ARC A10 Build and First Drive Impressions

I always start off reading the instruction manual just to get an idea of the build, so I was disappointed with having an online manual. But I'm stuck in the past with this as it's the trend now and does help keep costs down.

So starting the build I always sand the edges of the carbon parts first up. A tip for this is to use a nail file. I always steal my wife's ones....

The spool goes together nice and simple, but pay attention to the direction the pully goes on. Can be a little tricky to see in the manual.

With the rear diff. A tip here is I always sand the backs of all the plastic gears flat with some wet dry 800 grit paper.

Another thing I do is to use some paint on the eccentric hubs to make it super easy to see they are in the same position.

The new bulkheads and motor mount went on next and I really like the finish on the new alloy parts, seems a step up from the R12 series of ARC's.

Next up were the new carbon arms.

Pay attention to how they go together and glue the plastic bits once you have them all installed to make sure they are all correct.
There was zero binding and I always like to use alloy screws to mount them into the chassis to avoid any damage with big hits.
Easier and cheaper to replace a screw than an arm or chassis plate. I used the SIMSpec shock tool to make the installation of the pivot balls super easy and quick.

Mounting up the top A-arms was next, and the new low friction plastic is silky smooth. To make this job of installing turn buckles easier I always add a drop of oil and use the SIMSpec turnbuckle tool.

The shocks are a carry-over item from the later R11 and R12 which is nice for those that have a spare set already.

When building shocks a few general tips I use:

The shock adjustment nut, I always grind a slot into these to make it easier to count turns when setting up the car.

Make sure you always either use shock oil or grease on the o-rings to lessen the chance of damage when installing the shock shaft and to reduce wear. I use Red O-ring Jam by SIMSpec Engineering.

The new A10 comes with the zero play drive hex’s and they are just perfect. No shims are needed at all.

I personally always remove the shields of the bearings and clean out the grease and make sure you have a super thin oil. Only install the outer shields. This frees the drive train up a little. SIMSpec Slick bearing oil is my favourite but I'm biased.

The kit is almost together now. Overall I'm super impressed with the quality of this kit. Having built a few of the new cars on the market I can honestly say the quality is as good, if not better than cars costing $300 to $400 more than it. I am so blown away by this car, the pictures, and the release of the car didn't show or promote just how much this new A10 has changed over from the R12. It's truly a whole new platform.

The only upgrade parts I used to build this new kit were the following:

ARC R112044 18mm Aluminium Bel Cranks

Stainless screws, Ultra flat screws, Horizontal Rear body Mount and steering post brace from SIMSpec Engineering.

I got the kit finished late on Saturday and luckily enough the local club was holding an extra race meeting this month so without testing, I went racing.

On the first run on a dirty track, I was instantly in love with this car. The car was super easy and so freaking smooth to drive and was straight the top in practice times in modified which I’m normally a few tenths off so pretty much on the pace from the first pack.

I qualified P2 with the top 3 cars' hot laps not even .03 splitting them. The final one went well and scored a 2nd. Got driven into a couple of times battling in the second final and in the third final, I was having an epic battle with one of Australia’s fastest mod drivers and SIMSpec driver Sandy Iavazzo until I took too much curb and ended up needing a marshall and finished 4th.

Didn't make any changes throughout the day until after the meeting where I tried some different flex settings and standing up the rear shocks. The car really responded well and could feel each change.

Can't wait to get some practice and to see just how quick you can get this beast of a car going.

Special thanks to ARC and SmokemRC for getting this kit out to me in record time.

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