My First Nights Racing......

[Sideways-King 1]

Got no advise at all this time, just want to congratualate you on getting it in the fingers so fast.

Only 1 more report? Pitty; I really like them.

Nice analogy, I like that!

[Mr. ED 5]

Nice analogy, I like that!

Just something we say in my mother-tongue. Can't take credit for it really.

I find it surprising the pistol grip is making such a difference for you.

I've tried switching a few times like you, but never managed to equal what I can do with sticks (and even that is not all that great).

When i returned at the end of last year from my expat job in Japan, I gave away 2 pistol grip radios to friends 'cause I never liked using them. Maybe I should have tried harder or kept one of them...

[terry.sc 16]

I'm sticking with sticks, it's something I don't have to think about. I can drive wheel but I have to concentrate when braking to push the trigger forwards, if something happens on track that I have to react to instinctively I pull the trigger instead of pushing it so end up crashing into what I'm trying to avoid.

For toolboxes the really popular one, and sold by many r/c car shops, is the Poly Butler. Not cheap, but lasts for years.

Personally I use a 2 drawer toolbox which is a bigger version of this but no longer made.

Something that's popular at my club is the Plano 854 and there are one or two who carry absolutely everything in a Stanley Rolling workshop.

There's also the huge r/c hauler bags which hold everything, but seem pretty expensive to me at £30-60 for 3 cardboard boxes inside a fabric bag, but some people have to have the box made by the same company that makes their car.

The cheaper option is to visit your local DIY place and see what they have, and if you want to look at boxes with plenty of compartments for storage also have a look at fishing tackle boxes. They are designed to organise lots of small items and are designed to be carried with you - sound familiar?

[terry.sc 16]

I wish I could race but there is nothing close to me

Have a look here to see if there are any clubs in your area.

[Sideways-King 1]

Just something we say in my mother-tongue. Can't take credit for it really.

I find it surprising the pistol grip is making such a difference for you.

I've tried switching a few times like you, but never managed to equal what I can do with sticks (and even that is not all that great).

When i returned at the end of last year from my expat job in Japan, I gave away 2 pistol grip radios to friends 'cause I never liked using them. Maybe I should have tried harder or kept one of them...

It's funny really. I've used sticks for so long and they seemed perfect but I don't know if it's because it's a wide open space and your generally hooling around, but then I guess even with drifting which is more precise it feels much better with sticks. I then felt at the club meets like I was correcting myself to much when going in a straight line which then ended up zig zagging all over the place! I never have had any problems with car control i.e. coming towards you so left is now right etc., but it felt like 20 years of doing it went out the window in a more precise environment. The wheel, even though I've hated using it in the past feels superb.

As they say I took to it like a duck to water...... and I do like my ducks - in plum suace or peking style!

[skip665 169]

Have a look here to see if there are any clubs in your area.

Cheers Terry - had looked into the one local-ist to me before in Norwich but its all brushless and lipo stuff - that list highlighted one I didnt know about (about 30 miles away) and they race M-chassis by the looks of it!

Sent the chap an email - great stuff! Thanks again!

[94eg! 834]

These Team Magic Bags are becoming really popular at my local hang-out. I wife got me the 10th scale F10 version late last year. I picked it out cause it's a little smaller than the 8th scale version. They sure are expensive, but they fit everything, have good tool holders, plastic drawers and have wheels. Very convienent. Probably too much space for someone just starting out. There are knockoff brands that cost less, but it's hard to get actual..

Here is a link to give you an idea of some of the RC specific products out there: http://www.amainhobbies.com/index.php/cPath/118

[skip665 169]

Cheers Terry - had looked into the one local-ist to me before in Norwich but its all brushless and lipo stuff - that list highlighted one I didnt know about (about 30 miles away) and they race M-chassis by the looks of it!

Sent the chap an email - great stuff! Thanks again!

Still awaiting a reply but couldnt help myself so just ordered an M03 Mini NIB

Their next meeting is the 8th April so will phone the guy before I build the car to see what the regs are - cant wait!

[peetbee 0]

Race Night 3 – The Crystal Capers….

I would like to swap to different frequencies 40mhz, 2.4ghz etc., when I can get my head around it as there appears to be more gear out there available. It all felt a little twitchy at times and I put down to interference, so if anyone has any guidance or recommendations it would be greatly received.

My target for my final installment is to start and finish every race, regardless of where I come position wise. All in All another great night.

Oh and does anyone recommend a decent pit hauler box, there appears to be lots of styles and designs but I can’t find a range of them anywhere on the internet. I have for years used a Stanley roller tool box job from B&Q, which is OK and other people have them but it gets all my kit in and not the spares which I have to carry in a separate bag

Glad it's going well for you know, I'm another stick user, just can't get on with pistols.

