The results are in!

I was able to finish testing my batteries last night and here are the results listed as Battery, IR, Run time, Average Discharge Voltage; from best to worst:

SMC 5200mah 50C #1, 5.1, 598 sec, 7.71V
SMC 5200mah 50C #2, 5.1, 597 sec, 7.71V
Reedy 5000mah 35C #2, 7.3, 483 sec, 7.70V
Reedy 5000mah 35C #1, 7.9, 445 sec, 7.68V
Orion 3800mah 30C #2, 12.5, 173 sec, 7.63V
Orion 3800mah 30C #1, 13.0, 160 sec, 7.62V
SMC 4700mah 40C #1, 15.3, 166 sec, 7.60V
SMC 4700mah 40C #2, 15.3, 170 sec, 7.58V

My 4700 40C SMC's are my next newest packs, having bought them in May at the re-run of the JBRL round at Hot Rod's, but they been the worst performers the last few times I've tested them. I think this was due to the fact I've been storing them around 8V, which I think might have killed the capacity and voltage. I've also noticed the same thing occurring with the LiPo batteries I use for my helicopters. I used to store them fully charged for months at a time, and they have lost a bunch of capacity and voltage. Thus, I have begun storing all my packs at their nominal voltage, 7.4V for a 2cell and 11.1V for a 3cell, which stores them at about 20% capacity left in the battery. This was confirmed to be a good starting point, since my new SMC 50C packs were at about this voltage (~7.5-7.6V) when I pulled them out of the package. SMC recommends storing the packs at 6.6V, to maintain their capacity and voltage, but I'm a bit weary of that, as most other theories say to store them at 20% capacity. How do you store your LiPo packs?

Also, I really like my Reedy 5000mah 35C packs! They're over a year old and are producing numbers similar to my brand new SMC 5200mah 50C packs.

Have a Happy New Year!

More Power!

I finally got a pair of the above batteries! I've been wanting to get them ever since I learned about them a few months ago. With the high 5200 mah capacity and 50c discharge rate, it should provide crazy power! I tested them on my Turbo 35 using a 20A discharge rate and 7.4V cut-off. They produced a run time of 598 seconds, IR of 5.1, and average discharge voltage of 7.71V!

I plan to test all my current batteries using the same parameters and compare them to the SMC 5200 50C's.

TQ'd Stock Truck :)

This weekend I was trying out profile 7 on my LRP SPX. This profile is supposed to use "timing boost" to increase the rpms on the top end, giving you some extra speed down the straights. I dropped my gear 2 teeth and decreased the motor timing to 10°, just in case using this profile heated up my motor more. During practice I timed my runs and tried to pull over soon after 6 minutes, and my motor temps were in the 150°F range, so I geared up 2 teeth for racing.

In round 1, I finished the race in 1st, setting the TQ, and my motor came off at 170°F, the exact temp I was aiming for :) The second heat of Stock Truck was up next and I wondered if my TQ would stand. It wasn't looking too good for me, as early on, the leader was on a pace a few seconds faster than my TQ time. But, with about a minute to go, he rolled in the center triple and took forever to get marshaled. I thought to myself, "Well, that's it, he can't beat my time now." Sure enough, his pace slowed to about a second slower than my time. Whew! Still the TQ :)

For round 2 the track was slick! Too much water was put down during the break between rounds! There were even puddles still on the track :( There was no way I would go faster to re-set the TQ :( And the track might be just dry enough for max traction for the second heat of Stock Truck. I was a lap slower this time since I had to drive around all the puddles and couldn't get on the gas too hard or attack the corners, for fear of looping it :( Luckily, for me anyway, the track was still too damp for the second heat of Stock Truck, and the winner was still slower than my time, and was never on a pace to beat it. Woohoo! I was still TQ :) Now, I've TQ'd before, but not against such a fast field. The top 5-6 guys were all capable of setting the TQ, it was just came down to who drove the fastest and cleanest.

The main did not go off as planned. I got a decent start, but a marshal stood up on the 1st lap, and blocked my view of the second turn apex! I lost sight of my truck! I was yelling at the guy to duck (along with several others), but it was too late. By the time I saw my truck again, it was pointed the wrong way, and I went from TQ to 6th :( I was so pissed, I drove my ass off, and made it back up to 3rd, when Nick stopped the race, because the scoring program crashed! I had a second chance to get back to the front! Woohoo! The leader was way out there, because of the marshal blocking the apex, and now we would be restarted! Nick re-set the grid in the race order at the time of the program crash, so now I would be starting in 3rd, as is seen on the OCRC YouTube vid of the race.

The re-start was clean this time and the marshal stayed seated :) I took the lead, then fell back again, to 3rd, in the 1st few laps. I then put a clean, out braking, inside pass at the end of straight, on Darin Halverson, and took over 2nd. I then switched on the afterburners to catch his brother Brian in the lead. He made a mistake on the lander of the step-up and got stuck between the pipes a couple of laps later, where I cruised by and took over the lead! I think we swapped the lead at least once, but I was leading on the final lap. I had about a 1 turn lead on Brian, when we both got caught up with Chuck Fowler, who had crashed on the step-up, because the marshal had flipped him over right in front of us. I got the best of it, since I still had the inside line to the next turn. I thought I had the win, but cut next to last turn before the line too close and rolled on my lid! DOH! Brian took the win, and I almost lost 2nd too! DOH! I should have left a little more room on that apex, and I could have coasted to the line :( Oh well, next time :(

SPX notes:
-R1 P7, 10deg, 72/26, 170°F
-R2 wet, swithed to P8, 10°, 72/26, 160°F, not hard on motor
-Main, P8, 10deg, 72/26, 160°F
-try 20° timing w/P8 next race

Stock Truck A Main


My brother qualified 2nd in the B main for Stock Truck. He had an awesome race! Swapping the lead back and forth with Ceaser for the bump-up spot in to the A. I thought he had the win, but he went too wide in the last turn, which let Ceasar sneak in to the inside to take the win and bump to the A.

Stock Truck B Main

OCRC Charity Race

A few weekends ago was the OCRC Charity race. Robert was donating all our gifts from our entries to "His Nesting Place", a foundation that helps abused women and their children. Combine this with the fact that rain was in the forecast for Sunday, and you have a "big" race! The turnout really good, with 17 or so heats. I was running both Open SC and Mod 4wd and both classes had an A and B main!

Mod 4wd was up first in the round. It was fun racing my B44 again :) I was doing pretty well, running 2nd, but I made a few bobbles, then my CVD popped out of the drive cup :( I had to pull off, since I had no punch to clear the jumps with 3wd! lol! Round 2 was more of the same, running a consistent, but slightly slower pace this time, in the 4th position, when I clipped a pipe on a crash, and the CVD popped out again! I kept going this time though, as I wanted to finish the run, since I DNF'd the first round. I looked over the car between rounds, and the only thing I found wrong was a loose ball stud, so I thought this was the reason the CVD kept coming out, so I tightened that up and called it good.

I ended up being the BQ, with my limping run from round 2. But, during warm up for the main, my CVD popped out again! Crap! I yelled for my brother to grab my car, so he could fix it, and asked for a grace period. The funny part was that is usually only done for the A main! Hahaha! Nick B was cool and gave it to me anyways though! :) My bro got the car fixed just in time for the start, but on the step-up jump, I rolled when the car bounced and the CVD popped out again! Now, I was thinking something else must be broken in the rear end to keep popping out the CVD so consistently! My bro got the car fixed again, and I was off! I tooled around for fun, and even tried clearing the huge triple in the center of the track! I tried it twice, casing both times on the lander jump, then finally broke on the second try! Hahaha! Well that was fun while it lasted.

