Under the Hood: Jonah Wilson’s Sparko F8SE

This Under the Hood at the Worlds, presented by Elite RC Productions, features the Sparko F8SE of Jonah Wilson! Jonah is running a few interesting details we had not previously seen from Sparko.

Mostly standard, with some interesting additions

Like several American racers featured in this series, Jonah appears to favour steel hardware rather than chasing weight savings. Much of the car appears to be the standard F8SE Sparko released earlier in the year.

The front C-hubs immediately caught our attention. They appear to retain the previous hubs’ 7-degree kingpin inclination, but offer several additional mounting positions for the upper links.

The radio tray also features a 3D-printed receiver-box cover, possibly designed to secure Jonah’s preferred switch.

Upper links and suspension choices

Jonah is using the front upper-link configuration. Sparko has also used an upper-arm arrangement on higher-grip tracks; the links may have been chosen here for a more forgiving feel.

Both front and rear upper links appear raised at their inner tower mounts. One possible reason is to reduce jacking as grip increased during the event.

Differential position

The differentials appear lower than on several other buggies featured in our Under the Hood series. This may reflect the F8SE’s available mounting arrangement, rather than a selectable differential-height setting.

Setup interpretations are observations from the photographs, rather than confirmed explanations from the team.

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Words: Max Mört RC
Photography: William Venables RC