Weekend full of racing :)

So I decided to race both Friday night and Sunday this weekend in preparation for the 1st race of the OCRC Saturday Series, to be run next weekend. I wanted to shakedown my truck and was still working on getting my buggy dialed in...

Friday night:
Stock Truck
My truck felt dialed during practice! I was trying out my Blade tires on the front end to see if they added any steering compared to my Edges. I decided to run these and some worn(ish) Holeshots on the rear.

My race was up early in the round, and the track would be really damp for our race. Traction was good! I started in 4th, but took the lead by the end of the 1st lap. I cruised around in 1st, taking the win and setting the TQ with a 12:03 run. Most of my lap were in the low 26 second range. However, since the track was so damp, the pins on the Blades and Holeshots filled up with dirt.

Since there were 14 heats of racing on a Friday night, we went straight into round 2, with no track watering. This prompted me to switch over to new Holeshots. This time I would be starting in the back and would need to work through a lot of traffic to get to the front. My laps were not as consistent or fast because of all the traffic I needed to deal with. I finished in 3rd with a 12:17, losing the TQ to a 12:01 run, by the winner of round 2.

I was qualified in 2nd for the main. Before our race Jeremy announced that a pair of JConcepts DoubleDees rear truck tires would be given to the winner, to promote the JConcepts Wave race coming up in May. I took it easy on the start and tucked in behind the leader. I followed him around looking for a place to pass, when a few laps in he crashed in the quad section! I went by into the lead! I then kept my nose clean and driving mistake free, taking the win and tires with a 13 lap run :)

Stock Buggy
My buggy still needed more steering on power. To get it I tried using Panther Bobcats up front. It felt ok, but I really slow :( I finished last with a 11:10. For round 2, I moved the rear shocks upper mounting position from the "4th" hole to the #1 hole. I wasn't sure if the change made any difference, as I didn't have a very good run, finishing last again with an 11:15.

For the main, I decided to go back to my ribbed fronts, as the Bobcats didn't seem to helping much. My car also felt slow, as I was still waiting to get one of the new 72t spur gears, and running a 78:33 gear ratio in my car. This is the same ratio I use in my truck! I cruised around in the back of the pack, finishing with a 12:16 in 5th. Hey! I went 12 laps :)

Sunday, Stock Buggy
I would be only running my buggy tonight, as it still wasn't working how I wanted, and needed to get it dialed in for the 1st OCRC series race. I also decided that I couldn't wait any longer for an AE 72t spur (they're not in stock yet everywhere I've checked), so I picked up a regular Kimbrough 72t spur gear and Traxxas slipper friction pegs. The pegs go into the holes in the spur gear and perform the same function as the stock slipper pads. I ran it with a 34t pinion during practice, but after a 5 minutes, the motor was stone cold! I could put my finger on it and leave it there. I temped it at only 110°F. So I geared up to a 35t pinion.

Mike Fisk was on fire! He won both rounds of qualifying, taking the TQ with a 13:25. As for myself, the correct gearing made a big difference! I placed 2nd in both rounds with 12 lap runs (12:13 and 12:23). It was alot easier to put in a 12 lap run with the correct gear. While I could do it with the "truck" gear, I needed a clean run to do so. My lap times also dropped about a second.

Just like Friday, the winner of the main tonight would win a pair of JConcepts Groovy 2wd front tires! On the start for the main, I tucked in right behind Mike over the triple and quads, then looked for a place to pass. He stuffed a pipe, and I went by into the lead! I kept the lead for about half the race, until a bad landing in the quads allowed him to go by :( I got into some tumbles after that and wasn't able to catch back up to Mike. Mike took the win with a 13:29, and I finished in 2nd with a 12:00.

Check out the vids of my races below, as my dad tagged along and recorded them.

More YouTube Videos

Uploaded the last 2 video's that I recorded during last Sunday's racing. Enjoy! (or not)

B4 LiPo light weight setup posted by AE!

Associated has finally post the official LiPo lightweight setup for the B4! Hey! They are still running extra weight! 55g (2 oz) with the battery. The track was low traction though...

