New Buggy, new style

Well, I was fortunate enough after selling several RC’s to get me and my son new rides for the 2018 season; (2) RC10B6.1’s

Good overall build, BUT I wanted to take the opportunity to try something different with the body paint scheme.  Everyone in RC is so keen on making their own “unique” paint scheme.  I wanted to try something a little more RACE- something to be proud of, like a cool modern  ‘Merican Race car- decided to try my hands at painting up a scheme from the 2016 Ford GT

So, why an on-road car for the RC10B6.1?  Ummm, because modern-day 1/10th scale race buggies race on these perfectly laid out race courses with insane grip.

Also, There’s this current “fad” in 1/10th scale buggies where racers LIKE racing with a smaller engine; just like the Ford GT Race Car which had to undergo homologation rules (basically decreasing it’s horsepower to match certain criteria) it had to adapt to racing under certain conditions AND still win.  Also, modern-day Race buggies are mid-motor/laydown transmission beasts, just like the Ford GT.

Ok, time to plan out:

Starts with sketching on the body of WHERE I think the lines are going to go.  The Ford GT has these cool arches that go from the roof to the rear quarter panels- so my thinking was I’ll just modify the window lines so that the bright red shows the same form.  I also trimmed the JC-style high-arched top of the front windshield straight, and started masking and painting.

Painted blue first (I typically paint from the biggest-coverage on the body first, then to the smallest- unless it’s a crazy translucent or light color).

finishes off the back where the engine “hood” would typically be with trying some chrome paint for the first time- and chrome paint is awesome.  not happy with my paint lines, but happy with the colors.

initial fit was OK, just working with the super-thin “lightweight” body on the B6.1 I made a few holes larger than I was planning due to how soft the lexan is.

Now it was time for my favorite time- the decals!  I think I spend more time thinking about where the decals are going to go than actually painting the body.  I took advantage of several mciracing decal sheets I had with classic reprinted decals- figured it would better match the theme I was going for.

found my ol’ B5m wheels rock’n the dirt webs (which still work F%$^king amazing after 3 years). and bolted them up, put a few goodyear stickers on the rims, and NOW it’s starting to look like real-race car…except for the wing…I have some other bodies I’m working on, and most of my rims are bright florescent yellow, so going to leave it blank for now (perhaps a little chrome on the sides of the wing?).

also found some old license plate decals from my ol’ TC3 VTA build.  Knew a good spot to drop it on

Now, some cool outdoor pics

Overall I’ll give myself a “7” on painting (little runs everywhere, but shouldn’t be able to spot those at speed). and a 9 on decals :).  The only things I wish I could have incorporated are my cool AE F1 brake light (no additional aux on the ESC-ciever from Sanwa I have installed) and maybe some red mirrors would have been cool. Time permitting I’ll go back and add some cool little AE rivets where the hoods should be, window panels.

That’s all for now, thanks for reading.

time for some Cuts

Ok, feeling motivated today.  gonna leave the Nintendo switch in the lunchbag today and brainstorm RC.  Read several articles in the past month racing is dying….is it?  possibly.  As RC has gotten better, so has everyone else.  There’s less “wow” factor in racing these days.  Most people who would have rushed out to purchase a radio control vehicle in the early 90’s are busy playing video games now.  It’s cheaper and less work.  Humans are lazy.  OK, for those in the late 2010’s who are still into or starting racing Radio control cars, what’s the scene gonna look like in 2 years?  I grabbed some paper, called a lot players into my office and cut down the team.  If racing is “dying”, then why the hell are we segregating it into smaller and smaller amounts.  Have there been other articles on this?  yes.  use google.  Here’s what my World Wide reconized Radio control race classes would look like in 2020 if they let me edit the rule book:

 

OK, so out of the 26 classes that I could remember and found in the North American ROAR 2013 rulebook (really ROAR?  2013 is your newest revision?) it’s now down to 10, with 5 for sure, and 5 on the bench for deletion.
“What happens to all the other cars out there that don’t have classes now?” Well Jimmy, they’re just toys now, or if it means something to you a shelf queen.  I know Jimmy, life isn’t fair.  the other classes had their chance and their magazine postings, but time to move on.  No one’s going to stop you from playing with your Toy radio control cars, but just like the RC10T narrow ribbed tire, it’s not going to be recognized in racing anymore, so that everyone can focus on a chassis type that is universally recognized by the global poluation.

