Return to Oval Racing! 9/13/20

I was back out for more Euro Truck racing at the Discount Hobbies Warehouse hobby shop parking lot in San Marcos.  The layout for this race would be a flat oval!  I haven't raced on an oval since the 1990s!

In Heat 1, I finished 1st with a 35:04, fast lap of 8.223, average lap of  8.686, and consistency of 94.17%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  I got taken out by lapped traffic 2 times.

In Heat 2, I finished 1st with a 35:05, fast lap of 8.209, average lap of  8.726, and consistency of 90.19%.  I made 0 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  I got taken out by lapped traffic 2 times.

I qualified in the pole position for the Main and led from start to finish, winning the race with a 35:05, fast lap of 8.267, average lap of  8.562, and consistency of 97.15%.  I made 0 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  I managed to avoid lapped traffic this time and didn't get taken out.  I strangely finished with a 1 second slower time than heat 1, but had a faster average lap time and higher consistency in the Main?  Not sure how that is possible.  I would expect that with a faster average lap time I would turn a faster race time?  Weird.

Pit area for the day

Flat paved oval!

Won the King of the Parking Lot Series for Spec Euro Truck!

Crown and Award

Tamiya TC01 Formula E Build!

 I started my TC01 Formula E build a couple of weeks ago by putting the kit tires on the stock wheels.

Next up was the suspension arms which needed pillow balls installed in them.  This was made super easy with the arbor press I bought for situations just like these!

Next up were the ball studs for the suspension links and sway bars.  My 3D printed parts trays helped to organize all the different screws and assorted parts.

Titanium hex head screws sorted and ready to install!

TRF aluminum threaded shocks to replace the plastic kit shocks.  With threaded shocks I can corner weight the car!

Installing the ball studs for the rear deck.

Building the gear diffs.  I put 500k oil in the front and 3k in the rear.

Diff filled with 500k oil!  It took 20 minutes after filling for the level to stabilize and air bubbles to escape.

Diffs mocked up!

The TRF aluminum shock body is about 0.5 mm longer than the plastic shock body.

I printed a tray with multiple small pockets to organize screws and other small parts.

New aluminum rockers and sway bar kits!

Red is 1.1 mm, yellow 1.2 mm, and blue 1.3 mm diamter.

Front sway bar installed!

 

Waiting for the "dry" goopy lubricant to "dry".

TQ and a Win! (This Time!)

This time I didn't break in the Main and run away with the TQ and Win! :)  I replaced the outdrive I broke in the Main, and I also replaced the idler gear with a new one while I had the gearbox apart.  I also raised the diff height to 2.5 mm, but raised the idler gear to 3.5 mm.  Doing this loosened up the gear mesh a little bit, freeing up my transmission immensely!  Hopefully this would get rid of the gear whine noise my car is known for.  Confirmed!  My first practice run confirmed that the gear whine noise was gone!  In fact my car was so quiet, it seemed weird to me! Lol!

In Heat 1, I won the heat with a 16:10, fast lap of 18.882, average lap of  19.418, and consistency of 97.26%.  I made 3 minor driving mistakes and had 1 crash, but landed back on my wheels.

In Heat 2, I won the heat again with another run of 16:10, but with a faster hot lap of 18.592, average lap of 19.429, and consistency of 97.00%.  I made minor 3 driving mistakes and had 1 crash.

I TQ'd again, winning both heats and would be starting the A main from the pole position!  I would win the Main this time turning a 16:06, with a fast lap was 18.392, average lap of 19.219, and consistency of  98.22%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.

It was another hot one!

After racing was over I threw on my JC Octagon slicks to test out with the track in race ready condition.  I was careful at first, bu then the grip came in and I started trying to go faster!  They didn't feel as stable as my worn down PL slicks with softer inserts though.  I was able to turn some 18 second laps, with the best at 18.3, matching my fast lap in the Main.

TQ and Almost a Win! :( 8/29/20

In Heat 1, I won the heat with a 16:19, fast lap of 19.244, average lap of  19.946, and consistency of 96.08%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 1 crash caused by a lapped car.  I ran my Electron front and Positron slicks sauced with blue Liquid Wrench.  My car felt great!  I guess the softer front springs, lower 18 mm ride height, lower minimum drive (10), softer drive frequency (7k), and more aggressive brake frequency (7k) also helped!

