2012 Electric JBRL Schedule Announced!

The 2012 Electric JBRL schedule was posted on RC Insider last night! While the dates are tentative at this time, as least we know what tracks are on the schedule! I'm glad to see my local track, SDRC Raceway, will be in the series this year! I can finally sleep at home, with only a 15 minute drive to the track :)

 The classes have also changed for next season. The 2 classes I was running last year, Expert Stock Truck and 4wd, have been eliminated due to low entries over the course of the season. Now to decide what classes to run! Since I picked up an SC10 4x4 last month, I am thinking of running that in the Sportsman 4wd SC class, and since I dropped Expert Stock Buggy last season, I'd like to run the Sportsman Stock Buggy class this time around.

In other news, the 2012 ROAR Electric Off-Road Nationals will be held 2 years in a row in California, but this time in Southern California at West Coast RC Raceway in La Mirada. The nationals will be structured much like the IFMAR Worlds, taking place over a week and split up into 2 groups of classes, with the buggy and truck classes up first, then the short course and 1/8 electric classes later in the week.

4th Annual Surf City Classic, OCRC Raceway

Placed 2nd in 17.5 Stock 2wd Truck at the 2011 Surf City Classic held at OCRC Raceway! I also placed 4th in 17.5 Stock 2wd Buggy. I was using MurfDogg 17.5 Synergy Motors, 5500mah 65C batteries, and 4mm Turbo Plugs in both my rides :)



17.5 Stock 2wd Truck A Main


17.5 Stock 2wd Buggy A Main

JBRL Round 3, Palm Desert Vids

Expert Stock 4wd, Round 1 Qualifier


Expert Stock Truck, Round 1 Qualifier


Sportsman Stock Buggy, Round 1 Qualifier


Rookie 2wd, B Main


Expert Stock 4wd, A Main


Expert Stock Truck, A Main


Sportsman Stock Truck, A Main


Sportsman Stock Buggy, A Main


This was a fun race at new track, which is what made the race fun. I wish I did better in my mains, but I got the gearing wrong, trying to keep my motors from burning up in the 100F+ heat in the desert, ending up way under-geared compared to everyone else.

The track itself was on the large size and had several blind spots that would mess you up, if you weren't in the right spot. The layout was still fun though, with traction really high, early in the day, but the "glue" that sealed the surface began breaking up by the mains, causing traction to become inconsistent.

By the end of the mains I was ready to head home, take a shower, and sit in some AC and cool off!

JBRL Round 3, Palm Desert RC Raceway *Updated Track Pics*

(click to enlarge)

The new layout for this weekend's Round 3 of the JBRL is in at Palm Desert RC Raceway! This will be my first trip to this track, so I'm not sure what to expect. But, I have read that when the surface is glued (which it will be for the JBRL), it is similar to Hot Rod Hobbies.

The layout itself looks great! Looks to have a good flow to it, but I won't know for sure until I drive it during practice this Friday :)

Pictures courtesy of Palm Desert RC Raceway.

Opening race night at SDRC!

Some changes were made to the track Tuesday night and it's much more 1/10 friendly now! The turn at the end of the straight is wider, the pipe was moved in some. The pit between the table tops at the end of the straight has been filled in a bit. The 1st jump for the second triple has been cut down. The whoops section after the 3rd triple has been changed to the following: small quad, corner double, roller, single jump, pit filled in so its flat, small corner table top, then back onto the straight. Also, the boxes around the track on Saturday are now on the drivers stand! The view of the track is so much better now!

I took some video of one of the Mod SC and Mod Buggy qualifiers. Note: I will be disabling embedding of all future videos due to a website dedicated to RC videos embedding my videos into their site and not allowing them to link back to the original video. At least my posts will be a ton shorter now though! I guess I'll be posting more photos to my blog :)

SDRC Now open 7 days a week!

Starting today, SDRC will be open 7 days a week.

M-F, 11am-9pm
Sat-Sun, 9am-9pm

Racing starts at 7pm on Wednesday/Friday, and 11am Saturdays. Details regarding classes coming soon!

Memberships will be available (no details yet) as well as Happy Hour practices and $5 lunch time racing.

Photos by my friend Eric from the "Soft" opening last Saturday!

Videos from the "Soft" opening last Saturday!

SDRC Opening Soon!!!

The address was finally given out!

San Diego RC Raceway- SDRC

8725 Production Ave.

San Diego, CA 92121

Opening 4/18!

Grand opening celebration in one month!

Hours:

M-F 11am to 9pm or end of racing

Sat-Sun 9am to 9pm or end of racing

Racing every Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday

1st race Wednesday 4/20!