OK, guess time to go through some of my thinking…

looking at on-road, it’s had a good past, not a great future though. I can name ONE on-road track.  Are there more?  sure. on a world scale how many race on-road now?  1/12th scale on-road racing was cool, but battery technology and electronics have improved dramatically, how come the size of the vehicles has not?  We should be racing larger vehicles with the electronics we have available to us in 2017.  With as fast as 1/10th scale buggy has become with it’s stupid-high grip surfaces, the on-road guys can get their fix on 1/0th scale buggy with the occasional bump in the track.  all the other small on-road classes, same thing, too nitch, cut from the team.  best of luck to a few of your buddies getting together in a parking lot for an F1 race.  Go check out a real indy car race if you like it that much.

OK, off-road.  I’ve known 1/10th scale stadium truck for a long time (since I was 11).  I called him into my office, but he already knew what it was about.  It was hard letting him go, but I just had to state the facts; your class was based off weird monster truck rules that eventually developed into unrealistic wheels outside the body and fun handling.  his buddy 1/10th scale nitro stadium truck was let go several years back, but he had a good run, and even a comeback of sorts.  Take care buddy, see at the local club night race, but not at the worlds/nationals.

Speaking of trucks, I was looking to forward to calling “Truggy” into my office for a while.  That arrogant bastard never thought he was going to cut.  First, you’re not even a “truggy” a U4RC thing is more of a truggy than his name will ever be.  second, your class was supposed to be a cool monster truck racing class (based off the T-maxx).  back then you looked more realistic, and showed it on the track.  Then everyone got the great idea to lengthen a buggy and give you a cool nickname.  I’m over it and I’m over you.  looking forward to yelling at truggy drivers in the back alley drag racing with not enough space or experience.

Ok, who else…right, SC 4WD.  Hey, you handle better than your 2WD brother, but dude you’re not as fun.  might as well go 1/8th buggy.  you were fun but don’t have the room, have fun at the local club night.

ok, all the other on-road classes that use “fuel”, you’re cut. except 1/8th nitro.  I thought about it, you’re not as popular, but people who don’t speak my language know your class.  you could use a better looking body (possibly a realistic requirement), but you’re in…for now.

OK, 1/5th scale…I feel like anyone who spends several THOSANDS of dollars on a radio control vehicle is pretty serious.  I see an OK following here stateside and the occasional 1/5th scale buggy race in Europe.  I think anyone who spends as much in 1/8th scale for racing isn’t going to see a drastic increase in 1/5th scale.  plus, it promotes more team work, and good luck treating a track surface with 1/5th racing on it!

 

OK, so, now to narrow down who races what when.

2WD 1/10th scale buggy (2017, if anyone notices)

4WD 1/8th buggy (2018 in Australia)

1/8th on-road (who knows, think you just had your “worlds” race).  you should team up with 1/5th scale on-road to combine an annual or bi-annual worlds race event

1/5th scale (don’t you have an unofficial “worlds” race every year in Canada, eh?).  I would like 1/5th scale to come up to the popularity, but pricing for the average joe to get into hurts your growth.  until then, Canada…

 

OK, so before anyone asks “why did you cross out the words ‘electric’ or ‘nitro’?”, well Jimmy, the line is becoming blurred in power output,and in a few more years it may blur more.  right now if you want long races, fuel is the way to go.  that may change in the future.

