Sniper Adjusters

Chris Parks · Posted: Sun Sep 23, 2012 10:08 pm Post subject: Sniper Adjusters

As the person who invented the original version of what is now the Sniper adjuster I am interested in how they are going. I was told today that there are breakage problems in Australia, is this the case in the US? BTW my version does not resemble the version that went to market.
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understeer happens on road courses and usually is pronounced with a British accent. Push happens on ovals and usually is pronounced through a wad of chew. Other than that, I don't think there's a difference - Jim Derrig

Chris

josh dorn · Joined: 27 Oct 2009 Posts: 42 Location: Australia, Alabama,

hi chris

i bought them when they first came out in aus, put them on my arrow x1, one of them cracked where the counter sunk bolt goes through into the c section. other than that they worked as advertised.

they didnt bother trying to explain how to install them or what tools were needed or how much actual time it takes to do it.
as far as i can see in karting around brisbane, there arnt that many adjusters on karts.

the main problem is they dont fit on any karts except arrow and crg. and even then its still custom work which most people couldnt do, they wont work on an intrepid or tony kart - 2 of the most popular chassis in australia right now.

at one point sniper products were cheaper to buy from the usa and ship them to aus instead of buying them in aus ! support your local companys ?

josh

Chris McGinley · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 7:56 am Post subject:

I haven't tried them for the reasons Josh mentions (not compatible with my chassis) ... but, I have seen a few on friends' karts and they all had cracks by the set screw.
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Jimmy McNeil · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 8:55 am Post subject:

Jim McMahon · Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 9:02 am Post subject:

I thought they were coming as standard with CRG and DR these days. Maybe they can help?
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Ken Schilling · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 1347

I retrofitted a set onto my previous chassis (GP-9) which took having to drill & tap for the two screw holes for the top plate which was no big deal if you take your time and line up the top plates correctly.

My current chassis (GP-10) came pre-drilled & tapped for the Sniper system.

Overall, I like the system very much as it separates camber/caster adjustments and makes them very quick & easy.

A couple of suggestions to improve the product:
- The wall thickness at the flat head screws on the top plate is VERY thin and I've seen a number of cracked top plates at these points. I believe that some of this can be attributed to over tightening of the screws. I believe a larger wall thickness would help minimize and/or solve this issue.
- I've also seen cracking of the top plate at the camber set screws. I believe that some of this can be attributed to over tightening of the set screws. I believe a larger radius where the set screw "boss" meets the serrated portion of the top plate would help minimize and/or solve this issue.

The top plate seems to be made out of powdered metal which is pressed into a mold/die under high pressure then sintered. After this, the camber set screw holes need to be drilled & tapped and the mounting holes drilled & countersunk. This is a very cost effective method for manufacturing certain types of parts but it is susceptible to cracking under load/stress. I feel strongly that if a new mold/die were made with the two suggestions above it would minimize and/or solve these issues.
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Tim Koyen · Advertiser Joined: 26 Nov 2002 Posts: 1557

I bought 2 brand new sets and attempted to install them on my kart. I soon realized that I don't know how to make them fit AND they won't give me any additional caster over what I already have using the stock eccentrics (and in fact gave less). The independent adjustment wasn't worth it.
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Rich Hays · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 10:34 am Post subject:

I installed the snipers on a 2011 and 2012 OTK chassis with little problem.
The same issues for me as others, the plates cracked at the countersunk mounting locations. They cracked even when a fastener wasn't used in the hole! This leads me to think that the pressure alone of tightening the 10mm kingpin bolt is enought to spread the plate apart. Although probably not cost effective, if the plates could be machined from billet steel instead of manufactured from sintered metal, they would be much more durable.

-rh

Chris Reinhardt · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:03 pm Post subject:

What it sounds like to me is the where the adapters are being mounted is not flat!!! If the Snipers are orientated in such a manor that the top of the "C" has a radius to it, when you tighten the whole mother up, it will crack at the weakest point, where the counter sinks are... Also, it's not a good idea to clamp something on top of a painted service, the paint will crush down, and most likely, not evenly, the larger the surface, the worse the problem.

Those "C" are stamped out, so they most likely not very flat. The adapters I built from solid cold rolled round bar, are machined in a lathe flat, so they are less likely to crack....

Jimmy, try and draw a file over the top of the "C" and see if you can make it more flat...

CR
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Jimmy McNeil · Posted: Wed Sep 26, 2012 4:55 pm Post subject:

Ill give that a try Chris.

It could be a number of things IMO. Like Ken said, the wall thickness around the flat head screws is very thin. The screws have a tapered head that when tightened push the two sides apart.

Also the bottom of the sniper adjuster that sits into the chassis is to small. When I set the sniper adjuster on the "C" it has some play, the holes in the chassis are to large. If the adjuster fit into the chassis snug, it would hold it together and mite prevent the cracking issue.

On one of my chassis, after installing the sniper pills, I flipped the chassis over and put a small tack weld on each side of the pill. This prevented the pills from cracking because they had no room to push apart.

Chris Parks · Posted: Fri Sep 28, 2012 10:44 am Post subject:

Thanks for the replies, very interesting indeed. I have a few other ideas to put into production but I will do it myself next time.
_________________
understeer happens on road courses and usually is pronounced with a British accent. Push happens on ovals and usually is pronounced through a wad of chew. Other than that, I don't think there's a difference - Jim Derrig

Chris

Ray Lovestead · Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 1:33 pm Post subject:

A little positive input..

I have used them this summer and have had no cracks. In fact, I was in a huge wreck there I bent both king pins (bent enough to warrant a large hammer to remove them.. ouch) and no problems with the Sniper.

I like 'em, a lot so far (crossing fingers).

Ray
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Chris Parks · Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 1:21 am Post subject:

I think it is more long term use rather than one big off that is causing the issue. The concept is great and I always wanted them to be used as a way to simplify setting up the kart thus making it simple enough for everyone to understand the front geometry. On the original version which never went into production once the wheel alignment is set then the alignment at the track can be adjusted without an aligner to suit the specifics of the day and you won't lose track of where it is set and where you have moved thing to.
_________________
understeer happens on road courses and usually is pronounced with a British accent. Push happens on ovals and usually is pronounced through a wad of chew. Other than that, I don't think there's a difference - Jim Derrig

Chris