tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66026680912590695892024-03-12T20:33:26.249-04:00Toy Car Racing.. Or Is It?Adventures of a Radio Controlled Car Racer.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger30125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-19214126404476678032013-06-30T13:01:00.001-04:002013-08-19T00:19:25.772-04:00RevTech Lipo Battery Overview <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='480' height='399' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pSobo3M72CM?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
Quick video I did a couple years back on the RevTec Lipo Battery. Great pack!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-48242300110773451142011-12-08T09:21:00.000-05:002013-08-19T00:40:28.556-04:00Body Mounting Tips from Jilles G. & Paul LNormally I mount my bodies 5mm more forward then standard position, looked from the front wheels. The wing is mounted 10mm further back then the bumper which is in the rules.<br />
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I always start the wing to be 10mms behind the bumper. On the speed6 it will be farther back than the stock location dimples.<br />
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Having the wing farther back will make the car much more stable on high speed, especially when entering the sweepers. moving the wing forward will give the car more steering, especially in the high speed sections.<br />
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For me the wing position is a special tool to ballance your low speed and high speed steering. having the wing back or forward will effect steering in all places but it doubles or tripples its effect at higher speeds, where as a set up change is normally more across the board with high speed and low speed.<br />
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So it is a adjustment in a different demention from a chassis set up change which makes it valuble to me.<br />
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I first take a tall straight edge and stand it up behind the car, I then allign the straight edge with the wing (upper most lip of the wing). then i use a hudy droop block which is 10mm and slip it between the straight edge and the rear most bumper. it will be within 1mm every time. If you are having problems holding everything straight while measuring you can use double sided tape on the wing to hold the wings position while measuring, then just re-set the tape untill you get your proper 10mm. once its straight you can partially ream threw the wing, tape and bairly in to the body to make your dimples, remoove the tape, ream the holes properly then your all set.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">(all information taken from RcTech.Net forum)</span>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-67726652285737472382011-07-13T01:00:00.000-04:002013-08-18T21:15:12.494-04:00How To Fix R/CI've been contemplating the issue that faces R/C today as it has begint o maintain a shocking decline over the past 10 years as a whole. I feel we spend at least half of our energy devoted to r/c, after work, kids, wife, issues, etc on dealing with issues related to the decline in R/C rather than enjoying the hobby for whatever you desire from it. This make absolutely no sense. Why spend whats left of our very limited personal time worrying about such tings but doing nothing about it. Well, here I feel is the best solution:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">GIVE BACK TO R/C </span><br />
<blockquote>
Yes, dare I, to say it. And its the truth. We as enthususts have drained R/C down to a very low evel that is beginning to show its ugly face. Particularly in onroad, the TC market grew at high high rates and took many people, starting out as an occasinal racer/basher into the highest level of race they could desire/afford. Notice I say <i>afford</i>. Now that's great - some people became super talented racers and other companies made a few Benjamins - "Whoo Hoo!"</blockquote>
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One thing went terribly wrong, however, we forgot the public. We got too wrapped up in com lathes, brushless motor of the week and "what does Paul L. eat that makes hin so good?". We forgot what we all started as innocent kids or bored adults who happened to stop by this R/C racing shop and check it out, from wherever they discovered it. 20 years later, their kids are into it, it's basically a member of the family. Hell, a picture of your r/c cars is probably wedged in the frame that holds the family Kodak Moment. But again, we forgot what we started as.<br />
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Now flash forward to present day and our top level racing programs have been all but wiped away and companies are coming and going, as are racers, unfortunately. Dare I say, the top drivers, you know, whoever your favorite's are (yes, it's ok to have a favorite male driver, no homo), give back to this hobby that has made them wildly successful and their affiliated "sponsors" richer. Since when have you seen Marc Rhenard, undoubtedly the face of electric TC, among other classes, post on RCTech. I mean c'mon, don' t they at least give you free wifi at the hotel? I applaud those racers, Paul (Paul L) and Jilles (JHG) come to mind, who have gone beyond their normal circle of top racers and help those below them in an organized and efficient manner the Internet has come to be. On the track, both are extremely personable to everyone and represent this hobby proudly. On the other hand, in all respect, one particularly well known person in R/C racing's "Athlete" Facebook is nothing more than moans and groans about how awful the flight was or which bottle of beer they are drinking currently. You tell me, which this pair of examples helps the hobby on a whole?<br />
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But it would be all too easy to blame the guys who have devoted much of their lives and many time relationships into this hobby ,that will continue to only become more challenging, and have the trohpies and experience to prove it. We have to look at ourselves. Every single on of us. To recover strong and will a solid foundation, we have to give back to the hobby that has given so much to us. I guarantee, ask any R/C racer, he has at least one amazing memory linked to R/C that he will cherish forever and we have to share that with others now. Alienating ourselves because we think we are the best at toycarracing will produce much more harm than good. It has gone on long enough. I love onroad and I want to make it better for myself and those around me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-25020825788996115042011-06-16T14:55:00.000-04:002013-08-19T00:20:40.906-04:00Jaco/Carpet/HotShot Rd1 Testing Notes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuP6_izkfhWi_XBNsfJfxQEL2T4J7t0rFhmzq3QdG8Q8QzqSicdoCogm_aWq0r_dHSNwj50V5lsfAWw9Rs5yWOCm4TERTsA-mF93lWJCPGfom21M8dUOBj-27AKTTAuEw_bl8FdAQJxD0/s1600/trackB-1024x577.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuP6_izkfhWi_XBNsfJfxQEL2T4J7t0rFhmzq3QdG8Q8QzqSicdoCogm_aWq0r_dHSNwj50V5lsfAWw9Rs5yWOCm4TERTsA-mF93lWJCPGfom21M8dUOBj-27AKTTAuEw_bl8FdAQJxD0/s640/trackB-1024x577.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Flip L1/L2 (rear):<br />
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<ul>
<li>more turn in</li>
<li>more steering</li>
<li>higher corner speed</li>
<li>reduced stability </li>
<li>good for technical track</li>
</ul>
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Flip L1/L2 Front: </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>less steering </li>
<li>very stable </li>
<li>probably not the fastest option for technical track</li>
</ul>
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<u>Tire Prep on Carpet</u></div>
