My First Nights Racing......

[Sideways-King 1]

The results are already up! Check me out!

http://www.weetingmodelcarclub.co.uk/

Here is a video of one of the layouts:

Nice little vid and yes please another race report!

[terry.sc 16]

Never been to a club race and I have always wondered, do people still use the old acoms mk5 trannys? If I ever had a chance to race I would definatly use a mk5 or maybe even a technidrive if I could trust it. And also do people use beatties bags to carry the cars?

Use whatever radio you are comfortable with, if I'm running something with a 27mhz receiver in I use a modified Mk5. Usually though I use one of these 'vintage' radios http://img3.imageshack.us/img3/9638/img0020y.jpg

For the usual methods of carrying everything, check earlier in the thread. The simplest way is just a big plastic box that everything fits inside.

[terry.sc 16]

Hi dazaa - ours is £6.50 for members and £7.50 for non-members and I spoke to a chap yesterday in Aylesbury who's club nights are £5, so it would be interesting to know what others pay, or the average at least?

I charge £2.00 to race, with no club membership fee. This is only possible due to the hall fees and public liability insurance being very cheap as the hall relatively small and is council owned, having 10 racers there covers the cost. A video from the club is here. Currently we get 25-30 racers each week. The nearest club to us had to shut down as even charging £6 to race it couldn't cover the cost of renting the room.

[skip665 169]

Our club is £45 or so for the whole year - they said it became tiresome asking for the money each time so everyone agreed to do it this way. Suits me.

[highflyer 73]

Our club is £45 or so for the whole year - they said it became tiresome asking for the money each time so everyone agreed to do it this way. Suits me.

That sounds cool, I doubt any track in the U.S. would ever do that

[skip665 169]

Any more updates Chris? Its my second night tonight but I had a bit of a late one last night and dont feel pin sharp (racing excuses already!! )

[skip665 169]

2nd race night!

Arrived early and helped with some of the track setup (as best I could - they all seem to know what they are doing!). Once the track was setup a couple of people "tested" it (getting in some sneaky practise more like!) so I grabbed my car and did a few laps to get back into it. Car was performing well and the three long straights definitely suited the current setup (more on that later!). Picked a ping pong ball from the bag and was once again in heat "B".

Heat 1

Fairly drama free to be honest - managed to keep myself mostly out of trouble - noticed that if you get in a rhythm things can go well for lap after lap but if you get one corner wrong everything goes to pieces! Heard over the race control that I was 3rd out of 5 starters but had little hope in catching the two in front - found myself trying to be consistent whilst hoping that they might crash! Still I managed to hold onto third which I was more than happy with.

With the car running well the only maintenance it needed between rounds was a battery change and to blow the carpet fluff off it! Noticed that some of the others were pulling one corner of the track apart - went over to see what was going on and they said that the three long straights were making it a bit dull (which I have to say it wasnt as good a track as last time) so they altered one corner and put in a more twisty section which looked much better.

Heat 2

Lined up on the new layout and off we went - a lot more corners this time though and I could tell that the pace of my car was not up to that of the two who beat me in the last heat. I just couldnt corner with the speed that they could - still another 3rd place was ok.

The AGM was held during the break which seemed to go on for ages and we didnt start the third heat until nearly 10pm!

Decided to ask the guy who is leading the championship and is beautifully consistent what tyres he was using as I could see he could corner so much better than me - he handed me his controller and said "Have a go!" Wasnt going to pass up this opportunity so did a couple of laps with it - Wow! It just cornered with so much more "fluidity" than my car - when you back off the throttle and turn into a corner my car almost stops on itself but this chaps car just kept moving making it a lot easier to carry your speed. He also had a 40Mhz controller that had beautifully smooth sticks - much like a helicopter controller which seemed much nicer than my old Acoms to use. He said that using it means you can feather the throttle through the bends easier enabling you to stop the inside wheel spinning up too much on exits which I have to admit my car does a lot! He had a couple of laps with my car and noticed the same as me - he said "its quite hard to turn" - so I guess with my finishes I had been doing better than I thought! He had Ansmann preglued tyres all round on his car - apparently the wheels are brittle and rubbish but the tyres are great. Also the rest of his car was box stock so I think initally I will remove the 2 toe-in rear uprights from mine and see how I get on.