I would recomend going straight to 2.4ghz when you change as it's wonderful not having to worry about crystals ever again!

I use an old toolbox that has handy compartments, but will one day change back to a polybutler.

Just keep enjoying the racing no matter what your results are!

[Sideways-King 1]

Glad it's going well for you know, I'm another stick user, just can't get on with pistols.

I would recomend going straight to 2.4ghz when you change as it's wonderful not having to worry about crystals ever again!

I use an old toolbox that has handy compartments, but will one day change back to a polybutler.

Just keep enjoying the racing no matter what your results are!

I have looked at this 2.4ghz frequencie as there seems to be alot more packages available kit wise. I thought about this one Pistol Controller as a starter to kick things off without going to overboard. Mind you I should put in photos of the very first night as per the details in this threads very first post to show the banana'd axle cups - Thats a winner surely!!

[Sideways-King 1]

Still awaiting a reply but couldnt help myself so just ordered an M03 Mini NIB

Their next meeting is the 8th April so will phone the guy before I build the car to see what the regs are - cant wait!

Thats it skip665 go along, even without any cars, and watch others and chat whilst they set up you'll love it. Please be the first one to delve into it off this thread as you can see by the other gents comments on this thread who know their stuff, they'll all help.

Keep us informed my friend.

[skip665 169]

Thats it skip665 go along, even without any cars, and watch others and chat whilst they set up you'll love it. Please be the first one to delve into it off this thread as you can see by the other gents comments on this thread who know their stuff, they'll all help.

Keep us informed my friend.

Will do! Just had a bounce from the email address from the guy I sent it to so I will give him a ring this evening instead

[skip665 169]

Will do! Just had a bounce from the email address from the guy I sent it to so I will give him a ring this evening instead

Phoned the guy tonight - got the low down on the rules - standard cars with just bearings, silver can motor and an ESC of under £25 in value - he said oil shocks were ok but kind of pointless so I will stick some on anyway as I already have them. He said I can borrow a transponder for now but might need to get my own later on.

First race night is 8th April - just need the car to arrive now - cant wait!

[highflyer 73]

Hard wiring cells into the car seems to be an American thing, it's certainly pretty rare in Europe. A Corally tube on each end of the battery pack instead of the battery bars you attach the wires to and you just plug in the wires. No hassle, no less efficient and no different layout to a hard wired setup. If you can solder a wire to the battery you have plenty of space for a Corally connector. Plenty of examples here as Corally connectors are fitted to every car shown in the pictures.

Hard wiring cells are not as popular here as it was 2 years ago, blame LIPO ...

About the Corally adapters, I've seen a few racers use them only for on-road. Not so much for off-road though.. Personally I like them but they are not that popular here in the USA...

Good luck skip665

[Sideways-King 1]

Phoned the guy tonight - got the low down on the rules - standard cars with just bearings, silver can motor and an ESC of under £25 in value - he said oil shocks were ok but kind of pointless so I will stick some on anyway as I already have them. He said I can borrow a transponder for now but might need to get my own later on.

First race night is 8th April - just need the car to arrive now - cant wait!

Lets have some pics of your finished weapon. Hope you enjoy buddy.

[skip665 169]

Cheers Guys - car arrived yesterday - gearbox and front suspension is done - body is going to be yellow and black - not sure of the combination but I am sure Twinset would approve

Good luck tonight Sideways King!

[Sideways-King 1]

Race Night 4 – A Sticky Situation….

As promised my final installment into my first months club racing initiation, which I hope will spur others on to go and give it a go.

Firstly the night nearly didn’t happen as my wife had a candle party (yes that’s right a party about candles!) and when I said that I’d get my mum to come and baby sit our little man I got that look! This was before the weekend and come Monday I got the guilt trip again about why I still had to go out when I should be staying at home and having a boys night in………. ‘Oh no’ I thought ‘has it taken over and I am now neglecting everything around me?’ I did feel suitably guilty and planned an evening of riotous entertainment with my boy when on the way home last night I got the call…..

“Hiya darling – It’s been called off tonight so you can go racing if you want”

“Oh…. Oh dear, that’s a shame, are you sure?”

In the back of my mind I was thinking ‘YES, YES, YES’, foot down (within the speed limits your honour) and I was on it.

As always it was an eventful fun packed night. I got to the venue nice and early knowing that tonight I had over stayed my welcome as a guest and had to become a fully fledged member of the club and BRCCA for which I made the stop at the cash dispenser on my way home from work. Trouble was I’d left my wallet back at home ‘blast’. So I did ‘blast’ back home, as although some of the guys had offered to pool the membership money together and pay them back next week, I prefer to pay my way .

A quick sprint back and when I arrived my new friend Trevor had set me up a table and kindly looked after my kit – Top Man! I hastily set about laying out the track with the other regulars.

