MANIC FREAK - Schumacher Racing

By StEvE BASS 

SChuMAChER 1:8 4WD tWIn-EngInE ‘MAnIC’ MOnStER 

schuMacher’s 

schuMacher’s 

Twin-engined 

Twin-engined 

Manic Manic Freak Freak 

screacher! 

screacher! 

24 WWW.RADIORACECAR.COM 12/09

Main pic: On the loose the 4WD system 

comes into its own. 

Remember to oil your air filter first! 

AnD nOW FOR SOMEthIng… 

Every once in a while those nice sensible people at 

Schumacher prod an elbow into the ribs of the world’s R/C 

car community by producing something that is not only 

completely different, but invariably proves to be a whole 

load of fun. This time however, it looks like they really have 

thrown the rulebook out of the window! 

For starters, this baby is big, and weighs in at over 4 kg, 

which is what you would expect from a 1:8 scale monster 

truck! Of course it must have four wheel drive to give it that 

all-important ‘go anywhere’ ability and it must have huge 

wheels and tyres to provide the necessary ground clearance 

and traction that you will want to tackle any type of terrain. 

I will take you through all the other ingredients of the 

Manic as I tear it apart and subject it to the usual RRCi 

autopsy, but before that we need to take a look at what 

makes this crazy machine stand out from the crowd… and 

that is the power plant. 

…COMPLEtELy DIFFEREnt 

RRCi FEAtuRE 

SPEC ChECK 

MODEL tyPE: 4WD, 

OFF-ROAD, LEISuRE 

LEngth: 460 MM 

WIDth: 400 MM 

WEIght: 4 Kg POWER 

SOuRCE: .36 (6 CC) 

tWIn CyLInDER nItRO EngInE 

If you haven’t already guessed, the Manic is powered by a twin 

cylinder 0.36 (6 cc) nitro fuelled engine package, that promises 

double the horsepower and double the torque of a conventional 

big block engine, but without the added hassle that can sometimes 

afflict a twin-engined machine, and it has certainly generated a 

huge amount of interest around the world, most of which revolved 

around that engine. Photographs of the Manic did nothing to give 

the game away. The distinctive twin heatsink head was clearly 

visible, but the bit that everyone wanted to see was not! 

Now we can put an end to the mystery and RRCi will reveal all! 

However, let’s first take a tour of all the other key construction 

details of this crazy machine. 

12/09 WWW.RADIORACECAR.COM 25


Above: Rear mounted battery box and laydown shocks 

Right: Nitro Starter Kit includes a fuel bottle, basic tools 

and a glow start, though you’ll be needing another… 

ROLLIng ChASSIS LAyOut 

If you are familiar with the Schumacher Havoc, then you will soon 

start to recognise a number of common parts that have been carried 

over to the Manic. The 6082 purple T6 alloy chassis is totally flat, with 

black composite bumpers attached front and rear. Although you do not 

get a choice of shock mounting positions, both shock towers are really 

substantial mouldings. The purple alloy shocks are conventional enough, 

featuring twin foam volume compensators in each, and providing a huge 

70 mm of travel. Their extreme lay-down positioning (the lower mounts 

are on the hubs!) help to give the Manic its low profile silhouette. You get 

four pairs of adjustable turnbuckles all round, enabling front/rear toe and 

camber adjustment. 

The front and rear wishbones are actively mounted to the chassis, and 

like the rest of the mouldings on this machine, they are big and beefy, 

and should shrug off the inevitable punishment that extreme off road 

terrain can deal up. The wishbones sit flush with the underside of the 

chassis providing huge axle articulation, but obviously without any droop 

adjustment. 

The composite construction radio tray houses the stand-up steering 

and throttle/brake servos. The steering servo delivers 9.7 kg/cm of 

torque with a 60° lock-to-lock sweep in 0.12 seconds if using a 5-cell (6 

V) receiver battery. The steering arrangement consists of twin chassis 

mounted posts, with upper and lower turnbuckle drag links. The lefthand 

post features an adjustable servo saver with the adjusting collar 

26 WWW.RADIORACECAR.COM 12/09 

Above: Those massive wheels jack 

the gearing and ground clearance up 

located at the top of the post assembly, making access for adjustment 

very simple. Moving along the radio tray, the receiver box is found behind 

the two servos, and this is wired in stadium truck fashion to a battery 

box at the rear, just behind the rear axle centre line. An ON/OFF switch 

is also located on the radio tray, and this can be easily operated with 

the bodyshell attached. For general maintenance the Manic proved to 

be about as difficult as falling off a log! The radio tray for example is out 

of the chassis with just three screws, making it a breeze to clean when 

you’ve finished playing. 