so what with the question marks on e-buggy, dirt oval, 4WD buggy, VTA? I asked myself is there anything those classes do that others don’t..1/10th scale 4WD buggy= 1/8th ebuggy should satisfy you.  Dirt oval and oval in general is too nitch..seems all that really high speed stuff needs to be packed into it’s own category. e-buggy? I think 1/8th scale ebuggy is like beginner 1/8th scale…  plenty of power, but no endurance like the nitro classes.  would we be better without it?

shortcourse is the most realistic, and one of the funest rc classes created, and the I feel the joe-pro’s ruined it.  like e-buggy is should be a spec or towards beginners.  We have a box-stock slash class at our local track and it’s awesome.

For all those other classes that don’t make the cut, at our local track we simply group vehicles together if not my skill by drivetrain and scale.  That way at our local club level we have 4 good size classes instead of 8 small classes.

so, that’s my long-winded take on trimming some fat on radio control racing classes. and yes these cuts also effect me, as I currently own an e-buggy, 3 stadium trucks, and a 4WD SC.  I honestly think these would help in bringing everyone together under a similar hobby racing class (you don’t see your local softball group trying to play 8 different types of softball do you?).

anywho lunch is over, don’t overthink it.  Thanks for reading!

Lake Havasu Learning Experience

some perks about my job is I get to go out of town….sometimes.  I recently got to Lake Havasu City, which has had some very cool RC in the past.  It had been too quiet from the past few years, so I was curious what the area still had.  I brought my cars along knowing too well they’d probably just sit in the bags over the days, but hey, it’s part of the hobby, plan for the worst, and hope for the best.

on rolling into town I found an old address for an RC Hobby shop in town, Hot Rock hobbies….no luck, another business there.After arriving I grabbed lunch and then went by the rotary park, where Lake Havasu RC track USED to be (along with some of the nicest outdoor pit tables I’ve seen).  unfortunately the only thing know that I could find the area I THOUGHT the track was a parking lot and big, open BMX track.  A shame the RC Track couldn’t have been re-incorporated into the redesign.  I know the biggest hurdle in the past for the Track was security as anyone who was simply mad at the track would flood it with water or something.  This is an issue with all open tracks as it’s inviting to new comers, but then is more prone to damage.  on the other scale is our local city track in Yuma, which the city has provided a nice 6-foot fence around the track, BUT the track rental process seems to be too complicated for most users….Since then the track was destroyed, started up again at the old go cart track in town, then disappeared all together :(.  well, I tried, will check Sara park tomorrow on my way out of town.

…the way out of town…

After doing what I needed on Friday morning, grabbing lunch, before leaving town Sara park was on the way OUT of town. I found Sara Park!  it’s on the same property as the race track!  It’s a big open area, and a little after driving down the Sara Park, I spotted an air field…a little further….an RC off-road Track!  a little further I found a locked gate, BUT, there is RC in the area, which is great.  Now, if I can only find out the process of checking it out…

 

• additional charges may apply….

 

So, over the weekend and a few more “Google’s” I found out about Desert Hawks RC Club, which controls the RC air field in Lake Havasu.  the RC vehicle club is called “The Desert Hacks RC Club“, replacing the ol Lake Havasu RC Club.  Racing on their facility comes with a catch though, you have to have both RC Club membership AND the AMA membership for flying planes….even if you don’t fly planes.  At first this kinda ticked me off that is seemed you’re being punished for being an RC member by having to pay for a double-dip membership…BUT, the more I thought about, it was actually cheaper.  OK, so I have to pay the least-expensive $38 dollar electric fly membership, even if I don’t fly.  OK, so that’s for a year of AMA membership.  I don’t even own a plane.  Then another $25 dollar fee for just using the facility.  OK, so now I’m in $63 bucks.  It renews every December, so I might as well wait 3 months so it lasts a year on membership.  BUT that gives me access to the Track at Sara park anytime the sun is up, which is nice.  compared to the Yuma track that I have to go down and pay $4 an hour, 10 days in advance to race seems stupid, as you have to spend so much time with cumbersome paperwork. Compared to going racing for a day at SDRC or ricochet it’s a bargain ($20 an entry, 2 classes, fuel, food, etc. I average over $100 per race day).  If they keep their pricing structure right over time having to pay the AMA member fee on top of the club fee is a small price to pay in the long run being able to run when you want on the track.

