Thirteen30

Sold off the Sand Scorcher to a friend (he will treat it infinitely nicer than I did... I hope lol), and finally fitted my new Yeti body. Looks a bit bare and the two tone was botched but it gets the truck back on the trails so im stoked! Also got the gf's T1 Wheelie Van sorted, for whatever reason it became unbound from her original Spectrum and only wanted to bind to mine... Strange but thats okay lol

That Optima meet looks like it was a blast! The Japanese really put some serious time and effort into there rc's. I've never seen a poorly put together or overly abused model (I am sadly very guilty of this lol). Its a shame everyone here in Alberta are all about the new shiniest trail rig and bash mobile. Sigh....

I need those in my life! Would make the adjust ya I'm making today so much easier! So got some racing in with the Optima again last night. Was even fairing well against an rc8e on 4s (tiiiiiiiight track means he couldn't pull away). Took on my old RC10 Graphite/Worlds car which was running 3s and a 5600kv motor (new owner can't drive a 2wd to save his life yet), a mildly hotrodded 540 Grasshopper, and a velineon powered mini 8ight. The Optima took on all challengers and held up together great. There were a few nasty hits from the big associated which I wasn't exactly pleased with but she's all in one shape still so I can't complain too much. The aka tires are pretty much cooked now, I'm going to add some negative camber on all four corners and a bit of toe out up front. The tracks here are usually pretty rutted and traction rolls have been happening on the hair pins. I think one more run with the old girl is due after the tweaking and than its on the shelf for a while until I get some new parts. My RPM steering cups are holding up great too! Filed them down a hair and the steering is once again buttery smooth! Also filed down the front inner wheels that liked to rub the turn buckle and free'd up a bit of speed. Was able run the esc settings maxed out on 2s without any sort of heat showing up in the motor or esc.

I sure hope they start popping up soon. I could use another gear set, another gear cover, a CF rear shock tower (thinking about the Cox RC one still), and a body (already destroyed the rear half just behind the shock tower. So over the weekend I ran a pack through the Optima out in some sand and tarmac and finally ripped the rear half of the body off. It had gotten pretty beat up from doing massive power wheelies on 3s a few weeks back and was slowly cracking along the creases behind the rear shock tower. Since than I've decided its best to just crank up the settings in the sidewinder 3 and just run 2s. 3s in this chassis is almost too much for this car for what I do. Its not exactly a buggy that likes being bashed, and its very under-damped for the jumps I hit with it (no smooth landing ramps for the most part). It sucks to say, but I think this one is just going to have to sit on the shelf until our big track gets smoothed out. I think today will be its last big outting til I get some parts in and stop treating it so rough. I think if anyone wants to run an Optima on anything outside of a decently prepped track; they should definitely consider different tires right off the bat as the factory ones will shred at the hint of pavement, maybe find a thicker weight of shock oil or new shocks all together, definitely stock up on the plastic steering links (or run a small turn buckle and RPM cups), run the wide bumper, and if you plan to run 3s grab a spare body or two. I really REALLY REAAAAAAALLLY want to have a nice track to run this thing on. It screams to be driven aggressively around a track and when she has a good driver, its easy to see why these were held to such a high regard. I will say though, for an old race car this thing takes a beating very well. I've had several high speed flips (it will lift the wheels at 60kmh easy on 3s) and roll overs and it hasnt complained much (aside from the bendy aluminum shock tower). It has also taken a few good hits from other cars and clipped the pipes on the edges of the track with no damage. Dont let my ramblings make you think its a bad car, it is quite a machine. Its a very specialized tool, and when you can drop it on a track and keep up with most other brushless rc's that arent fully blown 1/8 brushless racing buggies, thats a sign of a **** good car. Its not quite as forgiving as some of the modern ones but if you are a decent and consistent with your laps, you could probably crush some ego's with this old chassis. Throw some real shocks and tires on, dial up the brake power, run the esc settings up to max power and you've got a mean little buggy!

Well looks like I have some competition brewing for Tuesday (weather pending). Bringing the Mud Blaster, and Optima out as we have in theory 2-3 Grasshoppers showing up, possibly my old rc10 that I sold off, and maybe a Stadium Blitzer, Frog, or a Falcon showing up to race. Planning to take them all on with the Blaster but if that RC10 proves to be a bit quicker I will whip out the Optima and shut it all down lol. Right now I'm on the fence about pulling the trigger on the Cox RC carbon fiber kit for the Optima (new towers, top plate, and some other braces) for about $100 canadian. I am kind of interested in the sway bar kit but would love to put some proper threaded shocks on that wouldn't be such a pain in the but to rebuild (that clear o-ring thing truly is a pain to deal with) and experiment from there. I would love to order the sway bar kit too, I think it would really help reduce its on-throttle push characteristics in turns.