The 125 cc fuel tank is attached to the left of the chassis just ahead of 

the engine so refuelling can be done with the bodyshell attached, and if 

you wish, you can fit a lid puller to the tank to make the job a little easier. 

Twin exhaust manifolds are integrated with the single exhaust can and 

rear facing stinger pipe.

Above: 4WD transmission layout clearly visible (air filter removed for clarity) 

shows power being carried forward by the drive belt and pullies 

Above: Adjustable servo saver 

and front disc brake assemblies 

Finally, the chassis rolls on ‘super grip’ tyres and huge chrome-effect 

wheels, which are attached by 17 mm hex nuts. Using 17 mm hubs opens 

up a world of choice when it comes to future wheel and tyre options. 

Unfortunately Schumacher do not include a wheel nut wrench, which is 

why it is a good idea to consider buying the very reasonably priced Nitro 

Starter Kit, which resolves this problem and also gives you a box spanner, 

fuel bottle, glow starter (although it’s far better to use two glow sticks to 

start the Manic!) and a couple of crosshead and flat blade screwdrivers. 

tRAnSMISSIOn 

Drive is transmitted from the twin shoe clutch (how many times have I 

said ‘twin’) to a 24 DP spur gear. The clutch is rather like the popular MIP 

hop up, but be careful when removing the clutch bell as it runs on floating 

needle rollers with no cage to keep them together. The spur gear layshaft 

is the first part of a triple metal gear reduction box with a ball differential 

whose unequal length outdrives transmit drive to the rear wheels via a 

pair of really chunky telescopic driveshafts. On the outer end of the spur 

gear top layshaft a pulley and toothed belt drive connects to the input 

shaft for the front gearbox, which follows the same method of reduction 

and drive to the front wheels, as it does at the rear. The chunky square 

section telescopic driveshafts feature CV joint stub axles, each of which 

attaches to the aforementioned 17 mm hex hub. The entire transmission 

and wheel hubs are fully ball raced with sealed bearings. 

Above: Chunky arms and driveshafts are matched by the solid 

chassis plate which looks bump box compatible, but isn’t 

RRCi FEAtuRE 

Above: Digital 27 MHz 

‘Response’ radio transmitter 

offers all the essential features, 

and a few more besides 

Working on the Manic is a breeze. The front and rear transmission 

assemblies can be split from the chassis with the removal of just four or 

five screws and popping a few ball joints. It couldn’t be easier. The same 

goes for drive belt replacement, which is even easier. Remove one of the 

belt pulleys and the rear radio tray post and you can swap the belt in just 

a few seconds. 

tWO hEADS BEttER thAn OnE? 

And so we arrive at perhaps the most interesting aspect of the Manic! 

With a total displacement of 6 cc it is in fact a pair of 3 cc (.18 ci) engines 

that have been paired up with operationally linked crankshafts. This latter 

item is crucial to the smooth running of the engine, and is why the Manic 

power plant should function without any of the problems that can afflict 

other twin-engine applications. The engines always drive each other 

reducing the risk of a low tick-over flame out, and allowing a taller overall 

gear ratio than either could pull alone. 

The rearward of the two engines is the one that is connected directly to 

the transmission and the first thing mounted on the external crankshaft 

is a toothed belt drive pulley, followed by the conventional flywheel, 

clutch and clutch bell assembly. A special flywheel on the forward engine 

also accommodates the same type pulley, and it is the toothed belt drive 

between the two engines that keeps everything synchronised. 

Now that you know what literally makes this twin-engine ‘tick’ let’s look 



Above: Starter unit is built onto rear engine crank. Two into one exhaust 

system with rear facing single stinger. Admit it…you want one! 

Above: Big end alignment after fitting synchro jigs, means two power pulses 

per revolution 

Right: Synchro drive is normally shrouded by two-piece protective cover. 

Tightening the drive locknut after synchronising the engines 

at the assembly in more detail. As you can see the engines sit on a central 

mounting plate and a pair of engine posts at the front and rear. So after 

removing six screws, the whole lump comes out as a single unit. That eyecatching 

heat sink head is a single piece of billet-machined alloy, and 

attaches to the two engines in the normal way with four bolts apiece. 