I also CALLED the local hobby shop in Lake Havasu, Hot Rock Hobbies (calling, now you’re thinking).  being bummed the location was closed, didn’t even think about calling.  Found out they moved locations!

Hot Rock Hobbies, 501 Lake Havasu Ave N Ste 100, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403, 928-453-7111

after speaking to Jared, I found out it’s new, but they primarily do 10th scale, with a few 1/8th e buggies.  The shop carries Traxxas, Associated, TLR parts among others.

Now after getting more intel I can plan a trip out there again to check out the local hobby shop and maybe, maybe even some racing.  the more ya know….

Thanks for reading

Practice at Hobby Action

 

With the revolving door of RC Tracks in the Phoenix area, I was very curious to check out the new Hobby Action Track in Chandler this weekend.  It was a family trip, but knew I could make an excuse to swing by.  So, I somehow packed all the necessary gear I’d need and (2) AE buggies for the pilgrimage.

So, after some required appointments, I motived the wife to swing by the track.  I bribe her that it’s a mall and food and stuff.  First off this is the first indoor RC Track I’ve been to in a while that isn’t in between strip clubs or old industrial areas.  Very nice location.  we drop the wife at Bed bath and beyond across the street and then do some practice.

We get inside to see a nicely stocked store with glass windows separating the store from the track, very cool.  A very nice 4 screen display of the current track racers, and nicely done pit tables.  the work they put into the facility shows.

with my tight fitting cars in the bag it takes my 20 minutes just to get my son’s car out and ready to go with sauced tires.  it’s a Friday, and small crowd, great for practice.  I hit the track a few minutes later.  I love the track layout, it’s easy enough to get around.  I’d heard the track surface was abrasive.  It’s not crazy abrasive like sugared tracks, but it’s not as forgiving as a pure wet clay track.  on the this squared track layout, i’d expect to go through a set of tires after 8 -10 runs in a mod 2WD buggy.  it was a fun layout, a huge driver’s stand, people were nice.  I could see my son struggling with his B5m and the gear diff as he’s been spoiled by racing carpet over the summer, but he genuinely enjoys rc car racing.  We then after a battery quickly packed it all up and picked up the wife to continue the weekend.

Day 2 in Phoenix and I motivate my best bud to come by the track after an outing downtown.  He’s got a toddler, and was into racing, but as much as he liked the track, I could tell he’d grown out of the sport.  No longer was he interested in the racing side of it, instead focusing on other adult stuff.  not even picking up (2) SC28’s and racing them around the house would be enough to get him back into it….time to give up on that dream of us all eventually racing again. This is where certain interests and people separate…

RANT= WHAT THE f#%^%#!! IS UP WITH PEOPLE NOT LIKING OR PUTTING DOWN THIS GREAT HOBBY?  Is your unhealthy love affair with watching other people play sports better that actually racing?  shopping in the mall, talking about the weather, politics, or all bulls$^t adult stuff that grown-up people feel obligated into doing.  You could argue that radio control racing is no more important than anything else a human choosing to do on this blue planet, so don’t dare call my hobby childish when most of the stupid forms of entertainment in the world require less intelligence.  F$&k your  steaming hulu/amazon prime/pokemon go/facebooking/golf, or anything else that isn’t racing.  They’re all more childish than racing.=END OF RANT

Yes, the facility is great.  the lighting reminds of Warehouse 3, the benches remind me of SRS, the hobby shop appears to be well stocked on NEW stuff (oh hobby, so hard sometimes’s getting a store to stock LAST YEARS’ car parts 😦  ). I’m already thinking of future event I can go to at this facility in 2018.Time will tell how long this location stays open.  I hope it’s here to stay.

