Round 3 of the West Coast Supercross Series was EPIC! 22 heats on a Sunday night, with a start time of 3pm! That's more heats than some JBRL races, which start at 9am! It would be a long night...
I brought out the SC10 for some Mod SC racing along with my T4, to fight some of the boredom. With limited practice time and a new track to learn, I wanted to get some runs in on the "super" layout :) Up first was the T4. I was experimenting with timing and gearing again, running the lowest ratio I had, 87:16, and went out for a 6 minute run. The track wasn't as difficult as the last layout, and the jumps were easy to clear, just needed to get the timing down. When the practice timer went off, I pulled off the track and temped the Murfdogg... 206°F!! I guess I should go back to 10° timing and change the gearing again...
Next was the SC10 with it's LRP 8.5, that I was using at OCRC. Whoaa!! Too much motor! I was over-jumping everything and blew over a few times :( I ended up popping a camber link after a bad landing and pulled it off to change motors. I went to my 10.5, which is the motor limit for the JBRL races anyway... It was way easier to drive :) I was way more consistent too. Not much motor would be needed, since the straight was on the short side... I was also trying a new camber link location on the rear of the SC10, using 1-A with 1 washer. This would give me more camber gain, so that the rear tire wouldn't roll under the wheel so much, breaking the rear loose in medium to high speed corners. It's also supposed to lessen the chassis roll, which is good for this high CG truck. I guess it worked since I felt like I was pushing in the lower speed turns now. I changed over from red front springs to golds, hoping to get a tick more steering.
I spent the controlled practice runs learning the track and dialing in my gearing on both trucks. I think I ended up with a 75:24 ratio for the T4 and 81:21 for the SC10 for round 1 of qualifying. Which took 3hrs!! Lots of time to clean tires...
Round 1 in Stock Truck was a gift! :) I started on the pole due to random number assignments and heads up start qualifying. I ran away from the field, taking the win and setting the TQ (which only lasted 7 minutes, lol). I dropped down to 3rd qualifier when Bisbee and Koch went faster than my time in heat 2 of Stock Truck. Mod SC was also a gift, as I started on the pole again :) I only lead for a lap though, giving up the lead when I landed short in the rhythm jump section and ended up on my roof. A quick marshal job almost saved me, except for the fact that he flipped me over facing the wrong way! :( I had to spin around and jump some pipes to get going again, now in the back of the field.. I was able to catch back up though, eventually finishing in 4th. I would be qualified in 7th, after all 3 heats of Mod SC were run.
Round 2 (3hrs later) would be tough. After the gift of starting up front in round 1, it was time to pay up, by starting last in both classes this time around. In Stock Truck, I would be stuck in the back of the pack. I did get to race Ran for a few laps, which was fun, but got hacked in the back of the pack and couldn't break away. I end up finishing 6th, and dropping to 5th in the A Main. I had a much better run in Mod SC though :) I hung back on the start, and slowly picked off a truck or 2 at a time, eventually working my way up to 3rd :) I even caught the 2nd place truck in the closing laps and passed him! Even though, I still dropped to 9th in the A Main. Not too bad I guess, since this class would be going up to a C main!
The Stock Truck Main was a mess! (for me anyway) Starting 5th and on the inside, due to the Supercross staggered starting grid, I crossed my fingers, hoping I could make it out without getting tangled up. I did anyway, and came out of the the mess in last place. I should have committed to going to the outside of the turn on the start, to miss the pile up. At least I wouldn't have turned right into the pile up, if I was already thinking of going to the outside. After getting stuck on a pipe a lap later, the field disappeared off in the distance :( and I cruised around in the back, hoping somebody would crash or break, allowing me to catch back up. I end up in 9th. My Murfdogg 17.5 still felt fast though :) Throwout score again... My Mod SC Main went better, as I was able to get a cleaner start. I didn't get hit, but I did get stuck on a pipe :( I battled in the back of the pack, not being able to move up very much. I think I ended up in 8th, but didn't check the race results, as I wanted to go home, as it was almost 1am, and I still had an hour 20 minute drive back to San Diego :(
NOTES:
-22 heats = 3hrs per round = home at 2:30am :( Bring on Saturday night offroad racing!
-No water between rounds + late races since I made both A Mains for my classes = slick dry track for the mains! Should have changed to a pin tire instead of bar tire in Stock Truck for the main...
-Going to move the SC10's front upper shock mount to the inner hole to get more steering. If need more steering, add 1 washer under rear ball studs.
-They need to put chairs out on the track in the marshal spots which block the view of the turns on the onroad side of the track.
-Ran was a good sport willing to come out and race and hang out with me till the end, since I made both A mains. He had tough time in qualifying, finishing in the back of the pack each round. He qualified 2nd in the B main and didn't even realize he finished 3rd! lol!
-Ran was also so bored from running 1 class and not needing to do much work on his truck that he shot vids of my SC races and Stock Truck A Main :) using the video mode on his digital still camera. I also shot his main for him. See the vids below:
Round 4 of the Supercross Finals, is up this Sunday. Will I be able to move past Brian Halverson for 2nd in Stock Truck? Can I at least hold on to 3rd? Will I get any Race Bucks? Stay tuned!!!
Friday, January 29, 2010
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
West Coast RC Supercross, Round 2
Last Sunday was round 2 of the West Coast Supercross Series! I came out early to get more practice runs in before controlled practice started, limiting your runs. Thankfully, I was able to put in about 4 runs before controlled practice started at 11:30am.
