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Beetlemankurt

Club racing the mighty Optima Mid

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Hi all, I've decided to take the plunge and have nabbed a re re Optima Mid as I always loved these cars from back in the late 80s and early 90s when I was racing at various places around NZ.

Mine was already built when I picked it up but never run so managed to get a good deal on it. Now it keeps my original Ultima Pro from '89 company B). The guy that assembled it painted the body in metallic white and it looks stunning! (Hard to see in the photo though).

So...I want to get back into club level racing after many years away from the racing part of the scene with the main object of simply having some fun with like minded people with a couple (or more) of classic RC's to enter, but.... I'd also be more than happy to get to a level of performance capable of bringing home the occasional race win here and there amongst all of the other fun of running in the vintage class. Fun however, is THE most important part here. 

With the above in mind, what would you recommend as far as getting race ready with a Mid without spending a small fortune?....I'll be running in a 17T class so nothing too unusual there...will also add the Kyosho stabiliser kit, and perhaps pick up some additional shock springs to suit different tracks. Not really interested in adding carbon this and carbon that as I feel she's a beautiful car as is. What else would you add to the 'stock' car that likely adds best bang for buck? 

Any thoughts on lipo or ni-mh prefernce purely for vintage racing? I'm well used to lipo as I fly rc aircraft  and it's my 'fuel of choice' there, but is it worth it for good ol fun club racing? I haven't been tempted to go lipo for my surface RC yet and have stuck with ni-mh so far...but maybe you convince me otherwise :D...

How about Mid gearing options? Anyone finding that a certain pinion/spur combos better suit a wide variety of tracks without too much faffing around?...

Anyhoo.....i guess thats a good enough start question wise, so what would you recommend?...

Thanks all, I look forward to your thoughts. 

Kurt

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90% is tyres, and most of the mechanical setup will be getting the springs/dampers in the right area. Anti-roll bars and other parts are less important.

No sense in using anything other than a Lipo as a battery. 

The gearing will depend on the motor and the size of the track, I'm sure someone at the track can give a good starting ratio if you are all running the same motor.

I'd double check the rules for the vintage class before spending any money though, you don't want to spend money on parts than may not be allowed.

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@sosidgethanks so much for your reply, that's really helpful. I definately agree on going lipo, my arm didn't need much twisting as it is 😁.

I checked out the rules online for a couple of nearby clubs and they both vary a small amount. All though allow open tyres and lipo.

I think I'll pop along to one of the clubs in the coming weeks and have  a chat to some of the drivers about set up tgey use for their own specific track. 

I'm quite looking forward to the learning experience actually...

Thanks again, I appreciate your advice.

Kurt

 

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Coincidentally, I have just started racing a mid as well. My club allows for some mods so I am running a self designed LWB chassis.

Motor : 17.5T - I think most vintage rules dictate a 17.5T motor limit. I use a HW 17.5T but I heard that Rocket is cheaper and better

Battery : Lipo

Wheels : My club allows for modern 2.2 wheels with tires to suit the track

Wing : My club is also not so particular on the wings as well. Wear part

Esc : Stock blinky esc. I use a HW Stock 60A esc

For me, the most critical part that needs to be replaced is the ackerman plate. The original kit version is a piece of plastic. No confidence in that. Next thing to have will be roll bars. Also, I feel that for outdoors dirt track, the gold springs are too stiff. I use the black medium springs. The kit supplied shock oil weights are just too soft. I use 400 for my shocks on fairly rough outdoor track. Nice to have turnbuckles for quick adjustments...Oh, get a bottom cover too. Big help to keep dirt out.

 

Gearing wise, I use 76/28 Spur / pinion for a ratio of 6.84

 

Also, I heard from other racers that the original rear shock tower is a weak point. Might want to get a CF piece. Mine is a Yeah Racing CF one. So far after 2 races (1 qualifying round, 3 mains per race) so far no issue.

 

0189CD87-114D-4AB5-ABF2-EA8AA19FCE0E.JPG

 

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@joeling, thanks so much fomuch detailed information, that's fantastic!

Would this model esc fit between the stock chassis plate and upper deck with the fan and all. I'll definitely be getting an underguard/chassis protector for sure.

I've wondered about the springs and oil weight  for outdoors so thats very helpful.

All the best on the racing, I bet she's quick and is doing well.

Cheers

Kurt

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Yes can be made to fit with slight modification as per manual I think. I have one like this. I used a small piece of polycarbonate cut to size then double sided tape on both sides to create some height to clear the lip on the chassis.

IMG-7149_6xK22rndw6xY4XSwVTt1Ei.jpg

 

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It's a bit of a bigger mod than it sounds like you might be up for, but the LWB conversion kit from Exo Design can make the Optima mid really get up there with the competition. On anything but the tightest and twistiet of track it should be both quicker and easier to drive

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@BuggyGuy, thanks mate. Always like to hear more suggestions as this is somewhat of a (re) learning curve for me as I haven't raced for quite some time. I'll post some images and updates on this thread when I get racing.....fun times ahead. 

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