KSG G3 User manual

© 2008 KSG Motorsports
KSG Motorsports 319 1/2 Samlola Rd. Blountville, TN 37617
(423)-323-3494 www.ksgmotorsports.com
NATIONAL CHAMPIONS

We are very pleased that you decided to purchase the G3. The G3 is the third generation of
the very race proven XCS. This car has been track tested and revised many times to give you the
best product possible. During this testing the car has won the Snowbirds and ROAR Nationals. The
G3 has the unique ability to adjust the t-plate height. The chassis has slots to adjust the front wheel
base, slotted front bumper, and slotted rear body post mounts. All components are precision CNC
machined from only the best quality materials making the G3 the highest quality car you have ever
purchased.
The following instructions guide you through assembling this kit. There are several options
that can be changed on this car. These options are shown on page 9 of this manual. To have the
best performing car possible please take your time in assembling the kit. Make sure that your
front-end and all moving components move freely. Initial assembly makes all the difference in how
well your car will perform. Taking extra care during assembly will be worth it when you show up at
the track.
Tools needed to assemble your car:
∗ #2 Phillips Screwdriver
∗ .050, 1/16, 5/64, 3/32 Allen Wrenches
∗ 3/16, 1/4, 11/32 Nut Drivers
∗ Pliers
∗ Hobby Knife
Items needed to complete you car kit:
∗ Shock Oil
∗ Diff Lube
∗ Two Channel Surface Radio
∗ Servo
∗ Electronic Speed Control
∗ Batteries
∗ 05 Electric Motor
∗ Tires
∗ Body
∗ Wing
2

Your G3 is manufactured from woven carbon fiber sheet and cut out on a CNC milling machine to
hold close tolerances. Remove the chassis and graphite components and wet sand the edges to
remove any sharp burrs from the machining process. The battery tray edges should be filed to
provide a smooth angled edge for the batteries and tape to sit against.
Your car kit comes with an Associated strut style front end.
Follow the instructions included in the front end for assembly.
We have included a set of the all new KSG aluminum
adjustable caster blocks (KSG-1651) (Bag A). These caster
blocks will take the place of the stock ones that come with the
front-end kit. Use the four 4-40X1/2 BHCS from the screw kit to
attach them. These blocks use inserts to adjust their location on
the lower a-arms. Different offset inserts are available in .050
(KSG-1653) and .100 (KSG-1654) offsets. These blocks are
also interchangeable from right to left. The bottom hole is the stock position and the other 2 holes
can be used to change the camber gain of your front end. You will need to use the four 2-56 x3/8
SHCS provided to lock the hinge pin in the caster blocks
(Fig. 1).
3
Fig.
After the front end has been assembled it
needs to be mounted on the chassis. Your
chassis is slotted front to rear to offer
different wheelbase adjustments. You will
use the four 8-32 FHS included with the
front end kit to attach each side. You will
need to place one of the .100 front shims
(KSG-2106) over each of the four screws so
that they are between the lower arm and the
top of the chassis (Fig. 2). The front shims
adjust your front ride height. Optional front
shims are available in either a complete kit
or individual. The individual shims come
four to a pack and range in size from .100
(KSG-2106), .090 (KSG-2107), .080 (KSG-
2108), .070 (KSG-2109), .060 (KSG-2110). The kit (KSG-2105) contains four of each of these
shims. Depending on servo placement you may have to trim the servo saver to clear your personal
transponder which mounts between the front suspension.
Fig.

