fq06

iTrader: (12)

You should not lean on the stand. Your head will be in other racers line of sight. Even worse if your wearing a hat. Other racers cars will disappear behind your head for a second every time they do a lap.

Its also puts your arms & upper body in a locked position that's not fluid. Not that you should be dancing around on the stand but good posture and nothing to concentrate on but your car and your two hands controlling the radio. Not the splinter you just got in your elbow or the uncomfortable knot in the wood where you are resting your arms.

And not most don't... no pros lean on the stand.

iTz Nicholas72

iTrader: (19)

If I lean my arms on the railing my hands will do numb after 4-6 minutes or so. I start off races with the radio about nipple level and by the end it's nearly touching my chin epically if it's a close race haha!

Antimullet

iTrader: (65)

I wear a radio slanyard around my neck to force me to hold my controller at mid chest level. I've found that helps ensure your hands are free to solely drive and not be affected by things such as leaning on something. The strap helps to steady the controller as well.

You should find whatever routine works good and do something to cause muscle memory and repeat it. That's what the strap is for in my case.

Kind of like what golfers do for every shot they take.

Spads11

iTrader: (33)

I use a radio lanyard as well as it helps me to keep my radio up and in one position as I tend to go all over place with it otherwise.

I try to mentally imagine myself going around on the track on my drive there (about 40 minutes). I then walk the track when I get there to reinforce.

I like to get to the track as early as possible so that I'm not in a rush to get everything set up as it just builds anxiety.

When I marshal for the experts I try to pay attention to their lines carefully as well as listening to on throttle/brake transitions in sections of the track that I think I can be faster in and ask them questions.

Having a spotter in the pits to tell me when I'm driving like a moron helps as well.

thesmogman

Great post again folk's. Great comments too. The only thing I might add is to have fun, relax and enjoy the time at the track.
I am sure we all hate the driver that is always complaining, yelling, and throwing his stuff around. AKA Jack$ss. Plus it makes him or her look ridiculously stupid.

kodack10

Do you mean tricks, or techniques?

If you mean techniques I would have someone film you doing laps and later on watch the tapes and look for bad habits.

The key to speed is smoothness and consistency so try to drive with the minimum amount of steering and the maximum amount of throttle. It's 'faster' to look slow by driving precise and holding a steady line. Powerslides and cornering fast in, slow out, might look good, but it's slow.


If you mean tricks.
1. Remove the rubber gaskets off your ball bearings, remove the grease, and lubricate with a light oil. Requires a lot more maintenance, but it reduces friction and rolling resistance.

2. Lubricate your ball ends and suspension links with light oil. Having a smoother suspension means the tires are in contact with the road more often, meaning you are putting power down longer.

3. Pre-heat your packs. Either use a pack warmer or keep one in an inner pant pocket until your heat. Temperature affects the capacity and discharge of all batteries.

4. Use tire treatment on tires when they start to look like they're drying out. I mean the big bottle you spray on full size car sidewalls. It lubricates the rubber and makes it look new, and more plyable. Softer rubber = better contact with the road.

5. On high traction surfaces consider putting a layer or two of duct tape, or very stiff foam on the inside side-walls of your tires. I always keep a set of prepared tires like this with stiff sidewalls. IT helps turn in speed and gives benefits of low profile and high profile.

6. Sometimes less power = faster lap. Don't be afraid to dial back the throttle at the radio.

DaveW

iTrader: (1)

I had a good race day. I made a few mistakes but for the most part i was really happy with my personal performance.

My electronics on the other hand...

DanielC.

iTrader: (56)

1. Take the time to learn your car and actually try different setup changes. Dedicated practice days are ideal. It's very difficult to try it all on race day. It's also harder to determine if the changes made were better or worse, due to changing track conditions on a race day.

2. Generalizations don't always hold true. We don't live in a vacuum, and advice in tuning guides and on these forums only gets you so far. A good example is the suggestion to never over jump and land as quickly as possible. The truth is it depends. Sometimes it's better to over jump, or power slide a turn. If you're not one of the "fast guys", try watching those who are or ask for input while practicing.

Pulse_

I'm the fastest guy in the clubs I drive but never fast enough. Only real opponent is myself, I try to race as if I was alone but my spirit doesn't always make it happen

It's all about self confidence, this is where I have to progress because the skills are almost there (I can be in the national top 3 in quals but still making too many mistakes in the finals). Keep in mind Belgium is a small country so it is not representative at all of a general level, I would be a newbie in the US

thanks kodak because this subject is also about providing tricks to the drivers

Mclogo

+1

I have been learning a lot from my fellow racers (some of them are really good drivers with lots of experience). We are about 5 racers that all run the same cars and this also helps a lot not only with good tips, having someone watching how the suspension does look from ground level, helping each other and of course having fun.

It's much easier to get a car setup properly with 5 people, trying stuff, sharing knowledge and working together. With good friends you also motivate each other if something doesn't always go as good as it should


This is a great thread with a lots of good points... I surely gotta practice a lot on the mental part and consistency

Zerodefect

-Have fun. If you can't flap your arms on the drivers stand like a giant goose and scream "Caw Caw Caaaaaaw!" then you're being way too serious. Especially when you're new. You should be having fun. Saddly, how many of the fast guys do you see that have no fun at all. They're winning, but when was the last time they smiled. Nothing wrong with racing for the thrill and competition, except it's better when you actually have fun.

-don't copy setups. Try as many setups as possible. Some racers run odd setups for a reason. if you don't try new setups, then you'll never catch any of the racers better than you. Why do you think middle pack skill level racers enjoy new builds and layouts so much. Because they can race to the proper new setup for that layout. And possible beat a few fast guys for a while until they catch on. If everyone is running low droop to get through one fast corner clean, try max droop and go low and slow through that turn, see if you have an advantage elsewhere.

-the more experienced guys are allways going to be more experienced. You have to beat them elsewhere. Setup, state of mind, fun, relax, car durability, etc.

-learn how to tune out understeer
-learn how to reduce understeer by driving

-try tracks that do things differently. Different challenges grow different skills.

-Go to as many different tracks as possible. Those lightning fast guys that only race at 1 track, usually get stomped at big traveling events.

-race onroad carpet for a while

-watch and understand real car racing. F1, Lemans, not NASCAR. The demolition derby that is RC, can't last forever. It'll help to understand clean racing lines and rules/penalties if RD's ever get thier $&!+ together.

-free suspension, free smooth lubed links

tc5 man

I do agree with you on doing your own setups to fit your own driving . However myself I don't see ever winning running with the fast guys in the 1/8 e buggy class . The only way is to qualify better to get a better spot in the main to run with them . I would love to practice at the outdoor tracks I go to during the week but does not make sense to travel that far $$ to practice .

blade329

iTrader: (114)

Consistency!! Learning to drive without crashing is HUGE. I'm not that fast, but I have beaten faster/better drivers by being consistent and not crashing. I found that I automatically would get faster as the race went on. Consistent steady driving also allows me to get longer run times out of my cars.

OrangeDirtLover

What do you mean?

4. Use tire treatment on tires when they start to look like they're drying out. I mean the big bottle you spray on full size car sidewalls. It lubricates the rubber and makes it look new, and more plyable. Softer rubber = better contact with the road.

Do you spray this on the tread? Or just the sidewalls?

OrangeDirtLover

I would also like to thank everyone for giving some of their tips, tricks and techniques. As an obvious new comer to racing. Probably a novice in RC My son and I are wanting to learn, improve and enjoy this hobbie! All of the comments have been really helpful. Thank you.

Scott