Heat 3

Something seemed to click in heat 3 as I managed to stay well out of trouble and ahead of the guy who had been second both times in the last heats - only just though as his cornering was definitely superior to mine - but thankfully I brought it home in front of him - a second place finish!

All the results were printed out and my times were consistent(ish) but not brilliant but I had been good enough to secure myself the bottom spot in the 'A' final! Which was 5th out of 11 starters.

The B final was funny to watch - lots and lots of crashing - certainly kept us marshalls busy!

A Final

Knew this was going to be a tough race - the bump up driver from the B final and the guy who I seem to be on a level with were my main competition so I made it my mission to try and beat them. A couple of silly crashes at the furthest point from a marshall didnt help me early on and I was last for a while but I bided my time and waited for the others to have an incident which eventually happened and I managed to sneak up into 4th which is where I managed to stay until the end - with my main competition only just behind!

That concluded another great nights racing and I am properly hooked - 2 3rds and a 2nd in the heats and a 4th in the main final are not too shabby at all for my second night I think - if I get my car setup better (fit my Spektrum DX6i controller - mount the ESC lower down between the frame and fit the original rear uprights) who knows what the future may hold?!

[HunterZero 76]

Great write-up! Good fun reading these.

Shows what a difference even things like having a good controller can make.

- James

[Sideways-King 1]

Great write up Skip. I know what you mean about better transmitters as I'm still on my cheap HPI thingymebob and I'm now on par with two of the brushless techno guys which is creating some great racing banter between races. I'm going to invest on a decent controller soon enough.

Alots happened since my last posts but having not done any report immediately after, my memory of theses hectic nights are somewhat hazy. On the tyres though, the club secretary gave me 4 sets of used wheels and tyres two weeks ago for all the help setting up and packing away (out of 20-25 members every week I'm still the only one to help!, my only gripe!!) . He'd only used them a hand full of times, and I remembered this week and put them on and it took a second a lap of my times, well chuffed. I then drove consistently around the 12.5 second a lap with my best 12.1 with the top guys putting in 10.9 second laps so I'm eager to start spending and getting some proper gear instead of my Ebay used and abused bargains. Having a straight car will help as the whole thing shakes faster than the springs on the bed of a Spaniards honeymoon We laughed as he reckons the tyres are used enough to cost him tenths of a second a lap and I say they are just broke in to gain me 2 seconds a lap!

What I do find humbling is the amount of parts people keep giving me, and whether or not I need them at that moment I'm grateful of their generosity. I help out because A) Many hands make light work It's done quicker and we can get more racing in It's a club and therefore we should be a team. I run two companies by day one I own and one I am a Director of and if any of my guys we're sitting around not pulling their weight yet expecting to be waited on then slipping off at the end of the day without putting away the tools there would be words. Bizarrely enough over the last two months nobody has asked what I do for a living, that said neither have I, and I enjoy these evenings so much it is now a really relaxing break for me and I intend to keep on putting more into it to enjoy the benefits.

Until next time

Chris

[skip665 169]

Agreed on the controller front - nicked the Spektrum DX6i from my High-Lift and set it up in the Mini last night - got loads more throttle control now as the throw of the stick is longer - its bulkier in my hands but hopefully should be nicer to use - the AR6100 reciever is also super tiny and light weight!

A consequence of this is that the space between the rear chassis halves was now empty so after seeing the championship leader had slotted his TEU101 in there I did the same - keeping some weight over the rear but still low down. Swapped the rear 2° toe-in arms for the standard ones and we are good to go again

Pity its 2 weeks until the next meet!

[Matt_N 0]

Pity its 2 weeks until the next meet!

That's what I hated when I first started racing, but now we race every Friday unless there's a 5th Friday of the month

Matt

[skip665 169]

Race night three...

In between the meetings I had switched to my Spektrum DX6i for hopefully better control and removed the 2 toe-in rear uprights to try and carry a bit more corner speed.

Heat 1

Managed to hold my own to grab a second place but was struggling with the Spektrum controller - the sharp edges of the castle-ated tops of the sticks was hurting my thumb with the frantic left-right of the twisty circuit we had this week. The 2 toe in uprights had obviously done nothing at all as I couldnt even tell the difference in handling - I guess being on a different circuit doesnt help with the comparison though.