 

Thanks for reading.

 

 

 

Ricochet G4 Series race #4

Made it to the final carpet series race at ricochet RC Raceway.  For this race I’d bring along my long-project Stadium Truck, my RC10GT converted to Electric, and, of course, my RC10B6.  My son after destroying his B5 chassis the previous attended race, we would swap everything over to a spare B5m chassis and transmission case.  After a week of tuning everyday after work on RC, we’d be ready for some indoor racing.

What I love about Ricochet is that they make it so convenient for you to race there; it’s fully air conditioned, food nearby, bathroom, lit parking area.  Even though I’m not the biggest carpet fan, you get a TON more racing in because of the track surface never being down.

I’d setup, and my son would go through 2 practice batteries while I setup the pits. I’d go a bench race for about an hour showing everyone the RC10GT-E project, and everyone got a kick out of it.  For me it’s just really neat seeing a vehicle that was deemed extinct, now with a different power system able to hit the track again after some rather moderate modifying; a few battery cups and a motor mount.  that’s it.  everything else is factory RC10GT, AND this RC10GT is a late model, so it’s the 2nd generation chassis, much more bullet proof.

the Qualifiers:

My Goal before hitting the track was that all the vehicles come back RUNNING…seems simple enough, right?  Q1 my stadium truck is up.  After a brief practice session with it, I knew it would be off-pace, BUT I wanted to get some more track time with it to see how it would feel.  the front schmacher tires were a bit too much for it, grabbed hard in the corners, rolled it a few times as it dug in hard.  finally started to open it up, then tapped the wall coming on to the straight.  It was enough to pop off the stock-but-replaced AE heavy duty ball cups..the real Achilles heel of the past-gen Associated vehicles; undersized, and at high-speed, easily dislodged.  Ran back to the pits in an attempt to pop it back on..but it being in a tight spot against the steering block and rim, race was over by the time I popped it back on.  I really feel if you’re going to race a older associated vehicle on stupid-high traction, the newer 8mm ball cups are the way to go.  after over 100 miles racing the newer style ball cups, and repeated hits, never popped a one that cost me race.  the older type ball cups on the other hand….more time’s than I’d like to remember..

OK, son’s B5m hit the track, no issues, he bounced around a bit in the novice class, but the B5m never faultered, and he’d finish 1st.  OK, B6 time for me. SUPER small Mod buggy class, as for some reason it’s a thing now days to put small motors in your RC vehicle….anyway I was leading, went off the triple wrong (I sware the triple is not straight to the drivers stand)..came down on the wrong side, again….this time snapped the stock plastic steering horn right off.  WOW, no damage to the RC10B6 steering assembly.  It would cost me another qualifier, but a quick fix.  First time I hadn’t finished a qualifier in a while..

Q2= RC10GT sitting in 4th, TQ in mod buggy, and the kiddo would hold 1st on the grid for the main.

MAINS:

I knew the transmission was acting up in the RC10GT, and carpet just exaggerates the issue… seems the diff was slipping.  The slipper was destroyed when I got the truck.  rebuilt it and put it back on the shelf, but never tested it until today.  I’d adjust the slipper a bit back and forth to try to compensate.  Starting 4th out of 6 in the main, I’d move around as high a 2nd at one point, then end up 4th finishing.  The RC10GT-E jumped great.  I’d change to 35W oil in the front, red springs all the way around, and snipe the outside edges of the front carpet tires to take away a little of the bite.  After 3 races worth of racing on it, the body was showing it.  Lexin gets brittle over time, and now paint chips, broken rear wing, cracked fenders..yeah, this would be this bodies last race. BUT it would finish.