Upon inspection of my car, Carlo found that the rear arm was broken around the inner hinge pin in such a way, that it looked intact, but could flex enough to allow the CVD to come out. DOH! I had been racing the entire day with a broken A arm! Then while recording the Stock Buggy A Main, Wallnuts came over and put something in my sweatshirt pocket. It turned out to be $10 in race bucks, because I managed to still finish in 3rd for my 4wd main! LOL! I guess I kept running long enough to pass the other cars that had broken and dropped out! Woohoo! Think what I might have done if I had been racing a healthy car!

Mod 4wd notes:
-loosen slipper (tranny gears grinding under braking)
-check front transmission gears for damage from tight slipper

Mod 4wd vids:






The second class I was running was Open Short Course. The last time I ran this class at OCRC, I was using a 10.5 motor, and I wasn't able to clear the step-up jump in front of the driver's stand. So, this time I went with the 8.5 out of my 4wd! No problem clearing that jump now! I would still wreck every once in awhile, but at least I wasn't landing short, which ended up breaking my chassis.

In round 1, I was tied for the lead of the race, swapping it back and forth with Lee Gravelle, every time we crossed the line. I lost the lead on the last lap though when I got sideways at the end of the straight and got stuck on the pipe and needed to be marshaled :( I also noticed during the run that I was losing some punch for clearing the jumps. I thought it might be my battery getting flat, but when I checked it after the race, it still had good voltage. In round 2, I basically blew out and crashed a bunch along with all my punch disappearing. During that race, I realized that the problem wasn't the battery, but the slipper, as I could hear it slipping a bunch this run. It must have overheated and glazed over, thus I had no punch! I had loosened it a bit to keep the truck straight on power with the 8.5 and SC tires, but I guess I loosened it up too much :( For the main, I tightened it back up to my normal setting.

I qualified 5th for the A Main! :) I got a decent start, but touched a truck in the air over the step-up jump on the 1st lap and got the worst of it, tumbling :( I was marshaled almost immediately, but got hit in the rear and tied up with another truck before the center triple, dropping back. I think I made it up to forth for a lap, but a short landing on the triple and a roll over, dropped me back to my final position, 6th. Oh well. At least I was able to finish in the top 3 for the 1st 4 races with my SC10 :)

open sc
-slipper set too loose for 8.5-overheated and lost punch at 4 min
-check slipper pads/plates
-rear end loose mid corner, tire roll over? change to shorter rear camber link?

Open SC Vids






My bro was also racing Stock Truck. He did well and made it into the A main, but was hoping to be the BQ. We were trying out the timing boost profiles on the SPX with his truck and still dialing in the right gearing and motor timing though, so he might have been a little bit slower. Here are the vids that I took of his runs :)







My bro and I also got a few of the A mains from the Charity Race and here are those vids







I also got my friend Calro's run in the Mod 4wd A main


And finally, here are OCRC's vids of mine and my bro's mains. In the Mod 4wd B main, you can see my bro and Carlo trying to fix my broken car :(

A whole lota SC racing and YouTube Vids!

Since my last post I've run Short Course the last 3 times I've been racing. Twice over Thanksgiving weekend, then last Sunday at West Coast's Grand Re-opening race.

I've changed my shock package to a much a stiffer setup that the AE drivers were using this past summer. 40wt oil with red springs in the front and grey in the rear. I also changed my camber link locations to the same ones I use on my T4, in order to get the SC10 to rotate more in the turns. I like this setup much better, as it feels more like my T4, which was my goal.

I raced the Friday after Thanksgiving in Stock SC at OCRC on the new expanded track. The OCRC track went from one of the smallest, to the largest! The straight feels like it goes on forever! I TQ'd and took the win, so I decided to try Open SC on Sunday and step up to a 10.5 motor.

Here is OCRC's YouTube vid of the race:


I came back on Sunday with the 10.5 motor in the SC10 and headed out to practice. With more motor I was hoping I would be able to clear the huge step-up jump in front of the driver's stand and the single to table-top in the center of the track. Well the center jump was fairly easy to clear, but I broke the chassis on the step-up! :( And the shop didn't have an SC10 chassis in stock! Fortunately, Nick Black loaned me an aluminum chassis brace, so I was able to race that night. Thanks Nick! It took me a while to fix the chassis, so I didn't get much practice with the 10.5 motor. Now thinking back, I'm not sure if it was much of an advantage, as I wasn't able to use the power. But, I may try it again for fun! I plan to run the 13.5 motor more, as this will be the motor I will need to run for the 2010 JBRL season. Since not enough Open SC trucks showed up, I was put in the Stock SC class. But, I later found out that the winner and myself had both signed up for Open SC. I ended up qualifying in 3rd then finishing in 2nd, when I was able to jump over the 2nd place truck on the center jump by downsiding the table-top :)

Here is Sunday's race:


After that weekend of racing I picked up a new chassis, and plan to get the RPM bumper/chassis brace that was just released. In the mean time, I will be running the stock bumper, but with the loop from the bumper to the front shock tower cut out. With this part gone, the bumper is able to flex more, and doesn't transfer the load from a front impact to the shock tower, which ends up breaking the chassis. The new RPM bumper also does this and adds a brace under the front of the chassis.

Other notes:
-Check diff tightness
-Get another SPX!
-Switch limiters to 5/4

This past Sunday I ran WC Unlimted SC at West Coast's Grand Re-opening race. This time I had a 13.5 in the truck and it felt pretty good. Decent speed and enough punch for the jumps. The layout at West Coast had I nice flow to it, but only had 2 big jumps on the track. This made for good racing, as you weren't just trying to survive the jumps. The track was also much smoother now, like OCRC, and had awesome grip! I even pulled a wheelie down the straight in the main!

In round 1 I benefited from starting up front and took the lead, but dropped down to 2nd in the 1st minute. I had a clean run and turned a good time, which seated me 3rd in A main out of 22 entries! Woohoo! In round 2 I had to start in the back and got into a couple of wrecks, so I wasn't able to turn a good time :( My run from round 1 was still fast enough to keep me in the A, but I would now be starting from 4th on the grid. In the main I had a bad start, but was able to get up to 3rd. I then dropped down to 4th, after a clean pass was made on me. Then, I took back over 3rd, after the truck in front made a few mistakes. Took home $10 in race bucks :)

Here are the races!







My brother was also racing in Stock Truck. My normal class! He did really well, making the A main in 8th place. He was able to run in 3rd for a few laps, but got passed in a pile up. His driving is getting a lot better, so soon he may be in the top of the A! He just needs a little more speed, as he's not crashing very much now :) Here are his races:







I also ran my B44 with a mod motor for the 1st time in a year! To say that the grip and speed were better than the SC10 would be a gross understatement! It took me a bunch of crashes to get used to the throttle/brakes in the air, as they are more sensitive on a 4wd mod buggy than an SC truck. I didn't race it though, as I wanted to concentrate on the SC10. Here is a vid of my practice run.

The wall is coming down at OCRC!

