Complete beginner starting to race my TT-02

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

Excellent! I know how good it feels to finally get some consistency. If you are feeling good, maybe time to up the power a little? The early pics showed a tble02s and torque tuned motor. If you are running roughly Iconic class rules, a hobbywing 1060 and team powers motor will run you about 35 quid. If you want to stick with the tble02s for now a 17.5 sensored brushless would be good, but a bit more money. 

 

[Scottrc 232]

15 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Excellent! I know how good it feels to finally get some consistency. If you are feeling good, maybe time to up the power a little? The early pics showed a tble02s and torque tuned motor. If you are running roughly Iconic class rules, a hobbywing 1060 and team powers motor will run you about 35 quid. If you want to stick with the tble02s for now a 17.5 sensored brushless would be good, but a bit more money. 

 

Would love to fit a faster motor but the club rules state I can only run the torque tuned motor or core 21 motor. Supposed to use the esc supplied in the kit too but as the hobby wing 1060’s are in some kits I could use it. Am thinking of racing at the iconic cup next year so may end up buying a TT01E and building it ready for racing as won’t be alowed to use the TT02. 

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

7 hours ago, Scottrc said:

Would love to fit a faster motor but the club rules state I can only run the torque tuned motor or core 21 motor. Supposed to use the esc supplied in the kit too but as the hobby wing 1060’s are in some kits I could use it. Am thinking of racing at the iconic cup next year so may end up buying a TT01E and building it ready for racing as won’t be alowed to use the TT02. 

Core 21t is quicker than a torque tuned, and only a tenner. Would be worth a go IMO. 

[Scottrc 232]

Funnily enough I do have a brand new spare core 21 motor from my mardave mini. Will give it a try. Always thought the core 21 and torque tuned would give the same sort of speed?!?

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

19 hours ago, Scottrc said:

Funnily enough I do have a brand new spare core 21 motor from my mardave mini. Will give it a try. Always thought the core 21 and torque tuned would give the same sort of speed?!?

It's definitely a bit quicker. I have both motors. 

[Scottrc 232]

Friday night was race night again after a break last week for the bank holiday. Had a play with my TT02D basher over the bank holiday weekend and managed to break the steering servo. Thought this was a good chance to upgrade my race TT02’s cheap steering servo to something decent and swap the cheap one into my basher. Did a lot of research and had loads of recommendations for different servos. In the end I settled for a AGF-rc servo from L and L models as found it had metal gears, was coreless and had really good specs compared to some others. It was also discounted on a bank holiday deal! 
I was also itching to try out my Mardave mini I had bought from another racer but as I haven’t even driven it yet to practise thought I would take it along to do some practise laps before the racing starts to get a base set up and run it next week. 
 

Got to the race meeting as practise was starting and got the TT02 set up with the additive on the tyres then took the Mardave for its maiden voyage. Set the steering trim up then gave it the berries! I was amazed at how well it handled straight out of the box! Was so easy to drive compared to the TT02! Practise went so well I went back and signed it on to race aswell! 
 

Race 1 was TT02 and I was the only one so was with the MTC’s again which I actually really enjoy. I made a slow start after having not driven in nearly two weeks. Car still felt great although a little bit tail happy. The steering servo felt great could feel it was much quicker to react and seemed much smoother. Came second and only a couple of laps behind the leader that had a much faster car so was really pleased. Next race was the minis so I quickly got back and swapped my controller settings and switched the transponder over. Race went really well and the car handled like it was on rails! Came 4th out of 6 in my first mini race and only 4 laps behind the leader so was really happy with that. Did notice my car was a lot slower than the others down the long straight so need to look at my gearing as the previous owner said it was geared for shorter tracks. 
 

Race 2 was more of the same for both cars and improved with both and got smoother as the night went on. Finished second with the TT02 and only 1 lap behind the leader and 4th again with the mini. 
 

The finals I got faster and more consistent again with the TT02 and finished second again only 1 lap behind. The mini was going well until I got involved in someone else’s crash and spun round into the barrier losing me at least a lap. Ended up in 5th but still really enjoyed my race. 
 