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STX+STX Cleaner+Let Dry </div>
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<ul>
<li>little loose, good steering </li>
</ul>
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STX+brake cleaner+Let Dry </div>
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<ul>
<li>takes longer for STX to absorb </li>
<li>easier to drive, little slower</li>
</ul>
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STX+STX+Let Dry </div>
<ul>
<li>best compromise of STX cleaner and brake cleaner </li>
</ul>
<div>
<u>Length of Camber Links </u></div>
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Rear 2nd hole outside on hub </div>
<ul>
<li>more stability </li>
<li>more traction</li>
<li>less initial steering </li>
</ul>
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<a href="http://forum.teamxray.com/xform/index.php?act=view&ID=1953&setup=t3">Setup 6.15.11</a></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-73915439793752071742011-06-16T14:28:00.000-04:002011-06-16T14:28:24.117-04:00A New ApproachAfter the move and getting things settled, I have been thinking heavily about practice and preparing for races. Approximately half the year is spent on carpet and the other half on asphalt but, in my opinion, I believe carpet is easier to learn (less complicated) than asphalt. I believe this because<br />
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<ol><li>less tire wear</li>
<li>consistent conditions when compared to asphalt.</li>
</ol><div>That said, I have decided to focus on carpet this summer in lieu of asphalt. I believe taking a challenge step by step is the most effective method to achieve greatness. Lucky, in the U.S. we have many indoor tracks as track owners can keep it running year round while in the winter most asphalt tracks go untouched. Also, the US has far more large carpet races compared to large asphalt races. I plan to move to Europe within the next two years and I believe there I will have more and better opportunities to race outdoors. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In the US, the Jaco Blue spec tire is very popular for carpet racing so I am going to test exclusively with that tire. Once I find a suitable setup and learn more and more about the car and driving, I will test with the Solaris Hard tire. Thus, by the end of the year, I hope to have very good setups for both tire as well as increased knowledge, experience, and skill. </div><div><br />
</div><div>I want to explore all areas of preparation and setup from motors to tires and gain as much personal experience as possible rather than only relying on word of mouth to what works. </div><div><br />
</div><div> From here, I will record my findings. </div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-29931283639721433662011-04-20T10:08:00.004-04:002013-08-19T00:11:18.060-04:00I'm Now Manager of New R/C Body Paint Business! Tatsubana Designs & Paint<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_4qPUfTgKGMc/Ta3BXPIzJnI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/YdU8lzpKU7s/logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/_4qPUfTgKGMc/Ta3BXPIzJnI/AAAAAAAAAqQ/YdU8lzpKU7s/logo.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.rctech.net/forum/painting-designs-graphics-photography/504904-introducing-tatsubana-designs-paint.html">Tatsubana Thread on RCTech</a><br />
<h2>
<br />Some of our work: </h2>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-89257003532970200902011-04-20T10:03:00.002-04:002011-04-20T10:04:30.463-04:00Collection of Driving Ideas/Theories from RCTech PostsThrottle control is very important, but try and watch the way the real fast drivers steer as well. How you steer is VERY important to cornerspeed.<br />
<br />
Most of us started out steering by just turning the wheel fully in the direction of the turn, and going as fast as we can through the turn that way. The real fast drivers are moving the wheel slower, and using less steering. What you're trying to do is transfer the weight onto the outside wheels gradually to get the most cornerspeed. If you just come up to the corner and crank the wheel over, you'll break traction and never really generate the grip you need to get around fast. Try starting to turn the wheel earlier, but slower, to ease the weight of the car onto the outside wheels... you'll find you need less steering and the car will tend to rail around the corner.<br />
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Trigger control is very important too, anything you do to transfer weight smoothly will get you better lap times. <br />
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also if you have to crank the steering and the car is pushing, you are scrubbing off a lot of speed in the corner, you want to take the corner at a speed that your car will turn with mininal steering input and keep that speed through the turn<br />
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Less steering speed = faster corner speed, less steering throw also improves corner speed, but if there are some low speed corners, it could be difficult to corner with. So now I'm running less steering throw, and -ve expone<br />
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High Corner Speeds with a touring car- As you progress in your ability it seems that you can set up your car to have more steering traction. If I let someone faster than me drive my car, they say it doesn't have enough steering, if somenone slower drives it they say it's got too much steering. It has as much as I can tolerate. You can tolerate more steering traction as you learn to use more throttle entering and during the middle of the turn. If your car has as much steering traction as the faster guys and then you let off throttle too much you tend to loose the back end. If you turn the steering wheel too fast you can stall the car on a hign grip track. You learn to use more throttle and smooth movement of the Radios steering wheel with practice. You can cheat a little on the radio by using the speed function to slow down your maximum steering rate. This keeps the car hooked up. It is better to learn to do this by moving your wheel more slowly. You can prevent stalls when you are learning by giving the car some forward throttle with the throttle trim. I find that each corner needs a little different throttle for corner entry so its probably better to do with out this as well. The faster drivers don't pass through neutral much if at all on our track, so even if they do have forward throttle trim they are not using it<br />
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Best Line For Stock Class. If you watch a formula 1 or a Cart Race and get an arial view, the best line is usually clearly marked with a blackened area of the track. It seems that every inch of pavement is used to make a corner. The cars start wide hit the apex and exit wide. In stock touring RC car's class there is just not enough motor to do that. If you travel a few extra inches your lap times will probably be worse. At the region 9 on-road regionals in Houston, I watched the line of the better drivers. You could almost take a straight edge and connect each corner radius with a straight line to find the fastest path. There were two exceptions. There was one corner (about 150 degrees, (where 180 degrees is a hairpin turn) very sharp) onto a chicane. If you took this corner about 10-12 inches wide of the straight path then you could use full throttle through the chicane and just steer through it. Coming off this chicane onto the straight there was a 90 degree corner. Your car was about 2/3 full speed here so it was a little faster to turn out about half to 2/3 the track width onto the straight. All the other corners were a connect the dots situation.<br />