So i've put a few more packs through the Optima and its holding up decent now that its mostly all threadlocked lol I have mainly been running on a small gravel track and pavement for the most part and the AKA wheels and tires are fairing much better. They dont grip great on the hard dusty gravel track but they do not wear fast im happy. I figure if I can get a feel for this thing and drive it on the edges of its traction, when it comes to getting to a track with grip I should be able do half decent. As for the Optima itself, as the packs go by I feel that the car has a tendency to push hard under power, and have a slight bit of oversteer off power. I've tried to adapt my drift style driving to something a bit more racing oriented. This buggy needs to get the weight up front before taking corners, and once you are lined up with the exit, hammer down and watch it turn into a rocket. The second you throttle through a corner you will push wide or loop out. You can usually catch a drift from going to far even on the most extreme angles but it will almost put you into a tank slapper with how well this thing finds traction. For the most part this thing flies amazingly level, but you will find yourself a bit nose low if you arent up on your speed. Our local track that has jumps is very loose and is extremely rutted so i've found it best to let this thing sit out as it will quickly show you its limited suspension travel (it is an old school 1/10th after all). On a well prepped track, this thing would really be a blast, and if it can handle my 3s 4600 on pavement with no punch control it can handle high bite without drivetrain issues aswell. Further reliability/durability testing shows that its a pretty stout car. I would highly advise getting a second shock tower and longer hardware to sandwich two towers together, but I myself am going to try the carbon fiber route soon. The wide front bumper has also saved my bacon a handful of times aswell so unless you are keeping it as a shelf queen or you plan to race and drive well, i'd say stick the big one on. I can see this thing clipping an arm off at speed fairly easy and that just isnt a good time. The body is also something that is a bit troublesome. If you go a bit mental with power like I did running a 4600kv brushless, EXPECT WHEELIES! Even with punch control this thing will find traction and power wheelie down straights like nobodies business. Unfortunately if you stick the nose up to high it will drag the rear of the body which is already a bit weak once you cut to clear the shock towers. Its a bit cringe worthy to see my new body already torn up but its my own fault. I really dont think I will run 3s in this thing again unless I plan to do speed runs as its just too fast. Last but not least is the steering linkage. I have fortunately been able to keep driving with a cracked plastic link that captures two ball studs to link the left and right assemblies but on every awkward landing it will pop and lose steering on the one side. So tonight im going to see what I can do to fix that. Its a bit silly that they put in such a stiff servo saver spring but made such a flimsy plastic link. Hopefully some ball studs and rpm cups will work! Aside from her scars, she really is a looker. Almost everywhere I bring this out, she draws peoples attention. Definitely a gorgeous little kit, and I can say I cant wait until I build another Kyosho... Although I admit an Egress would compliment her nicely!

Mind the double post (cell phone), but this is what the other side looks like. Quick and dirty but it works! These were all mocked up on my original rear end and went onto my 2015 rear end. Started out running a 20t axial on 2s, than the 15t on 2s and 3s. With the 15t on 3s the chassis is pretty much at its limits of performance. Anything more is overkill (I ran 3s and a 4600kv in my lunchbox so I know about overkill lol) and will just end in a pile of broken parts, but for racing it's a perfect setup. Im probably going to get a Blackfoot myself one day and keep it for a vintage 2wd racer and run the sidewinder 3/15t combo again but find some nicer shocks and one day build my own sassy chassis style pan chassis out of cf and aluminum (it will be nicer than my hack jobs you see me post here lol).

It's not the prettiest and I've been meaning to make some nicer version but since this thing spends more time in the dirt than being clean I decided just to keep it the way it is. I bought 2" washers (diameter), ran a stepper bit through the center so it would clear the output shaft lip, and notched 4 parts to let longer screws pass by. Cost me about 5 dollars for everything (Longer screws, new lock nuts, and the big washers) and took about 5 minutes with a bench grinder. I'd say a dremel would make a nicer finish as you could just notch the washer with a cutoff wheel and make it look a bit nicer but that's nothing in worried about. In all honesty it works fine, the spacers are clamped on there pretty good with just the shoulder of the lock nut and screw head and there is no clicking or hiccups to report. Drop a bit of preload off (or internally limit the shock extension) the rear end to keep the new dog bones from coming out and you are golden. Like I said, Mud, Snow, Racing, etc. If anyone wants more pictures let me know.

My 2015 MB rear end on my Blaster is holding up to 3s and a 15t for nearly 60 packs since putting the new rear end on and I am not nice to it. Grab two 2" washers and three longer screws and voila, no spreading gears.

I'm still trying to find out what the major differences are besides the grille, decals, and the fact it's got an esc instead of a speed control. Does it have prebuilt components or something?

Never thought I'd see so many people complain about what they have wanted for so long? What did you guys expect? We all knew was going to happen. I think it's rad, I can't wait to see them slap the body on the SRB chassis!

Man that thing is gorgeous! If I remember right, Tomahawks aren't really all that much money for such a pretty car.

Decals

I bought a set of wheels for my Yeti that almost made me gag from how bad the cigarette smell was. I gave them a quick wash in soap and water and let them de-stank in fresh air outside for a few days. Eventually the funk went away unless you really got up close. I'd even give simple green a try.

So just a quick update. For those running rere's DO NOT SKIMP ON THREADLOCK! Almost everything on this buggy likes to back itself out after a few laps. Ordering an RC Screwz Kit this week. Also for those wanting to run modern wheels, I am currently running AKA rear wheels on all four corners (front ones throw the offset off up front), just make sure to either run a small spacer in front of the hex or trim the inner lip of the wheel as it will rub. Other than that they work great and hook up well!