I used these runs to adjust my gearing for my Murfdogg with its new rotor. I started at a 75:24 ratio, but the motor kept running hot! It always came off at 195-205°F after a 6 min run. I dropped the gear 2 teeth every run until I was at 84:18 and a motor temp of 226°F!! with only 1 practice run to go! I was about to switch back to my Orion motor, having pulled the Murfdogg from the truck, but realized I could just turn the timing back down to 10°. Doh! I reset the timing and reinstalled the Murf just in time for the last controlled practice session of the day. I left the gearing at 84:18, to see if the timing change would make any difference in the motor temp. I temped in at 150°F!!! Wow! That timing change made a huge difference! For round 1 I geared back up to 84:20, aiming for a temp of 170-180°F.
There were some heavy hitters in Stock Truck this week! Kevin Smith and Robert Drew were now running, both are super fast! Along with the fast guys from last week, Bill Koch and Brian Halverson. I didn't have the greatest run but, I did turn a 19.937 lap! Too bad the leaders turned 19.5 :( I was running in 4th, pulling in Bill Koch in 3rd. I caught him, but crashed, just as I got close enough to try a pass :( He pulled away again, and I ended up in 4th.
In round 2, I had to start in the back of the grid. I took it easy on the start, but some yellow truck didn't, nailing the gas and spinning out right in front of me! I had no place to go and ran into him. Then, while trying to get going again, this yellow truck hits me a few more times, since he is all over the place, and can't hold his line!@ WTF! dude! I have a super long 1st lap, and try way too hard to make up the time I lose at the start, crashing at least 3 times, and making a bunch of bobbles, finishing 7th. I couldn't improve on my time from round 1, but at least only 1 guy goes faster than my time, so I end up 5th on the grid for the A main.
When we grid up for the main, I see a new truck at the back of the grid. The black truck with pink wheels of Brandon Feige. Where did he come from? He didn't run any of the qualifiers... I would end up racing him for 3rd though! I get an awesome start again, as the top cars weren't ready for the start, and I was! This has happened to me a few times at West Coast, but I've learned my lesson, and now ignore all commotion going on once I'm gridded up for the start. I move up to 3rd, then 2nd, by the end of the 1st lap! I only stay there for 2 laps though, as while going through the quads, I have to double-double, while the 2 trucks behind me do the quad! A bobble in the next corner and just like that I'm down to 4th! :( I stay close enough to Brandon and trade back 3rd with him a few times, but we tangle up a few times too, losing ground on the leaders. By halfway into the race, I make it back up to 3rd, but a bunch of mistakes in the closing laps, allows 2 trucks to pass me, and I end up in 5th on the last lap! :( Doh! I was over driving again, trying to pull away from 4th and catch Bill, as I had to finish in front of him to take the lead in the points. Bill takes the win and 100 points. Brian finishes in 2nd and was the TQ, so he also gets 100 points. I finish 5th with 96 points (hopefully my throwout score). So after 2 rounds the top 3 in points are Bill-200, Brian-198, and me with 196.
Observations:
-Holy crap everyone was fast this weekend. Last week lap times were 20-21s, this time 19.5-18.9!!! My fastest lap was 19.822.
-A Thunder Power 40c 5000mah lipo blew up in some guys car that was pitting next to me! Pouring out white magic smoke and making a huge cloud. The guy said it was already damaged, but he kept using it, since it was still working.... Tsktsktsk
-Controlled practice was a waste! 1hr between runs, and some sessions had only a few cars out on the track, while others were packed! I still think a que system would work better.
-For round 3, I'm going back to 20° timing! I found a 87 spur in my extra parts at home. So, I will be starting at 87:17, the lowest ratio I have! If that runs over 170°, I guess I'll be going back to 10° timing.
-Theme for me for the night was over driving :( With all the fast guys in the race, I had to do something to cut my laps times. I was sending it ddddeeepppp into the turn at the end of the straight, not letting off until I was entering the short chute. Last week I was slowing down entering this turn. I think everyone figured this out though, as by the mains, almost everyone was turning sub 20 sec laps. While I did cut my lap times, I ended up crashing more, since I was trying so hard, which killed my race times :( Too bad we don't qualify using fastest laps... I need to find a happy medium between turning fast laps and driving conservative enough to not wreck.
-Kevin has rotten luck again! :( He puffed an SMC pack in round 1 then broke his steering servo in round 2 :( He had just bought 2 new Racers Edge 40C 5000mah packs to replace his puffed SMC and didn't feel like spending more money on a new servo, when he had a perfectly good one at home, so he sat out his main. He also got robbed in the big air contest! He almost pulled off a back flip, getting the biggest crowd reaction, until another guy just went really big and long, which the crowd seemed to liked better. My question is, why didn't anyone else try a back flip? It should be easy'ish with a 4wd car. Also, what happened to a whip? It's really easy, as all you do is turn the front wheels. The trick is to flatten the car back out for the landing. Which is key to pulling off a trick anyway, otherwise you're just wrecking :)
So, on to Round 3 of the Supercross Series! And from the looks of the track, it will be "super" with a true supercross layout put in for the last 2 rounds. I can't wait to get to the track on Sunday, and get some practice laps in! And oh ya, this time I will try and save you a pit spot next to the fence Kevin :)
I used these runs to adjust my gearing for my Murfdogg with its new rotor. I started at a 75:24 ratio, but the motor kept running hot! It always came off at 195-205°F after a 6 min run. I dropped the gear 2 teeth every run until I was at 84:18 and a motor temp of 226°F!! with only 1 practice run to go! I was about to switch back to my Orion motor, having pulled the Murfdogg from the truck, but realized I could just turn the timing back down to 10°. Doh! I reset the timing and reinstalled the Murf just in time for the last controlled practice session of the day. I left the gearing at 84:18, to see if the timing change would make any difference in the motor temp. I temped in at 150°F!!! Wow! That timing change made a huge difference! For round 1 I geared back up to 84:20, aiming for a temp of 170-180°F.