Now it is time to start on the rear of the chassis. You will
need to locate the rear cross brace and t-plate mount
(Bag C). (Fig. 4-1)Attach the two t-plate mounts (KSG-
1642) to the chassis with four 4-40x1/4 FHCS. Next attach
the two outer cross brace mounts (KSG-1643) with two
4-40x1/4 FHCS. The notch goes toward the rear of the
chassis. Do not tighten these down completely. Now
located the nerf wing (KSG-1611) and slide it over the
outer mount on the right side of the chassis. This should fit
snuggly on the mount. Finish attaching the nerf wing with
a 4-40x3/8 FHCS and locknut. Locate the rear cross
brace (KSG-1619) and the body post mounts (KSG-1644).
Place the mounts in the slots in the cross brace. The
mounts will not go all the way into the slots, this is so that
they lock in place when you bolt them down (Fig. 4-2).
Take two 4-40x1/4 BHCS and two 4-40 flat washers to
finish attaching the mounts. You can move the mount side
to side in the slots for body placement. Now attach the
body posts using two 4-40x3/8 FHCS. Now the cross is
ready to be attached to the chassis. The body post and
the cross brace go towards the rear of the chassis. Use
five 4-40x1/4 BHCS to attach the cross brace to the aluminum mounts (Fig 4-3).
Fig. 4-
The next step is to fasten the servo mounts and
bumper to the chassis. (Bag A) The aluminum
servo mounts (KSG-1060) are drilled with three
holes so that you can move the servo front to rear,
to adjust bump steer and ackerman. The chassis
is predrilled for small servos. The servo will be
mounted to the servo mounts with the four
4-40x3/8 aluminum screws provided in the front-
end kit. The mounts are fastened to the chassis
with two 4-40x1/4 FHCS. After the servo mounts
and front end are fastened to the chassis, you can
attach the front bumper (KSG-1612) by using the
two 8-32x3/8 FHCS found in the front-end kit and
two 8-32 aluminum nuts from the screw kit. The
bumper is slotted so that you can move the
bumper from side to side. This helps to get the body centered over the front wheels. The two short
body posts (KSG-1071) (Bag B) will be fastened to the bumper by two 4-40x3/8 BHCS. You can
place the body post in any of the three provided holes. Also place one of the provided collars on
each body post and secure each of them in place with the 4-40x1/8 set-screw (Fig. 3).
Fig.
4
Fig. 4-

5
(Bag D) We now need to assemble the t-plate pivot ball and
sockets and fasten them to the t-plate. The G3 uses an all
new t-plate. Other t-plates will not work in this car. Your kit
comes with the .063 solid bias t-plate (KSG-1620) . The
t-plate balls for the G3 are unique to this car. They have been
precision machined and polished. They should not need to be
polished any further. The balls included in the kit are
standard height (KSG-1637). Optional balls are available in
medium length (KSG-1638) and long length (KSG-1639). The
different balls allow you to change the height of the t-plate.
More information is available on page 9. The sockets consist
of two halves and one ball. Place the socket half with the shoulder on it into the t-plate. Next, place
the ball into the socket followed by the other socket half. Use four 2-56X5/16 BHCS to fasten the
sockets to the t-plate. Repeat this procedure to finish assembling the t-plate and sockets. Make
sure that the balls move freely in the sockets when the screws are tightened. Free movement is
very important for proper operation (Fig. 5).
Fig.
The cross brace fits into the notches in the outer mounts.
Now tighten the screws in the outer mounts that were left
loose earlier. Place two of the ball studs and locknuts in the
side shock mounting holes. They will point toward the front
of the chassis. Save the other three ball studs for the top
plate.
We are now ready to assemble the rear pod (Fig 6). (Bag
D) First we will attach the t-plate to the bottom plate (KSG-
1614). You will use three 4-40x3/8 FHCS and three 4-40
aluminum locknuts. Put the screws in the right most set of
holes. This will give proper location for offset pod. Next
place two of the .050 black t-plate spacers (KSG-1636)
over each screw, place t-plate on top of spacers and
fasten with locknuts. Now attach the left (KSG-1641)and
right (KSG-1640) pod plates to the bottom plate with four
4-40x1/4 FHCS. The bottom plate in this kit is a 0 degree
plate. Optional 1/4 (KSG-1615) and 1/2 (KSG-1616)
degree plates are available. Before you attach the top
plate (KSG-1613) install the ball studs that were left from the previous steps. You will need to install
them as follows, the center shock stud goes in the right most hole, the side shock studs go with one
Fig.
Fig. 4-

