Proceed manual corrections and suggestions

Proceed Overdrive Ratio Charts

The overdrive ratios currently available at HPI's homepage are accurate, but not complete (they left out the overdrive ratios you would very probably not run). When driving mutiple tanks without checking tires (enduro), you tires can wear so much that you can be way off the chart with your ratio. To be able to determine ratios for al tire diameters, I made new ratio tables, for the 26 and 27 teeth pully. They are seperated for easier reading. The new tables are generated by a Rexx program, and no rounding is done except for the final results. These table should be about as accurate as you can get. Also, the tables are colorized. The yellow cells are ratios you probably would want to drive, the gray cells are way off.

ODR Ratio Charts available at this site:
Rolf's Ratios (26 teeth pully)	These are the complete ratio charts for a proceed configured with a 26 teeth side pully. For easier access and faster loading, the Java applet was removed from this chart. If you liked to play with the Proceed logo, then this Java applet is available here for you.
Rolf's Ratios (27 teeth pully)	These are the complete ratio charts for a proceed configured with a 27 teeth side pully. For easier access and faster loading, the Java applet was removed from this chart. If you liked to play with the Proceed logo, then this Java applet is available here for you.
Rolf's Ratios (26 and 27 teeth pully)	This is a combination chart for both the 26 and the 27 teeth pully. This chart enables you to asses quicker what will happen if you change the pully without changing tyres.
Ratio computer	JavaScript page to let you calculate your own overdrive ratios. It also does more than that. It can calculate any of these variables out of a given setup: Overdrive Ratio (also called rollout ratio) Tire diameter (front or rear) Pully teeth (for all pullies in the car) Top speed in gear 1 and 2 in miles and kilometers per hour (calculated from Top RPM in both gears, pullies and rear wheel diameter) An explanation is included about how this works and ho you can calculate your own ratios. This ratio computer can calculate ODR ratios for any car which has a drive-train setup like the proceed.

Manual Suggestions/Corrections

These suggestions were made while building my proceed. The first corrections and suggestions were posted December 12th, 1999. Although HPI has not yest incorporated any of these suggestions, they did make sime updates of their own to the manual. The most important update regards the clutch setup, so check this out before building the clutch.
Make sure to regularly check HPI's homepage for updates on the proceed (you will have to browse around a little to find them, do not worry, you will like every page of this great site!)

Black: Building instructions correction Blue: Tip Red: Design suggestion
Step 8	Wait with fastening Z721 set screw with threadlock, this can be better done after step 15, when the rear end is attached. This way you can really eliminate play while minimizing friction.
Step 10	HPI, could you replace the 50545a pivot pins for the upper rear arms (and also upper front arms 50544a, for the same reason in step 18) by a C-clip construction like the lower arms, or a nail-shaped pivot pin which can be held in place by a body-holding clip through a hole in the pin. The set screws are easy to over-tighten in plastic, which causes the plastic to loose it's thread.
Step 11 and 22	Part 50110-3 should be mounted in such a way, that the arms on which the steering rods are connected are level with the ground plate. Show which way part 50110-3 is inserted more clearly, to prevent confusion (it is frustrating to take this apart later on). I used teflon spray on the balls (only on the balls, not the thread!). This makes them turn really smooth.
Step 13	Wait with assembling part 50096a (rear body mount) onto your rear uprights. Do this after assembling the rear shocks in step 31.
Step 14	Make sure the stabilizer arm ends are insterted far enough to be equal to the ball ends when fastening the set screw. Maybe a drawing in the manual could show how far the stabilizer has to be inserted in the ball ends? A153 is a long set screw, not a non-threaded pin. This caused confusion as I went looking through the bags for a non-threaded rod.
Step 17	The part designated as 50532-4 should actually be 50532-3.
Step 26	The M4x12 flat head screws Z623 are approx. 1 mm too short to really dig into the Z664 lock nut. I would advise using M4x14 here.
Step 27	To speed up having a basic setup, mention setup measurements here. How far to turn Z726 set screws into the 50090 up/downstop bar?
Step 29	Be sure not to damage the 6818 shock pistons with your cutters, this wull result in un-equal shock behaviour (left/right). Maybe it is a good idea to state in the manual how to properly cut these pistons.
Step 30/31	Show the shock setup measurements (where to place the schock ring 50451a on the shocks). The current pictures in the manual of the shocks with their rings cause confusion.
Step 34	You can attach part 50541 onto the radio plate, but do not assemble the rest of the belt tensioner (parts Z518, 50541c, B024, 50541b). Particularly if you use thread lock, assemble the tensioner after step 36. This will enable to tension your belt correctly without re-applying thread lock.

General notes:

I think it would be helpfull if partnumbers were printed on the parts themselves, this way you don't constantly have to compare parts with the parts reference.
The parts SIZE reference drawings are not exactly to scale, as the title suggests. They are slightly larger. Maybe this could be corrected to avoid confusion and virtually elliminate the need for callipers.
Not all parts are listed in the size reference, this is particularly confusing for lookalike parts. Maybe it is also a great idea to put the material type in the reference. This way you will know if you have to look for a plastic, alluminum or black-steel part.
Although it is obviuos in most cases, it is often not clear as how far to insert a certain screw or pivot into a hole. Luckaly HPI has updated the clutch setup step on it's homepage before I assembled it... thanks for great updates on the HPI site!
The only thing where I think HPI has "come short" is the ammount of C- and E-clips in the kit. If I need, say, 10 E-clips, why do I find exactly 10 E-clips in the kit? I "launched" such a 2mm E clip during building, and it is gone forever (in the carpet, sounds familiar?). Now I have to contact my dealer, which is a 1 hour drive away, for a single E-clip. I am probably going to buy a bag of these because I am bound to loose more during racing etc. But still it does not feel right for a part this cheap which would probably not even affect the (tremendously high) kit price.

Answers to questions:

For a better, larger Frequently-Asked-Questions, check HPI's online proceed FAQ at http://www.hpiracing.com/f-proc.htm. You might also want to go to the HPI Homepage and check out the Proceed Forum for a live discussion regarding the Proceed.

Did you have play in the lower rear-arms?

No. Maybe this is caused by removing "excess plastics". I have seen this happen before on other models. These kits are high quality, and edges on a part are probably intended to be there. Try the part on for size before assembling it, and always measure your parts with callipers.

It is good to trust, but it is better to check!

My screws got mixed up, now what?

This is not a problem. In the manual, all screw sizes are mentioned. If you use callipers to measure every screw and part, you can't go wrong. There are (exactly) enough in the kit.

I am new to this, can I buy a proceed?

Well, yes, you can, if you have the money. But this would probably not be a good investment if you are not into Nitro cars or have never raced lots of electric cars. The proceed is very demanding on geometry setup, eats tires for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and drinks lots of 25% fuel. This is one expensive-to-drive car and top speeds are very high, particularly if you are not used to faster RC cars. It is best to step up from a seriously hopped-up nitro/electro racer.

Screw sizes do not seem to be right, why?

The part designated as 50532-4 should actually be 50532-3.Maybe you are measuring the wrong way. Screw thinkness (The "M" and a number stand for metric thread and it's thinkness in mm, so M4 is Metric, 4mm thick) is measured on the thread. Screw length is another story. Normally you measure screw length on the thread, so a 12mm screw could be 14mm overall size, but has 12mm thread (+2mm head). Countersunk screws are measured including the head, so a 12mm countersunk screw has an overall length of 12mm. Example shown.

Example