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Cornering procedure-So how do you make the stock touring car take this path. Well you divide the track into straight sections and curved sections. Coming into the corner you have to slow to the right speed. You just reduce throttle (rarely off throttle) Then you drive it around the marker at constant speed. The faster guys are about an inch from the markers. Our layout had some markers made out of a curved material with a gentle radius. These were driven the same way. You stay on the radius till you intersect the next straight line section. You can see a distinct change in the motion of the car on the corners. Constant speed is the key. The car is being kept right at the limit of traction for that radius of corner at constant speed.<br />
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So How do you make your car do this. A couple of suggestions. you can't have all of your steering travel turned off with the radio to control oversteer. Fix the setup and make the car able to take a tight radius turn. Then if you need a gentle radius you can just turn the wheel less. Don't get greedy with speed entering the turn. You have to enter at just the speed that you can maintain for the entire turn.<br />
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12th scale pan cars are very good training... funny thing pan cars. The less you steer in high speed corners, the more steering it gets. So i do my training there ;-)<br />
True! Same thing for 1/10th. Fast and very reactive. Makes better drivers, imho. I know I benefit from it. Small actions beget large reactions.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-42832545284826929772011-04-20T09:28:00.000-04:002013-08-19T00:14:03.755-04:00Thoughts for Upcoming RaceGoing into this weekend's race I'm looking at more than just the mechanics of the car but focusing on my driving. I have been doing a good bit of research on how to make the most of the car through driving and came upon a few realizations:<br />
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<br />
<ol>
<li>transfer weight evenly and smoothly to prevent tire overheat/loss of traction and to also maximize the traction in the tire </li>
<li>slow in, fast out! Make lines that set me up to get out of the corner fast but also setup for the next turn </li>
<li>smooth is fast, without being too slow </li>
</ol>
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Car is working well and I will be testing the Spec-R gear diff this weekend with 1K oil. </div>
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Last weekend was my first experience with modified and it was super fun! I ran a Trinity/Epic Duo3 10.5 with tons of timing in my Tekin speed control but I still feel like a lower wind motor without all the crazy timing is best. The boost from the Tekin makes it feel unnatural and edgy while I think a 5.5 or 5.0 without boost will be much smoother. </div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-72258087941497081042011-04-04T15:06:00.001-04:002011-04-04T15:06:57.213-04:00Test for FacebookTesting Facebook Syndication!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-79157707093811770282011-04-04T13:42:00.000-04:002011-04-04T13:42:32.459-04:00BackIt has been awhile since I last posted and things have changed dramatically both on and off the track.<br />
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Carpet season was ok and made some good runs but also looking to get faster. I recently picked up a new sponsor, ReVtech Racing. This is a subset of the Trinity/Epic brand and I'm super excited to be representing them in the future :).<br />
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Sunday will be the first asphalt race of the season and after a short break after the Snowbirds, I'm ready to race again. I want to focus on my driving more than anything, rather than making myself too crazy with setup options. Outside, inside, outside for racing lines!Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-83387033266621227142010-05-16T23:04:00.001-04:002010-05-17T08:53:00.774-04:00Great Find on Roll CentersFound this on Rctech.net on roll centers courtesy of the member "<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">ray_munday": </span><br />
<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"> </span></blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;">The important thing to know is what the roll centre actually means. When you are cornering, the side force from the tyre is directed to the chassis via the suspension links (the 'geometry'). Basically, the roll centre is the point in space at which the tyre force 'points to'. If the roll centre is high, when you turn, the side force from the outer wheel will point upwards and this actually pushes the chassis up, reducing roll angle. If the roll centre is below ground, the side force will push the chassis downwards, increasing roll angle. When the roll centre is at ground level, there is no up or down force applied to teh chassis from the geometry.<br />
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So in mid corner, a low roll centre acts like having a softer spring at that end of the car (ie more grip at that end) while a higher roll centre acts like a siffer spring at that end (ie less grip at that end). But thats only part of the story.<br />
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What makes roll centres so important is that they act immeduiately when you turn. When you first turn the wheel, the front tyres develop a slip angle and build up grip very quickly. This means that the roll centre force acts almost immediately. The chassis then starts to yaw, which creates a slip at the rear, so the rear tyre force builds up an instant later, meaning the front roll centre acts first then the rear roll centre. The chassis is starting to roll, so the dampers are starting to work, but dampers provide more force as they move faster, so they have a delayed action from the roll centres. Finally, the springs start to have an effect as their force is proportional to displacement, so it takes time for them to build up a significant force (you dont have instant displacement). As you exit the corner, these things happen somewhat in reverse. (this is obviously a simplification, but should give you the general idea).<br />
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So basically the roll centre allows you to tune the way that the vertical tyre force builds up through the turn. A high roll centre makes the force build up quickly, which can be good for low grip tracks where you need the tyre to bite; a low roll centre makes the force buildup more progressive, which is more useful for high grip tracks where you need the car to be a bit less responsive.<br />
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If we look at a high front roll centre, when we first turn the wheel, the outer front tyre will have a very fast build up of vertical force (it is trying to push the chassis up which in turn plants the tyre into the ground). This can make the front of the car feel very responsive, but once the car is in the middle of the corner, it will add some weight transfer at the front and take away a bit of front grip. A low front roll centre will tend to make the car less responsive to initial steering inputs (as the rate of force buildup is slower) but in mid corner provides more front grip.<br />
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Both the height of the ballstud and the length of the arm are used to adjust roll centre. If we raise the inner ballstud, we lower the roll centre (see diagrams below) and vice versa. The length of the upper arm affects how the roll centre changes as the suspension compresses / extends. (As the suspension moves, the roll centre moves up and down as well - it is an unavoidable fact of independent suspensions.) A longer upper arm keeps the roll centre lower as the suspension compresses, while a short upper arm keeps the roll centre higher as the suspension compresses. As Wild Cherry pointed out, the ballstud height is less sensitive than the length of the arm, but it varies a little from setup to setup. It also acts in a slightly different part of the corner.<br />