In between the heats I was about to rip out the 2.4Ghz stuff and put back my trusty Acoms 2ch when I was shown how to lower the sticks on the DX6i using a tiny allen key which definitely felt much nicer as I could get my thumbs onto them more comfortably.

Heat 2

Feeling more confident with my controller I ended up having an ok race to begin with until disaster when I clipped a corner wrong and rammed into a trackside marker face on and the stupid TEU-101-BK and DX6i reciever decided they didnt like each other so reverse was making me just head butt the marker! Arrrgh! All this time everyone else was steaming round! A marshall grabbed my car and I managed to bring it home in 3rd which considering what happened I was quite pleased with!

Thats it - 2.4Ghz is out! I had noticed this glitchy reverse thing before and thought it wouldnt matter - but reverse is very neccessary and you cant afford to just be a sitting duck when everyone is steaming past you! Spent the coffee breat ripping out the 2.4 stuff and refitting the Acoms 2ch stuff - a quick test and I immediately felt more comfortable again.

Heat 3

Nothing too much to report - felt much happier with the Acoms unit and brought it home in 2nd place

Checked the print outs after the heats and I had been placed 4th out of 10 for all three heats making me 4th position on the grid for the 'A' final. My "nemesis" (all in jest!) was just one place behind me.

'A' final

Managed to keep my cool through most of the final - a couple of silly mistakes early on meant I was 4th and 5th for a while but consistency is key and a couple of mistakes by my two main rivals meant I brought it home in 4th place. Looking at who came 1st/2nd/3rd I consider that to be pretty good so was pleased.

Thoughts on reflection? The car skips (no pun intended!) whilst turning into the corners and I think its down to too much grip on the rear - not enough to get "grip-roll" but enough to slow me down whilst turning. I think I will try the kit supplied tyres on the rear next time to see how it goes. Front tyres are about to give up - just three meetings and you can see there isnt a whole lot of rubber left on them!

With a bit more cornering speed I think I can challenge the front runners a bit more - thats my plan anyway!

I will make this my last report - someone elses turn now - get out there people - there is great fun to be had!

[TA-Mark 195]

Great write up again. Sounds like you are having a ball.

It's race weekend for me in 2 days time, weather permitting as it's outdoors and it has decided to rain today. I've been a busy bee getting the track all ready the last few days. Unless one of the regulars surprises me, a new 'good' driver turns up or I have a breakage, my weekend of driving should be pretty straight forward. Blazing Star in the 27T class and DF-03 MS in open. I usually lap the feild twice in a 6 minute heat just by driving smooth and consistant while everyone tries too hard and crashes around me. My #2 son with a DF02 is my biggest challenge in the 27T class and he can match my laptimes, just not every lap. I've added some small jumps to the track for this meet, should make it interesting, especially when the Mamba's start launching over them.

Someone new to racing will need to take over the 'torch' and write up a piece on a few meets.

Thanks for sharing your experience, has been a great read

[skip665 169]

Someone new to racing will need to take over the 'torch' and write up a piece on a few meets.

Thanks for sharing your experience, has been a great read

Thanks Mark - I am loving it - should have got into it years ago!

C'mon someone - there are loads of clubs out there! Here is a list of most of the British ones

http://www.brca.org/

[terry.sc 16]

There's a more comprehensive and up to date UK club list on Central Booking

[94eg! 834]

Are you guys allowed to use Reverse when racing? Here in the US that has always been one of the biggest NO-NOs. If you get stuck, you have to wait for a turn marshal.

[TA-Mark 195]

Are you guys allowed to use Reverse when racing? Here in the US that has always been one of the biggest NO-NOs. If you get stuck, you have to wait for a turn marshal.

We allow it. Back out into oncoming traffic and you will be removed from the track and not allowed to race again. So it comes with responsibility.

The usual thing here is to warn others on the stand where you have spun out and then everyone knows there's an accident ahead. Gentleman's agreement you could call it. Only takes 1 idiot to ruin it for all and force a reverse disabled rule. ESC that is forward/brake/reverse we don't allow. It must have a neutral pause between brakes and reverse like the TEU-101BK so there's no accidental reversing.

[terry.sc 16]

Are you guys allowed to use Reverse when racing? Here in the US that has always been one of the biggest NO-NOs. If you get stuck, you have to wait for a turn marshal.