Heat 1

My aim this week as you recall was to start and finish every race. The lack of published race results from last week meant I didn’t know how I’d improved overall or where I stood. When I went over to sign in and now become a ‘Regular Member’ the results from the previous week were up. I was chuffed. The second week I went was the beginning of a new 9 week season and I was at the end of the night 28th out of 32 drivers. The standings on the wall from last week, with the same drivers all but one new comer, I had shot up to 15th place out of now 33 drivers.

I soon felt the green mist descending! Would I throw away my goal of 4 starts and 4 finishes and try and get better times? Or would I be sensible?

The first heat got underway where I started off 2nd and in truth I think I’ve reached the ‘in the zone’ feeling as I blocked out everything and finished 2nd and I set my benchmark best lap time of 15.11 sec which I was happy with straight out.

Heat 2

This is where I began to feel my feet with the new pistol grip as reported last week. I now love this new controller and would you believe I got my best lap of 13.62. OK the best group of 5 gents do laps of between 10 and 12 seconds which is a country mile away from my time but for my 4th go I was thrilled with that. I had another ‘moment’ towards the end with detaching a tie rod but considering how hard I bounced, rolled and danced my way across half the track this Schumacher (sorry not Tamiya at club level at the moment) is made of tough stuff, certainly better than the hop up stuff I put on the TT-01 in my first report.

Heat 3

Here’s where I get into my usual excitable flap. Until now I’d been cool and calm and now took time out to begin delving into the setup of the car and fiddling around. I’d noticed the tyres had become unglued in places so I removed them and placed another set on from my ample collection while I glue the set taken off ready for next week. I’d taken off the rear wheels when I realized something wasn’t right. The hex adapter was spinning on the axle? I looked at the other rear and the same again?? On inspection there were no pins in the axles to the hex effectively making the car front wheel drive, Doh! Now I don’t think I’d done this as the adapters have never come off since I’ve had it so I was sure this would make a lot of difference. I sorted this out, fixed the tie-rod on the front and also adjusted the rear ones as the wheels looked like Simon Cowells Pigeon feet thus straightening them out.

I looked at the race control screen and saw another 5 minutes until the next race which I would be marshalling so I begun gluing the tyres down.

Then the club secretary shouted over “Chris, position one, no transponder one but for the final you are transponder 10 so your pole position in your next race”

Mid flight doing my preparations and adjustments all I heard was “ Chris……number one ….. scaramoosh, scaramoosh do the fandango….. transponder 10…… thunder bolt and lightning very, very frightening ….. next race….. Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Galileo, Figero……. Pole Position …… MAGNIFICOOOOOOOOOO …… Next race”

Sweating like a boil in the bag kipper I hastly put the car back together legged it across to the pick up the transponder when the club secretary said “ No not this actual final the next final” HA!

Walking back to the pit table I felt the skin on my hands (both of them) begin to tighten up ‘Oh ****’…… you’ve guessed it I’d super glued myself to the car AND the transmitter!

If it wasn’t for them being heavier bulkier items I think they would have stayed with me all night, if it was the flimsy lexan bodyshell then I would have been in trouble. I gave a wince as I parted company with my new friends and left a bit of flesh on the hand grip and underside of the chassis What a doofus!

Anyway final 1 itself – I started in Pole and finished in 2nd after a lot of flying cars T-Boning me from all angles, however myself and the 2nd placed driver had a great duel for the full duration so much so that I now set my best lap time of 12.68…. 12.68!..... that’s 12.68!! Over THE moon. The car went like a rocket so I can only assume that for the last 3 weeks of use on this car it has been front wheel drive!!!

Heat 4

Transponder change, wheels and glue had now fallen into a distant memory and I was now cool and collected again. I started in pole and after being punted off and waiting for what seemed like 30 laps for a Marshall to rescue me as there was nobody on that post – I can see where people get excited about car recovery now! – I finished 3rd. The car was cutting out momentarily as well and judging by the smell during the end of heat 3 the esc or motor were beginning to overheat, it had had some stick though ! I like the smell of hot electrics it reminds me of slot cars and model railways as a kid. I also got into a conversation with the Marshall right below the stand and that set my concentration level to -10. He pointed out that the steering seemed too sharp and jittery and before I knew it I’d lost my rhythm and noticed the twitchiness of the car. He talked about dialing in this and adjusting that but my handset is a cheapo thing I got bundled with the car so I will look at upgrading in a month or so’s time if I still enjoy all this – which it shows no signs of wavering.

Then before I new it I’d done my goal, totally unawares, 4 starts and 4 finishes, with some excellent times (for me at least)! Result!!