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To answer your question about the rear - adding a washer to the rear ballstud will lower the roll centre, which will give more rear traction. This is most noticable when applying power to the car as you are exiting the corner.<br />
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Sorry for the long post, but its not an easy subject to give a 5 line answer to!<br />
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</span><br />
<div style="margin: 5px 20px 20px;"><div class="smallfont" style="font: 11px verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 2px;">Quote:</div><table border="0" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="0"><tbody>
<tr><td class="alt2" style="background-color: #dfdfdf; border-style: inset; border-width: 1px; color: black; font: 10pt verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><div>Originally Posted by <b>Krio</b> <a href="http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric-off-road/53045-rc10b4-t4-forum-520.html#post5842366" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1550ec;"><img alt="View Post" border="0" class="inlineimg" src="http://www.rctech.net/forum/images/cars-red/buttons/viewpost.gif" style="vertical-align: middle;" title="View Post" /></a></div><div style="font-style: italic;">Sorry, but that's not the correct way to find roll center. You're tracing the lines the wrong way and in your setup the roll center is crazy high, not low. Everything else you said is right though, just try a picture like this:<br />
<a href="http://www.mitchellsoftware.com/ForceB1.jpg" rel="nofollow" style="color: #1550ec;" target="_blank">http://www.mitchellsoftware.com/ForceB1.jpg</a></div></td></tr>
</tbody></table></div>actually, richards diagram is correct - it just shows a geometry that is not usually shown for full size cars (ie the upper links pointing upwards at the inner end of the car). Having this layout gives a very low roll centre as shown, but can also make the camber become positive in compression. This is a big no-no for full size cars, but our tyres are much less sensitive to camber and much more sensitive to roll centre. unning 2 or more washers on the front B4 ballstud gives you a similar geometry.<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
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<blockquote><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: verdana,geneva,lucida,'lucida grande',arial,helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 13px;"><br />
</span></blockquote>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-5312143737691556352010-05-11T12:39:00.000-04:002010-05-11T12:39:32.512-04:00Relaxing FunI had a great time racing offroad for the first time at <a href="http://www.turtletraxraceway.com/">Turtle Trax Raceway</a>. I competed in the SCT class with a friend's stock Slash among Associated and Kyosho SCTs.Although they had either 17.5 or 13.5 motors and proper racing tires, I was surprised how close the stock Slash came to the more sophisticated trucks. Driving an off road car felt like I was going R/C for the first time all over again and it was a blast! Bumping into each other, sailing over jumps, and shooting up rooster tails was so much fun and a nice change from onroad. Although I had a great time, it doesn't replace onroad and my enthusiasm for onroad could not be higher. While at Turtle Trax, the 2wd buggies really caught my eye and I could see myself getting one in the future if I happen to live close to a good electric off road track. Luckily, the owner of Turtle Trax is considering building an indoor facility closer to where I live :). We will see what happens. The atomosphere was very relaxed and it was nice not to worry about 10ths of seconds or having the most speed. It was nice to throw the truck on the track, run around, and most importantly have fun.<br />
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This Sunday will be the nexst race at <a href="http://www.go-rc.org/">Hobbytown</a>. During the last couple of weeks, bought a Tekin RS and sold the KO. I still need to get the latest software for the Tekin but I'm thrilled to finally have a decent amount of speed instead of being destroyed on the straight. On top of that, I haven't done much to the car. I have been thinking for awhile about the constant lack of traction on my car, both front and rear. I compared setups with the guys who seem to have a decent handling car and we are nearly the same. In some cases I should have even more steering compared to them as I am running 2.8 front springs and 6 deg caster. I'm now thinking that a fresh pair of Jaco Blues would help. MY tires aren't abnormally worn or tearing yet but at this point, I'm running out of ideas. At the very least, I will have a fresh set when/if the current tires are toast. I really hope tires will help my car. I'm about a second per lap and two laps total off pace. This is with no speed and an ill-handling car so I'm hoping for a big improvement Sunday.If the tires help, I can focus on other details to make the car even better rather than chasing non-existent traction all day.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-73543484923262446852010-05-07T09:39:00.000-04:002010-05-07T09:39:40.964-04:00The Next StepAfter a long week of finals, I'm finally done with this semester. It's going to be an interesting summer, on the track and off. I will be starting my internship in about a month and have to deal with the changes that associate with it. Hopefully it will lead to fruitful endevors past this summer.<br />
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This weekend in racing will be interesting because I am going to attend my first off road race EVER! The onroad racing here only happens twice per month which obviously isn't enough for me as I'm running off road just to keep myself occupied. I will be racing in the SCT class that has been so popular over the last couple of years in the States. I honestly never thought I would be racing offroad but I'm excited to try something different.<br />
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Unfortunately, onroad has taken a social life of its own and not in a good way. Only two races in and I'm finding myself irritated by the amount of bickering and lack of enthusiasm over the whole deal. Part of the reason to do R/C i to relax and it makes it difficult when someone always has a problem or complaint about how something is being managed. I'm curious to see if this is true in off road as well or if onroad just seems to attract the whiners.<br />
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<a href="http://www.turtletraxraceway.com/">Track</a><br />
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In other news, ROAR recently announced that they will begin regulating ESCs for Sportsman classes. In short, no timing advance, turbo, etc - it basically brings the ESCs back to where they were about a year ago. This is something that the R/C community has been asking for from ROAR. Hell, we have been asking for something, anything from ROAR on the subject. I think it's good that ROAR is finally speaking up after a year of the industry pumping out these super ESCs but I'm not so sure this is the best way to deal with it. I've never attended a ROAR race but in my mind, the "sportsman" guys were usually pretty decent at racing. Before the economic downturn, you would see people from all over the country coming to attend the ROAR nationals of XYZ. If you have this kind of desire to race at a national event, is getting the right speedo really that big of an issue? It's not like only certain people can buy the speedos or anything; plus, some manufacturers (read:Tekin) offer their software updates free of charge. I think that the real issue comes down to the new speed we have found - people are always going to want to go faster and faster but what we really need to do is redefine what "stock" and "mod" is. The speedo wars aren't just at the national level but at the club level these days, especially in onroad and running the newer speedos are so common that it's pointless to scale the power back, espeically at a national level.<br />