There were some heavy hitters in Stock Truck this week! Kevin Smith and Robert Drew were now running, both are super fast! Along with the fast guys from last week, Bill Koch and Brian Halverson. I didn't have the greatest run but, I did turn a 19.937 lap! Too bad the leaders turned 19.5 :( I was running in 4th, pulling in Bill Koch in 3rd. I caught him, but crashed, just as I got close enough to try a pass :( He pulled away again, and I ended up in 4th.
In round 2, I had to start in the back of the grid. I took it easy on the start, but some yellow truck didn't, nailing the gas and spinning out right in front of me! I had no place to go and ran into him. Then, while trying to get going again, this yellow truck hits me a few more times, since he is all over the place, and can't hold his line!@ WTF! dude! I have a super long 1st lap, and try way too hard to make up the time I lose at the start, crashing at least 3 times, and making a bunch of bobbles, finishing 7th. I couldn't improve on my time from round 1, but at least only 1 guy goes faster than my time, so I end up 5th on the grid for the A main.
When we grid up for the main, I see a new truck at the back of the grid. The black truck with pink wheels of Brandon Feige. Where did he come from? He didn't run any of the qualifiers... I would end up racing him for 3rd though! I get an awesome start again, as the top cars weren't ready for the start, and I was! This has happened to me a few times at West Coast, but I've learned my lesson, and now ignore all commotion going on once I'm gridded up for the start. I move up to 3rd, then 2nd, by the end of the 1st lap! I only stay there for 2 laps though, as while going through the quads, I have to double-double, while the 2 trucks behind me do the quad! A bobble in the next corner and just like that I'm down to 4th! :( I stay close enough to Brandon and trade back 3rd with him a few times, but we tangle up a few times too, losing ground on the leaders. By halfway into the race, I make it back up to 3rd, but a bunch of mistakes in the closing laps, allows 2 trucks to pass me, and I end up in 5th on the last lap! :( Doh! I was over driving again, trying to pull away from 4th and catch Bill, as I had to finish in front of him to take the lead in the points. Bill takes the win and 100 points. Brian finishes in 2nd and was the TQ, so he also gets 100 points. I finish 5th with 96 points (hopefully my throwout score). So after 2 rounds the top 3 in points are Bill-200, Brian-198, and me with 196.
Observations:
-Holy crap everyone was fast this weekend. Last week lap times were 20-21s, this time 19.5-18.9!!! My fastest lap was 19.822.
-A Thunder Power 40c 5000mah lipo blew up in some guys car that was pitting next to me! Pouring out white magic smoke and making a huge cloud. The guy said it was already damaged, but he kept using it, since it was still working.... Tsktsktsk
-Controlled practice was a waste! 1hr between runs, and some sessions had only a few cars out on the track, while others were packed! I still think a que system would work better.
-For round 3, I'm going back to 20° timing! I found a 87 spur in my extra parts at home. So, I will be starting at 87:17, the lowest ratio I have! If that runs over 170°, I guess I'll be going back to 10° timing.
-Theme for me for the night was over driving :( With all the fast guys in the race, I had to do something to cut my laps times. I was sending it ddddeeepppp into the turn at the end of the straight, not letting off until I was entering the short chute. Last week I was slowing down entering this turn. I think everyone figured this out though, as by the mains, almost everyone was turning sub 20 sec laps. While I did cut my lap times, I ended up crashing more, since I was trying so hard, which killed my race times :( Too bad we don't qualify using fastest laps... I need to find a happy medium between turning fast laps and driving conservative enough to not wreck.
-Kevin has rotten luck again! :( He puffed an SMC pack in round 1 then broke his steering servo in round 2 :( He had just bought 2 new Racers Edge 40C 5000mah packs to replace his puffed SMC and didn't feel like spending more money on a new servo, when he had a perfectly good one at home, so he sat out his main. He also got robbed in the big air contest! He almost pulled off a back flip, getting the biggest crowd reaction, until another guy just went really big and long, which the crowd seemed to liked better. My question is, why didn't anyone else try a back flip? It should be easy'ish with a 4wd car. Also, what happened to a whip? It's really easy, as all you do is turn the front wheels. The trick is to flatten the car back out for the landing. Which is key to pulling off a trick anyway, otherwise you're just wrecking :)
So, on to Round 3 of the Supercross Series! And from the looks of the track, it will be "super" with a true supercross layout put in for the last 2 rounds. I can't wait to get to the track on Sunday, and get some practice laps in! And oh ya, this time I will try and save you a pit spot next to the fence Kevin :)
West Coast RC, Round 3 Supercross layout in in!