It is now time to install the rear pod to the chassis (Fig. 7).
You will need a 3/32 hex wrench to install the t-plate balls
into the mounts on the chassis. Thread the balls into the
mounts. Right before the shoulder of the ball bottoms out
in the mount the threads will get tight. This acts like a self
locking thread. Tighten them down until the tapered
shoulder bottoms out in the tapered seat of the mount.
Make sure the pod moves freely from side to side. This
completes attaching the pod to the chassis.
Fig. 7
6
Your G3 comes with Associated VCS side and
center shocks. Build the side shocks according to
the instructions supplied by Associated. Use the
long ball cups and aluminum nuts (KSG-1016) that
are provided in place of the ones in the shock kits.
After the shocks are built, thread one long ball cup
onto each end of the side shocks. Compress the
shock without the spring on them. Try to make both
of them the same length by adjusting the ball cups.
Snap the shocks onto the ball studs with the
threaded shock nut end toward the outside of the
car. Build the center shock according to the
instructions provided on page 12 of this manual.
Use the long ball cup provided on the center shock
shaft. Attach the center shock mount (KSG-1066) to
the chassis using two 4-40x1/4 FHCS. You may
choose any of the mounting positions, but you will
have to adjust the center shock length by using different length ball cups. Next snap center shock
ball cup onto ball stud on the top plate. Insert fuel tubing , (supplied with center shock mount) into
the shock cap and fasten this end of shock to the shock mount using 4-40x1/2 SHCS. Be careful
and don’t over-tighten the cap-screw (Fig. 8). You will need to adjust the rear pod droop by
lengthening or shortening the ball cup on the center shock. The more pod droop you have the
harder the car will turn.
Fig. 8
in the center and one in the right most hole. Fasten them with three locknuts and then attach the top
plate with four 4-40x1/4 BHCS to the bulkheads.

7
(Bag D) Install the #2 ride height adjusters into each of the rear bulkheads. Then place a 1/4x3/8
flanged bearing into each of the ride heights (Fig. 9-1). (Bag E) Your kit has a D-Ring hub and axle.
No pinning of the hub or axle is required. Install the 12 diff balls into the outer ring of holes in the
spur gear. Also apply a small amount of diff lube to each of the balls. Place a 1/4x3/8 un-flanged
bearing into the center of the spur gear. Take two 1/4x3/8 flanged bearing and place in each side of
the diff hub (KSG-1049). Now place one of the d-ring diff rings onto the axle (KSG-1055) making
sure that it is aligned with the flat. Now slide spur gear onto axle. Next slide diff hub with diff ring
onto axle and down against spur gear making sure that diff rings stay aligned. Slide diff cone (KSG-
1056) over outer end of axle with the small end toward the bearing. Secure with the 8-32 nylon lock-
nut and tighten the nut so that there is a small amount of drag on spur gear (Fig 9-2, 9-3). You can
adjust the tightness of the nut to suit different track conditions.
Fig. 9-
Fig. 9-
Fig. 9-
We are now ready to place the axle assembly into the
rear pod. (Bag E) Place the .025 axle shim onto the axle
and slide axle assembly through the rear axle bearings in
the rear pod. Make sure the axle slides through freely.
Now slide the left side blue axle spacer (KSG-1057)
(Optional axle spacer kit KSG-2120 & 2120B includes
one of each .0625, .125, .1875, .250) and left side
clamping hub (KSG-1050) onto the axle and adjust end
play to a very slight amount. Tighten the clamping hub
with two 4-40X1/4 SHCS to complete the installation.
Make sure that the axle spins freely. If axle does not spin freely, recheck the end play (Fig. 10).
Fig. 10

The only thing left to install is the electronics, motor, batteries, tires, and body. You are now ready to
go racing. Below are some complete assembly photos. Good luck and we hope to see you in the
winner’s circle.
8

9
Your kit has come with the Standard T-Plate Balls (KSG-1637). These are the optional T-Plate Balls
that you can get. With these balls you can lower the t-plate in your car. The Medium Balls (KSG-
1638) are .050 longer than the standard ones that come with this kit. To use these balls you will
need to remove one of the .050 t-plate spacers from each of the three screws that fasten the
t-plate to the bottom plate. The Long Balls (KSG-1639) are .100 longer that the standard balls. To
use these you will need to remove all of the t-plate spacers from under the t-plate.
Your G3 comes with our all new Aluminum Caster Blocks. These caster blocks allow you to change
the length of the upper a-arm by the use of inserts. Included in this kit is the standard inserts
(KSG-1652). With our two optional inserts you can space the caster block in by .050 (KSG-1653)
and .100 (KSG-1654). Also available is a complete kit (KSG-1650).
Optional Bottom Plates are also available. You can get a 1/4 degree (KSG-1615) and also a 1/2
degree (KSG-1616) bottom plate. These plates are marked for easy identification. The 1/4 degree
has one notch cut into the front edge of the plate. The 1/2 degree has two notches cut into the front
edge.

STEP 1
STEP 2 STEP 3
STEP 4
STEP 5
10