
lukej
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429 ExcellentAbout lukej
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- Birthday November 10
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Location
Canterbury, UK
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TC Racing, Building Cars, Obsessive Detail
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Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
If you’re after some, just let me know. I still have all the other parts to build that Evo to the release photo spec, ESC etc. Luke -
Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
Which ones? And how’s the Evo5? -
Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
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Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
Need to get these bits moving onto a new home ASAP, if anything is of interest to anyone, make me an offer. Luke -
Need to bring Tamiya Mini back, I want to race 2 classes and that’s my second chassis! Luke
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Need to bring Tamiya Mini back, I want to race 2 classes and that’s my second chassis! Luke
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Yeah that’s what he messaged me. I don’t see it as performance enhancing, just very mildly better at preventing rookie shaped errors becoming race altering problems. Oh and I picked up a Muchmore Motor Master this week so my various Torque Tuned motors will be methodically broken in and prepped for future races! Luke
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Just been announced today that Atsushi Hara will be running an RC Maker SP-1 at TITC. For those of you like me that remember the mid-2000s glory of Hara vs Rheinard and all the special edition HPI & Hot Bodies chassis that came with it, maybe we can hope for a special purple SP-1. Luke
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Afternoon! I took a week off from RC racing & associated tasks to focus on life admin etc, and the itch to get rebuilding/refining is real. The job list sits at: - Rebuild the front end of Chassis #2 to replace the snapped upright. - Sort out toe settings and make sure the car is aligned properly. - Pull some ballast off the servos & ESCs to get down to the weight limit (1350g, currently 1384g). - Thread lock the battery posts so that I can swap batteries more easily. - Thread lock or super glue the front body posts as they loosen every race from barrier impacts. - Corner weight the cars & ballast areas to balance the chassis if necessary. - Finish the Mondeo bodies. I all but finished one of my Mondeo bodies before the last round as it happens, and it's all stickered it up so here that is. Before I sort out body post holes, wheel arches etc I need to get an answer from SRCC/West Kent on horizontal rear posts as they may offer some protection from body tuck. The body is far from perfectly painted, but I learned a lot about how I want to improve as a painter so it's a win either way. Luke
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Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
More wheels, tyres and inserts added. Luke -
Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
Bittydesign eptron Lightweight shells -
Selling the collection - TRF Tourers, FFs & More.
lukej replied to lukej's topic in Sales, trades & wanted
Bittydesign Hyper-HR Lightweight Shells -
Evening TC! I planned to write this yesterday, but little sleep was achieved and the coffee was less plentiful than my energy levels required so it’s had to wait until I found both the energy and the time. It is finally race report time again though. Round 10, the final round of the SRCC winter championship was last night, and having spent more time painting body shells than prepping my car for it, I had all of 2 hours to get that sorted. As is the way with these things, I did what was necessary, and the “nice to do” jobs fell by the wayside. Anyway, with compromised prep (this is becoming a theme), Dan and I were loaded up by 4pm and on our way from East Kent to somewhere that’s best described as “London adjacent” to anyone in our neck of the woods. Unfortunately, our other pit buddy Rob arrived later than us and with a bumper grid, he was boxed out by the many tables, and didn’t get to sit with us. There are no photos of the pit setup today, few of anything from race night in fact as I didn’t any other than of my results sheets, which since the last meeting I’m informed are not to be taken home or kept by us… 😬 9 of 16 laps, best lap of 21.63s. Fair to say that Heat 1 was interesting, I forget if it was this or a later heat when I sent Dan over the barriers, but he took it remarkably well. Anyway, I didn’t even complete 10 laps with my rushedly built and slightly wonky steering. As discussed Friday, Liam Tyrrell gave me a few pointers, and I tried to iron the steering issues out over the next races, but I built the turnbuckles up in about 5 minutes on arrival, so the car didn’t even come close to being properly aligned. 11 of 16 laps, best lap of 18.65. It’s fair to say Heat 2 went a little better. Dan threw some comm drops on for me, I balanced the front steering more by eye, and tried increased the dual rate to try and find a nice balance (another tip from Liam). A positive trajectory. 