How’d the kiddo’s B5m and my mod B6 do?  1st (his 1st 🙂 ), and 1st :).  I knew as long as each one of them didn’t break, they’d finish on the podium, and they held up.  AE built great 5th and 6th gen buggies, if only they weren’t so ugly more people would buy them :).  I think for the track I need more motor for the mod class; a 6.5 would be good from 8.5, just a little more power hitting the triple to curve me barely making it every time.  Kid’s 21.5 is jut right for his skill level right now.  the 10.5 in the RC10GT was enough, but wasn’t stupid power.  Lots of people running 13.5’s, which seems pretty good for those trucks.

So, things I learned from the RC10GT project:

• Make sure the diff is right
• unless you’re amazing driver and never plan on tapping a wall during racing, consider modifying the vehicle to the newer AES 8mm ball joined and cups
• get away from that off-road setup on high traction; stiffen the front up a bit and soften the rear so that the rear squats and the front doesn’t lift it’s inner steering wheel off the ground when cornering hard.
• the laydown transmission setup from the RC10GT is great for high traction, and the 2nd gen RC10GT chassis is bullet-proof (literally I think)..
• and of course, don’t expect the hobby shop to have spare parts for your 15 year old truck (unless it’s a Traxxas).  bring a well organized supply of replacement parts.

that’s it for now.  some cleaning up of the RC10GT before parking it for now.  plan to rebuild the diff again, just to make sure it doesn’t slip, (and check into a gear option again for the ol’ 2.25:1 tranny), and finally paint up the old school RC10GT body for I have at home for it’s next outing.

Thanks for Reading.

It’s been a while!

Yup!  still alive, still RC’n.  Job stuff changed, so did my free time to post cool stuff.  So what was the rest of 2016 like and so far into 2017?  unemployed, new job, uber-busy…sick, video games, work, sick, rc, sick, video games, work, and now after a bit of a calm to help me remember what I really enjoy, RC :).

I’ve been to some races, went back to SDRC, racing at Ricochet raceway while I can, and some pics below, got to have some fun just driving up and down the street with my RC10B3, then jumping into the monster, the RC8B3e.  I love the whine of a brushed motor, the RC10B3 is just fun.  getting use to eight scale is awesome, but afraid of the costs….time will tell, still pretty sweet.

that’s all for now!  back to job!

Like a B6..

Ok, time for some more carpet time.  I still think it’s not pure off-road, BUT it is racing, and if you haven’t been to Ricochet Raceway yet in Imperial, CA, make it super-convenient. Because of that, you get a LOT more racing in compared to dirt.  Just the surface is more unforgiving.  So, now to try out the RC10B6, and Even-numbered AE vehicle, and I never have luck with even-numbered AE vehicles.  Will the curse be over???

 

 

……..

 

 

…..Yes…..

I copied the box setup and put white sway bars on it, that’s it. and I through it on the track.  Didn’t even check camber settings, ride height.  I just put it on the track.  Show me what you got.  Wholy Shet!!  it drives great!  I didn’t try to tip in the corners like my B5m, it jumped great, it even looks bad-ass going around the track.  But is it tough?  during practice I’d break a front A-arm mount/carrier.  NOT AN A-ARM like I typically would on the B5m….A carrier.  After inspection I’d install the brace wrong from the front arms, which is why it may have snapped.  I replaced it with a fancy aluminum unit and had no further issues the entire race day.  yeah!  Yeah, that’s pretty bad-ass.  I’m so cautious moving forward now with such bad experiences from upgrades over time, this is great.

So racing was great, I made mistakes in the main.  I started towards the back of the pack, then turn 3 I made a move putting me in 1st after the double….only to have my only traction roll of the night.  I don’t think I was planted enough going into the turn.  I’d make some more mistakes and drop to last, then work my way back up to 2nd.  the Main ended up being my best run of the day, BUT if I was more consistent I might have had something for 1st place.  until next time.