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With that said, I ended up buying a Tekin RS for my T2'008 :)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-90929032804624376602010-04-27T09:14:00.000-04:002010-04-27T09:14:26.975-04:00FrustratedSunday was another fun day or R/C racing, especially because my girlfriend came to watch for a bit. It's always nice to have the people you care about sharing something that makes you happy. The car on the other hand, was less than a thrilling experience.<br />
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The track layout was different this time due to a longer straight and a more technical infield. I liked this layout much more than the old one from two weeks ago because of the greater variety. I ended up getting 350cSt shock oil and this helped tremendously in terms of steering but I lacked overall grip all day. I used a variety of different tire sauces but unfortunately none of them cured my lack of traction problems. After the third qualifier, I was becoming more and more frustrated with my situation because nothing I tried was working and to top it off, I was getting absolutely demolished in terms of power. As I've stated before, the Tekin RS is the ONLY way to go if you want to go fast. Nothing can keep up with it and I unfortunately caught the tail end of the deal with my KO esc. I knew I could drive well, even with a car that had no traction but the power of the other drivers easily made up for it.<br />
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In the main, it was again the same story. I tried a different traction compound (FXII) and lowered the rear shocks all the way down but I still didn't like it. Most people were using tire warmers which aparently helped a lot but I was not able to secure a set to try. The main started out with crashing but I pushed through (maybe too aggresively) and lead most of the race. Another driver had a good handling car but wasn't driving quite as well but again, because of his ESC, he was able to catch me at the last minute o the main. As he crept on me, we got tangled but he was a good sportsman and let me proceed for the win.<br />
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Trying not to whine (well I guess I am) I was frustrated because I didn't have the right equipment. I drives me nuts to know I could have done so much better if only I had the right stuff backing me up.<br />
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In the end, I know I need to calm down some. I was getting upset with the car thus I wasn't a fair driver in the main and pushed through drivers whereas I would have normally tried to slow down to allow all of us to run cleanly. I was not being a good friend or sportsman and I should always strive to be. I am more mad now that I acted this way and didn't take my win graciously. I learned that no matter how my day is going in the pits, I can't carry that to the track. I also think this can be applied to everyday life. You can't let some spilled milk ruin your day and impact other things in it.<br />
<br />
Until the next race, I will focus on getting the things I need to compete. I'm just glad I have an internship this summer to help me :). Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-85477609056745152442010-04-22T21:19:00.000-04:002010-04-22T21:19:43.070-04:00Thoughts Going Into SundayAfter a crummy performance at the last race, I've been thinking and preparing over the last couple of weeks in preparation for Sunday's race.<br />
<br />
As I explained in the previous post, I found lowering from roll center and raising the rear roll center helpful in getting the car to turn as well as have more initial bite into the corner. I also remembered how thick my front shock oil is from carpet season (650cSt!) which definitely hindered the car's ability to roll into the corner. I am still unsure where to start as far as oil. However, I know that when the heat picks up into the summer, I will need to run thicker oil to compensate. Right now I'm thinking of something between 350 and 450 cSt.<br />
<br />
In addition, I want to test combinations of tire sauces, tire warmers, and tire prep times. From observation and people telling me, tire prep is super important on a low traction surface like a parking lot. If I can find a suitable process, it would give me a huge advantage in overall traction. <br />
<br />
This week I found a great deal on <a href="http://www.nexusracing.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=144">MuchMore 24A Power Supply</a> and <a href="http://www.nexusracing.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=2842">Integy Setup Station</a>. After putting the car on the setup station, I found the rear toe to be unequal left to right with the exact same shims on the bulkhead. Looking at it further, I noticed a ton of play in the arm that I didn't catch when I built the car. Apparently Xray redesigned the original T2 arms when they came out with the 008. They are supposedly longer and narrower. I have yet to confirm this but due to the fact that I could not shim out the play with even a 1mm shim and the T2 008 has a total 5mm of shims in the rear arm whereas mine only has 3, I'm pretty sure this is the case. BUT, rather than spend over $30 for just arms, I squeezed the roll center holders when attaching the arm and it reduced much of the play. The toe is the same but not what it is supposed to be from factory. If the arm doesn't loosen up during the day, I will just hold on to the regular arms and make due.<br />
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We will also be running 13.5 instead of 17.5 motors on the track this weekend. I think this is a necessary change as 17.5 on a long straight and flowing track during the dead of Georgia summer can't end well.<br />
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<a href="http://www.go-rc.org/">Georgia On Road Racing Club </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-70530562339270343822010-04-12T20:57:00.000-04:002010-04-12T20:57:10.374-04:00Asphalt!Yesterday was the first on road asphalt race of the season here in Georgia. After a failed attempt (or lack thereof) last season to put together a make-shift parking lot track, yesterday was a huge success with about a dozen cars each class, 17.5 and nitro tc. It was great to change up a little bit and get outside. I always look forward to wither asphalt when it's Winter or carpet when it's Fall.<br />
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The track worked well for both nitro and electric in terms of size. The plan is to extend it for next race to let the nitro cars breath a bit more. Traction was mediocre but I think the more we race, the better the conditions will get. It will be interesting to see how the heat affects tire wear and consistency. <br />
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I brought my now T2 008 to the track without any prior asphalt knowledge with the carpet setup from my T2R. I struggled to get more steering out of the car as it pushed badly throughout the entire corner. I thought I would 'unhook' the rear by standing the rear shocks up more. This helped but the car was no where near perfect. Due to a bad crash and getting caught without a fully charged battery, I only completed one qualifying round which unfortunately landed me in the B main. <br />