For next week I will probably not touch the TT02 as it is driving really well just maybe slightly over steering. The mini I just need to sort the gearing out to give me the same top speed as the others and I think I could have some really good battles. Both cars are great fun to drive the Tamiya is definitely quicker and more of a handful to drive but I enjoy trying to keep it under control! The mini is the exact opposite and sticks to the carpet. Looking forward to next week 👍🏻

[bavee 1032]

Really enjoy reading your race reports. Keep up the good work!

[Scottrc 232]

17 minutes ago, bavee said:

Really enjoy reading your race reports. Keep up the good work!

Thank you! Never really imagine anyone reads them 😂  just like to keep a note of what I’ve been up to racing and hope other people can get some help/tips from my mistakes! 😂👍🏻 

[Scottrc 232]

Prepped both cars for last nights race and decided to change the motor in my TT02 for the spare core 21 motor I had. As that’s still in the rules and faster than the torque tuned motor. Also changed the pinion on the mini from a 15t to 17t in the hope I will gain some more top speed. 
Got to the track early for a change and let my father in law Steve take my mini out for a run while I  took my TT02 out to test the motor. The core 21 motor was definitely faster! So fast in fact I crashed pretty hard at the end of the straight and broke my front right hub! 🫣  The TT heat was first so had about 5 minutes to fit a new hub! Luckily this is probably the third one I’ve broken so I’m getting quick at it! 😂

Race 1 was the TT02, I was with the father in law with his TT01 and with two TT01 trucks. I started a bit slow as after changing my front hub I didn’t get enough time to put tyre additive on the tyres! Could tell my car was quicker than the trucks but they were quicker round the corners due to their driving skills. Had a clean race though and finished 3 laps behind the leader in 3rd (out of 4!).

We had changed the shock oil on Steves car before the race as his shocks were full of what looked like grease! I also tried to set his ride height but the lowest I could get it was 10mm! Measured the shocks and found he had bought 60mm shocks! 😳. 

Took the mini out in the race straight after the TT race and made the school boy error of not swapping the transponder over! Had a great race though and only finished a lap behind the leader although there was only three of us in the race. I seemed to have a bit more top speed but it was still noticeably slower than the other minis 😢.

Race 2 and the TT was up first. Managed to get my tyre additive on this time and put some decent laps in keeping off the barriers and got more confidence in the extra poke. Half way through the race though I had a little spin so reversed back went forward to get back going and nothing… had steering but no forward or reverse. Collected the car and quickly took the shell off. The esc red light was flashing so switched the car off and on and it worked again 🙄. Jumped back in the race and carried on but by this point around 6 laps down. Still finished third though as with the extra long shocks Steves car handles like a monster truck!

The mini was up next and it was more of the same finished a lap behind the leader in 2nd, but was getting frustrated as it didn’t have the speed but I could drive it really well, and it handles like it’s on rails.

Race 3 Finals

TT up first again had probably my best race of the night finished only 2 laps behind the leader and my best lap was less than 0.5 of a second behind the fastest truck lap. Feel like I was just getting used to the extra power. 
 

Mini was still handling great and I got an excellent start after 1st place crashed on the first lap. I managed to drive really well and led up to around the half way mark untill he powered past me and I couldn’t catch him. Finished a lap behind but confident when I sort the power issue I could do really well. 
 

Hopefully I can make it for next weeks races, the TT02 is running great at the moment but did notice it starting to pull to the right a bit when up to speed down the straight so need to have a look at that. Also need to keep an eye on why the esc threw a fit in the second race. Can only think it might of overheated due to the new motor and it was really hot in the hall. Had a look at the mini earlier to solve the power issue and I’ve fixed it 👍🏻 The motor wires were the wrong way round so the motor was running in reverse! Didn’t realise my transmitter had the ABS setting switched on so when in reverse it wasn’t going very fast and was quicker going forwards, but with ABS turned off it was obviously quicker in reverse! Switched the wires round now and all sorted. Looking forward to racing it next. 

