1/10 Scale Nitro Rally/Touring Car:

Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 (Radio Controlled Model Review)

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History, Info (and How To Set-up Tips) for the Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2:

Released by Kyosho in 2002, the 4WD PureTen Alpha 2 GP ReadySet Series, are shaft driven, with an alloy plate chassis, gear differentials, coil spring over friction dampers, dogbone drive-shafts and ring type bearings.

Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 Chassis - 1:10 Nitro Touring Car

Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 Chassis - 1:10 Nitro Touring Car

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To race the Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2, it requires time and patience, to tune and adjust for improvements in handling and steering ability and to get the grip you need to stay on course when manoeuvring around tight, slippery corners. A little can be a lot when it comes to changing your cars settings and our easy methodical directions will guide you to the best Set-up to help you win and keep you winning.

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Radio Controlled Model Accessories:

Items For Sale:

★ Kyosho PureTen Alpha 2 ★

Buying a Used Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2
Touring Car (and What to look for)

Buying a used Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 Nitro Touring Car, or any used RC Model, has a number of advantages. It is generally cheaper than new, ready built and may come with a variety of expensive hop-ups already installed. Cheap, pre-loved bargains are always becoming available. However, depending on the age of your purchase, it may need a little tender loving care before you can take it out on the road.

The one thing you will always need is an instruction manual. If not supplied with your purchase, they can often be downloaded from the Kyosho website, or purchased separately on eBay. With an instruction manual, any problems with your model Touring Car you may discover can easily be fixed.

Dampers

   When you receive your used Kyosho Touring Car, make a general visual inspection of the chassis, front and rear wishbones, suspension shock towers etc, for any broken parts that may need to be replaced. Then, take a screwdriver and box spanner and check each self tapping screw and nut for security, taking care not to over tighten.

   Next, for those Kyosho models with oil filled shock absorbers, remove them from the chassis and dismantle the coil springs. The damper shafts should push in and pull out with a smooth action. If you feel a jolt as you change direction, this means the oil has leaked out and must be topped up. At the same time, change the O-Ring seals to prevent more leakage. Also check the damper shafts for damage. If they are scratched, change them as soon as possible.

   If the body shell of your Kyosho GP Alpha 2 is broken, ripped or damaged in any way, this can be easily repaired with rubber solution glue. Also, for added protection and if available for your GP Alpha 2 model, fit an under guard to stop dirt and gravel entering the chassis.

Titanium Turnbuckles

   Examine the drive shafts for wear and replace as required. If possible, change them for titanium. The steel shafts wear and bend too easily.

   If you intend to race your GP Alpha 2 Touring Car model at a competitive level, I would also recommend you obtain and fit titanium pivot shafts, turnbuckles, tie rods and steering rods.

   The gearbox of your used Touring Car should be opened up to check for gear wear and lubrication. A thin coat of grease is often used on internal gears and although this is fine for basic running around on the road, if you intend to race your Touring Car at a higher level, this should be removed and replaced with racing oil (ZX1 or Teflon Oil). Of course, this should be reapplied after each race meeting.

Gears are a weakness on all Touring Car RC models. Head on collisions can easily damage the gear teeth on nylon and plastic spur gears. Heavy impacts can also loosen the nuts or self tapping screws that hold the Nitro Engine in Position, allowing the pinion gear to pull out of mesh slightly and rip the tops off the teeth on your spur gear. To minimise this possibility, fit bolts with locking nuts to the Nitro Engine mount and remember to check them for security after every two or three runs.

Ball joints always cause problems. For top level Nitro Touring Car racing, the plastic ball connectors should be checked and if deemed necessary changed after every meeting. A simple thing like a loose fitting connector popping off could easily end your race, so better safe than sorry.

Servo Gears

The GP Alpha 2 steering servo is also prone to damage. In high speed crash situations, the fragile gear teeth of the servo can be broken off, rendering your expensive servo useless, so be sure to obtain a good quality "Servo Saver". Check out my Servo Information article.

If body roll on your Kyosho GP Alpha 2 is a problem, handling can be improved with the use of stabilizers, anti roll or sway bars, stiffer tuning springs and, or, thicker silicone oil in the dampers.

If your used Kyosho Touring Car comes with plastic and sintered brass bushings (ring type bearings), check the shafts that run in them for wear. Dust and grit can get into these bearings and abrade the shafts. Therefore, you should replace them all with shielded ball bearings. If the model has been run with ring type bearings, you may have to change all the axles and driveshafts. For more information, take a look at my article, How to get the best from your Bearings.

Finally, good luck with your GP Alpha 2 model and good racing.

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Manufacturers and Brands Catalogued and Listed by RC-Scrapyard.