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I was doing alright during the main but I was spun out by a couple other drivers which ruined my chances for the win. First place guy drove a great race so kudos to him!<br />
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In all it was a good day. Parking lot tracks have the one advantage of being able to practice nearly anywhere. Today I worked with the car after work and messed with roll centers. I found that rather than messing the rear to get the car to unhook, I made the rear links more parallel and the front more angled. Even on the super pollinated parking lot in front of my apartment, the car had more steering and especially more initial bite. It's not as much steering as I'd really like but it's a start. <br />
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In all, it was a great day, especially for the hobby. It was wonderful to see all of the spectators taking pictures, asking questions, and hearing kids beg their parents to keep watching the racing action. This is what American R/C racing needs!<br />
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For pics and results, click <a href="http://www.go-rc.org/">here</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-90597673186810599322010-03-24T10:00:00.000-04:002010-03-24T10:00:27.032-04:00Nashville & End of Carpet SeasonAfter a long and exciting weekend, I finally a moment and the energy to write about the carpet season finale at Thunder R/C in Nashville, TN. The turnout was decent with A and B mains in both VTA and 17.5 touring. The day started off rather rough as my car didn't feel as good as it did the previous time I raced at this track. I was originally running Sorex 28 tires but later switched to Jaco Blues which were the spec tire sof the day. This was a blessing in disguise because the majority of my handling problems were coming from Sorex tires with holes in them. I realized this after I switched tires and the car was much better and consistent.<br />
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To my surprise the Jaco Blue tires were not bad at all! The Sorex/Jaco 28's are still the best and apparently Jaco Blues have gone through a couple changes. They really handle quite well an I'm looking forward to running them this summer on asphalt. I also tested the new Sweep 30R as well. I did not like them, even over the "new" Jaco blues. They made the car push quite a bit - I'm sure with some setup work, these could perform better but who really wants to go through that through non-spec tires. <br />
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Qualifying had its share of problems, namely the driver. Unfortunately, I was placed in the lower qualifying heat that included foam TC drivers. Any battle with them usually ended up with me getting the raw end of the deal. With all of their traction, the foam cars are like hitting bricks with my rubber car. After calming my nerves and attitiude, I was able to put in a decent run in the third qualifier to solidify my dissapoiting BQ. I only missed the A main by a 1/10 of a second! <br />
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Before the main I used 3mm of shims under the rear link over my normal 1mm to get the ar to roll more and gain more corner speed. I also reduced the rear toe from 3 degrees to 2 degrees. These changes 'unhooked' the rear end more and made getting around the foam cars easier.<br />
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Although I was stuck in the B-main and I knew I would easily win it, I was determined to push the car while keeping tight lines. 3 minutes in I was super close to a 28 lap pace when the car traction rolled coming into the straight and stripped the threads on the front link. Although my run ended early, I was still happy because although I had problems with the car and my driving, I was able to drive hard and clean. <br />
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The guys in Nashville are great and Dirla puts on a great race. I was really impressed by the amount of support they give to the newcomers, especially in VTA. This is what racing needs - good people supporting each other and the hobby.Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-6952839742547820622010-03-13T21:39:00.002-05:002013-08-18T23:19:46.429-04:00People are EverythingThroughout most things I have done, I have been blessed enough to have people around me supporting me. R/C has been no different since I started about 7 years ago. My parents have always encouraged me to play with my R/C toys because they know how much it means to me and how much joy it brings to me.<br />
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<br />
This past summer, I wanted to sell out of R/C because I had not raced in quite awhile and really lost the desire to race and compete. My Dad begged me not to sell and even offered to buy my car from me if I felt so determined to sell. He taught me the very important lesson of how if something or someone makes you happy and it seems like the right thing to do, you should never stop perusing that dream. I think about that everytime I want to give up on something, whether it be hobby-related or not. It gives me that little added fuel when I feel like I am running out. When I came to the decision that I wanted to sell my R/C stuff and give up, it saddened me so deeply just thinking about it - I guess you never realize how much something means to you when you are at risk of losing it. I know now that R/C racing is more than a hobby to me, it's part of me and something I can never give up.<br />
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Now that I have become more independent and live closer to school and away from my parents, my girlfriend has become a person who encourages and supports me in my racing, even if she could care less about it. She knows how much I look forward to it and as long as I don't talk too much about it, she can deal with it. It would be nearly impossible for a person to dissuade me from racing but I'm blessed to have a significant other who, even if she doesn't like it herself, can respect the fact that R/C is part of me and brings me happiness.<br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-25801925504661611472010-03-08T18:54:00.001-05:002010-03-09T21:02:54.455-05:00Nashville SummarySimply said, going to race at <a href="http://www.thunderrcraceway.com/">Thunder R/C Raceway</a> is worth the trip. It was refreshing to learn a new layout and meet some new people. The track had an interesting layout design with a lot of unusual and tricky turns but it was still a lot of fun. I was finally able to run with the fast guys which felt great - I even led for a lap or two in the main! Needless to say, I didn't keep that pace for long but it was a rush to be leading the freight train for a bit.<br />
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I was pleasantly surprised how well my normal Nexus setup worked as the car had plenty of bite and steering to get around the track quickly. This track is know for generating a lot of traction later in the day and my laptimes weren't as good when traction came up. Next time I am there I'll have to figure out how to take advantage of this situation - perhaps by softening the car to prevent traction roll. The only thing I changed was using front kickup which helped the car be more consistent as the front end didn't dig in as hard. I only lost a bit of front end bite but the increased forward traction really made up for this.<br />