[Scottrc 232]

Just finished painting my Mr Bean inspired mini shell! Just need to make the body post holes and try it out at my next race. 👍🏻

[Scottrc 232]

Had the day off work today so took my motorbike out for a ride and took my TT02 with me. Went to the west London rc track to have a look and get some practise in. It was my first time driving on an outdoor tarmac circuit and really enjoyed it. My car seemed to have much more grip and handled better than on the carpet. The longer straights meant I could get it flat out but made it feel slow! Also learned that crashes on tarmac cause more damage to the body shell and my low ride height meant the chassis now has some scrapes underneath 😬. Hoping to join in with the iconic cup next year so will need to get a TT01 soon and get some more practice on outdoor circuits. 
Unfortunately I can’t make racing tonight but should be back racing again next Friday. 

[Aerobert 2149]

Just read the thread. It really enjoyed me to follow your race journey so far. Keep up posting.👍

[Scottrc 232]

On 7/2/2022 at 10:18 AM, Aerobert said:

Just read the thread. It really enjoyed me to follow your race journey so far. Keep up posting.👍

Thank you for reading. It’s really nice to see people are enjoying reading my ramblings as much as I enjoy writing my race reports and racing. 👍🏻

[Snappy1 966]

Agreed, just read from start to current and really enjoyed it, keep up the good work.

reminds me a little of my first race weekend, so many schoolboy errors but still a great experience.

[Scottrc 232]

14 hours ago, Snappy1 said:

Agreed, just read from start to current and really enjoyed it, keep up the good work.

reminds me a little of my first race weekend, so many schoolboy errors but still a great experience.

Thank you. Will keep you all updated with my next catalog of errors 😂. Will be racing Friday with both cars and can’t wait! Seem to learn and improve every week so hoping I can string a few good laps together. 

[Scottrc 232]

Race night again last night! Got the cars out Thursday night and gave them both a check over and clean ready. Also ordered some 1 million weight oil for my front diff, as have been using cv grease but it’s not that sticky and seems to leak out. Cleaned out my front diff and added the oil which was really thick and has made the diff a lot stiffer. Also noticed my front drive cups in my diff actually have holes through the middle so blocked the holes up with a bit of hot glue to stop the oil leaking out! When refitting my wheels noticed that my cheap clamping wheel hexes seem to distort when tightening up causing the wheels to buckle 😬. Will need to get some decent ones on order if anyone has any suggestions??? Also decided to try out my cheap skyline body shell as my Audi shell is falling to pieces.  Added a rear spoiler to the shell to see if it makes any difference. Didn’t touch the mini apart from cleaning it and was looking forward to driving it with full power. 
 

First race was the TT02 and again I was the only one so went in the MTC class with 3 MTC drivers. Had a good race and the car was handling great! Seemed to pull out of corners better and kept in a straighter line down the straight. Finished in second and just less than a lap down from the leader. 
I had a two race break before the mini race. The mini was great, still handled well although with the extra power now has a bit of torque steer. Ended up winning the race out of 4 of us!

Race 2 for the Tamiya and again I was getting some good consistent laps in. Then on lap 13  a knock into the barrier after the straight snapped another front hub! The race was over but luckily I keep spares and got it fixed in time for the final. 
The mini race was more of the same but finished second after a couple of spins. 
 

The final for the Tamiya it all clicked together and I think I drove it the best I have yet! Was putting in consistent laps for the whole race and kept out of trouble. I even ended up winning! Got my fastest ever lap for that circuit layout too so was really happy! 
The mini race didn’t go quite so well. From the start it felt like it was loosing power then on the 8th lap it just stopped. Still had steering but no motor. My race was over and it turns out my motor had come loose so wasn’t touching the spur gear. An easy fix but will have to make sure it doesn’t happen again. 
 

Overall a great night of racing, was great to be back after missing two weeks. Hopefully I will be racing again next Friday and really enjoying racing two classes even though it’s a bit more work. 
For next week I need to fix the mini and look at some new wheel hexes for the Tamiya. Also need to trim the Tamiya shell as was catching the floor so had to raise the shell right up. My friend gave me some rear spoiler brackets to mount it higher to fit so will fit those too. 
 

If anyone can think of anything I could do to tweak the Tamiya futher then let me know 👍🏻

[Scottrc 232]

How my car looks now that the Audi shell has been retired. Need to trim it a bit and raise the spoiler next. It’s only a cheap pre painted shell but will do for now until I can decide what shell to run. Any suggestions welcome! 
Also signed up to do the popalong gp in august which will be on a outdoor circuit so looking forward to that. 