Thanks jdegraff of socal-rc.com for the photo :)

San Diego RC Raceway- Opening!!!

The new indoor track in San Diego (San Diego RC Raceway- SDRC) is coming along nicely! Below are some pics of the pit area, track box, and driver's stand :)

Pit tables

Track box being filled with clay

Several views of the driver's stand. You drive from the lower level and the announcer/race director is on the upper level

Thanks to tuck nasty and jdegraff on socal-rc.com for the photos :)

The owner's are supposed to make an announcement later today. I'm hoping it's a press release regarding the grand opening date and location :)

**UPDATE**

SDRC will be open for business starting 4/18! With the 1st race being held on Wednesday 4/20! Details to follow this weekend!

2011 JBRL, Round 2, OCRC

I was hoping for a good showing, but I wasn't as prepared as I could have been. I didn't have a set of slicks ready for the grooved track (which appeared for the mains), as I never tested on slicks. I forgot to bring the "secret" tire additive and never tested with it, for the grooved track. Thus, I was almost a second slower per lap. My motors seemed to be overheating, when they were probably fine, causing me to keep gearing down, and end up under-geared by the mains. I only make 1 of 3 A mains (where I end up breaking an arm), and end up almost finishing last in my other 2 classes :( Like I said, not a good day for me. I will be better prepared when the JBRL returns to OCRC in September!

Anyway, here are the videos we were able to get.


My races.








My brothers buggy main.


Other races we were able to get.

Pics from 2011 JBRL, Round 2, OCRC

My friend took this pics of my cars during the JBRL race this past Saturday at OCRC. They came out great! They are a bunch more, but I can't post them all :(

Indoor track in San Diego!!!

My brother found this thread on socal-rc.com about an indoor track opening in San Diego off Mirimar Rd! They have already begun construction on the hobby shop, have the clay for the track, and will be starting on the track itself soon! They plan to make the track of the same caliber as OCRC and West Coast up north! I hope this is true, as driving up north 1.5 hours to race is ok, but it would be much nicer to only drive 20 minutes and race 3 times a week!

2011 JBRL, Round 1, Hot Rod Hobbies

I had a horrible start breaking multiple parts on my 4wd, getting a short in my truck motor (which my motor sponsor replaced with a new one as soon as he found out), and plugging my battery into the speedo in my buggy backwards, which blew it up, and required me to buy a new one :( Missed round 1 of qualifying in the buggy (no speedo), then broke my 4wd again in my race! Things turned around in my truck qualifier though! I put in a good run and finished 3rd! I finally get a run in with my buggy and 4wd in round 2 (no morning practice with these cars, only the day before) and I win my truck qualifier!

I made 2 of 3 A mains, qualifying 5th in the A for 4wd (on 1 qualifying run), 6th in the B for buggy (also with 1 qualifying run), and 7th in the A for truck. I finish 3rd in the buggy B Main, 4th in the 4wd A Main, and 4th in the truck A Main (after some bouncing around in the back of the pack)! So after an expensive start, I finish well in all my mains! :) Below are the videos of my buggy and truck mains. My brother didn't get my 4wd main, as he was waiting in line for his buggy main, right after my 4wd race.





Next are my qualifying runs









These are my brothers qualifying runs in Sportsman Buggy and Truck (No timing boost). We weren't able to get his mains on video, because I was in tech or waiting in line for my races :(

JBRL Round 1 this weekend!

Tomorrow I'll be heading up to Hot Rod for Round 1 of the 2011 JBRL season! I've been getting all my cars ready since last weekend, installing and programing 2 new Tekin RS speedos for my truck and buggy. I also setup my buggy to run my new MurfDogg 5500mah 65C batteries!

I plan to run in Expert Buggy, Truck, and 4wd, as these are the classes which allow running boosted 17.5's, which is the setup I normally run for club racing anyways. I just hope the same drivers are competing in these classes and the Super Stock guys from last year move up to Mod.

TLR Series, Round 3, OCRC

This past weekend was Round 3 of the TLR Series being held at OCRC. I raced Stock Buggy and Truck again, even though my T4 was slow down the straight, as it needs a Tekin RS ESC.

For this round, I made some changes to my B4. I went with silver springs out back along with moving the rear hubs to the long wheelbase position, hoping to pick up some corner speed. I guess it worked, since my fastest lap fell to a 20.2 :) I'm thinking of increasing the oil weight in the back to 27.5 from 25 and maybe increase the drag brake to pick up some corner speed and more turn-in.