Reedy Outdoor Race of Champs- Day 3, Main Day

 

Well, after an exhausting weekend I finally made it to the final day of racing, main day.  it would all come down to this, the mains.  I survived qualifying, just barely, but would start last in every class.  I understand now why some people opt to go stock, they simply are off pace in mod.  I’m on average 3 seconds off a LAP in mod, so I’m the back marker.  I may consider going stock next year, but if I do that more work of taking more motor out, etc., something I have to consider with running multiple classes.

Today would be a 4 hour main day.  Expecting rain the plan was to start all the racing at 9am, with a few hours of practice and be out by lunch.  As soon as I put my equipment on the pit table, rain hits.  sprinkling, but still raining.  rain delay..This would push everything back an hour of so before we could start.

once it dried a bit I got my pit table setup and began looking at my RC10’s; and contemplating swaping over the entire electronics and rebuilding my transmission in the 45 minutes we had before the start of the first race.  because of the schedule I would have to turn marshall the first race, race my B-main mod buggy, then marshall again, so time was going to be tight.  after talking with the other RC10 drivers at the race they agreed and I decided to hastly swap everything over to my quickly built RC10 rear motor.  I’ve never rushed a build so fast in my life, but with 2 minutes of practice left I put it down on the track and got a 2 lap feel of the car.  it was the right decision.  I’d marshall then race.  the car was better then it had felt all weekend.  I drove it better than I did all weekend.  Still, I was a back marker, just not taking the right lines, lack of practice, any many other things that would take seconds off my laps times to remain on the lead lap.  after a 10 minute main I’d finish 5 laps behind the pack, with 25 laps.  yet I was still proud of how the car drove, and how I drove.  I crashed twice during the whole race, one was almost a race ender with a ball cup popping off my steering once again.  luckily a cool german fellow I had been talking to and racing with over the weekend was an old school racer (with a cool RC10 B2 T2 hat), took a moment to pop my ball cup back on after missing the double jump, and I was able to finish the race, it was great.

The RC10T I would be able to do double-A main. The car was making a bearing noise when turning right.  I had replaced broken bearings on both sides of the rear hubs , but was still there.  motor was good, BUT I would break another rear hub carrier screw head.  I’m really not liking the stock associated phillip screw heads.  time for a stainless steel screw kit for the car, I’m tiring of DNF’s because of this.

I would replace both rear a-arm carriers and all bolts for A2, and took a little more caution around the track, hurting my lap times.  my goal was to finish, and I did, at the back of the pack.  live and learn.

I’d pack up, hang around and thank a few people at the end of the awards ceremony and make the trip back to Yuma Arizona that night.  good fun, exhausting weekend.  We’ll see about next year.  This is really the only event you can race rear-motor at anymore, so I think it’s awesome they do this and want to see them to this in the future.  I hope to see more people come out to take advantage of this cool event.

open-truck-a1

open-truck-a2

2wd-mod-buggy-b-main

Reedy Outdoor race of Champs- Day 2, Qualifying.

Well-rested from the day before, I once again packed all my excessive gear back into my car, hit a local McDonalds for Breakfast, grabbed a case of water for the day, and some snacks because I would more than likely forget to eat again for lunch and dinner, and hit the track.

Once I got out of the car and to the pit table, it hit me why I love indoor racing so much, the convenience.  Here I was, freezing at 5am in the morning trying to get my shade and pit table setup.  When I race indoor, I bring my race bag and chair and that’s it, lets go racing. off road racing requires a little more equipment, but luckily I came prepared and setup my sweet pitspot for the day, ready to go.

my plan today was just to get through the quals and see where my cars were.  first up with 2WD mod buggy.  The RC10M DID NOT like the loose conditions, almost undrivable.  I knew this car was not the car for this track, I’d try a few things during the day, but it wasn’t gonna work out.  Next was the RC10T, which was fine, but having a sport radio with a completely different feel than my M12 with my RC10M, nope.  I would muscle the car around, overshoot or undershoot jumps constantly, and deal with weird bump steer.  Despite a loosening motor, and broken A-Arm mount screw-head I’d finish 5 of the 6 Qualifiers for the day.