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I had an awesome Sunday traveling, racing, and hanging out with people.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://forum.teamxray.com/xform/index.php?act=view&ID=1827&setup=t2">Setup</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-66160301613659562442010-03-06T16:17:00.000-05:002010-03-06T16:17:57.903-05:00Preparing for Nashville RaceI haven't been posting lately due to other obligations in school and work. Spring Break is next week and couldn't have come sooner. I won't be doing anything fun other than spending time with my family and going to Thunder R/C carpet track in Nashville,TN. I'm very excited as this will be my first out of state race. I am excited to see how I perform compared to other racers I do not normally race with. The track is reportedly large but bumpy. Since Nexus Racing is rather small, low traction, and technical, this should be a nice change. I have not been able to test the KO speedo with 13.5 motor so this will be an eye-opening experience. For starters, I need to get the car back to what it was with the 17.5 in terms of balance throughout the corner. With the 13.5 last weekend, the car was too twitchy and the tire overheated towards the end of the run. To remedy this, I will try the following:<br />
<br />
1. Adjust roll center to regain a balance in the car<br />
2. Front kick up<br />
3. Front sway bar<br />
4. shock positions<br />
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I can't wait to be able to hang out with some of my friends and make some new friends in Nashville!<br />
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Video from the track I will be attending.<br />
<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpdtwuCdvws">Video </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-58506711529269911752010-03-02T21:32:00.000-05:002010-03-02T21:32:56.522-05:00The Next Evolution in Touring Cars<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">A couple months ago I brought my old TC3 off the shelf where it spends all of its time these days and it made me think about how far we have come in touring car design. We have seen a pretty radical change in the overall design of touring cars in the last half decade. The TC3 really brought touring car racing to the forefront as a legitimate class and had a pretty good run as it was the favorite among many racers. There were other designs from three belt, two belt, and other shaft drive cars but none could really match the popularity of the TC3. What seemed like overnight, shaft-drive cars, including the TC3, went extinct and now everyone and his brother has a two belt TC that is really just a copy of the other. Looking back at the TC3 and other "primitive" touring cars, I have a tough time understanding how we dealt with these things! For one, the car couldn't track straight due to its infamous torque steer, especially as batteries and motors evolved. On top of that, the parts quality and adjustability is nothing compared to today. Everything is much simpler to work on but offers a lot more performance and range of adjustability - the best of both worlds. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Now, some companies insist that each year's iteration of the same car is a step towards "optimization" while others have stuck by the same car for the past few years. Everyone has their opinion and preference to each method and really, it's up to the driver if they want to upgrade or stick by old faithful. I've driven various versions of the same platform and they do have their benefits but I can't bring myself to spend $500 each time a "new" car comes out just for the illusion of going faster than before or just showing off a bit at the track. No matter where your wallet and ego approach this decision, I think that the next major evolution to touring cars is coming soon. </span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YokeBDsWorldSpec-10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/YokeBDsWorldSpec-10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">New Yokomo BD5 WorldSpec </div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HaraCycloneProto-7.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/HaraCycloneProto-7.jpg" width="311" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">Hot Bodies Cyclone Prototype as used by Atsushi Hara at the TITC</div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Heavier brushless motors and ultra-light LiPo batteries have made balancing cars made for NiMH and brushed motors a bit of a challenge. We now have to add a good bit of lead weight, weight trays etc to get everything perfectly balanced. On top of that, for some odd reason, manufacturers still produce their de-jure cars with 6 cell slots, like someone actually uses Ni-MH. You can't tell me that even the slightest minority would buy a brand-spanking new top-of-the-line TC just to throw old Ni-Mh technology in it. I think chassis will come closer and closer to Li-Po/brushless technology while makng balancing easier. XRAY has started this with the ability to flip the belts on the T3 but the chassis still has those six goofy slots in the chassis just to remind us how obscure Ni-Mh is. Some manufacturers have already taken advantage of the new technology in their chassis like Yokomo and Hot Bodies. Last weekend, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">Ronald Völker was unstoppable in this proto Yokomo. The car no longer had the 6 cell cut outs but slots just for taping lipos. In my mind, this would change the tweak and flex of the car greatly, and if his performance is any indication, for the better. In addition, Hara ran and won with a prototype Hot Bodies chassis at the TITC utilizing similar features. Granted, these two guys are amazing drivers but it's exciting to see the cars finally departing from old ways. For once, I think upgrading to the latest model might be worth it and I'm interested to see what happens from here. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IndoorEuroSun-Podium-1-400x271.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://www.redrc.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/IndoorEuroSun-Podium-1-400x271.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">European Indoor Champion Ronald <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;">Völker </span></span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;"><br />
</span></span></span></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">>>all photos courtesy of <a href="http://www.redrc.net/">Red RC</a></span></span></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-75241464050561596172010-02-28T21:21:00.000-05:002010-02-28T21:21:39.091-05:00Race Wrap-Up 02.27.10This weekend was really busy yet exciting and fun. We had a lower turnout than normal at the track but still had about 6 in TC and 8 in 12th.<br />
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My car wasn't feeling very good at the start of the day. I don't know whether it was me moving it back and forth in the car but it felt nowhere near what it was last weekend. I went ahead and tweaked the chassis, remeasured everything, etc and it ended up feeling better but not great. Perhaps it also was a change in the traction of the track - who knows. <br />
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My lack of speed was a constant issue all day which made it difficult to run with the other drivers. By the main, I had to replace my 17.5 with a 13.5 just to keep up in the straights. Yeah, crazy power by the Tekins. The car obviously felt much different compared to the obviously much slower 17.5. The car was not as balanced as it once was as it dove harder into corners and carried more speed. After getting used to the 13.5 and finding out that running negative expo on the steering was bad, I was finally able to figure out the car.<br />
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The first main was rough for everyone. I grabbed the two spots ahead me as many went wide into the sweeper but was quickly given some love by another racer :). This forced me back into last where I on;y continued to receive love taps. Thats racing I suppose!<br />
