RC8 body ready for painting!

This is the 1st body with my signature paint job that I have ever painted myself! My friend that usually paints them for me hasn't been able to paint my last few bodies, so I've decided to try and paint them myself.

It is alive!

My RC8.2e is basically finished! All I have left to do is glue and balance the tires then paint the body. Then I hit the track!

Shocks finished and mounted!

Turns out I didn't need those washers after all. They aren't included with the .2 kits anymore, but the instructions weren't updated. So I finished the rear shocks and mounted them on the car.

Electronics install!

Worked on the electronics tray tonight. Was almost done with installing the rx8 when I realized the servo lead was a few inches short! Now I need to pick up an extension to finish wiring it in.

I also went with 2-2s shorty packs in series to make a 4s pack for the battery. This setup is about the same weight as the Reedy Wolfpack 3700mah 35c pack the team guys use, but I get 4100mah and 70c! Two MurfDogg full size packs would've been 180g heavier!

Shocks missing parts!

My kit is missing 4 washers that I need to finish building the shocks :( I also need a thin wall 5.5mm nut driver to install the shocks onto the car. So, I'm stopping the shock build until I get the things I need. At least I can continue the build by installing the electronics for now.

Chassis done!

On to building the shocks!

Rear Suspension!

Almost done with the rear suspension, but my driver battery died during the last few screws to tighten. So I guess I'll get some sleep while the driver charges back up and finish it later.

Front suspension!

Got the front suspension on finally. It's a bit different from any other car I've put together, so I had to reassemble things a couple of times.

Diffs and front gearbox !

Finished building the diffs and front gearbox.

Diff Assembly!

Sorted all the parts out for each diff to get them ready for assembly.

The RC8 build finally begins!

I finally got around to building my RC8 that I bought at the end of July! I have everything I need to get it running except a 4s battery. But, I may try using 2 shorty packs in series.

Stock 4wd!

Trying to get the Stock 4wd class going at SDRC today.

Managed to qualify 2nd in Mod 4wd, but broke in the main. At least I won Stock Truck :)

Back out racing

After not racing for over a month, we headed over to our local track, SDRC, for some stock truck racing. I was testing some ghea tapered pistons with the same hole sizes that usually worked well for me in the past. #2 with 30wt in the front and # 1 with 30wt in the rear.

I qualified 5th for the main, but the times for the top 6 were pretty close. I took advantage of some crashes early and moved up to 2nd and had a good battle with the leader. He didn't make any mistakes and I couldn't find a place to pass so I finished in 2nd.

Practice Day!

Picked up some breakfast and got to track a little before about 9:30am. It's not very crowded so I got 2 good runs in so far. Hopefully the crowd stays away. On the other hand, I'm over driving the car. Need to tone it down a bit.

OMG! Going to the track

Due to bad weather, no flying this weekend. So, I spent the afternoon getting my 4x4 SC10 ready for a rare practice only day at SDRC. Who knows maybe next weekend I'll race Saturday and fly Sunday :)

No Fly Zone

I tried to go fly my helicopters at the field Saturday afternoon, but the weather wasn't very good. Overcast with drizzle :(. So I did a little work on my truck for some Sunday racing up north at OCRC!

Getting closer!

Over the last 3 months I've been slowly collecting parts to complete my RC8.2e buggy. Some tires there, transponder, pinion gears, Kyosho springs, etc.. Last night I got my newest order. A BLS352 servo, 4Pk receiver, and a 50 tooth spur gear. All I have left to get are some shock pistons and a pair of 4S batteries.

Road Trip!

We decided to head up north to my old "home" track, OCRC :). They have a "big" race program on Sundays, with 3 qualifying rounds using qual points, and 2 car bump ups from lower mains. I qualified in the BQ position, with Ran 2 spots behind me. I had a clean start and a pile up behind me on the 1st lap let me check out. I took the easy win and bumped to the A, along with my brother who snuck into 2nd. Since we both bumped, we decided to run the A with our used batteries and warm motors for fun. We both took advantage of wrecks on the 1st lap to move up. Ran also got around me when I got out of shape in the double triple, but he rolled a few laps later and had to wait a long time to get marshaled, so I left him behind. I managed to finish 5th in the A. I guess you could say we had a good road trip north :)

Race Day!

Out at SDRC to race on the new layout :) Testing out my new Avid buggy springs (Batch 2 rates).

VRC Pro Off-Road

I am addicted to uploading times to events and beating my friends or staying at a certain level! It started when I was able to put in a fast time, and was 4th overall, with about 100 racers competing. Since then the field has grown to almost 300, and I've dropped to 17th overall. Now I keep trying to put in a faster run, but so far the best I've been able to do is a 16:00.

I will need to get back to work on my real cars though, as the SSC is coming up soon....

Reboot needed

Got smoked in Buggy last night.  Me thinks I need some new tires, as I've been hanging on running some old V2 Barcodes from last year.  Also, my experiment with the 12.3 rotors doesn't seem to be working out.  Going back to my 12.5's and trying again next weekend....

Sweet!

So tonight wasn't a total waste.  I capitalized on a mistake on the 1st lap by the TQ and managed to keep him behind me for the win :)  I may switch to a v1.1 (black) motor for next week with a 12.3 mm rotor to compare to the 12.5 mm rotor I have been running.