The wall between the carpet track and offroad track is coming down! The bad news is that the carpet track is gone, but the good news is the offroad track is going to get much bigger! The dimensions will be 135' x 62', which is bigger than the outdoor track at Hot Rod Hobbies! WOW!

The drivers stand will also be extended by 50' and the depth of the track lowered by 1' to make it easier to see your car on the track.

OCRC will be open during most of the construction, but will be closed on 11/23 and 11/24 for the track rebuild. I'll be racing my SC10 there this coming Sunday and can't wait to see how the construction is going! Then racing on the new bigger track Thanksgiving weekend! :)

1st Short Course Race *Updated w/YouTube Vids*

This past Sunday was the 1st time Short Course racing for me. My SC10 handled pretty well, and had more grip than I thought it would. In fact, it was pushing more than I liked, and wouldn't rotate either. The suspension also felt "bouncy", compared to my T4. Either the oil was too light or the springs too heavy. I was running 35wt oil and blue front and silver rear springs, which is one step heavier than what I run in my T4. It also might have been caused by the fact that I blew out a rear shock :( But, looking at the latest setup posted on RC10.com, the shocks are set up rather heavy, with 40wt oil and gold front springs and gray rear springs. I'll probably try those shock settings next Sunday.

I was also trying out my Bowtie and Caliber SC tires. Both had too much grip! The truck wouldn't rotate on the berms and I needed to slow down too much for the turns. To remedy this I moved my battery forward 1 spacer block (was running the battery all the way in the back next to the shock tower) and I didn't clean and sauce my tires for the main. I had been washing them and apply Sticky Kicks tire sauce, but I had too much rear traction, so I didn't clean my tires for the main. It also saved me some time, to rebuild my blown out rear shocks. (again!)

In round 1 I tried the Calibers. I pushed a bunch and couldn't rotate on the berms. Finished 2nd, but I wasn't happy with the run. The winner did 13 laps, to my 12:08. For the next round, I tried the Bowties. I was on a 13 lap run, until I got slowed by traffic and made a few bobbles. I ended up winning the race, but with a slow 12 lap run.

For the main, I moved my battery forward, and didn't clean my tires, since I needed to rebuild a rear shock. My lap times got more consistent, in the mid 24's to 25's, but I'm aiming for a 23-22 second lap time. I think the fastest I went with my T4 on this layout the last time I raced was a high 22 lap. I got a clean start from the 2nd position and followed the leader, but on the next lap, I caught a rut at the end of the straight and flipped :( The leader pulled away, but I didn't make any more mistakes and caught back up to him. With about a minute to go, I was right behind him, when I guess he broke, and I took over the lead. I cruised to the end, winning the main and taking home $5 in race bucks :)

I liked racing the Short Course class! Easy to see this huge blue body running around the track :) If I can get it to loosen up a bit, I think it would be dialed :) I'm also going to switch my motor to my LRP with a newer rotor, since I think my Orion's rotor is a bit tired. I also want to pick up a rotor checker, since I have a bunch of 17.5 motors now and need to rate them somehow. I would like to get replacement rotors, if I can find them.

Set Up Notes:
-more motor! use LRP
-try heavy shock settings
-change to 0° rear hubs
-change front camber link to 2-B, 0 washers
-move battery forward one more spacer
-try stock tires!? for less grip
-increase preload on servo saver spring

*UPDATE*
Oh ya! OCRC posts the mains to YouTube now! Here is my main, although the audio is messed up :( My truck is the blue one starting in the 2nd position.



And here is my Stock Truck race from 10/25/09. Didn't blog about it as I was building the SC10 at the time. I broke in round 1, got a clean, but slow run in round 2. It was my 1st race night on this layout, and I was still learning the fast lines. Add this to the fact that there were a bunch of fast guys racing that night, and I ended up qualifying in 6th, right in front of my brother, who was able to squeak into the A! He out qualified Casey B too, who won the B and bumped into the A. I got a killer start and chased down leader after crashing during the 1st 2 minutes. But, I crashed again on the last lap at the end of the straight :( But, I was able to hold on to 2nd :)

Got an SC10!

Bought myself an SC10!

Spent the last month building it little by little after work and on the weekends. I set it up with a Futaba 4PK receiver, LRP Sphere Competition ESC, Reedy 35C 5000mah batteries, and an Orion 17.5 motor or LRP 10.5 motor. I also added titanium hinge pins and turnbuckles, Racers Edge 1° rear hubs, carbon fiber battery brace, threaded shocks, coated shock shafts, CVD's, and a T4 transmission with ball diff. For tires I picked out 3 sets to try. JConcepts Green Goosebumps on white Relux wheels, ProLine M3 Bowties on black KMC wheels, and ProLine M3 Calibers on JConcepts black Relux wheels. Hopefully I can race it for the 1st time next weekend :)

I will running the stock body with a 3 color paint job with no graphics for now, but will be switching it for a JConcepts Truth SC body with my signature paint job, once my painter finishes it for me :)

New charger! (again!)

I picked up another new charger!

I decided to get a dual output charger and a small lightweight power supply. At the Racers Haven round of the JBRL, the turnout was on the light side, and I wasn't able to fully charge a few of my battery packs, since I was only using 1 charger. I had to ask my friend to charge a few packs for me. There have also been times when I need to charge my radio battery and a race pack at the same time. One charger is fine most of the time, but I really like to have 2. In fact, most racers use 2. I could've just gotten another AC charger, but I like to keep my equipment bag as light as possible, so I thought a dual output charger and lightweight power supply was the way to go.

I went with the Bantam BC8DX charger and MuchMore CTX-P 24A power supply. The BC8DX has a large backlit display and can charge every type of battery on the market while the MuchMore power supply is super compact in size and weighs a little under 2 lbs. I've been using this combo a couple of races now and have been very happy with them :)

JBRL Finals!

The final round of the 2009 Electric JBRL Series was held the 2nd weekend of October at the JBRL's home track, Hot Rod Hobbies. I was in the top 10 in the series points in the Stock Buggy and 4wd Super Stock classes, and a chance to break into the top 10 in Stock Truck, with a little help. The guys in front of me would need to have some really bad luck for me to advance though :(

The weekend before my brother and I headed up to Hot Rod for some practice during the Saturday night club race, as the finals were a 2 day event, meaning no chance for me to practice and learn the layout the day before. Plus, I prefer to learn the track ahead of time (if possible), rather than the morning of the race. The morning of the race, I like to take a warmup run to test setups or work on my line.

The Saturday night club race wasn't really a race to me. It was more of a "timed practice", as I wasn't trying to gain positions or race anyone. All I wanted to do was get comfortable with the layout and try and improve my line. I think I finished 2nd in round 1 and 3rd in round 2. I qualified 3rd for the main and finished 4th due to a horrible start.

The JBRL finals were the next weekend, taking place over 2 days, with 3 rounds of qualifying on Saturday and 1 round and the mains on Sunday. This would also be my first race where I would stay overnight in a hotel! In all my years racing, I've always lived close enough to the track, that I didn't need to stay at a hotel. But since I'm living in San Diego now, the 2+ hour drive early in the morning was a bit much, thus I booked a hotel room. I drove up from SD Friday nite after work, ariving at the hotel around 10pm. I checked in and got settled in my room, as I would need to be at the track around 5:30am, since I haven't saved a pit yet, and I wanted to get there early and secure a spot. I lucked out and got the spot in the corner right before the gate to the offroad section of the track. This was the same spot I pitted in during the last JBRL race at Hot Rod. I took a warmup run with each car, running about 10-12 minutes to maxamize my practice time. I wasn't worried about my motors overheating, since it was pretty cold in the morning anyway. After practice I headed up to the cafe for some breakfast, then got ready for racing.