I changed nothing on my truck, as I originally wasn't planning on racing it, as my new Tekin RS, hadn't come in yet. I did add some roll though, via the throttle trim on my radio, to decrease the drag brake effect of the gearing, as it turned in too hard the last race. But, now I'd need to remember to hold the brake to keep it from rolling when I was parked.

Qualifying went well for me in round 1! I won my heat for truck and placed 2nd in buggy. For round 2, I won my stock truck heat again, and ended up qualifying 6th for the A main. In buggy, I didn't have a very good run as I was sliding more in the corners. I did finish 3rd though, and squeaked into the A main in 8th.

Since my cars didn't have as much sidebite as round 1, due to the fact my rear tires were nearly bald combined with some dust on the track, I went tires having more tread for the the mains. The bald tires do work on the track, as long as the dust is low. I also got a tip from the track owner. The "hot" traction compound is WD40! Go figure! A lubricant/water repellent as tire traction compound! I do know that diesel fuel and suntan lotion have been used as traction compound in the past. So I'm going to try some during practice at the next round I race.

Anyhoo, here are the vids of my mains :)

TLR Series, Round 2, OCRC- Videos!

My brother came out to race Round 2 of the series and shot some vids of my races! I have the layout and tire setup dialed now, and my lap and race times started falling :) I decided to start running stock truck also, as my brother was there to help me with the cars.

I made the A in stock truck and bumped my way into the A in stock buggy, but I didn't finish well in either main. Oh well. Check out the vids though!

Changes for the next round of the TLR Series

I've sorted out my line now for this layout, but I still need to shave some time off my laps. The section that gives me the most trouble is the center of the track, from the hump, to the step off table, then the double. I've tried rolling the hump and jumping onto the table and jumping from the hump to the table. Rolling the hump keeps me close to the inside of the corner, but is slower. Jumping from the hump onto the table also keeps you close to the inside, but is difficult to line up. The last option is to go around the hump and jump over the table completely, landing on the step down. I think I'll try this next time.

I also need to pick up some corner speed! I plan to try the following in this order:

1. Change the front camber link from 1-A to 2-B. This was the location I used on my old car.
2. Move the rear hubs to the back. This should free up the rear end and allow the car to rotate better.
3. Change to 0° aluminum rear hubs, which should free up the rear end some more, if moving the hubs was not enough. But I'll lose some traction on acceleration.

I'm also thinking of trying my 69:35 gear again, but I'm not sure. I'll decide after the first round of qualifying.

TLR Series, Round 1, OCRC- A Main update

Ran around in the back taking advantage of other drivers mistakes. Finished 7th with a 14:10 and fast lap of 21.979, but I did have to run my battery from the B main. Leaders fast lap was 19.977, 2 seconds faster?! Time to head home.

TLR Series, Round 1, OCRC- Mains update

So, I avoid a pile up on the first lap and make it up to 2nd place, right behind the leader! But, I crash jumping onto the table top, and drop back and almost lose 2nd place and the last transfer spot into the A! So, I quit jumping onto the table and hold onto 2nd and transfer into the A!

Internal motor temp was 156 and the power felt good, so I'm staying with 72:35. Fast lap was 21.424 and turned a 14:00 (short 1st lap).

I also won a tuning set of Losi shock oils! A 6pk of the commonly used oils weights.

TLR Series, Round 1, OCRC- Mains

Well, I'm all packed up and ready to run my main then head home. I decided to gear down slightly by going to a 72 spur and keeping the same 35 tooth pinion. Hopefully this gets the internal motor temp closer to 160. I ended up qualifying 6th in the B. Boo! Lots of fast guys here tonite though (at least that's what I'm telling myself).

TLR Series, Round 1, OCRC- Round 2 Qualifying Update

Just finished round 2. Car felt better. Top 5 avg lap time went from 23.523 to 22.251 and fast lap from 22.631 to 21.481. Finished 4th in my heat, but still somewhere in the B Main. I need to do the jump onto the table and into the whoops to drop my lap time more, but can't do it consistently. The new tires felt good, but I noticed that the TQ is running nearly bald rear tires?! Motor temp dropped to about 150, on the outside of the can. Got a temp on the sator inside the motor of almost 170! Maybe I'll drop my gear more and get a temp on the stator for the main. Hmmm...

TLR Series, Round 1, OCRC

Waiting here in my pit for round 1 of qualifying to finish in a few minutes. Man am I rusty! No speed, thus 2 seconds a lap down on the TQ. Had a bunch of crashes my first 2 practice runs, then got the hang of the track during the next 2 packs. But, my lap times suck :(

Well at least I finally got my motor up to temp. Temped at 165 after round 1 of qualifying, so I geared down 2 teeth (no option to gear down 1 tooth) from 69:37 for the next round. Also, decided to bust out a new set of Gold Barcodes, as my other set is basically flat (foam is gone).