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To make up for the crummy main, we decided to run another main. This main was much less traumatic and I was able to put down some tight lines to keep others from passing. I didn't win but it felt great to realize how much I've improved this season. I can't wait to keep practicing and get even better - I have a long way to go but I'm happy to see improvement :).<br />
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As far as setup goes, I wasn't able to test very much because I had to spend a lot of time getting the car and my driving working properly. Although the KO has been a good ESC and I'm sure that they will come out with another software update that will bring it up to the Tekin, the speed and punch difference is so big that I can't ignore it. I don't think it will be a ton faster as far as laptimes go, but I want to get used to the modern speeds instead of testing and getting used to something a lot slower only to get back up to speed whenever KO decides to release the new software.<br />
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I did test removing screws from the front of the top deck. It gave the car slightly more steering throughout the corner. I also tested some rear toe. I went down to 2 degrees of negative toe which helped the car turn faster laptimes and gave it great corner speed but also made it difficult to drive. Forward traction and consistency definitely suffered with this change. Perhaps next time I will use the 2 degrees but use something else to give more forward traction - the best of both worlds? I dunno we will see.<br />
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<a href="http://track.nexusracing.com/dirLIST/index.php?folder=MDkgLSAyNyBGRUIgMjAxMA==">Results </a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-23818262554880126552010-02-24T16:22:00.000-05:002010-02-24T16:22:28.285-05:00Things to Test on SaturdaySo far, the car keeps getting better and better the more I work on it. My setup hasn't devaited too much from where I had it at the beginning of the season but it's definiely improving, along with my driving, which is the most important part.<br />
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Saturday I found how important the balance of the car is through the turn and throughout the track. Making the camber links steeper really helped and the car felt more consistent throughout the corners which helped my driving consistency as well. The shorter wheelbase was faster but the car didn't feel as settled. I think I just need to get used to driving it more.<br />
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Saturday is a race day so I'll finally get to see how I stack up. I think I'll do pretty well. Things I want to try out/test are:<br />
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<ol><li>Gearing & Motor Temps for 6 minutes </li>
<li>Play more with rear toe </li>
<li>Front Sway Bar & Front Track Width Shims </li>
<li>Front Kick up (I've heard this works well with 6 deg caster and tried it once but disliked it - I'll give it another shot) </li>
<li>Chassis flex and its effect on laptimes/consistency </li>
<li>LTC-R body </li>
</ol><br />
Setup as of 02/20/2010:<br />
<a href="http://forum.teamxray.com/xform/index.php?act=view&ID=1822&setup=t2">http://forum.teamxray.com/xform/index.php?act=view&ID=1822&setup=t2</a>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-85067069804307137922010-02-22T20:42:00.000-05:002010-02-22T20:42:37.014-05:00ThunderPower TP-610C ReviewThanks to speedy shipping, I was able to finally use my new ThunderPower charger at the track Saturday. What can I say - this thing is awesome! My lipo really came alive. I had noticeably more punch at the start of the run and the battery remained more consistent throughout the run. I ran it from 2-3 minutes all the way to about 15 minutes on a single charge and it continued to perform flawlessly. Navigation is super easy and intuitive and gives plenty of options from adjusting the charge rate all the way to 10 amps to "fast" and "storage" charging. I'm very happy with my purchase, to say the least. <div><br />
</div><div>In time I'll buy a better power supply, as mine only goes to 6 amps. A friend and I shared his 12 amp power supply and it was so nice to be able to run one battery all day and not have to sit waiting for the battery to charge. This really helped me to test as much as I wanted and without waiting on the battery to peak. </div><div><br />
</div><div>In all, nice job ThunderPower! </div><div><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.nexusracing.com/images/THP610-450_10.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://www.nexusracing.com/images/THP610-450_10.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><br />
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</div><div><a href="http://www.nexusracing.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=2658">http://www.nexusracing.com/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=2658</a></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6602668091259069589.post-22629873593598913102010-02-21T20:44:00.000-05:002010-02-21T20:44:19.060-05:00Busy Week AheadWhile I have some free time before the week begins, I thought I would change the tone of the blog and reflect on the week ahead.<br />
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As we are all well aware, the economy isn't the greatest at the moment. The economy is always cyclical, with some lows and high lasting longer than others. Hopefully this low after a record high will end soon and we will begin to resume 'normalcy'. These times are especially troublesome for college students, like me. We have little to no real job experience and the job market is extremely competitive as most students are on the same playing field. I have been looking for an internship before I graduate in December but have been unsuccessful for the last year. I have two interviews coming up this week which look promising but I can never get my hopes too high. All I can do is try by best, be professional, and hope the other candidates don't shine as brightly as me.<br />
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Making an impression, specifically a first impression, is so important in getting a job. I find it interesting that even at big, impressive universities with intelligent people leading it, they don't give the students more training on interview skills, finding the right job etc.. At my university, we have career services to help in this area but I really feel like these life skills should be part of the curriculum. I can't begin to count the number of pointless classes I've had to take that really don't amount to much other than I can say I've jumped through that hoop - can't they substitute one of those classes for something more useful like "How to Find a Job:101"? I think that if we as college students had these skills taught to us in an organized way, we would stand a better chance at scoring the jobs we hope for. Hell, that's why most of us are in college in the first place - to find a job!<br />
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In my own case, I feel I have some sense about how to conduct myself in a professional manner but refuse to kiss ass of I see many of my classmates do. Maybe they are the ones getting the jobs and for that reason, I don't know, but I refuse to be fake just for a job. I feel like I'm a prostitute looking for a quick buck from whatever guy in a suit looks like he might have one. It's just not my style. In my mind, if an employer can see through the puffery and realize that I am who I am, nothing more nothing less, I'd be happy to work for them. Otherwise, enjoy wiping the lipstick off of your asses - I know plenty of college students ready to pucker up .Unknownnoreply@blogger.com