Stock Buggy was up first, like always, and I was in the 1st heat! I hate being in the 1st heat :( I managed to put in a good run though, finishing 3rd (I think) and was still in the A after both heats of stock buggy had run. The next 2 rounds would be a struggle though, as the track got faster. I was bumped out to 1st or second in the B after the 3rd round :( I had one more chance to bump back into the A, in the 4th round of qualifying, the next day. The key to going fast was to make the big triple on the backside of the track, as going double-single, was about 0.5 second a lap slower. Thus, during the morning warmup, I attempted to triple every lap, for my entire run. I wanted to see if my battery could provide enough power to triple for 6 minutes, and I was able to do it for 10 minutes! This gave me the confidence to triple for the entire qualifying run, since I needed to do it to turn a fast time and bump back into the A.

I was a little nervous in round 4, but after a lap or 2, I settled in. I was running in 3rd, on a pace to place me in the A! I was driving clean and making the triple consistently! You needed to turn a fast 17 or an 18 lap run to bump in, and I finished in 3rd with a 17:01 run! Woohoo! That run put me in the A :) I knew I didn't have a chance of placing in the top 5 in the main, so I did my best to pass as many cars as I could, and after starting 8th, I finished in 7th. After the points were added up for the season, I finished 8th in Stock Buggy in my rookie year in the JBRL. I was happy to make the top 10 after 8 races with some of the fastest racers in Southern California :)

Stock Truck was my biggest class with 3 heats. I don't remember as much about this class, but I do remember being on the bubble in the A after 2 rounds of qualifying, then getting bumped out in round 3. During the Sunday morning warmup I tried to triple again with my truck, and again I was able to do it consistently! :) I would need to put in a killer run in round 4 to bump my way back into the A. It wouldn't happen though, as I kept casing the triple during my qualifying run :( I must have crashed there 2-3 times also, and the crashes killed my run :( I kept going for it as I had nothing to lose anyway! ha! I realized afterwards that the pack I ran in the 4th round must not have the punch that the pack I ran during warmup has, thus I saved that pack for the main! I ended up qualifying 3rd in the B main :( In the main, I got hit from behind after the triple, on the 1st lap, dropping back down to near last :( I drove like a crazy man to make my way back up the order, as again, I had nothing to lose, and it was the last race of the season! I was turing clean fast laps and making the triple :) moving up the order fast. I made it back up to 2nd! Hey! Maybe I have a chance to bump into the A! I pushed even harder, and ended up crashing on the triple at least once. But the leader made a few mistakes also, and I closed the gap some. I think I got to within 2 sections, maybe half a straightaway, of the leader, but ran out of time :( No bump up :( Placed 2nd, but it was the B, so no trophy :( Season done! lol! I wasn't able to make the top 10 in the season points :( I was close though, finishing in 12th.

At home I tested my buggy packs (Reedy 5000mah 35C) against my truck packs (SMC 4700mah 40C) to compare the internal resistance rating (ie punch). The Reedy packs were at about a 6 and the SMC's were around 14! No wonder I didn't have as much punch! The lower the IR rating the better the punch. Also, the SMC pack that I used in the 4th round had a little higher IR than my other SMC pack. I guess you can't really compare C ratings between manufacturers... I want to try the new SMC 5200 50C packs though, and see how the IR compares to my Reedy's.

In 4wd Super Stock, I was in the A every round of qualifying (I had better be as there were only 13 cars!), so no drama there. I was also using my new Thunder Power 5400mah 40C saddle pack batteries for the 1st time as my Track Power 4800 20C's had puffed cells :( I really like the new batteries! Lots of punch and run time! I always like driving my B44 as it has tons of traction, steering, and punch! It's easy and fun to drive fast! Too bad the 4wd club racing scene has died off :( I wanted to run 4wd some during the off season too :( I qualified 7th I think in the main, but had a great start and was running in 3rd for a 1st half of the race. I wasn't turning super fast lap times though, and eventually got passed :( I tried to keep them behind me, but they were too quick for me... I dropped back down to 6th by end of the race. I also finished in 8th for the season in 4wd :) I wish I had placed higher though, as there weren't as many drivers in this class.

For next year I want to run Stock Buggy and Truck again, as there will be no sponsored drivers allowed in Stock classes next year. Will I be able to make the top 5 this time? Also, I'm not sure if I will run 4wd again or even a 3rd class. It's a lot of money to run 3 classes if you add up all the tires and parts I would need, plus I'll also need to pay for a hotel room for almost every race, as I'll be coming up from San Diego now. I also just built an SC10, so maybe I'll run the Stock SCT class if there even is one... Who knows?

Looking forward to the 2010 season and the 2-day season opener at West Coast :) Hopefully my brother will run the JBRL next year with me, racing in the Rookie class :)

Finally a race recap!

Ok, so it's been a month now since the last time I raced, which was at the Surf City Classic at OCRC. Since then I've moved to San Diego and started a new job, so I haven't had much time to work on my cars or race. I even missed the last round of the JBRL at Pegasus :( I'm settled in now though, and will be heading up to Hot Rod the next 2 weekends to practice for, then race the final round of the 2009 JBRL series :)

The last JBRL I ran was the round at Racers Haven in Bakersfield. This was the 1st time I ran there, but I've known about this track since I was in middle school, as the JG Dirt Oval Championships used to be run there back in the late 80's, and I wanted to run that race but never did :( Oh well...

It was hot that day, reaching about 107*F in the afternoon :( The track had this black stuff on it, which I think was roofing tar, slathered in the corners and on the jumps. While you were on this stuff, the bite was high, but get off, and you were in the dust sliding all over the place! To turn fast laps you had to stay on the black stuff! I was able to make all the A mains of the classes I was running :) Stock Buggy, Stock Truck, and Super Stock 4wd :) I ended up finishing 8th in buggy, 7th in truck, and 3rd in 4wd! Woohoo! So, my positions in the points after 7 rounds are: 8th in buggy, 13th in truck, and 9th in 4wd, with all throwouts accounted for.

At the Surf City Classic, I ran Stock Buggy and Truck, while my brother ran Amateur Truck. The track was also a little bigger now, as it was expanded to add more clay to the dirt. The dirt turned a slight shade of red because of the added clay, which was a surprise, as you can't really see that on the LiveRC camera. The layout also featured a wall ride, but it drove more like a really big berm, as you didn't have to go up the wall very far.

My truck was working fairly well, but my buggy was having problems. I broke a ball stud in the right side 0.5* aluminum rear hub carrier during the morning practice, which I couldn't get out, so I had to install my spare carrier. I then broke the left side ball stud during the 1st qualifying round :( I was in the top 3 too :( I was worried about breaking the ball stud again, so I changed the rear camber link geometry to reduce the stress on the ball stud, but the car didn't have the same rear traction as before, and I couldn't turn a fast times. For the main, I went back to my old camber link setting and crossed my fingers that it would hold together for the main, until I could figure out another "fix". It didn't break in the main, but the ball stud backed out of the carrier a little, causing the rear end to feel loose for the last minute of the main. I ended up finishing in 6th, after qualifying 5th.

