Beat the heat!

So, I decided not to run at HRH Saturday because of the heat. I checked the temps in Santa Clarita at 1pm and it was about 95°! I then went back to my air conditioned living room and watched a movie :) I would race at OCRC Sunday.

The turnout at OCRC was really light, due to the fact that The OCRC Surf City Classic was run Saturday and most of the regulars raced that event. I did not run this race, since I didn't think I'd be competitive racing such an old truck.

There were only 3 trucks racing tonight. The track owner (Robert Black), Justin (the son of a friend of mine), and myself. Robert is really fast, finishing 2nd the weekend before. My truck felt good with the changes I made (loosened the slipper, ran a smoother throttle curve on my esc, turned up the drag brake, and increased my brake epa). Robert just took off and ran away, so the race was for second between myself and Justin. I made a mistake and let Justin get by :( A few laps later though, I was able to make a clean pass on him! He went wide over the big double after the straight, and I dove for the inside, jammed on the brakes, and made it to the inside of the hairpin before him, and took 2nd place. Justin would catch up to me, but he kept making mistakes, while I didn't. Thus, even though his laps were faster, I was a little slower with more consistent laps. I finished the heat in 2nd.

The track would be dry for the second round, so I switched over to my new SS Panther Stingers. During warm up they felt hooked up and I could clear all the jumps with short run-ups! WooHoo! Although my truck felt hooked up and fast, I didn't drive as smooth, making more mistakes. My lap times proved this. I finally started turning 19 second laps (!), but they were less consistent. They ranged from mid 19's to 23 seconds. Robert and Justin disappeared, but we all finished on the same lap, but I was more than 10 seconds behind the leader.

Because of the light turnout tonight, we got to run 7 minute qualifiers, and had a 10 minute main! FUN! The track was watered after round 2, so I went back to my R3 Holeshots. At the tone, Robert bolted and ran away, so the race was on again for 2nd between Justin and me. I followed him for couple of minutes, then he made a mistake on the double-single leading to the straight, ending up on his lid! I went by and into 2nd place! For the rest of the 10 minute main, Justin would run me down, make a mistake, then I'd have some breathing room again. The announcer even mentioned that I was had not made a single driving mistake for 7 minutes! The only bobble I had was when Robert caught up to me and I got a bit sideways as I moved over to let him by. Even with the announcer calling out the interval between me and Justin, and the fact that Justin was gaining on me, I blocked all of that out, and concentrated on keeping a good pace and not making any mistakes. Justin finally caught me with about 45 seconds left in the race. This is about 2 laps of racing! I slowed a little in the corners, so I could keep my line tighter! Justin would have to run me over (which I know he would never do on purpose) or go around me. Justin was right behind me through the S-turns going over the hill, I kept my line tight, and as we crossed the line for the final lap, Justin stuffed his truck into a pipe! All I had to do now was not wreck, and I'd take 2nd:) I cruised around for my final lap and finished 2nd! What a fun race! Afterwards, Justin's dad (my friend) picked his son's truck, and I told him I nearly had a heart attack every time Justin caught me! LOL! It was a good race though :)

I felt pretty good! 10 minutes of racing and I made only 1 minor mistake :) I checked my lap times, and I turned a good number of 19 second laps :) Most of my laps were in the low 20's, with very few above 20 :) For the main, I concentrated on driving a good pace and not making mistakes. I was driving at about 95% of my ability and running my own race. In round 2, I was trying too hard to turn 19 second laps, driving at about 101%, thus making more mistakes :( I ran much better when driving at 95% :-D

For my next visit to OCRC, I picked up some Pink Taper Pins. While the Stingers worked well on the dry track, they showed alot of wear after only one run. Some of the pins were even ripped off! If the Pink Taper Pins don't work as well as the Stingers, I'll try the next harder compound for the Stingers. I also need to pick up a new pair of Holeshots, as I've been using my current set for 5 race days, and they're looking pretty tired now.

See you at the track!

My Lipo Upgraded Turbo 35 arrives!