Damm practice pros!

My last practice run was a waste of electrons as all the pp's came out to run during last session, so I spent all my laps avoiding wrecks or getting hit :(

Lonely Boy- No More

I decided to come out and only race stock truck tonight (so far alone) as I had such a bad run in the JBRL main last weekend. This time I have an older motor in my truck that turns more rpm and balloons my rear tires nicely. Is this faster? It was at last years Surf City Classic when I placed 2nd! Here? We shall see.... I also mounted up some new gold barcodes with fresh foam to break in for this years SSC, as the closed cell foam in my other set of tires has gone flat :(. There is a big air gap between the tire and foam, which I don't like.

Eric decided to come out and run, so now I have someone to chat with....

What have I done?

I decided to get a 1/8 electric buggy! I bought a Factory Team RC8.2e last night. I plan to build it up and add additional parts and electronics to it as my budget allows. So who knows when I'll finish it as I'm also building a new 550 size electric helicopter :)

Stock Buggy A Main, SDRC Raceway, 2012 JBRL Round 6

Bummer :(

No award to post pics of :(  Here are my results for Round 6 of the JBRL at SDRC; Stock Truck- 5th B Main, Stock SC- 2nd B Main, Stock Buggy- 12th A Main.  Disappointing, but I still had fun as my primary goal was to make an A Main in one of my 3 classes.

The next big race on the schedule for me is the Surf City Classic at OCRC, which has been fun every year I've attended :)

I do have some vids from this race, which I will be uploading to YouTube, and posting links here.

Awwww!

Missed making the A for Stock SC :(. Think what I could do if my truck was setup right! As I've been concentrating on my buggy and truck.

Woohoo!

Made the A in Stock Buggy! I barely made it though, in the 10th spot. In truck I'm down on power :(. I'm pretty sure I cooked the rotor in practice. Next year I'm gonna need a new rotor for each round!

The top ten!

Finally had a decent run! The traction is coming up and I drove well in Stock SC, qualifying 9th I think. Hoping for a clean run in buggy and truck.

The JBRL is underway in San Diego!

Just finished my round one runs for stock buggy and truck. The track was a little slick for buggy. I was in 3rd for most of the race till I clipped a pipe during the last minute or so. Dropped to 5th :(. For truck I didn't put traction
compound on my tires and loosened my slipper a little. Much better, but I made too many driving mistakes :(. Dropped way down the field :(. Stock SC is up next in 5 races.

Ready for practice!

Gear ready to be loaded for the 1st practice day of Round 6 of the JBRL!

Top Gun Shootout Stock Truck Podium

Forgot to post my Stock Truck podium photo from the Top Gun Shootout at SDRC at the beginning of June.

Photo courtesy of RC Insider.com

VRC Pro, Off-Road!

Release it already!

Old car pics!

Body off shot of my Yokomo MX-4 with optional 6-cell battery chassis

Yokomo MX-4 with numbers from the 1999 Reedy Race at MnM Hobbies

Body off shot of my Associated RC10T3

My RC10T3!

Associated B3

Pit table in my bedroom

All my cars at the time lined up!  From left to right, B3, TC3, T3, and MX-4.

Hey! A new post!

Haven't posted here in a long time :(  Not sure if anyone is reading it anyway...

But, I did pick up an SC10 4x4 after the JBRL season ended.  Raced that for a few months at my home track SDRC Raceway.  Which in January, expanded the track box and became the largest indoor off-road track in Southern California!  I've been racing here a lot in the Stock Buggy and Mod Truck class (running a non boosted MurfDogg 17.5).  It's so nice to only have a 15 minute drive to the track vs. an 80 minute one.

I started running the JBRL season, but was only able to attend the 1st round at OCRC Raceway, which had a crazy turnout, at 385 entries!  Life then got in the way, and I've missed every round since :(  The next big race I was able to attend was the Top Gun Shootout at SDRC.  I raced in the Stock Buggy and Truck classes.  I nearly TO'd Stock Truck, but ended up qualifying 2nd.  I then blew out in A1 and A2, allowing my brother (who has gotten much faster since last year) to take 2nd, while I finished 3rd.  In Stock Buggy, I finished 4th in the B Main, missing the bump into the triple A mains by 2 positions.

While at the Top Gun race, I got a bunch of help with my shock setup using the MIP Bypass1 pistons.  Eustace  Moore himself of MIP helped me out by testing my shocks and watching my cars, then suggested setup changes, which I used during the race.  After he watched my truck in the triple A mains, he suggested more changes, which I plan to try the next time I go club racing.

The next big race I plan to attend is the JBRL round at SDRC!  It will be so nice being able to stay at home instead of a hotel :)

Coverage of the Top Gun Shootout at SRDC Raceway on RC Insider

A pic to look at :)

My messy pit table at home...

Cool! Only 12 minutes left on my download of VRC Pro the rc racing simulator.  This has been an on-road nitro sim for the longest time, but earlier this year with the release of the latest version, electric on-road was added.  Now in early July electric off-road will be added!  Finally!  The first off-road car available will be 4x4 short course followed by 2wd buggy.  Nice! Can't wait!