Stock Truck went much better, as I was in the top 2 for most of qualifying, and qualified 2nd. I had a horrible start in the main, dropping to last. But, I knew if I could turn consistent laps, I'd catch up to the trucks in front of me. Those trucks ended up crashing and I went by and into 3rd place. The lead trucks were way out in front by now, and there was no way I would catch them unless they had a major wreck, which they didn't :( I held on and finished in 3rd :) If I didn't have that rotten start, I could've been battling for the lead!

My brother did really well in Amateur truck, qualifying in 3rd. He ended up battling for 2nd place in the main for a few laps, then finally took the position, when the 2nd place truck got caught up in traffic :) He didn't even know that untill I told him! LOL!

The next race for me will be at Hot Rod Hobbies for the last round of the JBRL coming up in 2 weeks :) After that, I plan to run 4wd Mod for awhile and try out my TC3 at OCRC and West Coast (once they open back up). I also want to pick up an SC10 to race during the 2010 JBRL! Hopefully, Jimmy will add an SCT class for 2010 :)

OCRC 2009 Surf City Classic Vids!!

First up are the vids of my races, as this is my blog :)




I blew out in that race :(

My brothers Main.


Expert Mains










Race recap of this race and Round 6 of the JBRL at Racers Haven in Bakersfield coming soon!

OCRC vs West Coast

Is lame!

I choose not to post in either thread on RC tech regarding this "perceived" rivalry, or provide a link to the BS, as I hope it will die. I'll post about it here on my blog though, so I can vent, since only a few people read it anyways! LOL!

As for myself, I am an RC racer. I am not an OCRC, West Coast, Hot Rod, Pegasus, etc racer. Sure my favorite track is OCRC, but I have nothing against any other track, and will race at which ever track I feel like on a given weekend. But, at this rate, there may not be any indoor tracks in So Cal. Maybe they'll open one in San Diego! ;-)

**Breaking News** West Coast Closed!!??

West Coast RC Raceway just announced that the city has shut down both the offroad and onroad tracks!!! Just when I was going to run my TC3 there this weekend too :( I guess I'll be going out to OCRC instead and try it out on the carpet track.

They say they won't reopen the tracks until November too. I guess that means no more JBRL race in September :(

West Coast's Site

West Coast's blog

RC Tech thread

My TC3 is alive!

I decided to bring back my 10 year old TC3 from the dead and set it up with a brushless system and lipo batteries, since I had an extra esc, because I replaced the Sphere TC in my truck with an SPX. I would need to add a receiver, transponder, and 3oz of lead! You can see the lead in the picture, taped all along the side of chassis next to the battery. I also installed an LRP 13.5 motor because 1) only LRP motors will work in the chassis without modification since the sensor plug is on the top side of the motor, near the solder tabs, and 2) I can't gear a 17.5 high enough with the spur gear I'm currently using :( I need to find a smaller spur gear, so I can gear the motor higher! For now, I will run the 13.5 and see what kind of motor temps I'm getting... I plan to try it out the next time I head out to OCRC or West Coast :)

I may try to race it, if I can get the right gear in it that is! I'm not sure how competitive it will be though, but it would be cool if I can beat some of the current cars with this dinosaur! :)

JBRL Round 5, Freedom Park, Camarillo *UPDATED*

The next stop of the 2009 Electric JBRL Series was held at Freedom Park RC Raceway, in Camarillo, CA; hosted by the Road Runners RC Club.

Stock Buggy
In Stock Buggy, I broke a front a arm in round 1 of qualifying, and still managed to finish 2nd in the heat! Only the front part of the arm broke at the inner hinge pin, and it stayed on the car. Surprisingly, it still handled ok! When I took the car apart, the front a arm and bulkhead were broken and my titanium hinge pin was bent :( I had the stock steel hinge pins, but no a arms or bulkhead. I asked my friend, and he had an a arm and a broken bulkhead. The mounting holes for the hinge pin brace were stripped out. He gave me the parts, and I repaired the car. I would need to superglue the screws into the bulkhead to hold the hinge pin brace on, then cross my fingers and hope it holds together for the rest of the day.

In round 2 for Stock Buggy, I was doing really well! In fact, I was leading the race! Until I clipped a pipe and I thought I broke the front bulkhead! The car still drove ok, but I slowed my pace made a few other mistakes, and ended up finished 3rd in the race, just missing the A main :(

I qualified 2nd in the B main for buggy. I would need to win to bump into the A! I had a great start! The pole sitter, went wide into the wagon wheel turn in front of the driver's stand! I dove to the inside and took over the lead! A bunch of accidents behind me let put a big lead on the field, so I slowed my pace a bit, to make sure I didn't crash. I was also patient with traffic, waiting to lap a car for a lap, before yelling out "White car, leader behind you!" Then, Jimmy heard me and also called for the car to move over, which he did, and I got by clean. By this time, the 2nd place car closed in! He got to about 1 turn behind me, but I held my line, and he clipped the pipe in the wagon wheel, giving me some breathing room. I made it by the line for the extra lap, while he got caught, giving me a victory lap and the bump up into the A!

Next race up was the A main for Stock Buggy. Starting in 10th, I wasn't expecting much, just hoping for a big wreck, so I could move up. I hung back on the start and moved up a couple of spots in the wagon wheel. But when heading to the roller on the right side of the track, my car got hit in the back going into the blind spot, and didn't come out! I had no idea where it was! All I could do was punch the gas hoping it would pop out someplace :( I guess it was stuck on a pipe and the marshal heard my car, and ran to it. I was way back in last now, so I drove as fast as I could, hoping I could catch back up to the pack. I was able to catch the 9th place car and pass it in the last 2 laps! Every point counts!

Stock Truck and 4wd Super Stock
I don't remember much about my truck and 4wd runs. I know I qualified 4th in the B for Truck, and 8th in the A for 4wd. Hey another A main! :) I was running 3rd in the truck main for the 1st half of the race, but nose dived off a jump, and landed on my lid, dropping me back a few spots. Then I lost my car again in the blind spot, behind the carpet roller, when getting hit in traffic, losing more positions. All I could do now was pass as many cars as I could, before time ran out! I think I finished 5th or 6th. I'll need to wait until the results are published online to see where I actually placed.

For 4wd, our A main (last of the event, btw), was run under the lights in the cold! My car was a blue blur that I tried to keep away from the white car breaking pipes! Hahahah! I think I got up to 4th, but rolled in the bumps on top of the hill at the end of the straight, dropping back. Driving my 4wd was fun! Even without the ideal tires. I moved up a couple of spots by "going big" over some of the jumps, to close the gap on the car in front of me, and it worked, as I was able to make the pass in the next turn. To think what I could've done on the right tires and 40C saddle pack batteries, as I'm running year old 20C TrakPower saddles. Hmmmm. Next time :) Not sure where I finished here either, but I know I moved up from 8th. I probably finished 5th or 6th. When will the results be posted anyway? :)

One liners:
-The weather was nice! High 70's with a nice cool breeze :) A welcome change after baking at the Shootout.
-Track was fairly nice. Decent traction, not too bumpy. But there was this carpet roller that created a blind spot, where I lost sight of my car during the Stock Buggy A main, ruining a great start :(
-The track was being run wet. So I needed to keep track of when it was being watered. Run right after water, use IFMAR pin rear tires. Otherwise, I was running Double Dees.
-Need new tires for my 4wd!
-A lot of cars broke on the unforgiving pipes :(
-Need more consistency. I either do really well, or blow out. Never the same.
-Qualifying is the most important part of the event! It's all about making the A main!
-Used the Racer's Edge 0.5° rear hubs on my buggy, as its been a touch loose on power lately. It was hooked up now! I also want to get some 1° (for lower traction tracks) and 0° hubs (they have less slop than the plastic hubs, so the wheel doesn't wobble around so much).
- I had a great time at this race! Probably due to the nice weather, and the fact that I made 2 of 3 A mains :)
-Race entry at West Coast is only $10 for the month of August!