WOW! Now that's a "Supercross" style track! I can't wait till Sunday to race Round 3 of the Supercross series! Pic posted to RC Tech.com by Rob2theC. Thanks!
West Coast RC Raceway to start racing offroad on Saturday!
West Coast has announced that starting on February 6th, they may change their racing schedule to the following as posted by the owner Danny:
Monday - Open Practice
Tuesday - Offroad Racing at 7pm
Wednesday - Open Practice
Thursday - Onroad racing at 7pm
Friday - Offroad racing at 7pm
Saturday Doors open at 10am, Onroad racing at 12 or 1pm and Offroad racing at 7pm.
Sunday - Offroad racing at 3pm
Also, we're going to introduce the Offroad racing on Saturday February 6th at 7pm. This will be part of the Super Bowl weekend at WC. We're going to offer everyone a free BBQ that include hot dogs and hamburgers on Saturday and Sunday. We will also include a free T-Shirt and great raffles as well. We will also offer a weekend pass for racing at a discounted price on both days as well. Let us know what you think, the Tuesday thing will change only after the Tuesday night series is over. We're really excited about this and hopefully you all are as well.
Saturday offroad racing will be awesome at West Coast.
This would be great for me, as racing late on Sundays is tough when I have to go to work the next morning. I've been getting home about 11pm after the Supercross series races, then I unload my gear and wind down. By the time I fall asleep, it's 2am! Then, I usually show up a little late Monday mornings to work, since it's so hard to wake up on time. With racing on Saturday night, I wouldn't care what time I get home! :) Plus, racing offroad Saturday night is old school! All the old tracks like MnM Hobbies and SoCal always raced offroad Saturday nights :) I hope this new schedule becomes permanent :)
Monday - Open Practice
Tuesday - Offroad Racing at 7pm
Wednesday - Open Practice
Thursday - Onroad racing at 7pm
Friday - Offroad racing at 7pm
Saturday Doors open at 10am, Onroad racing at 12 or 1pm and Offroad racing at 7pm.
Sunday - Offroad racing at 3pm
Also, we're going to introduce the Offroad racing on Saturday February 6th at 7pm. This will be part of the Super Bowl weekend at WC. We're going to offer everyone a free BBQ that include hot dogs and hamburgers on Saturday and Sunday. We will also include a free T-Shirt and great raffles as well. We will also offer a weekend pass for racing at a discounted price on both days as well. Let us know what you think, the Tuesday thing will change only after the Tuesday night series is over. We're really excited about this and hopefully you all are as well.
Saturday offroad racing will be awesome at West Coast.
This would be great for me, as racing late on Sundays is tough when I have to go to work the next morning. I've been getting home about 11pm after the Supercross series races, then I unload my gear and wind down. By the time I fall asleep, it's 2am! Then, I usually show up a little late Monday mornings to work, since it's so hard to wake up on time. With racing on Saturday night, I wouldn't care what time I get home! :) Plus, racing offroad Saturday night is old school! All the old tracks like MnM Hobbies and SoCal always raced offroad Saturday nights :) I hope this new schedule becomes permanent :)
Saturday, January 16, 2010
West Coast RC Supercross, Round 1
Last Sunday was Round 1 of the West Coast RC Supercross! This is the first series to be run in 2010 and I guess a bunch of racers were looking forward to it, because when I arrived at the track at around 11am, the parking lot was packed! I had to park in the next lot over! The track was just as packed! I set my pit up on some new tables that were installed, since the main pit area was pretty crowded.
I got ready for my 1st practice run and was about to head over to the track when it was announced that controlled practice would be starting in a few minutes! Oh well :( I would need to wait until my class was up now... I took the time to look at the track, since the jumps were changed from last week. The large double-doubles were changed to single-tables, the center kicker was now an angled quad, and the small table and double-doubles were super sized!
The jumps were not that difficult, except for the quad in the center. Since it was angled compared to the drivers stand, if you centered up in the lane, you end up jumping into the inside pipe in the landing area. The fast line is to clear the quad, taking off pointed away from the stand (compared to the lane, but parallel to the straight) and landing lined up for the left turn to the table top. There were also 2 blind spots, due to the height of the jumps. The first was behind the 1st jump after the sweeper, then again after the large table top lander before the quad. If you downside the table, you land in the blind spot, or you can jump long, clearing the "hole", but the landing is hard on the car :(
I was also still trying to figure out the right gearing for my Murfdogg motor running P8 on the SPX. I had been overheating every run last Sunday, so I kept dropping my gear ratio. When I temp'ed my motor after my 6 minute practice run, it was about 196°F!!! Still too hot :( Then while gearing the truck down again, I noticed a "notchy" feeling from the motor. I figured something must be wrong now, maybe a bad bearing? I pulled the motor out and disassembled it. To my surprise I found a chunk of the rotor magnet missing and black dust all over the inside! I must have damaged the rotor when I took it apart for cleaning a few weeks ago :( I checked the shop for a replacement rotor, but they didn't have any. I opted to install my Orion motor, using the gearing I was about to install. I was at a huge disadvantage now, since changing the motor caused me to miss a practice round and there was only 1 more left. It would be impossible to set the correct gear now with only 1 run :(
I headed out for another practice run, trying to drive at full speed, in order to get the correct motor temp after 6 minutes. When I pulled off, my motor temp was only 130°F. I was wayyyy under geared! So, for round 1, I went up 2 teeth on the pinion. Time to clean the tires and look over the truck and get ready for racing....
