Just bite the bullet and get a decent set of screwdrivers. This Dynamite 1/16" driver's tip has worn down and even twisted while trying to unscrew a screw.
I'm not sure whether to be disappointed with the screwdriver, or impressed by the screw, which did not strip.
Print your own custom name decals with inkjet sticker paper. $0.50 per sheet at my nearby Fedex Kinko’s.
Generating the image is up to you.
Four holes make a stand for letting air bubbles settle.
A body reamer does the job on this plastic toolbox.
If your truck uses the same tires all around, rotate them frequently to have the tires wear evenly.
On most tracks, the tires on will wear faster on one side than the other. Be sure to rotate them in the same pattern each time. I do "back across".
Keep tires off the ground to prevent flat spots from forming in the foam inserts.
An upturned food container makes a cheap car stand.
Use hook-and-loop fasteners (“Velcro”) to attach a buggy body.
It’s much easier to get on and off than clips, and reduces fatigue on the nose of the body.
Somehow, I managed to come in second place last weekend, in a field with some very competent stock SCT drivers. This is especially peculiar when you look at the results:
| Position | Driver | Laps | Time | Fastest Lap | Behind |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | COLLINS, JOHN | 19 | 6:14.647 | 18.543 | None |
| 2 | ZACH MILLER | 18 | 6:06.510 | 19.270 | None |
| 3 | CARY CRONIN | 18 | 6:08.978 | 18.437 | 2.468 |
| 4 | MAGGIORE, MIKE | 18 | 6:12.824 | 18.395 | 6.314 |
| 5 | BRANDON DYCHE | 17 | 6:03.586 | 18.632 | None |
| 6 | FROST, ETHAN | 17 | 6:15.874 | 18.961 | 12.288 |
| 7 | DAVID WINKLER | 16 | 6:09.866 | 19.951 | None |
What should really stand out there is that my fastest lap was the second slowest of all the drivers in that race. My fastest was 19.3 seconds and almost everyone else had fast laps in the 18s. How then did I come in second?
I never rolled over. Not even in the qualifiers! See for yourself:
Okay, I rolled a couple times, but I never required a marshal to get going again. By playing it safe on the corners and the jumps, I may have added a few tenths to my laps, but I saved all the time I would have lost by making a mistake. Something to think about next time you go for the triple.
Use large-diameter heat shrink to keep CVD pins from coming out.
Before resorting to this method, use thread lock on the CVD setscrew and tighten it down very securely. If that still doesn't keep the pin from sliding out, then try the heat shrink.
If you’re using race-style packs, hack up the balance plug to make it easy to use.
Click images to enlarge.
Slice off part of the balance plug connector and you can plug it into larger ports.
Use syringes to fill shocks with bleeder caps, without taking them off the car.
Drain the oil by removing the screw and compressing the shock. Insert the syringe and apply a little pressure on the plunger while cycling the shock up and down. You’re not trying to force the oil in, but to exchange the air in the shock with the oil in the syringe.
You can use screws instead of clips for mounting wings securely.
Snip off the existing posts and drill holes slightly smaller in diameter than the screws you’re going to use.
Use heat shrink to indicate hex wrench sizes.
Left to right: 1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm, 0.05”, 1/16”, 3/32”.
The new track layout at Tacoma R/C Raceway is here, and this was my first time driving on it. My main focus is on coming up with a good racing line and figuring out the track features.
[Panorama from the driver’s stand] If I ever figure out how to embed panoramas, I’ll do that instead.
The back straight leads into an extra long sweeper. You can almost keep the throttle pegged here as it loops completely around to the drivers’ stand. This should be taken as one large arc, rather than two discrete turns.
The following two doubles are pretty trivial. Letting off the throttle right before the first one should be enough to slow you down to make the landing. Be wary of the shallow table-top immediately before the triple. You will need to take that slowly to make the sharp turn after it.
The triple in the center is a tricky bit for stock SCT. I don’t think there’s any way to clear the whole thing, the two options are going inside and doing a double-single, or going wide, skipping the first jump, and doing a double instead. I ran two 6 minute sessions trying out the two variations, and found that going wide was almost a second faster. I think that the first option, the double-single, could be faster, except that it’s hard to hit constantly. The area to land is very small, and you would have to hit it very precisely. It might be a viable passing option if there’s a battle going on outside. Also, be wary of the pole that divides the two lanes; the dirt surrounding it swells up on the sides, and cutting it too close will cause you to roll over.
The step-up section near the driver’s stand is annoying at first, because it must be taken very slowly. Dropping down the steps is fairly slow as well; if you take them too quickly, your car will not have enough time to settle, and will be very unstable as you enter the straight.
The “V” shaped double before the straight seems like it was designed to work for a slower, inside line as well as a fast outside one, depending on where you land off the steps, but I try to keep as close to the inside as possible, to avoid coming up short on the landing.
Overall, I’m not too thrilled with the layout for stock SCT. Compared to the previous layout, which had a huge triple and a fairly large double immediately after it, there’s no “big air” for stock trucks here. The fast part is the straight, and the rest of the track is very slow and technical.
I switched from the VTS slipper back to the normal “V2” slipper on my SC10. I didn’t get a chance to do any runs before or after to compare, as it’s a new layout anyway, and I don’t have a performance baseline. It should be faster, as there’s less rotating mass in the V2, than the VTS. Apparently, the VTS slipper is better for mod though, where slippage is more frequent.