*UPDATE*
The results from Freedom Park have been posted!
Stock Buggy, B 2/10, 1st 12 5:28, A 10/10 9th 13 6:28
Stock Truck, B 4/10, 6th 11 5:26
Super Stock 4wd, A 8/10, 6th 13 6:04

Official points standings as of Round 5!
Stock Buggy, 7th 284 points
Stock Truck, 15th 276 points
Super Stock 4wd, 11th 278 points

Pictures from the Hot Rod Shootout!

My T4 during the Stock Truck B Main

Me warming up before the Stock Truck B Main

Me in the background (2nd guy on the right side) marshaling the Stock Buggy A2 Main.







And just because :) The Hot Rod Hotties!

**All photos taken by Jason Boulanger of Xtreme RC Cars magazine**

Expansion of OCRC's off road track!

OCRC's off road track is about to get a little bigger!

I went out there to do some midweek racing last night, and to my surprise I saw some posts bolted to the floor. They're about 2 feet away from the wall along the back straight. Robert tells me its to make room for the clay he plans to add in a few weeks, in preparation for the Proline Surf City Classic at the end of August. OCRC is about to get more traction! :) I wonder if the gold barcodes will still be the "fast" tire?

So, on to the racing.

I decided to run stock truck, to see if I could put in another 15 lap run, since I wasn't able to do it during the Saturday Series race. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to :(. Heck, even in the main where you get a short first lap because of the heads up start, I couldn't put in a 15 lapper. I even blamed my truck, since the rear shocks were leaking some. I decided that there must be dirt in the oil, messing up my rear bite, so I decided to refill them before the main. But, when I dumped the oil out, it was still clear! :( I was crushed! My driving was the reason I couldn't go 15 :( I must be making a too many driving mistakes and getting caught up with lapped traffic again. Looking at my lap times showed each run had 2-3 24+ second laps killing my chances. My 15 lap runs from last Friday were mistake free, with my longest lap being in the 22 second range. Dangnabit! My runs from tonight were 14:10, 14:11, and 14:06... Ended up finishing 2nd out of 5 cars.

Oh ya, I'm getting pretty fast at rebuilding shocks now, since I need to do it all the time :( When I bleed them I put about 5-7 drops of oil in the cap, push the shock shaft all the way in, level off the oil with the top of the shock body, then just screw the cap on! The rebound usually ends up being pretty close, but if there's too much air, just add another drop or 2 of oil to the cap. If there's too much rebound or the shock shaft won't go in, take away a drop or 2. That's it!

OCRC Sat Series Final

Last weekend was the final race of the OCRC Sat Series! I was in 2nd place in Stock Truck and 3rd place in Stock Buggy. I had a small chance of moving up a position in Stock Truck if I would be able to beat the guy ahead of me in the points, in the main. Up for grabs was about $100! My brother had an outside chance of placing 3rd in the Amateur class. To do it, 2 things had to happen. The leader would need to finish as low as possible (ie break) and he would need to place in front of the guy ahead of him in the points.

We ran the Friday night club race as a practice session for the series race the next day. We both needed to learn the new layout and jumps, as the track was slightly changed from the last series race. My brother would be running his new T4 for the 1st time on Friday! No more sharing my truck, which makes it a whole lot easier, since we were usually back to back in the round.

I did really well in round 1, winning the heat and setting the TQ time at 15:17. I didn't have as good a run in round 2, turning a bunch of slow laps and lost the TQ :( I ended up finishing 3rd with a 14:06. I would start the main in 2nd place. The start was clean, but I had nothing for the pole sitter. I closed the gap when he made a mistake, but he pulled away again, and I was never close enough to attempt a pass. I finished the main in 2nd place, earning $5 off my next race! Hey! That's new! :)

My brother had a good night too with his new truck. I set it up as a copy of mine, so he was running the same setup and gear. Gold Bar Codes, SPX esc, and Murfdogg 17.5! He did well in round 1 finishing 3rd with a 12:17. In round 2, he was running in 2nd when the sensor wire came out! I was watching his run and grabbed his truck then plugged the sensor wire back into the motor, but that gave him a 63 second lap :( He was turning consistent 21-22 second laps though. Not too shabby, considering I'm turning low 20's. He qualified 6th in the A with his time from round 1. He did really well, finishing in 2nd place! He also won $5 off his next race :)

The next day was the last race of the OCRC Saturday Series! Time to get paid! Since we ran Friday, all we did was take 1 run with our cars, to "warm up"' and get the "driving feel" back. I hate running a race without first doing a practice run.

In both my Stock Truck qualifiers, I got caught up with lapped traffic a few times (need to be more patient!) and finished 4th each time, only putting in 14 lap runs. I would end up qualifying 2 spots behind the guy I needed to beat in order to move up in the points and win more money :( I started the main in 4th place out of 7 trucks. Not too impressive :( I would need a bit of luck and a clean start to beat the guy ahead of me in the points! The start was clean through the 1st section of the track, but I guess the TQ or 3rd place truck stuffed a pipe right in front of me and I ran into the back of them :( I was able to "pop" out of the mess, by punching the throttle and jumping over one of the trucks, and I took off! I saw the lead truck going over the big double in front of the driver's stand, meaning I was in 2nd! Unfortunately, the leader was the guy I needed to beat. I drove as smooth and as fast as I could, but was unable to catch him. I would need a bit of luck or a mistake to close the gap, but no such thing occurred. Soon the TQ, caught up to me. I was able to keep him behind me for a lap, but he made a pass right before the finish line, and took over 2nd. I held on to 3rd, turning a 14:03. I ended up also finishing in 3rd in the series, taking home $85 :)

Stock Buggy would not be as exciting, as only 2 of us showed up to race. I was too far behind him in the points to beat him even if beat him in the main. So, $25 practice session :( He was too fast for me, out qualifying me and beating me in the main. Oh well, I still finished 3rd in the points, winning another $85 :) I walked away with a total of $170 from the series :)

My brother was getting the track down, and now turning pretty consistent 21-22 second laps. He was able to beat the guy in front of him in the points, moving up a position. Unfortunately, the other guy that needed to lose, won the main, thus he finished the series in 4th.

Because of the low turnout, we were done racing by 3pm, so Robert offered up some free racing! There would be 1 qualifying round and 1 10 minute main. The winner of the qualifier would get an OCRC t-shirt, and the winner of the main, $15 off their next race! My brother and I ended up in the same heat, so we decided to just race each other. In each race, I pulled away from him on the start, but when I came around to lap him, he sped up! I think I was only able to pass him once or twice in one of the 2 races! He was driving really well! Then Robert started following our race, instead of the leaders! LOL! He commented that the teacher has now become the student, and that my brother was smiling, while I was fuming, as I couldn't put him a lap down :( Hahahaha! We were having a lot of fun and continued racing, while letting the race leaders by.