Round 1 sucked! I got a horrible start, ending up on my lid in the first jump section, which allowed the entire field to go by, and finally got going again in last place. I drove fast, trying to make up time, and made my way back up to 3rd, when a bad landing on the quad, ended with a broken rear arm :( Hmmmm.... maybe I should have stayed home.... When I checked out the damage, I had lost the hub carrier hinge pin, which is titanium :( I went over to the landing area to try and find the pin, when I noticed a shiny piece of metal. Found my titanium hinge pin :) While changing out my rear arm, friend and fellow RC blogger, Kevin Deselms, came over for some help. He said he was having trouble with the slipper or diff, since his SC10 seemed to have no power. We went over to his pit to look over his truck. I checked the diff and slipper, and both were set correctly. No broken drive pins or stripped wheels... I asked him to power up the motor and saw that it was stuttering/cogging really bad when he punched the throttle. Ah! There's the problem! I checked out the sensor wire, and it looked ok, so I advised him to try a different wire, motor timing sensor, another motor, then if all else fails, another esc. I needed to get my truck repaired for the next round, otherwise I would've stayed and helped more. Sorry Kevin.
I got the truck back together and got ready for round 2. Since I didn't get a full run, I had no motor temp data, and left my gearing the same. Unfortunately, I was still under geared, as I was having a tough time clearing the center quad consistently. I also made a bunch of mistakes, which, put me in a battle for 2nd with Kevin Williams, as I couldn't pull away. It was fun, but slowed my qualifying time :( I went for an "air" pass on the last lap, to try for 2nd, but clipped the pipe on the takeoff and did a cool barrel roll and flip! LOL! At least I didn't break anything :) My motor still came off at 130°F, way too cold, so I went up 3 more teeth for the main, to an 81:23 ratio.
I qualified 5th for the A Main, which meant I would need to be really careful on the start, and not get tangled up, to have any chance of finishing well. I had an killer start! The 2 cars in front of me had issues in the 1st jump section, and I passed them to move up to 3rd in second jump section. The leader Bill Koch, went double-double through the quads, Brian Halverson in 2nd did the quad, but got sideways on the landing, allowing me to slip by into 2nd, through the table top and double-double, going onto the straight. Woohoo! Up to 2nd after starting 5th on the 1st lap. I tucked in behind Bill, hoping to keep close enough for a pass. He was going double-double in the quads, while I was clearing them, allowing me to make a little time on him, but a few other mistakes on my part allowed him to pull away some. But, lapped traffic and mistakes from Bill allowed me to catch back up. Then at the 2 minute mark, Bill got tangled up with traffic in the quads. I cleared them and drove by Bill as he was trying to recover. Into the lead! I turned on the after burners to pull away! A few laps later when I saw I had a 5 second lead, I took it easy through the quads, going double-double, when I wasn't sure I could clear them. I drove clean for the next 3 minutes, taking the win, and 100 points in the Supercross Series! :) I am now tied with Bill for the points lead for the series, since he still finished 2nd and got the 1 point TQ bonus.
Check out he YouTube vid of the race!
Others~
-Got a sneak peak at the new Murfdogg motor. It looks to be based on the new Orion tear down. How did Halverson get one? Is he still sponsored by Murfdogg? Or is he a "special" customer? I'd like to be a "special" customer :) I guess i'll have to hit up Matt for a new motor the next time I see him at the track.
-Used MC Proline Suburbs with JConcepts foam for the 1st time. They worked good! Needed to replace my JC Barcodes that I've been using since May of last year! Those tires were starting to feel a little loose, but still show no signs of wear, other than the fact that the bar height on the rears are lower than the fronts.
-I really hate the blind spots on the track. Thankfully the layout will be changed for the last 2 races of the series.
-Got a new rotor for my Murfdogg this week. Back to square one on trying to figure out the gearing for this thing when using P8 on the SPX.
-Ran my SMC 50C 5200's for the 1st time last Sunday. They have good power, and I should be ballistic, once I figure out the right gearing...
-LRP is releasing an SXX Stock-Spec controller with independent adjustment of timing boost and throttle curves. Hmmm... I wonder if I can sell my SPX's and Spheres? Dan/Justin are you guys reading this? :)
-I did a small "whip" on the finish line jump at the end of my victory lap :) Did anyone see it in the vid?
Time to get ready for Round 2 of the Supercross! Need to install my Murfdogg back in the truck and reset the gearing. I think I'll start with 81:26 or 75:24, a 3 teeth higher ratio than what I was running in the main last Sunday. Not sure which one of those combos will mount up right, as I prefer to run smaller spur gears to keep the motor forward and so I don't need to use large pinion gears. I also want to get to the track when it opens at 10am this time, to get more practice runs in before the track fills up and controlled practice starts.
See you there!
I got ready for my 1st practice run and was about to head over to the track when it was announced that controlled practice would be starting in a few minutes! Oh well :( I would need to wait until my class was up now... I took the time to look at the track, since the jumps were changed from last week. The large double-doubles were changed to single-tables, the center kicker was now an angled quad, and the small table and double-doubles were super sized!