Fairly large field for Stock SCT this time. 8 racers; 2 groups of 4 in qualifying, one big 8-man main. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get to battle with anyone. I tried to carefully watch what the top guys were doing, particular on the triple, and down the stairs. I eventually started going slower down the stairs, which was more stable, but I still think it was slower. I didn’t roll over much either in these races. The new track is just kinda slow and deliberate. No videos this time, so no post-race analysis.
The things that connect you with your car. Some are simple and bare-bones, and some are overloaded with features you’ll never use. Either way, radio choice is a pretty critical decision that often gets overlooked.
There are really only two things to consider when choosing a radio: comfort and features. By “features”, I mean settings, programs, and options; things that you can adjust to effect a noticeable change. By this measure, frequency hopping systems, channel resolution, and response rate don’t count. I’m talking about things like trims, dual rate, mixing, etc.
Comfort is paramount in radios. Each one has a different shape, texture, and springiness that you may find awesome or annoying. Every radio is shaped differently, and it may take some experimentation to find one that fits your hand comfortable, and puts the wheel in the right spot. If the wheel is out of place, you won’t be steering as well, and if the trigger is oddly shaped, you might find yourself not braking as much as you should.
Features come second, and they can get overwhelming. Don’t get suckered in thinking about all the features you might use sometime in the foreseeable future. Get a radio with the features you’re actually going to use. What these features are really depends on your situation. For racing electrics, the only features you really need are steering trim and end point adjustment. The rest are just nice to have. For nitro, you will also need throttle trim and EPA, and maybe a third channel if you have a separate brake servo.
I’ll use Spektrum as an example, though I’m in no way endorsing their products. They just have a good range of surface transmitters that fit my criteria levels nicely:
DX2E – Steering and throttle trim, but no EPA. Without EPA, you may be missing out on extra steering that your car can give you. This is equivalent to most of the radios that come with RTRs.
DX2L – Adds EPA for both steering and throttle. If you’ve only got one car, this radio perfectly meets my minimum criteria for radio features. You can use this radio with confidence, knowing that it’ll be able to maximize your car’s potential. Even though they sell it, Spektrum doesn’t actually list this radio on their main site, but it comes with some of their RTRs, and you can buy the transmitter from them or easily find it on eBay.
DX3C – Adds model memory, critical if you have more than one car, and a third channel for brake servos. Also supports more technical features, such as steering/throttle exponential and programmable mixes, which are nice, but not really necessary. Why anyone would get a Spektrum radio higher up than this is beyond me.
Through a series of panicky rushed decisions, I’m currently using a DX4S. I bought it in a hurry because the radio I had planned on using failed two days before a race, and I hadn’t taken the time to research better options, like the DX3C or the FlySky FS-GT3B. Three hundred dollars of buyers remorse and two weeks later, the steering return spring snapped. I fixed it myself, instead of sending it in for six weeks of waiting for a warranty repair. By now, I’m used to the way the radio feels, and I’ve got too many installed receivers to switch to something else. I’ve replaced the steering wheel with a smaller one, and wrapped the grip to make it more comfortable to hold, but I still regret buying it.
It’s very easy to get lured into buying a radio that’s too expensive because of all the things you don’t need. However, your radio is going to be with you for a very long time, possibly your entire R/C career. You don’t want something low-quality, but you don’t want to get swindled by an expensive radio either, so think carefully when making your purchase.
Try out fresh tires, suspension changes, and motor fan for faster lap times.
Ambient temp: 71F, track temp: 66F
| No Fan | Fan | +Timing | |
| @ Start | 87 F | 84 F | 82 F |
| @ 5 min | 134 F | 118 F | 118 F |
| @ 10 min | 153 F | 134 F | 134 F |
With this much extra cooling, I’m going to try upping the timing a bit to get some more speed. Changed endbell timing to 40 degrees, up from 35. After timing change, no noticeable increase in temperature. Maybe even more timing, or another tooth on the pinion.
Having trouble keeping the tail end in. Driving kinda twitchy from drinking a caffeinated beverage.
Much more difficulty driving smoothly. had to stop mid-race and take a break to calm down. Tail end still swinging out all the time. I really want a front sway bar.
Threw away soda and chugged a bottle of water. Changed rear springs to blacks instead of whites (1.90 vs 2.10) and moved rear shocks to inner-most holes. Sauced the rear tires just a little bit, not enough time to soak in.
Rear traction greatly improved. Peter and I had some good battles, especially near the end. Managed to qualify second.
Started second, managed to keep up with Jon Sterling for a few laps before he took off. Peter and I battled for a bit, but toward the end, I started making mistakes and got tangled up with the racers who were a lap behind me. I wasn’t able to close the gap, but Peter never actually lapped me. I think it went well.
There are plenty of different racing classes around for various driving styles and track conditions. I'll tell you what classes I'm racing in, and why.
I'm currently racing in Stock SCT and Stock Buggy on indoor clay surfaces, and loving it. I'm starting off with slower classes and eventually moving up to faster ones. Stock SCT is first, followed by Stock Buggy, which is considerably faster, and after that, I'll probably get into 4x4 SCT, which is both faster and more expensive!
Stock SCT is the perfect class for new racers. It's slow and easy to control, so you won't be crashing into walls all the time, and you'll learn how to drive a line better. The full-fender body and bumpers lets them take crashes better and bump into other cars without causing a massive wreck.
Class rules:
Why it's great:
Why it sucks:
Though I’m starting to get back in to Stock Buggy, I expect to be racing in Stock SCT for a long time to come.
