LeMans LMP1: 200mm Pan Class Discussion
 

With the advent of the LM-1 and the LMA body, it's time there is place to discuss the rules, recommendations and enjoy the class.

I know the Winthrop Harbor crew are very close to putting up many class recommendations and I think there might even be a set of rules coming up. So far the class is shaking out to 21.5 Blinky, 200 mm with SpeedPassion foam tires for indoor and short tracks and 17.5 Blinky with foam tires for outdoor long tracks. There will be a minimum tire diameter rule to stop from truing the tires down to far. Along with the LMP1 style body it makes for some very nice looking cars.

Owning a CRC GenX-LE, I can see how this car could be converted easily. it takes the upright, front axle, and king pin from the SpeedPassion LM-1 to convert the front end. Possibly less for other chassis as all you need is a 5 mm front axle. For the rear, the HPI F10 axle kit is a direct fit, if you can still find one. If only someone would just put out the IRS type ride height adjusters with the 10mm bearing cup! Then any metric 6 mm axle would slide right into a CRC, Speedmerchant, Associated.... :)

I love the SpeedPower LMA body, very cool. Other similar bodies would be great. Seeing some of the nice liveries out there in the racing world will work so well with this body shape.

Once the crc f1 car is out you should be able to use their parts to convert to lm with ease using standard 1/4" equipment.

Although this is the situation we find ourselves in, this really should be a rubber class vs foam. I guess what is available will have to work for now

Very true.

Grab a 10mm drill and a pair of 10x6mm flanged bearings and have at it. It worked very nicely on my original HPI F1 car, and is quite simple to do.

Thanks for clearing my tunnel vision Howard. Very simple indeed.

I'm embarrassed to admit how much time I spent looking for the axle height adjusters you described before my light bulb lit!

You can also do something similar to go the other way (a 1/4" axle in an F1 car).

Are we thinking about specifying a minimum/maximum rim diameter? I'm curious to see if I can use some 1/10 or 1/8 scale nitro wheels/tires, since they are very affordable (and I already have some!). The fronts are pretty easy to adapt; the rears might be a bit more of a challenge.

EDIT: for comparison, 1/8 scale rims are about 2.14" diameter, and 1/10 rims are about 2.00" diameter.

I don't have my caliper here at work, but the max diameter of the rim is going to be what the LM-1 rim is and the min tire diameter will be a number everyone must agree on for maximum tire life. I think the wheel attachment method might be part of the rules in the end. I'm guessing single center nut like real deal, that's why the bearing fix is so important. Rob is correct that the CRC will use the standard rear axle and that will aid in getting most if not all of the English measurement parts to fit 14 mm hex rims. The push is to get this class on rubber ASAP and not have to worry about this tire and rim stuff.

Seeing that people are thinking about Using a Gen-X 10 to do this, I will probably take that path. What is the battery config going to be? I never had to charge a receiver pack before. Not unless you count the receiver pack in my Frog that used four AA batteries. I guess that was before some of you guys were born.

I am interested, but I have to say I think the SP body is a bit odd looking. Saved only by the killer front end, canopy and awesome Light clusters. It looks like you can pack a ton of leds in there.

Info from the web:

The real LMP1 tire has a maximum diameter of 28.5 inches and a max width of 16 inches. The real LMP2 tire has a maximum diameter of 23 inches and a max width of 14 inches. I didn't find any rules for minimum dimensions.

EDIT: In practice, most cars seem to use 18" diameter rims. With the lip for the bead, that would be about 20" outside diameter.

Here are the sizes used on some of the Lemans prototypes:

Front: 33/65-18 (Diameter: 25.6", Tread Width: 13")
Rear: 36/71-18 (Diameter: 28.0", Tread Width: 14")

1/10 scale nitro sedan rear (30mm wide) tires are a nearly perfect match for the front tires, 1/8 scale nitro front tires are a nearly perfect match for the rear tires!

The new rules for LMP1 for 2014 are quite drastic. The cars have gone from 2000mm wide to a narrower 1900mm wide. Tire widths have also decreased from 16" wide to the new 14" width. So much for a 200mm rc class!

I won't be pushing for that. I'd much prefer foams, with minimum diameter requirements.

Most are just running 7.4v 2S shorties so far with the 21.5s. Considering you can get an LM-1 with body for $200 or so it's worth considering. The body alone is $45.99.

I like the foam tires too and it would not break my heart if the rubber tires never made it to market. The SpeedPassion tires are made up of a different rubber composition in their foam and aren't taking a beating like most foam tires, and they provide great traction over a much longer lifetime. With the promise $40 for a full set mounted and trued, they will probably be the standard to start with.

I picked up two LM-1 with body kits from SpeedPowerRC.com for $200 each and 21.5/Reventon S combo for $79.00. That's a running car, a spare body and full set of spares for under $500. I didn't want to tear apart my WGT car just yet and having another model to work on is always a bonus.

Fred, stop that! :lol: We can still have a class. It gives all the disenchanted WGT car owners a chance to put their cars back on track. There are a lot of them on the shelf as that class went 1S for batteries and many cars were shelved on the spot. Now we have a 2S solution with realistic bodies that they can slide those cars under. The only issue with those cars once modified to run in the class will be getting them up to weight. My WGT is only around 950 grams. The LMP1 class is looking at roughly 1250 minimum weight.