The jumps were not that difficult, except for the quad in the center. Since it was angled compared to the drivers stand, if you centered up in the lane, you end up jumping into the inside pipe in the landing area. The fast line is to clear the quad, taking off pointed away from the stand (compared to the lane, but parallel to the straight) and landing lined up for the left turn to the table top. There were also 2 blind spots, due to the height of the jumps. The first was behind the 1st jump after the sweeper, then again after the large table top lander before the quad. If you downside the table, you land in the blind spot, or you can jump long, clearing the "hole", but the landing is hard on the car :(
I was also still trying to figure out the right gearing for my Murfdogg motor running P8 on the SPX. I had been overheating every run last Sunday, so I kept dropping my gear ratio. When I temp'ed my motor after my 6 minute practice run, it was about 196°F!!! Still too hot :( Then while gearing the truck down again, I noticed a "notchy" feeling from the motor. I figured something must be wrong now, maybe a bad bearing? I pulled the motor out and disassembled it. To my surprise I found a chunk of the rotor magnet missing and black dust all over the inside! I must have damaged the rotor when I took it apart for cleaning a few weeks ago :( I checked the shop for a replacement rotor, but they didn't have any. I opted to install my Orion motor, using the gearing I was about to install. I was at a huge disadvantage now, since changing the motor caused me to miss a practice round and there was only 1 more left. It would be impossible to set the correct gear now with only 1 run :(
I headed out for another practice run, trying to drive at full speed, in order to get the correct motor temp after 6 minutes. When I pulled off, my motor temp was only 130°F. I was wayyyy under geared! So, for round 1, I went up 2 teeth on the pinion. Time to clean the tires and look over the truck and get ready for racing....
Round 1 sucked! I got a horrible start, ending up on my lid in the first jump section, which allowed the entire field to go by, and finally got going again in last place. I drove fast, trying to make up time, and made my way back up to 3rd, when a bad landing on the quad, ended with a broken rear arm :( Hmmmm.... maybe I should have stayed home.... When I checked out the damage, I had lost the hub carrier hinge pin, which is titanium :( I went over to the landing area to try and find the pin, when I noticed a shiny piece of metal. Found my titanium hinge pin :) While changing out my rear arm, friend and fellow RC blogger, Kevin Deselms, came over for some help. He said he was having trouble with the slipper or diff, since his SC10 seemed to have no power. We went over to his pit to look over his truck. I checked the diff and slipper, and both were set correctly. No broken drive pins or stripped wheels... I asked him to power up the motor and saw that it was stuttering/cogging really bad when he punched the throttle. Ah! There's the problem! I checked out the sensor wire, and it looked ok, so I advised him to try a different wire, motor timing sensor, another motor, then if all else fails, another esc. I needed to get my truck repaired for the next round, otherwise I would've stayed and helped more. Sorry Kevin.
I got the truck back together and got ready for round 2. Since I didn't get a full run, I had no motor temp data, and left my gearing the same. Unfortunately, I was still under geared, as I was having a tough time clearing the center quad consistently. I also made a bunch of mistakes, which, put me in a battle for 2nd with Kevin Williams, as I couldn't pull away. It was fun, but slowed my qualifying time :( I went for an "air" pass on the last lap, to try for 2nd, but clipped the pipe on the takeoff and did a cool barrel roll and flip! LOL! At least I didn't break anything :) My motor still came off at 130°F, way too cold, so I went up 3 more teeth for the main, to an 81:23 ratio.
I qualified 5th for the A Main, which meant I would need to be really careful on the start, and not get tangled up, to have any chance of finishing well. I had an killer start! The 2 cars in front of me had issues in the 1st jump section, and I passed them to move up to 3rd in second jump section. The leader Bill Koch, went double-double through the quads, Brian Halverson in 2nd did the quad, but got sideways on the landing, allowing me to slip by into 2nd, through the table top and double-double, going onto the straight. Woohoo! Up to 2nd after starting 5th on the 1st lap. I tucked in behind Bill, hoping to keep close enough for a pass. He was going double-double in the quads, while I was clearing them, allowing me to make a little time on him, but a few other mistakes on my part allowed him to pull away some. But, lapped traffic and mistakes from Bill allowed me to catch back up. Then at the 2 minute mark, Bill got tangled up with traffic in the quads. I cleared them and drove by Bill as he was trying to recover. Into the lead! I turned on the after burners to pull away! A few laps later when I saw I had a 5 second lead, I took it easy through the quads, going double-double, when I wasn't sure I could clear them. I drove clean for the next 3 minutes, taking the win, and 100 points in the Supercross Series! :) I am now tied with Bill for the points lead for the series, since he still finished 2nd and got the 1 point TQ bonus.
Check out he YouTube vid of the race!
Others~
-Got a sneak peak at the new Murfdogg motor. It looks to be based on the new Orion tear down. How did Halverson get one? Is he still sponsored by Murfdogg? Or is he a "special" customer? I'd like to be a "special" customer :) I guess i'll have to hit up Matt for a new motor the next time I see him at the track.
-Used MC Proline Suburbs with JConcepts foam for the 1st time. They worked good! Needed to replace my JC Barcodes that I've been using since May of last year! Those tires were starting to feel a little loose, but still show no signs of wear, other than the fact that the bar height on the rears are lower than the fronts.
-I really hate the blind spots on the track. Thankfully the layout will be changed for the last 2 races of the series.
-Got a new rotor for my Murfdogg this week. Back to square one on trying to figure out the gearing for this thing when using P8 on the SPX.