Feeling incredibly optimistic I’d start building another RC10 World car rear motor during the day, and finish it up late into the night making a mess of the hotel room.  at 1:30am I’d finally pass out and get some rest to start at the back of the field.

2wd-mod-buggy-q1

2wd-mod-buggy-q2

2wd-mod-buggy-q3

open-truck-q1

open-truck-q2

open-truck-q3

 

 

2016 Reedy Outdoor Race of Champions- Day 1;Practice

Well, I finally made it to the world-famous Hot Rod Hobbies in Santa Clarita this last weekend.  It was a great trip, many months in the making.

It started out as kind of an RC-pilgrimage; a few of my rc-buddies from back in the day.  They would bring out their original RC cars and I would bring mine that I was racing back in the day.  I ordered parts months in advance, got my cars ready as I could.  I would plan on racing my original RC-10 with the old-style tires, brushed motor etc., and my RC10T based of the release of the RC10 Worlds buggy.

Well as time went on problems started to arise with the Original RC10, so I decided I was going to take another “classic”er car, the RC10B3.  Got the Original RC10 together, but with the original RC10 tires were going to give me issues.  Unfortunately there’s only one vendor who makes the original newer style tires for the older 1.7” rims.  So, I started looking at making the RC10B3 the primary car for the race….all was good, until I couldn’t order shock towers….Couldn’t believe they stopped making rear shock towers for it, until I looked at the calendar…ah.  So, my freshly built, unproven RC10M mid motor would end up being my primary buggy for the weekend…

My old-school race buddies like my old school cars proved to be unreliable, so I would end up going solo on this trip.  That kinda sucks because one of the perks of overnight RC road-trips is the RC buddies to hang out with and talk RC with, which didn’t happen.  On the plus side I got to listen to whatever I wanted to music-wise the whole way…6 hours there.

After packing too much equipment for spares for the unreliable RC-buddies I would finally make it to the Hot Rod Hobbies track in the middle of practice day.  I’ve been spoiled of months of indoor racing, and outdoor racing was a bit of a wakup call.  I brought all I needed but slowly remembered wind, cold, etc.  had power anyway, on super-tall pit tables that were waist high, just like back in Yuma :).  I finally got my RC gear out and got my vehicles ready for practice.  I hit the track first with the old school Original RC10, which I brought along just for fun, and it actually got around the track pretty good.  during practice though I heard the car making laps around 29 seconds…not good as the fast guys were hitting 19 seconds a lap!    I finally had my run with the buggy and went to the truck and buggy that I’d be racing for qualifying.  The truck got around not too bad, but the RC10M was loose-loose, not the car for this track.  They were consistently watering the track every hour which was great, so I made runs wet and dry.  lots of people recommended the Proline hole-shot M4 as cold as it was getting, so I went with that.  I went with an old set on the RC10M and ran it when the track was drying to see if the traction was better, it was, but when I took it off the track a whole inner row of pins on the back tires were gone!  I was reminded from one of the staff that when it’s ran blue-groove it’s a super abrasive track, that will rip the pins right off the tires..  I bought a new set of proline hole shots to mount up for the buggy.  For the Truck I had a set Double-Dee’s that were hooked up wether is was wet of dry, and they didn’t seem to clog as easy, so truck was good.

I was surprised though on how often I broke stuff on both vehicles though, popping ballcups, screwheads off of A-arm mounts, ESC coming off, wing mounts breaking.  with more than anticipated breaks, less time was used practicing unfortunately, never finished a battery.  I would finally pack up late that night after a hard day at the track, and slowly drag it all from the car into the hotel room before passing out after demolishing some fast food on the bed, need all the sleep I can for day 2…