[ThunderDragonCy 7886]

Sounds like a great night's racing. I had one of those gtr shells for a bit. They crack a bit easily but for the money they run well. As for what next, any of the L and L 90s touring car shells! I run a Alfa 155 DTM shell on my FF01 with a lexan spolier and its great, but the 406 and luguna look great. I have the 2000 year mondeo too which good

 

[Scottrc 232]

4 hours ago, ThunderDragonCy said:

Sounds like a great night's racing. I had one of those gtr shells for a bit. They crack a bit easily but for the money they run well. As for what next, any of the L and L 90s touring car shells! I run a Alfa 155 DTM shell on my FF01 with a lexan spolier and its great, but the 406 and luguna look great. I have the 2000 year mondeo too which good

 

Yes what an excellent nights racing, really pleased. Funny you should mention the 90’s touring cars as remember growing up watching the BTCC with the mondeo’s, Laguna’s, A4’s, primeras and of course the Volvos! And also playing toca touring car on my PlayStation! Still think that was the best touring car era. My favourite was the blue and yellow Renault Laguna so you might have already made my mind up for me 😂. Only question is do I paint it box art as an exact replica or go for something different?!?

[Scottrc 232]

Prepped both cars again for Fridays race the night before. The mini just needed a check over after I had tightened the motor and set the gear mesh after last weeks mishap with the motor coming loose. The TT02 had a clean and check over too and I also bought a set of yeah racing alloy front hubs. I think I’ve managed to snap 5 front hubs now so thought I will try an alloy hub to save on breakages! They seem to fit well although do have very slight up and down play which I will try and eliminate with a shim. I also replaced my cheap alloy wheel hexes with some better quality fastrax clamping wheel hexes. My old cheap ones were distorting when clamping causing the wheel not to sit properly. Also the Allen bolts in the hexes were rounding as had to do them up so tight! 
All ready to race 👍🏻

[Scottrc 232]

Race night! 
Friday night and this week was fun and pizza night! 🍕 

As usual I entered both cars again to race and as usual I was the only TT01/02 racer. Again I was in with the MTC group which I really enjoy anyway. 
 

Took the mini out for practice while I let the tyre additive soak into the TT02. There wasn’t a lot of grip in the carpet and I was really struggling to put a decent lap in. The mini seems to pull to the left quite heavily on the straight. Tried adjusting the steering trim which made it better. Then coming out of a hair pin I lost power. Still had steering though. Checked the car over and this time the pinion had come loose! Tightened it back up and it was all ready to race. 

Race 1 was the mini. There was 5 of us in the heat. One of the racers was one of the experienced guys and after a couple of laps he was gone! I managed to have a good few laps with my friend Lee but he got the better of me, so I finished in 3rd a lap down from my friend although I put in a faster lap so was happy with that. 
 

The TT02 was next, there was 4 of us in this heat and I finished in 3rd. The TT was handling well but just struggled with the lack of grip tonight. I actually completed 2 more laps then I did in the mini even though I managed a faster lap in the mini. Consistency is key!

The next heat for the mini I started well and was picking some better lines through the corners. Then a few laps in I started losing power down the straight and coming out of the corners. Felt like an electrical problem like the motor was switching on and off really fast!?! After the race I checked everything over but couldn’t see anything obvious. Finished 4th and on the same lap as 3rd and 5th. 
 

TT next and the track now had some decent grip. Managed to finish 2nd and put in a faster best lap. Had a couple of crashes (one that I ended up on my roof!) so my average lap pace was down compared to the first race and I didn’t complete as many laps. 
 

The mini final went as expected, I still had a cutting out issue so was down on power again. Finished in 3rd but was close to my fastest lap in race 1, as I was driving the track better knowing I was going to get overtaken on the straights! 
 

The TT final was my best race of the night! Finished 2nd and put in my fastest lap of the night. Also had my best lap average and had a really clean and tidy race. Really feel like I’ve got the hang of my TT02 now and got it to a stage that I can just turn up and use it without messing about with it too much. The other guys in the MTC class are trying to get me to buy an MTC and although it would make me competitive in the class I just enjoy racing my TT02 too much! even if I won’t ever be able to beat them in a fair race. 