12 of 16 laps, best lap of 18.13. Another race where I progressed as a driver, times came down and speed went up. I actually felt I was able to build a rhythm here, until a collision with the wall on my third last lap broke the front upright and I limped home on a twisty circuit with less steering than usual. [Insert Picture Here Tomorrow] And so to the final. I have already said what my frustrations are with that race, but there were positives and negatives for other reasons also. In the warm-up, I spotted one of my competitors struggling with handling, his fast but wayward car stopping early in a heat gave me pause, so I chose to just wait for the 2 minute warning before heading onto the track to avoid a potential collision. This, it turned out was wise, as his car speared left exiting turn 4 and ripped the front bumper out of its mounts. To the race, although embellished with ome useful detail: Everyone else runs a TT-01E with slightly longer gearing. My shorter gearing means I sould have an acceleration advantage. The run to T1 is short. I am competitive even though I am bad. Armed with the above knowledge, I took my time to line up on the grid, made sure to point my car at the apex of T1, and then took a breath to settle some nerves. The start start buzzer sounded, and I quickly took over second place through Turns 1 & 2, before attacking the driver in first through the complex of Turns 3-5 and taking the lead. This was very exciting, I was leading the race on Lap 1, me. From the back of the grid. This would be short lived. By Lap 2, as is now established, I had been helped onto my roof by the driver I’d only just overtaken, and the lead was gone. This is how the race would continue, with a series of trips to the kingdom of upside down cars, where dreams of B main glory die. In the end I lost 2 laps to less than sporting driving, never built a rhythm and felt a bit *******ed off on the way home. 12 of 16 laps, best lap of 17.88s. The final was, despite the mishaps, an improvement on the races before. The circuit was more technical than at round 9, and I feel that I have progressed as a driver. This is all good. Reflecting on my two race weeks so far then, I’ve a lot to learn, one of these things is going to be to have smoother steering and more discipline with the transmitter, the other? That measuring my improvements by laps per minute is pointless when the track changes. With that in mind then, here’s how the two weeks compare: *Round 9* PB (Race 1) 19.82s, 164.48% PB (Final) 15.96s, 132.45% FL (B Final) 12.05s, 100% My improvement across the night was 32.03%. *Round 10* PB (Race 1) 21.63s, 139.55% PB (Final) 17.88s, 115.35% FL (B Final) 14.60s, 100.00% My improvement across the night was 24.20%, and I ended the event 17.10% closer to the fastest driver than I did at Round 9. The best driver in my heats at Round 9 was Dan, who made it to the A Main at Round 10. If we adjust my differentials for his best race time we see the following: PB (Race 1) 21.63s, 148.15% PB (Final) 17.88s, 122.47% FL (B Final) 15.50s, 100.00% The percentages above represent my time against the fastest lap of the final overall. This is a more motorsport way of judging driver performance. By any metric, around 10 was better for me. Once again, I’d like to thank Dan, Rob and the drivers I spent time with. This is all still new to me, but for the most part it’s something I want to stick at. The next meeting is 4 weeks out, the non-championship test event before the summer series. This time I’ll make sure to actually adjust the car and improve my process. Luke
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Thanks Kevin. I will take some time to set the car properly and corner weight it now also. Running 38g overweight and with a right side bias is not helpful I’m sure! Luke
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Tonight had all of the potential and none of the reward. Finished 9th of 9, which gives me 92 additional points and 17th in the Championship with only 2 rounds entered but it should have been more. Heat 1 was all over the show, steering still snappy but some advice from Schumacher team driver Liam Tyrell calmed it down, Heats 2 and 3 it pulled left, and in the latter I broke a front upright. The final, well, what could have been! I’ll start with some acknowledgements about my own driving: - I spent too much time on my roof in all races. - My steering inputs are themselves in need of improvement. - My tyre prep process needs refinement. I started the final with too much sauce on them so the tyres came in late. - I probably need to open the rear differential slightly. The action is too stiff compared to the front so the balance is off. With all of the above being said, I feel a little hard done by, having gone from 4th to 1st on lap 1 only to be put on my roof by the second placed driver come turn 3 of lap 2. A position the same driver helped me visit again a few laps later. Leading the B Main was an experience, and the nerves were felt but I was coping. Unfortunately, in the one race where I hadn’t overturned myself, robust driving from others cost me 2 laps with the wheels facing the sky so yeah, not a wonderful night’s racing. Ending my disappointment short of a rant, I’ve always been told RC is a sport where honour matters, that you apologise for your errors when they affect others and you wait for the person you’ve slowed to catch you up. I made sure I upheld that from my side, but it was not forthcoming from the others. That’s rookie Tamiya racing I guess! Anyway, short of 3 additional points for a win, which would only have advanced me to 16th in the championship, I set out to get 91 minimum this round and I achieved that. More experience gained, more laps under the belt, and the knowledge that the best way to not get rolled by wayward drivers is to not be one myself and make the A Main. I’ll focus my energies on that then! Full report to come. Luke