Woohoo! My Lipo upgraded Turbo 35 arrived today! Below are some pics of me testing the Lipo mode on my Reedy 5000mah Lipo. When you power on the charger, you select NiCad/NiMH or Lipo mode. To use the Lipo mode, you enter the number of cells and mah rating of the battery, and press START. That's it! Just as easy to use as the NiCad/NiMH mode!

Testing the Lipo mode.

Close up of screen during charging.

Where is my Turbo 35?

I recently upgraded my Competition Electronics Turbo 35 firmware to add Lipo charging capability. To do this, I needed to send the charger in to CE to have the new firmware installed and tested. Well after waiting about 2 weeks, it was supposed to be delivered today, but the UPS driver didn't deliver the package to my apartment complex leasing office, like all the other UPS deliveries I've gotten. Must be a newbie driver on this route and didn't know he could just deliver it there. What a pain in the ass! Now I have to track it down and maybe pick it up at the hub :( Don't you hate it when that happens? Hopefully I can find out where it is and get it tomorrow. I want to try out the new Lipo mode!

Anyhoo, I got my new Panther Stinger tires mounted up, glued, and balanced! All set to race again at OCRC on Sunday! I'll probably end up racing at HRH again on Saturday night too :)

I also plan to get a Factory Team T4 next month. I'll keep racing the T3 until I get the T4 built and set up :)

2nd Race Weekend

The last two races I blogged about actually occurred about a month ago. I raced again this past weekend, Saturday at Hot Rod and Sunday at OCRC.

Hot Rod Hobbies, Saturday 8/23

I showed up early again to get some practice in with my B3 buggy with a 13.5 brushless motor and my T3 stock truck on the 2008 ROAR Nationals layout from the previous weekend. I felt like I already raced on the layout, since I was at Hot Rod watching the races during the Nationals. I got there so early, that hardly anybody was there, and I was able to find a pit table in the shade of a big tree near the bleachers next to the track. Pitting here saved me the hassle of setting up my QuickShade! I setup my chargers, and started charging my practice pack. I checked the time and it was already 3:30pm, and I knew it would take almost 45 min to charge 1 battery. I guess I'll only get one practice run in before racing starts at 5pm. I guess I'll have to charge my practice pack the night before, if I want to get more than one practice run in. There goes trying out my B3 :( For practice the track was really dry and dusty, so I used my R3 Holeshots in the rear. They watered the track, but it was so hot out, that it quickly dried out. My truck was really loose on power, making it hard to put the power down to clear the big double-single (triple for the 1/8 buggies) on the back side of the track. There was so little traction that even the little double in front of the driver's stand was even hard to clear. I had to take the turn wide before this jump to get run up to it and clear/land the downside jump, roll the next jump, then try and downside the table top. The Nationals layout was fun to drive and since I watched so many races the last weekend, I picked up the fast line to drive fairly quickly.

The track was watered again before qualifying started, but dried out quick, so by the time my race came up, it was dry again, so I used the same tires as practice. After the first lap with it's wrecks, and the field sorted itself out, I was running in 3rd place. I concentrated on driving smooth and making the 2 doubles, so I wouldn't end up on my lid (I ended up on my lid a few times anyway). I passed second place and started gaining on the leader, a white buggy. I could see him a turn or two away, and I was gaining on him. He crashed on the big double on the back side of the track, and I passed and went into 1st! For the rest of the race, we traded 1st place each time either one of us crashed, but I guess I crashed less and won the heat with a 12:13 :)

They watered the track at the end of the 1st round, but it was much cooler now, and the track didn't dry out as much. Time to switch rear tires! I mounted up 2 sets of rears to chase the track conditions. A set of M3 step pins and a set of Red IFMAR pins. The conditions suited the IFMAR pins, as it was damp with a hard packed base and loose top soil. I took my warm-up laps and noticed that with the damp track and IFMAR pin rears, I had much more rear traction. NICE! This would be a fun heat! Again, myself and the white buggy traded 1st place each time we crashed. I think I only actually passed him a couple of times, with both of us right side up. LOL! With the increased traction and better rear tires, I was able to use shorter runs up to the harder jumps and still clear them, thus improving my time to 12:03, finishing in 1st place :)

