mfarr

iTrader: (4)

I have only been racing since september, and im doing pretty good, in fact i got booted out of our sportsman class.

I just wanted to stress the importance of tuning, setting up and FT parts. I purchased a rtr sc10 and it has been good but also frustrating trying to get better lap times and a smooth solid ride. I practice, practice, practice, and could not get any better. I had been receiving several complements from others at our track about my driving skills, but i still had slower lap times. I searched this forum and started to see that i needed to bring my truck out of the rtr rookie stages. First thing i got was a radio that would allow me to make adjustments to my driving style. (DX3S). This made a huge difference, , , then got a faster stronger servo, also found that my front end was loose as a goose and way out of alignment. Researched a ball diff vs gear and decided to put one in. this has all led to a racing experience and about 2 sec off lap times. next up will be cv joint axles, ft threaded shocks and motor esc combo.

hope this helps someone.

BuggyKing

iTrader: (17)

the best way to get better driving skills is to compete at a faster level. I try and drive as much as I can with a faster smoother driver. This allows me to get faster through corner etc. If you try and do this you will also better. So moving up a class is not such a bad thing.

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

u r so right about that also. i was sitting out front relaxing a lil bit too much in sportsman. i was 2 seconds faster in stock sc, but was getting my azz handed to me.

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

There is a guy here that opened a Ready-to-Run Traxxas slash, right out of the box... set it on the track.. .and DOMINATED our mod SC class, lapping the #2 driver at least once.... with a bone stock RTR slash.

So while yes, better parts can definitly help, they will never win a race for you.

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

so true. cause i have not won yet, but im getting better. let me how this guy does when he up grades his truck. He could probably go pro

T. Herwig

iTrader: (25)

Congrats. This was my first year racing 8th scale buggy, and I feel I did pretty well. Made some A-Mains at the big races in the state, and placed pretty solid every time. This was my first year racing the 8th scale buggy, and one of my biggest issues was reliability. I always had some stupid breakdowns, but have worked to improve and change so it doesn't happen again. The biggest tip I can give is to just remember. "Smooth is fast". When you get wreckless and try to knock out ridiculously fast lap times, you do bad. When you drive smart and smooth, you do better. After all, in the main, the winner is the one who turns the most laps.

ww29

iTrader: (15)

i race the rtr sc10 all i did was put red springs on front and added 1.5 ounces of weight behind the battery and it helped the truck.with the stock setup and the red springs and weight i have qualified in top 3 almost everytime except when driver error plays affect

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

First thank all of u for the good info that has been posted, there r a lot of things that come into play with each of our stories.

Lets keep it coming, I am learning alot and getting better. I went from the c main the first week to the b main #4, and I have not had much time to practice. Going to try and make the A tonight.

racer53

I think its been mentioned here but having the most expensive eqipment you can buy, but not taking time to "setup" your car [suspension,gearing,weight distribution,ect...]is not going to win you any races...work with your car, setup a day were all you do is find out how differant adjustment affect your car...or see if a local fast guy will share some of his secrets.I see this all the time someone will just hit the peak of there driving ability but is still losing by a couple of laps,proper car setup is one of the main things you can do to correct this and win races.

Good Luck...and when in doubt read my signature

GoatsnBros

iTrader: (56)

Good post Mfarr...

I think I'm in a similar boat, but have not made many upgrades yet.

I got my slash 4x4 in oct....didnt start racing until about a month later, and racing has been awesome..

I've been doing pretty well, considering I'm new and a lot of people look down at the slash 4x4 for racing (although I think the 4x4 is more competitive in its class than the 2wd).

I've raced 4 or 5 times and always have been on the podium. I've won twice, and been hanging with trucks of similar (and slightly better) setup trucks.

I will definately admit that I'm a driver....I'm not so sure I know how to set these things up properly - but my usual solution is just to drive my way out of whatever issue I'm having.

Definately agree with what Tyler said - be smooth and race your own race! I have found that I really do well in 'close' races, as I just do whatever I normally do if no one else is around...while they seem to try to 'race' me...and get out of their comfort zone and wreck. When I first started, I felt like I was in some kinda tunnel vision state....I could hardly pay attention to much other than 5' or so around my truck... I thought that was kinda a bad thing, but now I'm finding that it seems to work out ok. I've gotten a little better so I can dodge the corner marshalls or turtled trucks


This is a really fun hobby, and I'm glad I got on the track. I bought this thing to bash in the desert...but now it sees way more track time than anything.

racer53

try that with stock buggy or truck

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

thank you for your info, i started this post with that in mind, i moved up a class because everybody was sayin that i was a good driver, but that will not be enough at my local track, these guys r good drivers, and have thier cars well tuned. So im trying to get to know my track, my truck and my driving skills.

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

i envy u, this is something that im trying to over come also, Staying focused on me, i need to be aware of my surroundings, but staying focussed in a close race has been a challenge for me. I also get extremely nervous every time i hear the tone. But im doing better each week.

T. Herwig

iTrader: (25)

I believe someone mentioned it above, but I personally found myself to run faster when I'm with someone else either on my tail, or in front of me. That's just me personally, possibly...Running by myself is always nice too. When I get there before the race days, I always make sure to get my vehicle out there for some practice time quickly as possible. I run a few laps, and then bring it in for adjustments. For me, I run all Team associated stuff, so what I like to do is download setup sheets and print those from the team drivers. I download a few for different track conditions, and try them each out, and then base my setup off of those. Setup as mentioned is definitely key. However, tire choice is the biggest thing I concluded in my years of racing.

mfarr

iTrader: (4)

my current set came from the team associated website also, and it has been pretty good.