-Ran my SMC 50C 5200's for the 1st time last Sunday. They have good power, and I should be ballistic, once I figure out the right gearing...
-LRP is releasing an SXX Stock-Spec controller with independent adjustment of timing boost and throttle curves. Hmmm... I wonder if I can sell my SPX's and Spheres? Dan/Justin are you guys reading this? :)
-I did a small "whip" on the finish line jump at the end of my victory lap :) Did anyone see it in the vid?
Time to get ready for Round 2 of the Supercross! Need to install my Murfdogg back in the truck and reset the gearing. I think I'll start with 81:26 or 75:24, a 3 teeth higher ratio than what I was running in the main last Sunday. Not sure which one of those combos will mount up right, as I prefer to run smaller spur gears to keep the motor forward and so I don't need to use large pinion gears. I also want to get to the track when it opens at 10am this time, to get more practice runs in before the track fills up and controlled practice starts.
See you there!
Monday, January 11, 2010
2010 JBRL Season Schedule Announced!
The 2010 Season Schedule for the JBRL has been posted! I'm planning to run every round except Round 4 at Racers Haven in Bakersfield. It's just too far to drive now that I've moved to San Diego. I plan to race in the Stock Truck and Intermediate SC classes. I think my brother wants to run Stock Truck also and maybe Stock Buggy or Spec SC if he picks up an RTR SC10 :)
Round 1 – March 27-28, 2010 (2 Day Series Kick Off)
West Coast R/C Raceway
15905 Canary Ave.
La Mirada, CA 90638
(714) 739-4298
www.westcoastrcraceway.com
Round 2 – April 17, 2010 (Saturday)
O.C.R.C. Raceway
15282 Jason Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 892-6699
www.ocrcraceway.com
Round 3 – May 2, 2010 (Sunday)
Hot Rod Hobbies & Raceways
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com
Round 4 – June 20, 2010 (Sunday)
Racers Haven Hobbies
7401 White Lane
Bakersfield, CA 93309
(661) 835-0441
www.racers-haven.com
Round 5 – July 3, 2010 (Saturday)
Pegasus Hobbies
5515 Moreno Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 982-6507
www.pegasushobbies.com
Round 6 - September 5, 2010 (Sunday)
West Coast R/C Raceway
15905 Canary Ave.
La Mirada, CA 90638
(714) 739-4298
www.westcoastrcraceway.com
Round 7 – September 19, 2010 (Sunday)
Pegasus Hobbies
5515 Moreno Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 982-6507
www.pegasushobbies.com
Round 8 – October 9-10, 2010 (2 Day Final Event)
Hot Rod Hobbies & Raceways
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com
Round 1 – March 27-28, 2010 (2 Day Series Kick Off)
West Coast R/C Raceway
15905 Canary Ave.
La Mirada, CA 90638
(714) 739-4298
www.westcoastrcraceway.com
Round 2 – April 17, 2010 (Saturday)
O.C.R.C. Raceway
15282 Jason Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 892-6699
www.ocrcraceway.com
Round 3 – May 2, 2010 (Sunday)
Hot Rod Hobbies & Raceways
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com
Round 4 – June 20, 2010 (Sunday)
Racers Haven Hobbies
7401 White Lane
Bakersfield, CA 93309
(661) 835-0441
www.racers-haven.com
Round 5 – July 3, 2010 (Saturday)
Pegasus Hobbies
5515 Moreno Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 982-6507
www.pegasushobbies.com
Round 6 - September 5, 2010 (Sunday)
West Coast R/C Raceway
15905 Canary Ave.
La Mirada, CA 90638
(714) 739-4298
www.westcoastrcraceway.com
Round 7 – September 19, 2010 (Sunday)
Pegasus Hobbies
5515 Moreno Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 982-6507
www.pegasushobbies.com
Round 8 – October 9-10, 2010 (2 Day Final Event)
Hot Rod Hobbies & Raceways
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
HD Vids!
Ran took some video using his new still camera! He was trying out the video mode, and it turned out pretty good :) He got the WC Unlimited SC and Mod Buggy A mains, racing on the 1st "Super Cross" track layout at West Coast. He followed Justin Lew in the SC main and Steven Hartson in Mod Buggy. Check it out!
Here is also a vid of the new Ofna Hyper 10SC and Jammin SCRT10 4wd SC trucks running at OCRC on the "bigger" track, driven by Jeremy Kortz and Chad Bradley.
Here is also a vid of the new Ofna Hyper 10SC and Jammin SCRT10 4wd SC trucks running at OCRC on the "bigger" track, driven by Jeremy Kortz and Chad Bradley.
Monday, January 4, 2010
1st race of 2010
My brother and I headed out to West Coast RC to get some practice in for the upcoming Super Cross series starting next Sunday. I also wanted to test out using 20° timing and P8 (timing boost profile) on my SPX and test gear ratios to use with this combo.
For my 1st practice run, I used the same ratio I was running at OCRC (75:26), but turned up my motor timing to 20°. I ran about 8 minutes and my motor temp at the end of the run was over 200°F!! Opps! I thought I would be ok running a little longer, since it was so cold inside the building. For my next run, I kept the gear the same, but stopped when I hit 6 minutes. The motor temp was over 200°F again! Hmmm. I guess I better change the gear.