Murdogg Racing Batteries!

Murfdogg has released the production version on their new "SuperCharger" 65C 5500mah 7.4V LiPo batteries! These ROAR approved batteries feature 4mm bullet connectors with a 2mm balance port. Also shown is their new high current 4mm bullet plugs featuring a slot to solder your wires perpendicular to the plug! I have my batteries on order! Do you?

Reedy Race Vids! Round 4 4wd Invitational

Reedy Race Vids! Round 3 4wd Invitational

Reedy Race Vids! Round 2 4wd Invitational

Reedy Race Vids! Round 4 2wd Invitational

Reedy Race Vids! Round 3 2wd Invitational

Reedy Race Heritage Video

Shown at the Reedy Race before the A2 open mains and Round 3 of Invitational.

Reedy Race Vids! Round 2, 2wd Invitational

I decided to take the trip up to West Coast and watch the Reedy Race. I've attended the Reedy Race a handful of times in the late 90's when it was being held at M&M Hobbies. In fact, it was the 1st major race I attended! It was the '95 race where Greg Hodapp won. I qualified in the lowest main (M I think), and finished near the bottom. LOL! Anyways, here are the vids! I didn't get the 1st round of 2wd and 4wd Invitational (didn't wake up in time) or the Open classes A mains (my little camera stops recording after 10 minutes).

New MurfDogg Racing Batteries

Murfdogg Racing will soon be releasing 5500mah 65C 2S LiPo batteries! They should be available in early February, pending ROAR approval of course!

West Coast winter races!

I originally wasn't planning to run the Supercross Series at West Coast, and go snowboarding instead, but no snowboarding is planned for this weekend, so..... now I'm thinking of going! Not sure if I'll finish the series, but I may run 1 race.

Not sure if I'll run the SC race either, as I've parked my SC10 for this year and plan to switch to buggy...

OCRC 2011 Event Schedule Announced!

TLR Series

February 13 Round 1 Sunday
February 20 Round 2 Sunday
February 27 Round 3 Sunday
March 6 Round 4 Sunday
March 13 Round 5 Sunday
March 20 Round 6 Sunday
March 27 Round 7 Sunday
Normal club race fees
Best 4 (3 throw outs)

April 2nd
Round 2 JBRL

April 16th-17th
J-Concepts Spring Nationals

Sept 17th
Round 7 JBRL

August 27th-28th
4th Annual Pro-Line Surf City Classic

I would really like to run the OCRC TLR Series this year, as I didn't run OCRC's winter series last year, since it conflicted with the JBRL. I also skipped the J-Concepts race, since there were too many races in May last year, but I'd like to run that this year also. This years schedule looks better than last year and I think I can make all the races this year :)

2011 JBRL Schedule Announced!

2011 JBRL Electric Series Schedule

Round 1 – March 12, 2011 (Saturday)
Hot Rod Hobbies
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com

Round 2 – April 2, 2011 (Saturday)
OC/RC Raceway
15282 Jason Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 892-6699
www.ocrcraceway.com

Round 3 – May 7, 2011 (Saturday)
Palm Desert R/C Raceway
72440 Painters Path
Palm Desert, CA 92260
(760) 702-6083
www.palmdesertrcraceway.com

Round 4 – June 18, 2011 (Saturday)
Racers Haven Hobbies
7401 White Lane
Bakersfield, CA 93309
(661) 316-8727
www.racers-haven.com

Round 5 – July 16, 2011 (Saturday)
Pegasus Hobbies
5515 Moreno Blvd.
Montclair, CA 91763
(909) 982-6507
www.pegasushobbies.com

Round 6 – August 7, 2011 (Sunday)
West Coast R/C Raceway
15905 Canary Ave.
La Mirada, CA 90638
(714) 739-4298
www.westcoastrcraceway.com

Round 7 – September 17, 2011 (Saturday)
OC/RC Raceway
15282 Jason Circle
Huntington Beach, CA 92649
(714) 892-6699
www.ocrcraceway.com

Round 8 – October 29, 2011 (Saturday) (Finals)
Hot Rod Hobbies
25845 Railroad Ave. #21
Saugus, CA 91350
(661) 255-2404
www.hotrodhobbies.com

With most of the races on Saturday this year, it should help out with being alert for work Monday morning :) There is also a new track on the schedule this year, Palm Desert R/C, which I hear is a blue groove track like Hot Rod. Should be fun! And will be my 1st season running MurfDogg products :)