Other stuff:
-My buggy was really loose on power! Need to play around with the slipper, throttle expo, and install the 0.5° hubs.
-The buggy's rear wheels were also flopping around a lot! I need some new bearings!
-Both the truck/buggy suspension's have a lot of slop! Need to freshen them up with new bulkheads and a-arms.

West Coast RC Offroad Grand Opening

I headed out to West Coast RC this past Sunday to run the Offroad Grand Opening Race! I've already run at West Coast a few times, but this time, the track and hobby shop were officially open for business. My brother also came up from San Diego to run Amateur Stock Truck, but no such class exists, so he had to run in my class, Sportsman Stock Truck. While he can wheel a truck around a track fairly well, he's not able to turn fast and consistent laps (not yet anyway).

We got there at about 10:30am and setup our pit, then headed out to the track for practice. My brother needed to learn the layout, so I gave him as many tips as I could, and he started turning some laps. It was still the same layout as the last time I ran, but the track was a lot smoother now and some of the jumps had been reworked, to make them a bit easier to clear (thank you!) I just worked on my line and jump timing, while my brother learned the layout. Unfortunately, my brother broke a front A-arm on the big triple (luckily the shop now had some stock!), then blew out a rear shock :( He replaced the arm, and I rebuilt the shock for him, since he can't do it as fast as I can, and he wanted to get back on the track as soon as possible.

Around noon, we started looking for the free BBQ which was supposed to part of the grand opening festivities, as it was posted on RCTech.net that they would be serving food from 12 noon - 6pm. Unfortunately, nobody was manning the grill :( We were getting hungry, but waited to see when the grill would be fired up. Around 2:30 pm, we were about to make a run over to Wendy's down the street when we saw Danny getting the grill ready and got in line! We both got a hot dog and a sausage, along with some potato salad. It wasn't bad, but we had to gulf it down as racing was about to start in 15 minutes and we were in race 4!

Our Stock Truck heat was packed! 11 cars! That didn't seem too bad as the track is fairly large with lap times nearing 30 seconds. I was worried though, as since there is no IFMAR qualifying at West Coast, it would be a mess, with all the traffic and fighting for position. I was right as there was a huge pile up on the start, causing a lot of yelling on the stand, as the marshals moved in slow motion to clear the mess. Luckily I started on the pole (thanks to heads up qualifying) and got away clean. But, :( I clipped the pipe in the hairpin after the triple and rolled, losing the lead. Then while trying to get my rhythm back, Art was able to make a clean pass on me, dropping me down to 3rd. I was able to hold on to 3rd, but what a mess in traffic! I got hit several times by lapped cars, as nobody would give room to the faster cars. Notch wasn't much help either, as all he did was call out who were the leaders and not calling much traffic. My brother was in the same heat, and he didn't have much luck either. I think he got caught up in the pileup off the start, then also got hit by other cars attempting passes. He finished in 9th.

For round 2, I would be starting in the back of the 11 car heat (thanks to heads up qualifying again, sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. Thank goodness I wasn't number 5, as I would be screwed in both qualifying rounds, starting the middle of the pack). I took it easy on the start and tried to pick my way through the mess. I think I moved up to mid pack by the triple, but got hit after the hairpin double and needed to be marshaled, dropping back down the order. I got hit and marshaled a bunch (which took forever btw, because there were were only a few marshals on the track, and they had to run really far to get you). Again, there was a bunch of yelling in regards to being hacked and slow marshals (which also happened to me btw), I got fed up and yelled back "Shut up and learn to drive!" Which quieted down some of the other guys for a lap or two... I managed to finish in 4th, but my time sucked, as I had to start in the back. I don't remember how my brother did, but I don't think he had a good run either. He also stopped his run when he thought Notch called him finished (hard to hear Notch in there, with all the yelling, and noise from the fans), but when we looked at the results, his time was stopped with 30 seconds to go (his time was at 4:30), so he missed out on another lap :(

The mains were up next and would be 7 minutes long. I qualified in 4th, with my time from round 1 (10:02). I got up on the stand and apologized to all the driver's standing near me for running into them, as I knew I would. Sorry! Art was yelling at Notch to get more marshals as he was about to start the race with only 4 marshals on the track! A few guys ran out on the track, and before I knew what was happening, the race started with little warning! A huge pileup occurred right in front of me, right at the finish line! I saw it and drove around the mess and the marshal running toward it. I went through the valley and landed on the table top in 2nd place! Whoohoo! I drove as fast as I could to stretch the gap to third place as big as I could! I was driving clean and turning good laps, until I caught up with the back markers :( Nobody would give me room and ran into me instead :( I got pushed off line and punted into the next lane, but thankfully didn't need to be marshaled! Again, Notch wasn't calling traffic, he was just announcing who the leaders were. I guess we were on our own. I need to learn to yell out "Yellow car, 2nd place car behind you! Please let me by !" (ie. don't run into me or try to race me). I hung on to 2nd place, winning $10 race bucks :)

My brother was running in the back, using the main as a chance to get more practice and work on his timing for the jumps. He told me that any time another truck caught up to him, he'd move over and let them by, and they were still running into the back of him! :( What horrible driving! I think I lapped him twice, and he did an great job driving and giving me the room to get by. I slowed my pace a little and he moved to the outside of the lane a bit, and I dived underneath him to the inside. He waited until I cleared him, then returned to his line. This is how it should be done :) Thanks bro! The other cars wouldn't give me any room, then try to race me as I was lapping them, and I would get hit :( My brother ended up finishing in 10th after blowing out another shock with about 2 minutes to go, then hitting a rut at the end of the straight, and popping a rear camber link. He'd like to thank the marshal that tried to pop the link back on, but wasn't able to :(

Thoughts:
-What happened to Super Sunday racing with 3 rounds of qualifying? We only ran 2 rounds :(
-I like IFMAR qualifying! You get somewhat cleaner runs.
-11 car heat? Wouldn't a 6/5 split lead to cleaner racing and better qualifying? I guess saving 15 minutes is more important than clean racing and a good time :(
-Need to treat every car as it's trying to take me out, even when I'm lapping them! I think this would increase my chances of getting by without getting hit.
-Even with all the fans and open doors, it's still freaking hot and humid in there! I wish there was a fan on the driver's stand, as after every run I was covered in sweat :(

West Coast RC Raceway, Inaugural Offroad Race

My new friend Andrew (who I met at the Shootout and came from Thailand to race) and I decided to head out to WCRC in La Mirada, to run the 1st ever offroad club race there!

I had no idea what tires to start on, so I just ran what I had on my car at the time, Gold Barcodes. I ran these for 3 runs, while learning the layout. The Barcodes weren't hooking up very well, so for my next battery, I tried the following rear tires- M3 Square Fuzzies, Green Double Dees, and Red X-3000's, all paired with M3 wide ribbed fronts. The Square Fuzzies and X-3000's seemed to hook up the most. I was able to get on the gas really hard as long as my car stayed pointed straight! The track was more bumpy/wavy than the tracks I usually race on. Which is good I think, as I get more experience running on this type of surface, but I'm slow compared to the rest of the field :( The dirt at WCRC is 100% clay, and still a little soft I guess, causing it to get a little rutted and bumpy.