In Heat 2, I won the heat again with a faster run of 16:09, fast lap of 18.682, average lap of 19.346, and consistency of 97.47%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  My average lap for this run was almost as fast as my fast lap from heat 1!  My top 5, 10, and 15 averages were also about 0.2 off each other!

  

I was the fastest qualifier today, winning both heats and would be starting the A main from the pole position!  But, I finished in 6th with a DNF when my composite diff outdrive broke off after hitting the wall 3 laps earlier!  My car rolled to a stop coming onto the straight feet from the finish line with about 10 seconds to go!  My fast lap was 18.678, average lap of 19.315, and consistency of  99.11%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.

Broken composite outdrive :(

Cooler this weekend!  Only 6 degrees cooler, but feels much much better :)

Ready for practice with my new Raw Speed Riptides and Radars!

Euro Truck Racing! 8/23/20

 I was back out for more Euro Truck racing at the Discount Hobbies Warehouse hobby shop parking lot in San Marcos.  For this race I had to install a MyLaps transponder as the club finally got a lap counting system!  The organizer even had a Live Time scoring software and must've been using his phone as a WiFi hotspot, as race results were available on Live RC!  That's a first!  Internet based scoring results at a parking lot track!  We didn't have a bathroom to use, but hey we had race results on our phones! LOL!

In practice I tested out my throttle speed settings, which act like electronic traction control.  I was trying to find a setting which limited wheels spin and kept the truck straight if I pulled the throttle too fast.  I think I ended up at 80% of full speed.  I was also testing my new front tires.  WOW! It felt like I had no steering, but the truck was stable at least?  There was the one very tight section in the middle of the track where I felt like I was going so slow in order to make the turns, that I decided to use my older tires for Heat 1 of qualifying.

In Heat 1, I finished 2nd with a 14 lap run, fast lap of 19.796, average lap of  20.920, and consistency of 94.57%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 1 crash.  My truck was so unpredictable with my older tires up front that I spun out 2 times, for no apparent reason.  For Heat 2 I decided to use my new front tires.  It might be slower, but at least the handling was predictable.

In Heat 2, I finished 1st  with a 15:00, fast lap of 19.435, average lap of 19.937, and consistency off 98.37%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  Boy was I wrong about the new front tires up front being slower!  My fast lap, average lap, and consistency all improved!  In fact my lap were all in the 19 second range!  I also set the TQ in this race!  

I TQ'd the A main and finished 1st with a 14:03.  My fast lap was 19.540, average lap of 20.518, and consistency of  96.51%.  I made 0 driving mistakes and had 0 crashes.  The 2nd place qualifier was no more than a few truck lengths behind me the entire race, and even passed me when I went too wide coming onto the straight.  But, I was able to pass him back when he went too wide in the 2nd turn.  From then on he was right behind up until the last 15 seconds when he clipped a disk and ended up on his side and I cruised over the line for the win!  That was the best race I've has in a while!  Clean racing and close together for the entire 5 minutes race!

I pitted under my own canopy this time for "social distancing" pitting.

Ready for racing!

HOT!

My personal misting system! Thanks Steve!

Podium pic!  I get the TQ and the win for 100 points for the "King of the Parking Lot Series"!

Clubbin at SDRC, 8/22/20 New Layout Racing!

In Heat 1, I finished 2nd with a 15:07, fast lap of 19.170, average lap of  20.481, and consistency of 91.17%.  I made 1 driving mistakes and had 2 crashes.  I ran ghost treads sauced with blue Liquid Wrench.  To add some stability under power I decided to increase the rear toe-in to 3.5 degrees, as this change helped a bunch on my 4wd.  

In Heat 2, I finished 5th with a 15:16, fast lap of 18.924, average lap of 21.104, and consistency off 90.02%.  I made 0 driving mistakes and had 5 crashes.  For this heat I went with my Electron and Positron slicks.  My car was really loose!  I decided to change to a lighter rear spring for the main (TLR LF Gray, 1.96 lbs).

I qualified 3rd for the A main and finished in 2nd with a 15:01.  My fast lap was 19.169, average lap of 20.093, and consistency of  95.03%.  I made 0 driving mistakes but had 1 crash.  My car felt really good and I was gaining on the leader after making a pass into 2nd.  But I ran out of time :)  At least my car's handling was getting better!

For the next race I plan to lighten my front springs to TLR LF Green 3.38 lbs rate.

It was a hot one!