Story Darth Vader. Pictures by Darth Vader & Web Droid
Recently, pan cars have come back in a big way. The simplicity of 1/12th scale cars was always a positive. With new battery technology, 1/12 racing is now easier than ever! 1 cell lipo pack technology allows the user to leave the same battery in their vehicle for the duration of the race day. Team Associated has been one of the leaders in pan car technology. The new RC12L5.1 marks AE’s voyage into a full purpose 1 cell based model. The car is updated from the previously released 4-cell NiMh purposed RC12L5. Recently, I was lucky enough to review the new kit. Here are my thoughts on my build & test experience.
The Team Associated 12L5.1 comes in a compact box.
Upon opening, you will find the major components contained in just two bags. As with all 1/12 cars, the 12LW5.1 does not include body, tires, motor, speed control, servo, received, & pinion. These are required for completion. One interesting observation were the fasteners. Most were metric thread. This is a major departure from previous standard thread 12L designs.
For power, I was sent the Reedy 4600mh 40C 3.7 Volt 1 cell lipo pack. The unit is specifically designed by Reedy for the 12LW5.1. The pack is great and can be used in all 1/12 vehicles. 
For the most part, the car was built exactly to the manual. There are a few build tips that can improve the handling and durability of your Team Associated 12L5.1.
Beginning with the chassis, I sanded all of the sharp edges with a electric sanding tool. This prepares the chassis for the next step.
Using a bottle of CA glue, I carefully ran a very small amount of glue over all chassis edges. 
Using a cotton stick, I dissolved the glue into the edges of the chassis and allowed to dry. This process strengthens the chassis for possible splitting during a hard crash. 
A good diff is key to any 1/12 car. Using 2000 girt sandpaper, I carefully sanded both diff rings on both sides. The process helps the diff rings ride flatter on the diff ball/spur gear assembly. If you need lessons on how to build a good diff, check the article we published recently. 
The 12L5.1 features a active strut front end. This allows for camber and caster changes. Its very easy to add and remove clips to adjust the caster sweep.
Its important to maintain a ride height of at least 2.5 to 3mm. The front ride height is adjusted by different spacers as shown.The rear ride height is adjusted with axle offset spacers. The size of your foam tires will effect the adjustments you make. This is pretty standard on all 1/12 cars.
The 12LW5.1 comes standard with a fully adjustable ball differential. As with the front end, ride height is a required adjustment. This is changed with different axle height inserts. These are available from Team Associated as well as many others.
Previous versions of the 12L featured a T-Bar type rear suspension. The 12L5.1 comes standard with a pivot ball link suspension. This setup is especially useful in bumpy carpet racing applications. One damper controls the left to right movement. The other controls forward dampening. Both shocks are fully adjustable with different types of oil. The forward dampener also allows for spring changes. Both shocks are super smooth.
The link suspension is also adjustable with different side springs. The blue spring comes standard with the 12L5.1. These springs are supported with a carbon fiber upper piece and set screw. Car tweak can be adjusted with these screws. Between this adjustment and the left/right damper, equal dampening is achieved.
The pivot link suspension is only supported by two separate carbon fiber pieces. This is a departure from the previous 12L5’s fiberglass t-bar. 
The car comes standard with a 4 cell or 1 cell lipo style chassis. Either way, the battery is held in with strapping tape. 1 cell lipo pack can be shifted forward or backwards for different weight balance. The standard setting is forward as shown below.
For power, Tekin graciously supplied me with a 17.5 Turn Redline motor. The new 12L5.1’s rear pod design allows for easy removal of all brushless motors. 
The Tekin RS Pro speed control was also supplied. Using this speed control, I was able to control all of the speed control characteristics using the hotwire system and software. This also allows for turbo adjustments to the motor timing. I found the .3 sec delay to work best on smaller carpet tracks. Some tracks may require a .5 delay. As with most 1/12 vehicles, space is always tight. The RS pro is very compact. 
As with most 1/12 cars, wiring is super important. Extra wire can impede suspension movement. The Reedy lipo requires use of a 3.5mm connector (available separately). This was used along with 16 gauge wire for flexibility. I ran all of my motor wires down the center.
Most speed controllers require voltage higher than the 3.7 V supplied by 1 Cell packs. For this reason, a boost unit or receiver pack is necessary. In this case, I used a Novak booster. The Tekin Hotwire software has a space to specify voltage as well. This is important.
The Team Associated 12LW5.1 comes standard with Factory Team blue titanium turnbuckles and servo saver as shown. The servo is offset in such a manner to allow equidistant tie rods. This is important for equal steering throw. The chassis is designed specifically for the AMB transponder. The AE design team left a perfect place in the front chassis area. The unit rests behind the super small but effective standard foam bumper. The 12L5.1 will work with other transponders as well.
For tires, I was supplied by RPP Hobby with CRC Procut black front and grey rears. Using a tire truer, I turned them down to 45 mm in the rear and 43mm front. 3mm of ride height was adjusted using the washers and rear axle offset spacers as mentioned previously.
RPP Hobby also supplied me with a Protoform Speed 12 body. Blake Cannon of 707 Paint.net hooked up a nice paint scheme for the new ride!
For my test, I ran the 12Lw5.1 on the carpet track at Nor Cal Hobbies of Union City, California. Initially, I discovered my front suspension wasn’t grabbing enough. I remedied this by spreading Team Associated diff lube on the front king pins. This smoothed out the front suspension action a bit. 
Its also very important to have smooth pivot balls. This goes for the entire car. You can free them up a bit with oil. Its best to use a bearing or bushing oil. Use oil in very small increments. This change helped alot.
My second run felt much better. I could still felt a small cornering problem. It seemed that the rear end was rolling too much. It would tend to not “finish the turn”. I changed the left/right dampener from the standard 20 weight Team Associated oil to 30 weight. This helped slow things down alot…..therefore allowing much more mid corner stability. After this I was dialed!
Overall pros for the 12LW5.1 has to be it’s ease and simplicity. The basic rolling chassis was snap to build. I was done in around 1 1/2 to 2 hours. The new motor mount is really nice….as it allows for easy motor removal. However, I am not sure this is as necessary as in the past. Most racers will run the same motor all day long. The 1 cell lipo pack innovations are a huge plus as well. No more removing 4 cell packs after each run. Now you can charge the same pack all day.
Overall cons for the 12Lw5.1 are the plastic shock caps. These are made with a thin thread pitch. Be careful when building these. Make sure you lube the shock cap before threading into the shock body. Not doing so can result in a stripped shock cap. Besides this, I found no other issues.
Special thanks to Team Associated, RPP Hobbies, 707 Paint.net, & Tekin . Without these sponsors R/C Evil Empire wouldn’t be possible.