At present, the RC Model Manufacturers, Brands and Distributors covered by us are: ABC Hobby, Academy, Acme Racing, Agama Racing, Amewi, Ansmann Racing, ARRMA, Team Associated, Atomic RC, Axial, AYK, Bolink, BSD Racing, Capricorn, Carisma, Carson, Caster Racing, Cen, Corally, Custom Works, Durango, Duratrax, ECX - Electrix, Exceed RC, FG Modellsport, FS-Racing, FTX, Fujimi, Gmade, GS-Racing, Harm, HBX, Helion, Heng Long, Himoto Racing, Hirobo, Hitari, Hobao, Hong-Nor, Hot Bodies, HPI, HSP, Intech, Integy, Jamara, JQ Products, Kawada, Kyosho, Losi, LRP, Maisto, Mardave, Marui, Maverick, MCD Racing, Megatech, Mugen, New Bright, Nichimo, Nikko, Nkok, Ofna, Pro-Pulse, Protech, PTI, RC4WD, Redcat Racing, RJ-Speed, Robitronic, Schumacher, Seben, Serpent, Smartech, Sportwerks, Step-Up, Tamiya, Team-C Racing, Team Magic, Thunder Tiger, Tomy, Top Racing, Traxxas, Trinity, Tyco, Vaterra RC, Venom, VRX Racing, WLToys, X-Factory, Xmods, Xpress, Xray, XTM, Yankee RC, Yokomo, ZD Racing and Zipzaps.

This is an ongoing project, with new and "lost in time" RC Model Brands being added as they are found and although most of those listed above have been covered in relative detail, some are still being researched and will be completed in the near future.

RC Information and Advice:

Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 Kyosho Pure Ten Alpha

Hints and Tips

Camber

   Camber is described as the angle of the wheel as you look at it directly from the front or rear of your car and if set correctly will improve your cars cornering ability considerably, by providing increased traction. This simple to make adjustment is considered by many to be one of the most effective changes you can make to your car for better handling.

   Positive Camber is when the top of the wheel is angled outwards. Negative Camber has the top of the wheel angled inwards.

   First of all, get yourself a good camber gauge. All adjustments to your cars camber setting should be made with the car in race mode that means the motor, battery etc in position in the chassis.

   To check the angle of an On Road car, it must have the ride height already set to around 5mm. Place the car on a perfectly flat surface, position your camber gauge against the side of the wheel you are checking and take the camber angle, normally this is between -1 and -3 degrees negative. Next, put a small 1mm thick piece of card under that corner of the car and push the corner down until it touches the card. In this position, check the angle again. It should be between 0 and -0.5 degrees negative camber. If not, pick up the car and put it back down on the flat surface, check and make adjustments, using the turnbuckle, that you consider are needed to achieve your goal. Keep checking and adjusting and repeat for all four corners. What you are aiming for is an angle that will provide your car with the maximum amount of rubber on the track on high speed corners.

   Off Road cars can be adjusted in a similar manner to that described previously, with the ride height set at around 20mm, but in place of the card, use a small booklet or something around 5mm thick. The optimal camber setting is a little more difficult to find for off road cars and depends generally of the track surface you are racing on. Slippery tracks generally require less camber because of reduced suspension movement when cornering, whereas high grip tracks require more camber to compensate for inertial induced body-roll. Depending on the particular model, this setting can be anything between -1 and -5 degrees … sometimes more. Check your model manual for details.

   Be aware that for all model types, too much negative camber can reduce straight line traction, but with a good setting for any particular track, the advantage it gives, that of vastly improved cornering stability, far outweigh any negative effects.

   For beginners, this setting is by far the easiest to experiment with. Just take the car out on the back yard and with a few simple turns of a turnbuckle you will soon learn just what difference a small change in your cars setup can do to change its handling ability. Good luck and good racing.

For More Setup Information check out my Hints and Tips page.

Hints and Tips

Bumpsteer

   In plain language, Bumpsteer is exactly what it sounds like. If your car goes over a bump, it will affect the toe-in setting and can on some tracks make handling of the car in a straight line difficult.

   To check if your car might have any problems with bumpsteer, have it in race mode, with the motor and battery etc in position. Place the car on a flat surface and push down your car at the front. Looking down from above, keep a close eye on the wheels and watch for any angular movement to the side. If there is then you have bumpsteer.

   For off road cars, because of them having longer dampers in comparison to on road, a small amount of toe out is considered by many as acceptable in the lower position and can sometimes be used as a tuning option because of its aggressive effect on turning ability when entering corners. On road cars, because of the shorter damper movement and the greater need for precise steering and stability in a straight line, generally have less of a problem. However if bumpsteer is detected, drivers generally try to eliminate this as much as possible.

   The standard settings for most kits from all manufacturers are adjusted to reduce bumpsteer as much as they can and it is only when you come to make changes to those settings yourself, to suit your personal driving style that bumpsteer can become a problem.

   Any changes you might make to the steering links or the caster could induce some bumpsteer, so you should check for it each time you make any adjustments in these areas.

   To adjust bumpsteer try adding or removing washers under each steering link outer ball stud. More washers will increase and fewer washers reduce bumpsteer.

   Steering geometry can be tricky to setup for those new to the sport and even some more experienced racers can struggle with this problem. So, unless you are having major problems with your cars handling, try to avoid making any radical changes and if you do, remember to only make one change at a time and make a note of it for future reference, incase you need to remove it.

For More Setup Information check out my Hints and Tips page.

On/Off Road
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Archived Model LISTS:

1/10 Scale Nitro Rally/Touring Car:

Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 (Radio Controlled Model Review)

History, Info (and How To Set-up Tips) for the Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2:

Radio Controlled Model Accessories:

★ Kyosho PureTen Alpha 2 ★

Buying a Used Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2 Touring Car (and What to look for)

Manufacturers and Brands Catalogued and Listed by RC-Scrapyard.

RC Information and Advice:

Hints and Tips

Camber

Hints and Tips

Bumpsteer

Buying a Used Kyosho PureTen GP Alpha 2
Touring Car (and What to look for)