The next interesting feature is the purple anodised carburettor inlet 

manifold. This item provides for the simplicity and reliability of a single 

carburettor feeding both engines. Access to the top end mixture screw 

is nice and easy as this sits atop the carburettor pointing skywards. The 

bottom end screw is forward facing and can be adjusted with a flat blade 

driver. Adjusting the idle screw is slightly more awkward as it is at an 

angle close to the heat sink head. The engine breathes through a twin 

(there’s that word again) stage air filter which you have to lube and fit 

yourself before first firing it up. 

The engine exhausts exit through a pair of unequal length manifolds 

and a cylindrical transverse silencer can with a single rubber stinger pipe 

pointing out of the back. 

The Manic kit comes with a Rotostart drill attachment, which you 

can use with any suitable cordless drill, or if you prefer, the optional 

Schumacher Rotostart electric starter. As I mentioned earlier, remember 

that you will need two glow starters to get the Manic’s twin cylinders fired 

up, preferably a long reach Core Glow start (CR046) to clear the truck 

cab and reach the engine below, while the rear engine can be reached 

by a regular short glow stick like that included in the Nitro Starter set 

(G852), as the load deck sits only just above the heat sink. 

So that is what makes the Manic go, but what about stopping it? 

Thankfully the answer is that both front and rear gearboxes are braked 

separately, so with no centre diff the two brakes work together and pull 

the truck down from extreme speeds without a fuss, even with just a 

4-cell receiver pack. 


Above: Optional 

U3544 synchro 

assembly jigs are 

used to set the 

cranks exactly 180 

degrees apart for 

best power delivery 

Left: Twin shoe 

clutch and loose 

needle rollers within 

the bell. Be sure to 

keep them lubricated 

EngInE AutOPSy 

If you are familiar with Schumacher products, you will also know about 

their liking for Torx fasteners and whilst you get a basic Allen and Torx key 

set included, it’s worth buying yourself a Torx driver and bit set, before 

starting any work on the Manic, but bear in mind that Schumacher have 

their own T10 Torx driver (HW008) though it’s not always included in the 

kits. 

The easiest way to remove the engine is complete with its engine 

mount, which, as I mentioned earlier, involves removing the six chassis 

screws. The exhaust can is stabilised with a mounting wire retained by a 

setscrew, but we found it necessary to remove the complete mounting 

wire because the exhaust fouled on the rear brake pivot, preventing 

its removal. On closer inspection we found that on our Manic we could 

remove about 5 mm off the mounting wire with a Dremel, which would 

then give sufficient room to remove the engine and exhaust quicker and 

easier. Obviously you also have to disconnect the throttle return spring 

and throttle linkage and fuel pipe connections and in about one minute, 

the whole lot is on the bench. 

If you wish to ‘split’ the engine, you can now see that it’s a case of 

removing the centre bracket, which locates on the two crankcases at 

the base, and the one-piece heat sink head. The head bolts were VERY 

tight on our review Manic, so use a good quality hex driver. Slacken the 

two pinch bolt nuts that clamp the one-piece inlet manifold and lift off 

the inlet manifold and single carburettor assembly. You can now remove 

the two-piece synchro drive cover, which exposes the synchro drive belt. 

Next, cut the tie wrap retaining the forward exhaust manifold (the twin 

manifolds and exhaust can are a one-piece item) and pull the forward 

pipe off the manifold flange. You can now just slip the drive belt off and 

you have successfully split the engine. To access just the synchro drive 

belt, the bottom half of the cover slips off easily enough (mind you don’t 

lose the little strengthening plate that slots in the centre), but to remove

the top half you first need to remove the inlet manifold and carburettor. 

If removing the Rotostart back plate make sure you don’t lose the tiny 

crank pin which may drop out into the bowels of the engine! I know a few 

people that have reassembled these (and similar pull start mechanisms), 

only to find they don’t work after re-assembly because they missed this 

vital little crank pin! 

Reassembly of the engine is almost, but not quite, the reverse of the 

strip down! Once you have rebuilt the engine mount, heat sink head, 

synchro drive belt and exhaust, the engine timing must be set. The 

manual details clearly how this is done, but the job is a lot easier if 

you purchase the optional synchro assembly jigs (U3544). Basically, 

these are a pair of back plates that temporarily replace the rear engine 

Rotostart assembly and the forward engine’s standard back plate, which 

ensures the engines are ‘synchronised’. To do this, you first need to 

slacken the belt pulley locknut. 