I dropped to a 25T, then 24T, but my motor temps were still high! For round 1, I went to 78:24, but after the race my motor temp was still over 200°F! Then for round 2, I went to 78:23, but the temp was still too high. Wow! Either the layout at West Coast is tougher on motors than OCRC, or there's something wrong with my Murfdogg Duo 17.5 :( For the main, I dropped another 2 teeth to 78:21, but after a hard race trying to catch Bill Koch (dang he's fast and doesn't crash, at all!), my motor temp was 210°F! (He won the race btw, with me in 2nd and my brother in 3rd).
I'm pretty sure nothing is binding in my motor or drive train, but I plan to double check to make sure, then put in a 81:20 gear ratio! Which seems weird, but I guess that's what I'll need to do, to keep the motor cool, using full motor timing and full timing boost, via the SPX. What's also surprising, is the timing boost profiles on the SPX, didn't make that much of a difference when the motor timing was at 0° or 10°, but when I set the timing to 20°, I almost ended up with a burnt motor! Next time I gear a motor using full motor timing and P7 or P8 on the SPX, I'll start way more conservative. I'm thinking I should drop 10T on the pinion!!!
Also worth mentioning, is the fact that my brother almost beat me in both rounds of qualifying! In round 1, we got together, and I went to the back, but quickly caught back up to him. I then, attempted a berm pass on him, but hit him in the back, causing him to get turned around, so I stopped and waited for him to get going again and let him by. But, a lapped truck got between us, and slowed me down again. I got around that truck, and chased him down, then got by when he bobbled. Not sure though. All I remember is that we were having a fun race :) I ended up finishing just in front of him in 2nd, behind Bill.
In round 2, Bill and I checked out, but a mistake passing lapped traffic, put me on my lid, and Bill was gone! I cruised around in 2nd, until in the last few laps, I clipped a pipe and endo'ed on the center kicker jump, which allowed Ran to catch up to me! I just barely finished in front of him in 2nd! What was cool though, is that we both went 14 laps! However, Bill went 15! Doh!
In the main, Bill and I checked out on the rest of the field, but my motor started getting hot again :(, and I lost a few tenths to Bill every lap. I didn't make any mistakes this time and neither did Bill, but I was a little slower every lap, becuase my motor was going soft :( At least I turned a fast 14:05 run, and scored $5 in race bucks! Ran finished in 3rd, but didn't win anything, since there were only 5 trucks in the main :(
Next race will be Round 1 of the West Coast Super Cross series! (maybe- lol!)
For my 1st practice run, I used the same ratio I was running at OCRC (75:26), but turned up my motor timing to 20°. I ran about 8 minutes and my motor temp at the end of the run was over 200°F!! Opps! I thought I would be ok running a little longer, since it was so cold inside the building. For my next run, I kept the gear the same, but stopped when I hit 6 minutes. The motor temp was over 200°F again! Hmmm. I guess I better change the gear.
I dropped to a 25T, then 24T, but my motor temps were still high! For round 1, I went to 78:24, but after the race my motor temp was still over 200°F! Then for round 2, I went to 78:23, but the temp was still too high. Wow! Either the layout at West Coast is tougher on motors than OCRC, or there's something wrong with my Murfdogg Duo 17.5 :( For the main, I dropped another 2 teeth to 78:21, but after a hard race trying to catch Bill Koch (dang he's fast and doesn't crash, at all!), my motor temp was 210°F! (He won the race btw, with me in 2nd and my brother in 3rd).
I'm pretty sure nothing is binding in my motor or drive train, but I plan to double check to make sure, then put in a 81:20 gear ratio! Which seems weird, but I guess that's what I'll need to do, to keep the motor cool, using full motor timing and full timing boost, via the SPX. What's also surprising, is the timing boost profiles on the SPX, didn't make that much of a difference when the motor timing was at 0° or 10°, but when I set the timing to 20°, I almost ended up with a burnt motor! Next time I gear a motor using full motor timing and P7 or P8 on the SPX, I'll start way more conservative. I'm thinking I should drop 10T on the pinion!!!
Also worth mentioning, is the fact that my brother almost beat me in both rounds of qualifying! In round 1, we got together, and I went to the back, but quickly caught back up to him. I then, attempted a berm pass on him, but hit him in the back, causing him to get turned around, so I stopped and waited for him to get going again and let him by. But, a lapped truck got between us, and slowed me down again. I got around that truck, and chased him down, then got by when he bobbled. Not sure though. All I remember is that we were having a fun race :) I ended up finishing just in front of him in 2nd, behind Bill.
In round 2, Bill and I checked out, but a mistake passing lapped traffic, put me on my lid, and Bill was gone! I cruised around in 2nd, until in the last few laps, I clipped a pipe and endo'ed on the center kicker jump, which allowed Ran to catch up to me! I just barely finished in front of him in 2nd! What was cool though, is that we both went 14 laps! However, Bill went 15! Doh!
In the main, Bill and I checked out on the rest of the field, but my motor started getting hot again :(, and I lost a few tenths to Bill every lap. I didn't make any mistakes this time and neither did Bill, but I was a little slower every lap, becuase my motor was going soft :( At least I turned a fast 14:05 run, and scored $5 in race bucks! Ran finished in 3rd, but didn't win anything, since there were only 5 trucks in the main :(
Next race will be Round 1 of the West Coast Super Cross series! (maybe- lol!)
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