Time for the main events! I TQ'd easily since I won both qualifying heats :) The track was nice and damp with good bite, and I was easily clearing the doubles, during the warm-up. I launched well on the start, and kept the lead through the 1st 3 turns. Time to run away! I lined up for the big double, and... landed short!@! and ended up upside down! The entire field went by, then the marshall got me going again. Great! I was in last place :( I lucked out though, because most of the field was in a pile up 2 turns later, which I just drove around :) I was in second place at the end of the 1st lap. The leader had a nice lead due to the pile up, so I would need to chase him down. Each lap I could see him getting closer. Finally, I was close enough to pass. He went wide on the turn leading to the straightaway, and I made the turn nice and tight! Goodbye! I cruised for the rest of the 7 minute main, and finished in 1st with a 17:10 :)

ORRC Raceway, Sunday 8/24

I arrived at the track early to get some practice in with my B3, since I wasn't able to the day before at Hot Rod's. I charged all my practice packs the night before, so no waiting to practice this time. The layout changed since the last time I was here, so I would need to get used to it again. My buggy felt a tab more nimble than the truck, but it pushed alot in the hairpins. Not the fast way to get around. I had a bit of trouble lining up the big double, landing in the wrong lane a few times, and with the S-hill in front of the stand. I moved to the other end of the stand so that I'd be looking at these sections from behind instead of the front. That helped alot and I crashed less. Controlled practice started, so now I'd have to wait to get on the track with my truck.

I signed up for Sportsman Stock Truck this time, and we had a full heat of 10 trucks. This would be interesting. I started the heat mid-pack, and tried to stay out of trouble for the first lap. I got tangled up a few times, and finished the race in 5th. Ok, but not great.

They split up our heat for the 2nd round of qualifying, so I'd only have to deal with 4 other trucks this time. The track was drying out, so I changed my rear tires to an old set of M3 SuperSquares I had in my pit box. These tires felt ok during the warm-up laps, but as the race went on, they got worse and worse. I couldn't punch the throttle at all, or I'd spin out. I got lapped twice and finished in last place :( I really needed some better rear tires. I turn marshalled the other heat of Truck and watched the leader closely. He was able to keep the hairpin turns tight, while I would round them off, and take what seemed like twice as long to get through the turn. He was then able to accelerate hard into the next section, while I had to roll the throttle on too slow. I watched the winning truck pull off the track after the race, then followed the driver back to his pit. After he put his truck down and went to the track to marshall, I took a look at his rear tires. He was using a Panther tire with alot of small pins. I went into the hobby shop and found the tires he was using, and bought a set for myself! They seemed to work pretty well on his truck, as he set a new TQ in the 2nd round and was a lap faster than everyone else!

They lightly watered the track before the mains, but by the time my race was up, the track was completely dry again. I switched back to my R3 Holeshots rear tires for the main. While not ideal, they had to be better than the SuperSquares I used in round 2. I would use my newly purchased Panther tires for my next race at OCRC. For the main, Jeremy put all ten trucks back into 1 heat again, as he "wanted to see some violence" for the main. Great! :( I would be starting 9th :( The start of the main was pretty clean, with only a few tangles, and I was running in the back half of field :( I got lapped 3 times over the course of 7 minutes! The leader even took me out, when I couldn't get out of the way fast enough :( I did manage make it to 5th place during the race, and finished 7th with a 20:24.

Hmmm.... I think for my next race at OCRC, I'll turn up my brake settings on my speed control and radio to help turn the truck coming into the corner better, loosen my slipper a little to put the power down, and use my new SuperSoft Panther Stinger rear tires when the track dries out!

See you at the races!

Long live SoCal!