It's almost the same as the setup I have on my buggy right now. Except I'm running 25° caster blocks, 25wt front oil, green rear springs, -1° camber, and 1 ball stud washer on the rear camber link. I still feel I need more rotation, so I will be going to 0° camber, 0° rear hubs with the link in the A hole. I also need to increase my drag brake on the ESC and ABS in the radio...

New YouTube Videos!

Since I had alot of free time on my hands last Sunday, (18 heats of racing and I was only running one class) so I recorded a few races to test out my video camera again. So far I've only uploaded round 1 qualifying for Expert Mod Buggy and Mod 4wd.

Madness at OCRC!

It was madness this Sunday at OCRC, as a rainy weekend equals a packed house! There were 18 heats tonight, which took about 2.5 hours to complete! I'm usually home by 9pm on a normal Sunday, but today, my main didn't even run until almost 10pm!

Practice was crazy! Controlled practice was in effect, with two sessions, 1/10 scale then 1/8 scale and Slash. During a session, there was no place to stand on the driver's stand and traffic was nuts! There were also tons of people that couldn't drive in traffic at all and I kept getting hit :( But, I had learn the track, so I kept running anyway. My buggy was way under geared, as I haven't been able to pick up a 72 spur yet (nobody has them in stock yet), so I ran the entire session, which was about 15 minutes. If I had the correct gearing, I would've only run 5-6 minutes to keep the motor from overheating.

Two sections of the track were giving me problems. The rhythm section and the double in a corner. In the rhythm section, I just couldn't get the timing down, causing me to land short on the 1st set of doubles and get get out shape or wreck, or land long, with the same result on the second set of doubles. For the corner double, I just couldn't clear it consistently, so I decided to single them, but that made me slower.

I was trying out the new light weight LiPo setup on my B4. My car felt ok, but it seemed too soft, and didn't rotate quick enough in the hairpins. I would end up making small changes after each race. I went a little faster after each change/race, but I still wasn't happy with the setup.

After practice, I moved the rear hub to the middle position, and went 11:01, finishing in 3rd, with a fast lap of 27.312. I was also able to get a good start and avoid all the wrecks, as I started in the middle of the pack of an 11 car heat! For round 2, I changed over to green rear springs, to stiffen up the rear end, and hopefully get the car to rotate better. I got a good start again, and went 12:25, finishing in 4th, with a fast lap of 27.053. At least I went 12 laps!

For the main, I decided to shorten the rear camber link, again in an effort to get the car to rotate faster. I started in 4th and this time I got a horrible start! I tried to drive around an accident in the bowl turn, but the marshal stepped in front of my car and I got hung up on his foot :( Thanks dumbass@! Why can't people learn to let traffic through before marshaling a car? I ended up in last place, which turned out to be 7th, as some people decided to go home early. I circled the track in the back of the pack, trying to gain some ground on the field, but I got taken out by a car behind me going over the triple. He rear ended me at the top of the 1st jump. I try not to follow directly behind somebody over big jumps, for this reason. After that, all I wanted to do was run cars off the track! I ended up finishing 5th with an 11:01... At least my fastest lap went down to a 26.979! But, most of my other laps were in the 28 second range and not consistent at all.

I think for my next buggy race, I'll change my rear hubs back to the stock 0° hubs, mounting them in the rear position, and mount the camber link in the A hole. I also want to try some Panther Bobcat tires on the front end or some new ribbed front tires. And I'm dying to get a 72t spur! I also need to get my B44 rebuilt for the 1st race of the OCRC Saturday Series at the end of the month. Hmm... I think I may need to head out for a Saturday practice again...

SC10 in Action @OCRC!

Found this short clip of the SC10 running at OCRC posted on the RC10.com site! It looks good!

LRP 1/8 brushless system!

This is the 1/8 brushless system I would run in my RC8e (if I end up getting one), as I really like the LRP ESC's I use in my 1/10 cars. The ESC is even the same size as a 1/10 brushless controller! Hopefully this system will make its way to the US soon :) See Red RC for the original story.

YouTube Video of the SC10!