The forward engine has a conventional back plate, whilst the rearward 

engine has the Rotostart assembly and cover plate. With both of these 

items removed, and the aforementioned belt pulley locknut slackened 

off, you rotate the cranks so that the con rod big ends are correctly 

positioned. They must be diagonally opposite each other, halfway 

between TDC and BDC, so that one cylinder is on the ‘up’ stroke and the 

other on the ‘down’ stroke. The next step is to fit the timing jigs where 

the back plate and Rotostart would normally be fitted. This ensures that 

the crank in each engine is precisely in the correct position. After this it 

is just a case of tightening the locknut, removing the timing jigs and reassembling 

the Rotostart and forward engine back plate. 

tOPPIng OFF 

The Manic is topped off with good quality lexan pre-painted shell, 

available in a choice of two colour schemes. These are 99% finished but 

Schumacher includes a decal sheet for the front and rear lights, radiator 

grille and you own personalisation. The shell is pre-cut with twin (there I 

RRCi FEAtuRE 

go again) glow starter holes, and a side access hole for the starter. As it 

does not have a conventional flywheel, the Manic cannot be used with a 

bump start box. However, we had absolutely no problem cranking it up 

with Schumacher’s optional mini roto starter. 

RADIO 

Your Manic comes with a rather nice ‘Response’ branded 3-channel 

digital (steer wheel) radio transmitter, operating on 27 MHz FM. It is a 

nicely balanced piece of kit, ready for you to install the eight AA size 

batteries. An external charging jack is built in if you prefer to use NiMH 

rechargeable AA cells, although you do not get a mains charger with the 

kit. You get all the essential ingredients, plus a few surprises. External 

buttons provide access to steering and throttle trim, throttle ATL and 

steering dual rate control. A slide switch powers the unit ON and OFF, 

and above this is a pair of edit keys for changing values within the 

software menus, plus a channel selection button and a ‘select’ button for 

navigating your way around the simple menu options. 

Once set-up, your data is stored in a memory chip so you won’t lose 

it should the batteries run flat. In any event, an audible alarm will warn 

you when the transmitter voltage drops below 8.5 V, although in truth, 

you shouldn’t let it drop below 9 V. The voltage is displayed on the main 

LCD when the unit is switched on, along with the model number selected. 

The transmitter has a 10-model memory and you can assign up to three 

characters to describe each model. Suffice to say you have a good basic 

range of programming functions including steering and throttle trim, EPA 

and exponential, servo reverse and even an ABS menu with three rates of 

pulse speed. 

In use the transmitter has a nicely weighted (right-hand) steer wheel 

with rubber grip, a longish travel throttle trigger with a relatively short 

forward movement when braking. All in all, we were very happy with its 

specification and performance. 

Above: Both ball raced 

gearboxes feature three 

metal-geared reduction and 

a Schumacher trademark, 

the ball differential 

Above left: Synchronicity! 

Piston 1 at TDC with No 2 

at BDC 

Far left: Twin heat sink is 

a work of art! Removable 

head buttons and no less 

than six shims 

Left: Direct drive rear 

transmission assembly and 

drive belt pulley to take 

power to the front gearbox 



‘MADE tO BE DRIvEn MAD’ 

Because the Manic is so different, a whole host of things were running 

through my mind prior to the break-in and track test. Will it live up to 

expectations? How good is that belt drive? Will the diffs be up to the task? 

How easy will it be to start? What will it sound like? How easy will it be to 

tune? Will the rear engine run hotter than the front engine? How good 

are those brakes? How long will the run times be? All these questions and 

more would soon be answered! 

First of all I had to run the engine in, and I decided to do this in the pits 

at a local club meeting, as I didn’t want to push my neighbour’s patience 

too far! Despite there being about twenty rallycross engines warming 

up in the paddock at the same time, as soon as the Manic’s .36 twin fired 

up, I saw a lot of people looking my way, and before long a small crowd 

had gathered around. That’s how distinctive the engine note is! You get 

a starter rod included in 

QUICK SPEC 

Class: 1:8th 4WD Twin-Engine Monster 

Type: RTR Nitro 6 cc 

Manufacturer: Schumacher 

Price: £ 549.99 RRP 

WhAt yOu gEt 

RTR 4WD 1:8 Monster Truck 

6 cc twin cylinder engine 

27 MHz digital radio 

Basic toolkit 

Roto start shaft 

WhAt yOu nEED 

12 x AA batteries for Tx & Rx 

2 x Glow starters 

Rotostart + 7,2 V battery pack 

Battery charger 

Nitro fuel and bottle 

Hand tools 

WhAt WE uSED 

Nitro Starter Set (G852) 