For club racing usually reverse is allowed, for some classes it's mandatory at national level. Certainly a big factor in moving to brushless systems at my local clubs was that the high end brushless systems came with reverse. It's certainly less disruptive to racing than having marshals running over the track.

[Sideways-King 1]

Another good read skip665.

Tonight is the FIRST night since starting this thread that I'm NOT going racing....... though not through my doing you'll be glad to hear. Some double booking of the hall has mean't that the club meet has been cancelled. However as I'm away next week I will have to miss two whole weeks worth of RC fix It's not a bad thing for me to recoup though as over the last few months I have bought this lot.

Schumacher Mission x2

Schumacher Mi2 x2

(yes that's 4 of 'em!, can't stand a bargain going to waste!)

4600Mah Lipo x2 (yet to run)

Spektrum DX3s - Which is so flippin' magnificent on my driving now I'm nipping at the heels of the Brushless, Lipo wonder boys!

12T ESC

Trinity 19T Motor

MTronics 19T Motor

Extra 27Mhz Receivers for spare cars

Countless spare parts that have come with the second hand cars

5 sets of wheels and tyres

3 Bodyshells which I've liveried with my companies name (rude not too!)

New tools

Team Magic 1/8th Hauler bag to fit it all in which I got for a mega price off Ebay

.... oh and some 'ickle little orange bodyclips because I'm a tart!

Who was it that said all this becomes very addictive and expensive. One things for sure my soldering skills are proper nice now and I've only burn't myself once.

Here's looking to 2 weeks from today for my next go

[94eg! 834]

Who was it that said all this becomes very addictive and expensive....

I'm pretty sure that was my wife...

[Power Surge 0]

This has been a great read, as I have been toying with the idea of visiting some off road tracks, if I can find any in my area!

I do have a question though... I've been watching some 4wd off road class racing videos on you tube and the like, and notice that people fly these cars about 20ft over multiple jumps across the track. The resulting landing is pretty much the chassis smacking the ground, and then away they go. Sounds like a bunch of hail hitting a tin roof, lol. This was pretty much on every video I watched. Seems pretty abusive for someone just looking to have some fun, and not be an every week competitive racer. Are all off road tracks like that?

[Mr. ED 5]

This has been a great read, as I have been toying with the idea of visiting some off road tracks, if I can find any in my area!

I do have a question though... I've been watching some 4wd off road class racing videos on you tube and the like, and notice that people fly these cars about 20ft over multiple jumps across the track. The resulting landing is pretty much the chassis smacking the ground, and then away they go. Sounds like a bunch of hail hitting a tin roof, lol. This was pretty much on every video I watched. Seems pretty abusive for someone just looking to have some fun, and not be an every week competitive racer. Are all off road tracks like that?

Not at all: lots of smaller clubs just run on temporary tracks laid out with tubes on a grassfield. Best is to go and take a look around or ring the clubs for info before deciding which car you will run where.

[94eg! 834]

Buggies bottom out. Don't be scared. They are meant to do that. If the landings have proper transitions and your good at controlling pitch in air, this can be minimized or eliminated. But have no fear, it will not break anything (as you've seen)...

[TA-Mark 195]

Preventing the tub from bottom out with tubes on the damper shafts will cause things to break (towers). I've seen this many times because the driver was scared to let his tub bottom out incase he scratched it. It's what they are meant to do as 94eg! stated. One of the tricks to a good setup is finding the balance between having the suspension hard enough to land from a jump and also soft enough to soak up the finer bumps so you have good control on the flat sections of track.

Many of the permanent offroad tracks also share with 1:8 nitro buggys and truggys so the jumps can get pretty big on them. They are usually very well laid out and flow well with a down ramp to land on though. Race buggys will get damaged if you mess up a jump badly, it's part of the game you could say.

[terry.sc 16]

I've been watching some 4wd off road class racing videos on you tube and the like, and notice that people fly these cars about 20ft over multiple jumps across the track. The resulting landing is pretty much the chassis smacking the ground, and then away they go.

Not all tracks are anywhere near that, but if you watch the videos the drivers adjust the angle of the buggies in the air so they land on the down slopes, so the impact is less and the chassis hits flat to the ground. You will also notice even though they could jump further they make sure they land on the down slope sections to lessen the impact.