So that’s it a month in the life of a newbie racer, I won’t bore the pants off you guys anymore and I like to say a big thank you to all that have read and replied to this thread. I’ve got bodyshells to paint and new gear to look forward to buying and I’ve really enjoyed it, both the racing and meeting like minded people. I must stress to everyone who wants to go but doesn’t know whether too that I was extremely nervous, worried, shy, possibly embarrassed if I hadn’t got the right gear, but I went armed with a listening ear a watchful eye and a mouth to ask questions. Get there early on the first night, scope the place out and get ready for a great night out.

I spotted a new guy last night, stood in the same places I was 4 weeks ago, same body language as I did, same look on his face as I probably did

“Evening mate, you alright?” I said

“ Yeah thanks, I was wondering about what I need to come along?” he said

“Well” I smiled, “Walk this way my friend……………………………..”

[TA-Mark 195]

Not boring in the slightest! A great read. Have enjoyed every instalment thoroughly.

[skip665 169]

Yet another fantastic read!

Please, please keep them coming!

[Mr. ED 5]

A big thanks for the entertainment again, and good luck with the future races.

[94eg! 834]

I've got to say your quite the writer. Lots of details with many anecdotes. Thanks for taking the time. I will certainly continue to tune if provided you keep on typing...

It's pretty amazing what 4WD can do. As soon as I purchased my last two Touring-cars (used), I stripped them down to bare parts right away and did complete rebuild. It helps to see what makes them tick, and allows easy inspection of any missing parts or possible problems. I still do this in segments as racing season progresses (rear end one month, front end the next, the motor every other month, etc...)...

As for the rear toe-in you said you fixed, I must tell you that it is a very important part of the cars handeling. My current suspension setup uses 3* of rear toe-in which is pretty average. My buddy Rob is using as much as 4.5* in the back of his EVO. Our buddy Richad recently found out his 3-Racing chassis TA05 had 0 toe in the rear and that may account for his car's extreamly difficult nature. He's since set rear toe-in to 3*, but we've yet to run the car. Toe-in at the rear helps the car power down the straights and out of truns with the nose pointed forward.

BTW: For Touring-Cars, the front tires should have some degree of toe-out. This makes cornering sharp and precise. If the car feels too loose you can always front toe-in, but it's not that common for road-racing. Under no circumstances should you run zero toe in the front or rear. This makes the car feel wobbly & unpredicatble in a straight line due to unavoidable play in the suspension & steering...

[Sideways-King 1]

Thanks for that 94eg!. Alot of great tips in there. I hope to get the time to strip the car but as I've also got another 1.5 cars in bits for spares I may just build a second car out of it and learn the setup.

Great bit of advice on the toe in and I will look at re-setting this, I assumed that there was a reason for this but to the un-professional (i.e me AKA Sideways-King) it looked more crocked than our politicians expense receipts!

I will ad a photo of the car I've been using soon so as as everyone can get a jist of what I've been using.

As always your comments and advice has been invaluable.

[skip665 169]

Interesting reading the comments about toe-in as I have been building my M03 with www.rc-mini.net 's construction and setup tips - they said that any of the hop-up rear ?° toe-in parts will make the car handle better than the standard 0° parts. Luckily I had a set of 2° toe in rear uprights so hopefully that will help me out for my first outing!

Car is nearly built - just wheels and tyres to finish off and paint the shell.

Incidentally I will be racing on carpet - what is this additive stuff you are talking about? We have to run treaded tyres so will I need some? The guy told me that their carpet is fairly new and the "proper stuff" (cant remember the name he used for it)

[twisty 8]

Great thread and racing is a whole heap of fun.

Keep at it.

[terry.sc 16]

Incidentally I will be racing on carpet - what is this additive stuff you are talking about? We have to run treaded tyres so will I need some? The guy told me that their carpet is fairly new and the "proper stuff" (cant remember the name he used for it)

Primatrack GT or PrimaDuo. Both are designed specifically for racing and it's more or less universal in the UK.

I would start with the kit tyres and go from there. My own experience of using Tamiyas Mini tyres, albeit on a 4wd mini so not too useful to you, is that kit radials and M-Grips didn't produce enough grip, S-Grips grip rolled whenever it just though about going round a corner and I stuck with Xpress radials scrubbed in on the road outside every week. The best advice is to see what the fast drivers at the club are using and get the same as them.

Additive is a liquid that's used to give you more grip, with the advantage that you can tune the amount of extra grip by how long you leave it on and how much of the tyre you coat with additive. You coat it on your tyres before the race and leave it on for anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes (longer gives more grip) and then wipe it off to dry the tyres before you race. We use additive because it gives more grip and more tyre life. Without additive you can choose a tyre soft enough to give you all the grip you want, but it will wear out faster. Or you can choose a harder tyre that will last longer, but it won't give you enough grip. By using an additive on the harder tyre it softens the outer layer of the tyre, so you have more grip during the race, while still having the longer life.