Rotostart (G857) 

2100 mAh NiMH AA x12 

Core long reach glow start (CR046) 

20% RTR nitro fuel 

1600 mAh NiMH receiver pack 

DISLIKES 

Lack of starting equipment 

Circlips on UJ pins 

Limited run time on 125 ml 

Throttle return spring too strong 

LIKES 

Unique engine concept 

One carb, one starter 

Sounds great 

Goes well 

Stops well 

Stands out from the crowd 

Chunky driveshafts 

Robust chassis components 

Direct drive rear, belt drive front 

COntACt 

For further information, please contact 

Schumacher Racing 

Tel: +44 (0)1604 790770 

or visit: www.racing-cars.com 


the kit and this is destined 

for use in a cordless drill, 

but a cordless drill is built 

for torque and not speed, 

so even though my drill 

has a reverse switch so it 

rotates the right direction, 

700 rpm just isn’t fast 

enough to get the engines 

fired up, so we had to 

go with the optional 

roto start (G857) from 

Schumacher. Eight tanks 

later it was ready to really 

let rip for our thrash test 

and photo shoot! 

The venue for our test 

was a local skateboard 

and BMX park, and on the 

loose the 4WD system 

comes into its own while 

the 27 MHz digital radio 

offers up to 130 metres 

range, further than the 

eye can reasonably see. 

The throttle response was 

lacking that connected 

feeling, with a slight delay 

between command and 

reaction, so we swapped 

the 4-cell receiver pack 

of AA cells for a regular 

5-cell, a 1600 mAh 

NiMH hump pack which 

improved the steering 

response and throttle 

control at a stroke. The 

throttle return spring 

Above: The optional roto start 

makes the starting procedure 

so simple and quick. Highly 

recommended 

Above: Metal geared ball differentials have chunky unequal 

length outdrives and telescopic driveshafts 

was over riding the throttle servo on just four cells but it was far more 

drivable with the 6 V battery pack installed and the steering response 

improvement was another bonus. The jumps and berms provided ample 

opportunities to stretch the Manic and entertain ourselves, and despite 

the open belt drive system we had no problems with grit ingress to the 

pulleys. We ran for between 5 and 10 minutes per tank of fuel at a time 

depending on the terrain and driving style. After four tanks of fuel we 

left the Manic to cool down and checked the receiver battery before 

continuing. Our 5-cell receiver hump pack took just 500 mAh to recharge 

so we should be easily looking at over an hour of fun time from each 

recharge. 

Running the bottom end slightly lean (1 ½ turns out) while the top end 

runs slightly rich (3 or 4 turns out) means the tick-over is stable and the 

engine cools as you use the throttle. Tick-over is misleading and sounds 

too high so you try to turn it down and the engine cuts repeatedly, so just 

get the engine up to working temperature around 240F and then adjust 

the tick-over so it is just about to try and creep forward. Remember it will 

sound too fast as you are listening to a parallel twin that fires twice per 

rev and you might be more used to listening to a single cylinder. While 

the engines are relatively new they will run hot and I found that using 

the transmitter’s EPA settings to limit throttle movement to about half 

carb opening improved throttle response and extended the run times 

without limiting the power on tap. When you have run the first gallon 

through your engines you will feel them start to loosen up and run slightly 

cooler so you can tweak the carb slightly for more power and use more 

full throttle applications. By this time you might be justified in changing 

the glow plugs for a brand new pair (G69124), as new engines wear and 

deposit material into the coils and the plugs never work as well as a new 

pair and any malfunction of a glow plug could prove misleading when it 

comes to fine carb tuning. 

OuR vERDICt 

You must judge the Manic for yourself, for it is totally unique! If you 

like the idea of a super-fast, twin nitro engined, 4WD bonkers monster 

truck with ‘go anywhere’ ability (who doesn’t?), then there’s no contest, 

because there’s simply nothing else like it! As the Manic further extends 

the family tree with lineage back through the Riot and the Rascal among 

the stable of home grown, British designed machines, we can only 

wonder, what on earth is Schumacher going to follow that with? I’m sure 

it’s only a question of time… RRCi 

Left: The long 

reach Core Glow 

Start (CR046) is 

essential to reach 

the engine below 

the high roof, 

whereas a regular 

short glow stick 

included in the 

Nitro Starter set 

(G852) reached the 

engine below the 

load deck

MANIC FREAK - Schumacher Racing

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