Not sure if I will be able to make racing next week but will still prep both cars ready. The TT just needs a clean and check over again. The mini I need to check why I’m losing power hopefully it’s something simple. 
 

[Scottrc 232]

Unfortunately I couldn’t make racing again tonight which I’m gutted about. Could do with the practise as the Popalong GP race is august 7th! The race is due to be held on an outdoor track and I have no experience on an outdoor circuit apart from when a made a trip to the West London track. I have a few different sets of tyres to try have the sweep racing 28’s and 34’s and also some sorex 32’s. A few of the fast guys from my club are racing so expecting to be dead last 😂. Still looking forward to it though. 
 

Checked over both cars and raised the rear spoiler height on the TT02 to see if that makes Any difference to rear grip. Apart from that I will leave the TT as it is. 

Had a look at the mini after the loss of power in my last race. When driving it on a stand at full throttle I could see the motor cutting out and also the esc blinking. Set my throttle end points back to neutral and reset the esc. That seemed to fix it and it’s now keeping full power. Will have to wait until my next race to make sure it’s all ok. 
 

Really hope I can make next Fridays race to get some practice for the Sunday and maybe scrub my other sets of tyres in. 

[Scottrc 232]

Last night was race night and this week I managed to race. Took both the TT02 and mini again as was keen for the Tamiya practise and after messing with the mini wanted to see if I’ve finally fixed its lack of power. 
 

The mini was up first and to be honest it was terrible. Fixed my power issue but for some reason with even the gentlest touch of power it would violently pull to the left! Finished the race last as expected but just needed to get it to the finish line. 
 

The tamiyas first race was the complete opposite. I was with the trucks this week as I was again the only TT. The trucks only had two racers so was a quiet night. Had a really good race and I now feel really comfortable with my TT02 and really enjoy racing it. Came a close second which I was pleased about as the winner is one of if not the fastest touring car driver at the club. 
 

For the next mini heat I spoke to some of the other racers that said I could adjust the rear tub to get it to drive straighter so tweaked that. It was slightly better but was nowhere close to being able to put a decent lap in it challenge for any decent finish. 
 

The next TT heat was more of the same was getting closer to the leader and putting some decent fast laps in so really pleased. 
 

For the mini final I was not surprisingly in the bottom C final. I had adjusted the rear tub again in the hope it might make it driveable. It was better but still requires a lot of counter steering as soon as I touched the throttle to avoid it making a sharp left turn! Finished in third out of four and on the same lap as second place. Felt a bit deflated as the mini was handling so well the last time I drove it and I haven’t changed a thing and now it’s practically undrivable! 
 

The TT final was much better out some decent laps together, kept out of any crashes and made some good clean overtakes. Came in second less than half a lap down on first place so was really happy with that! 
 

Altogether it was a successful night as really wanted to get back into driving the TT02 after missing two weeks and needed the practise. 

[Scottrc 232]

I’m in the garage again tonight making my final preparations for tomorrows popalong GP. Really looking forward to it although am also very nervous! 
Decided on using my unused castrol supra shell as it looks so good but is pointless collecting dust in my garage so might aswell get some use out of it. 
Bought a larger front bumper to try and stop the front bumper from bending back as far on impacts and trimmed the side skirts down a bit. Cleaned all my tyres ready and have a selection of 28’s, 32’s and 34’s. Also bought and fitted some alloy wheel looking stickers to the wheels as didn’t like the look of the plain wheels on the supra! 
Set up wise I’ve left it as I race on the carpet so 5mm ride height, slight front toe out, 2 degree rear toe in and 500wt oil on the shocks with super stiff springs in the front and hard rear. I’m taking all my spares with me so can make adjustments if needed but sure I will be hanging at the back! 
Lookimg forward to it and will update with how I get on!

[lukej 319]

Nice work! I’ve just found out 2 more clubs near me that will let me run to the same rules as Sidcup so I’ll hopefully get more racing in myself.

Fingers crossed your race at Popalong goes well!

Luke