lmackattack]

One thing that my tamiya trucks suffer from is poor steering control. Mainly high speed straight line they tend to drift badly left or right... Has anyone been able to correct this with aftermarket servo arms,metal ball links,aluminum spindles etc....

I had a bad wreck last night when I looked away for a moment and it drifted into a curb.

[doodlebug]

Do you have any positive caster on your steer axle? Look at the pictures in the link for an explanation. https://www.google.com/search?q=caster+on+wheel+alignment&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=-G0_UuL6FsmiyAH70ICwAQ&ved=0CF8QsAQ&biw=1024&bih=612&dpr=1#imgdii=_
Cheer's, Neil.

[Tamiya Cowboy]

I dont have any issues with that on any of my trucks..Like Neil said you need + camber or toes in some plus I run traxxas ball ends and not any of the snap ball ends that come in the kit but I dont think that matters much I just like it but one thing that does make a huge difference is... I run a Hiteck 645 servo on both steering and shifting and I do not use the stock servo horns I used the round black horns that come with the 645 servos..

[IDontKnow]

One of the first things I do when building is:
Use a high power metal geared servo
Lose the servo saver
Change both the front axle and knuckles to aftermarket item
This one http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Tamiya-1-14-RC-Tractor-Truck-Alloy-Black-Front-Wheel-Axle-w-Knuckle-Arms-Set-NIP/181155862756?rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.m1851&_trkparms=aid%3D222002%26algo%3DSIC.FIT%26ao%3D1%2 6asc%3D261%26meid%3D1476196110784564823%26pid%3D10 0005%26prg%3D1088%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D5%26sd%3D171119 127941%26 appears to be well made and does not suffer with the massive amount of slop the Tamiya system has.
I do not use any ball joints rather use propper M3 tie rod ends.
These are what I have used: http://store.rc4wd.com/M3-Medium-Straight-Plastic-Rod-Ends-w-Axial-Width-Balls-20x_p_3234.html
The last item is the servo horn, I either use an aluminium one or a good solid plastic one (the ones that come with the Tower Pro servos are fine).
Can be a pain to align the steering, but once done all steering issues are resolved. Very precise and quick to react. I have it in my racing truck and believe me at the speeds this thing gets to you want quick response and no slop in the steering.
If I get a chance will take a couple of pictures if that will help.

[Lmackattack]

Thanks for the tips....I put an order in to rc4wd tonight. Will try those rod ends and metal servo arm... I did not find a source for a new axel so I picked up some metal knuckles.

Hopefully it helps hold things steady... 2 of my trucks are fairly slow but my 3rd one is fairly quick and will bounce left and right at high speed.

[cosworth34677]

this is very timely. i've had this problem for a while. i don't go into 3rd alot because where i drive not much room and need the lower gears. but i can't track straight to save my life with this truck. tamiya scania 6x4

[Lmackattack]

One thing I found the other day when installing new rod ends and metal servo arm were that the metal spindel ( part that holds the wheel locking nut.) that incerts into the plastic steering knuckle have lots of slop. I put some loc tite on them to better hold it tightly in the knuckle housing. I also removed some slop Buy installing a shim where at the top of the plastic knuckle where the steering pin holds the knuckle to the axel. Not a lot of slop there but it sure tightened it up so I have 0 slop there yet it has little to no friction in the steering. Seams the only place I have slop now is in the spring hanger but not sure I will be able to fix that....

[Sentinel]

I had the same thing with my Scania when I built that, with it all built per instructions it wandered all over the place as soon as I hit a bump. I ended up moving the servo for a direct linkage and moved the steering rod behind the axle for better ackerman. Reduced slop a heap and gave me heaps better steering angle.