In my prep for my first race back, I was lurking on the rctech.net forums, and saw that my old home track, SoCal RC Raceway in Huntington Beach, had closed. I raced at the original SoCal in the old supermarket in Garden Grove and was there on opening day when they moved to the Huntington Beach location. RIP SoCal :(

I also read that someone had gotten the dirt that made SoCal famous, and was opening a new track in the OC! OC RC raceway was born! (http://www.ocrcraceway.com/) Long live SoCal! as the dirt was from there :) I knew I had to check out this track! I would have to race on Sundays, as I live an hour away from the track. But, now I could race at Hot Rod on Saturdays and OCRC on Sundays!

I arrived at OCRC a little after opening time (1pm on Sunday). I went inside and looked for a spot to pit. At OCRC you can buy memberships, some of which include a reserved pit space. After making sure I wasn't pitting in reserved spot, I picked a spot near the track and an LCD monitor, so I can keep track of the races.

I put a practice pack in my truck and headed out to the track. Traction was good as the dirt was a little damp. Nice! I can punch the throttle and not worry too much about wheelspin or getting sideways. The layout was challenging with 2 big doubles, and double-triple section, and an option lane in the middle of the track. One lane heads for a big double, which can save some time, but you had to line it up right and make the distance, or you'd hit a pipe on the landing and wreck. The other lane went over a hump and around the big double and was a longer path but safer. I picked the longer, safer line, after trying the double a few times and crashing. If you can't do a section consistently, you'll lose alot of time from crashes, so I went with the lane I can make 100% of the time. The biggest jump on the track was a table top followed by a single jump. Only the modified cars could make the distance from the table top to the single, downsiding the single from the table top. As I was running a stock motored truck, I downsided the table top and rolled the single jump. Man! Those mod cars sure fly high and far downsiding the single from the table top! The track was then closed for controlled practice, where 1 class was allowed on the track at a time (buggy, truck, 4wd). That way the track is not so crowded.

While waiting for my turn on the track, I signed up to race and purchased a "discount" membership. I'd get my 1st race for free and $5 off practices and club races. I signed up for Amature (Intermediate) Stock Truck. This class is meant for drivers just coming out of the Rookie/Novice class, and since I was driving a 10 year old truck and having only raced a handful of times in the last 5 years, I figured I'd start here. Normally, I'd just sign up for the "normal" (sportsman) stock class, but at OCRC (i.e. SoCal) the driving talent is much better than other tracks, since alot of pros/expert level drivers race here. If I dominated the Amature class, I'd bump myself to Sportsman the next time I race at OCRC. BTW, driving skill is usually ranked from beginner to pro in the following manner: beginner-amature/intermediate-sportsman-expert-pro/factory. Finally the truck classes turn on the track. I went out to get more track time, because practice make perfect! :)

In the 1st round of qualifying, I dominated the field. I just drove smooth and went to the front. I was so far out in front that the announcer (Jeremy Felles), began making comments about my truck. He noticed it was a T3 (10 yr old truck) and he recognized my paint job that I've been using since 1998. LOL! Then he remembered my name from when I used to race at MnM Raceway in Corona. Anyway, I lapped the entire field and won the heat.

The second round was more of the same, but I didn't improve my qualifying time, as I tried some different front tires to get more front traction (M3 Holeshots), and it was a bit too much, and harder to drive. For the main event I'd go back to my R3 Edge's, since they were alot easier to drive more consistently.

I was the top qualifier (TQ) and started in the front of the pack. Again I went straight to the front and won the race by a lap! Not very challenging, but it was fun for me! Next time I race at OCRC, I'll be running in the Sportsman class.

Here's a pic of my T3 Truck!

1st race back!

I decided to race at Hot Rod Hobbies in Saugus, CA for my 1st race back. It's only 20-25 min from my home, but it's an outdoor track, so it was going to be hot! I went to the local sporting goods store and picked up a collapsible chair and QuickShade to shield myself and RC equipment/cars from the intense sun, so I would be ready for racing on Saturday.