Two jumps were giving me issues on the layout. A fast kicker jump that went down hill into a hairpin, and a large double with short takeoff. I was having trouble getting the right speed to hit the kicker, downside the lander, and make the hairpin. I either case, or land long hitting the pipe :( The big double was giving me fits, because I didn't have the punch needed to clear it consistently :( Back in the pits, I decided to gear down my car and tighten my slipper a bit. As it turns out, my slipper was really loose! No wonder I didn't have the punch!

For round 1 I ran the X-3000's, which hooked up really well when sauced, but I still didn't have the punch I wanted. I led the heat for haf the race, but made a mistake and stuffed it into the pipes a few times and caught a rut at the end of the straight and flipped, falling back to 3rd :( In round 2, I went back to my normal gearing, and tightened up my slipper even more! I also switched to my Square Fuzzies, as I wanted to see how they compared to the X-3000's. They felt ok, but my lap times were slower, allowing the leaders to pull away :(

For the main, I went back to my X-3000's as I was able to turn a few fast 29's with these compared to the Squares. I also decided to drop my gear by 1 tooth, and turn my speedo up to profile 8. I had nothing to lose as I had qualified 8th in our 13 car main! I got a good start, moving up to 6th on the 1st lap :) I battled it out for 5th mid race, but made a mistake on the big double that has been giving me problems the whole night, and dropped back to 9th. I was able to catch back up though, and make some passes and finished in 7th.

Andrew did really well, qualifying 2nd and finishing 3rd. He also gave me a few tips on how to drive bumpy tracks, as that was all he raced when he lived in the US during college.

Randomness:

-I need more experience running on bumpy tracks!

-I need to bring a hat to use indoors here, as the glare from the overhead lights made me squint, making it harder to see my car on the backside of the track.
-Need to bring a fan for my pit, as it was freaking hot in there!

Andrew gluing up some Panther Raptors

My pit space looking toward the offroad track

View of the offroad track from the onroad track driver's stand

View of the pit area from the onroad driver's stand

Right side of the onroad track

Left side of the onroad track

Left corner of the offroad track


Right corner of the offroad track

Hot Rod Hobbies, Offroad Shootout, Days 5 and 6

Was too tired to recap the last 2 days of the Shootout, so I'm doing it now :)

In Stock Buggy, I had a really good run in round 3 finishing my heat in 3rd with a 17:00 and about 15th or so in the round. In round 4, I decided to run my new Murfdogg 17.5 that I picked up from Matt Murphy at the track. He suggested I run a 72:34 ratio, but not having time to switch my spur I ran a 69:33 ratio, which was pretty close.

I didn't have as good a run in round 4 though, making a lot of mistakes during the 1st 3 minutes of the run :( I finished 7th in my heat and in the high 30's for the round. I ended up qualifying on the pole for the C Main. I was tied for the last spot in the B Main, but lost the tie breaker :(

In the main I had a good start and made no mistakes for 5 minutes! Then, I got sideways coming up the peristyle, allowing the 2nd place car to get really close! Coming down the hill I aimed for the inside of the turn, to block the inside line, but I clipped the pipe and ended up on my lid. The 2nd place car passed me for the lead! Then, on the last lap I got hit by a lapped car, allowing 3rd place to close! I was marshaled in time and was able to hold on to 2nd :)

My Stock Truck runs were the opposite of my buggy runs! I had a not so good run in round 3 and a decent one in round 4. Again, I tried my new Murfdogg 17.5 motor in round 3, along with the Orange Bar Codes I finally finished mounting up. The motor was quick!, but the Orange front Bar Codes felt too twitchy! It also probably didn't help that I mounted them wrong :( I finished 9th in my heat and high 20's in the round :(

I pulled it together in round 4 though, putting in a solid run! I went back to my Taper Pins, as I wasn't comfortable on the Bar Codes. I was fighting for 3rd place, but eventually finished 5th in the race and in the low teens for the round. This seated me 6th in the B Main.

In the main, I got a killer start and made my way up to 3rd on the 1st lap! I was in 3rd for about half the race, but the 4th place truck went for a pass at the bottom of the hill and we got together, and I got the worst of the deal, as I got stuck on the pipe and needed to be marshaled, dropping to 5th. I chased down the 4th place truck, which happened to be Matt Murphy, who sold me the Murfdogg 17.5 I was running in my truck! lol! He made a mistake in the small triple, allow me to get by for 4th, where I finished.

I didn't take 4wd Super Stock as serious as my buggy and truck classes, as I don't have the latest batteries for this car. I'm using the TrakPower 20C packs, while everyone else is running the latest gen 25-40C packs. I had a decent run in round 3 turning an 18:21 (my 1st 18 lap run of the weekend btw), finishing in 4th. In round 4 I turned in another 18 lap run (18:08) and finished 3rd. I ended up qualifying 4th in the C main. I got into a few accidents in the 1st minute of the main, dropping to the back. I wasn't able to recover and finished in 6th. Oh well, I need to get some batteries to be more competitive.

Random thoughts:
-It was freaking hot! My pit area reached 110°F on Saturday!
-Need to bring a towel to put in my ice chest next year.
-Don't make big setup changes between rounds of qualifying!
-The line around the track still makes a difference in offroad. Sometimes I forget that, since I'm too busy just trying to clear jumps, and my lap times suffer.
-Once qualifying starts, just drive!

Hot Rod Hobbies, Offroad Shootout, Day 4

Too tired! Must sleep.

Right now I am in the "B Qualifier" for Stock Buggy and Truck, and the "'C qualifier" for 4wd Super Stock after the resort.

Decided to go back to mechanical motor timing in my truck, instead of esc timing. Felt much faster. Dropped lap times by almost a second!

Installed motor heat sinks on my truck/buggy motors and geared back up to my normal gearing for Hot Rod. Cars were faster while keeping motor temps below 180°F.

Hot Rod Hobbies, Offroad Shootout, Day 3

No pics today, as I was busy turning laps!

Today was controlled practice, in 6 min sessions. I've got the layout figured out, and can turn consistent 21 sec laps, with a high 20, here and there. I still need to tighten up my line and decide if I should clear the big tripe leading up to the hill. I can do it, if I swing wide, but it's risky, since if you crash, it's hard for the marshal to reach that area. The other option is to take the turn before the triple tight, and go double-single, then shoot up the hill. Not sure which method is faster, but watching Brent Calvert in practice, he chose to clear the triple....

My motors are also still running hot, and I still feel like I need more gear, so I plan to put my motor heat sinks on and gear back up, as I need to pick up 0.5 seconds per lap (crosses fingers) I was running 69:35 in buggy and 72:31 in truck at the last JBRL race at the end of May, but the high that day was 86°F or so. Today the high in my pit reached 100°F!

I'm also trying to figure out my new SPX esc. At the JBRL race I was using mechanical timing on the motor and esc. Right now I'm running 0° timing on the motor, and letting the esc control the timing. I may return to using mechanical timing, as my truck just doesn't feel as fast as before, and experiment with the SPX during club racing.

Time to get some sleep, as I'll need to wake up at 4:30am, to make it to the track by 6am for the 1st day of qualifying!