I showed up about 3 hours before the start time to get some practice in and knock off the 5 years of rust on my driving skills. I setup my new QuickShade, layed out my equipment on the table, and started charging some batteries for practice. During my first practice run my truck kept stuttering on acceleration, that didn't seem right, so I pulled it in. I realized that the Lipo voltage cutoff must be kicking in and causing the stuttering. During my testing at home, i noticed the same thing when punching the throttle on the carpet, but it was really brief and didn't think anything of it. But out on the track, it kept doing it every other turn, and didn't seem right. When you punch the throttle, the motor pulls alot of amps and the voltage of the battery drops below the Lipo cutoff voltage, thus the motor stutters. The track had just been freshly watered and my rear tires were picking up a lot of dirt, increasing the load on the motor, causing it to draw even more amps! I threw in another battery pack, and went out again when the track was drier, and the problem disappeared. I used this second practice run to learn the track layout and get my timing down for the turns and jumps. AHHH!! what fun it is to jump and offroad truck again :) Now to get ready for qualifying...

For racing I would be using my new Reedy 5000 mah 20C Lipo battery. Lipo batteries are practically maintenance free compared to the NiMH batteries I used 5 years ago. And I can use the one battery for both rounds of qualifying and the main event. With the NiMH, I used 1 battery per run, because the battery needed a long time to cool off and recharge and the performance dropped off if used multiple times in one day. During the 1st qualifier, I got a good start and ended up in second at the end of the 1st lap. Not too shabby after 5 years! I stayed there for the 1st 2 minutes or so of the race, but on a bad landing on the table top, a camber link popped off and I couldn't steer any longer. A turn marshall picked up my truck and popped the link back on, but it took a good 30 seconds or so, dropping me to last place in the race :( The track was also getting much rougher, and my truck was getting bounced off line alot. I picked my way through and still managed to finish the heat mid-pack.

For the second round, the track was watered again, and it was much more damp than the first round. This prompted the son of my friend, who was also racing, to change rear tires. Unfortunately, for me I had only one set of rear tires, which work in dry to damp, but not wet dirt. The track would be "wet" for the second round. I knew about the track being watered for racing, but didn't account for it being wet. I'll be better prepared next time! Sure enough, the rear end of my truck was sliding around on the power, making it hard to accelerate smoothly. To deal with the rough track, I increased my camber gain in the rear, by shortening the camber links, between rounds. This causes the tops of the tires to lean in towards the center of the chassis more when the suspension compresses, so hopefully the edge of the tire will be less likely to catch a rut. I'm not sure if that change helped much, since I didn't have much rear bite anyway. I finished the second round near the bottom.

I qualified 6th for the main event. The track would be wet again, so I would just have to deal with that, since I didn't have any other rear tires. That didn't matter anyway, as in the second turn, I got hit from the side by another truck while in the air, causing my truck to land on one of the front tires, breaking the servo horn on the steering servo. Thus, no steering to control my truck and not fixable in the midst of a race. I was out. Welcome back to RC racing!!!

Return to RC Racing

After about 5 years away from RC racing, I've decided to take it up again. The recent approval of brushless and lipo battery technology for racing has prompted my return.

I've upgraded, my AE T3, and B3 with LRP Sphere Competition Brushless speed controllers and LRP X11 Vector brushless motors (17.5 for stock, 13.5 for super-stock, and a 6.5 for mod). I also decided to switch over to a 2.4 GHz radio system. I picked up the Spektrum Pro Module/Receiver combo for my old M8 radio. I was going to get a 2.4 GHz M11, until I realized that the Airtronics 2.4 GHz system was just a module/receiver system too. I'm happy with the DX7 I use for my helicopters, so I figured I'd save a little money and keep my M8 (for now anyway) and use the Spektrum system. It's also compatible with the M11, for if I change over to it in the future.

I plan on using my 10+ year old AE T3 for racing Stock Truck and just use my B3 for practicing, as I have a few spares for the T3 and none for the B3. If I break either, I'll probably upgrade to the B4 and T4, since it's hard to find spare parts for the older cars.

Time to glue up some fresh tires for the truck (luckily AE still uses the same wheels on the T4 as the T3, so wheels for my truck are easy to get), and head out for some races!