speedsterblade

I think the legal min. FDR for a 21.5 is 4.20 but some folks finding better laps at 4.4 fdr. really depends on layout. not sure of your TR but hit gearchart.com and you can figure out what spur/pin combo will get you there. I've been running 4.20 with a touch of advanced timing on the motor...no where near thermalling...maybe 150 degrees on a hot day.

pejota

iTrader: (12)

On our tight and technical track we've geared our 21.5 all the way down to 5.0-- works well for our layout.

So it really depends on layout and the number of hairpins.

robk

iTrader: (22)

Depends on your esc and track size...usually starting at 4.5 and going up or down will be good. Harbor had a decent sized straight last time I was there, so you may wind up going higher. Watch motor temps too, much over 120-130, you may be over gearing. It won't be overheating, but maybe just not fast as you could go.

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

July 11th-12th in Memphis, TN was Beat the Heat & X-ray Challenge 2009

The first thing I want to report is that the MSRA is an awesome organization, that really knows how to put an on-road event for all ages and skill level. I really couldn’t find anything wrong with the entire weekend. If there was any one thing, it would be the change up of the heats in the main. The 17.5 tc drivers had been in heat 2-4 and VTA was around 8. In the main it was 17.5 A-main for heat 4 and VTA right behind it in heat 5. Most of us that was racing 17.5 was also running VTA. But other than that you could not had asked for a better weekend of very,very clean driving and attitudes from the drivers. Even racers that have serious rivals smiled at the end of the day. The best thing had to be the true earn your way racing. There was no one that just walked away with a trophy that didn’t really earn it. This was truly what a big national race should be about.

Now to the juicy stuff…lol,..I have no idea how many total entries there where, but we had at least 15 heats. The classes ranged from novice to pro nitro sedan. I ran 17.5 tc (stock rubber) and VTA. We had an A,B, & C in TC and 14 VTA’s cars that all ran together. That is the most TA cars I‘ve raced against at the same time on a track AWESOME! There are running 4 qualifiers and a main. You get points for each round with dropping 2 of your worst quals. This made your chances pretty good if you was having any kinda problems with your car(s).

On day 1 I ran both classes with strong finishing in top 5 in both. I was a little surprise of my tc finishing positions for round 1-3. Me and Brian L. swaped position all day long. I did better with using the same tires all weekend. The spec tire was a new Jaco blue, which you had to purchase at the event for $25 a set. I’m not TC guy but I really got into it with the level of competition that was in front of me. Some of these guys should have just nailed my tail to the wall, but after 3 quals I was sitting very comfortable in 5th place.

In VTA I saw two very familiar faces in Melvin Lee and Quinton(Q). I knew from the start that I had to be on top of my game to pull of a victory over to very good drivers for whom I’ve raced against before. The 1st round was a mirror of how the day went. Other than Melvin and Q swapping TQ spots I sat in 3rd all day. I seem to not have the speed they had. Even some of the bottom 10 had me beat on the 150+ straight. If not for a very good line and a lot of determination ,I could have easily fell back down the ladder. The most positive thing was finishing on the same lap within seconds of each other. Of course that can be bad as well cause Justin road my tail all day long and came within a second or two of taking my 3rd place spot.

Day 2 , I was ready to go straight to the main and walk away with a strong finish in both classes. But during the final qualifier I experienced something totally new. My Spectrum system in my M11 seem to glitch in my VTA car. Ive never heard of such. The weird thing was my tc car showed no sign of issues. So after complete sickness settled in I went to Dirla and asked for some help. He had the same problem. Lucky for him he had his regular FM rx and module to use. So during the break I tried his and my module and rx’s. now it got really weird cause during practice I thought I had it fixed. I came out before the mains and ran 10 min with no glitch, my car was fast and consistence. I couldn’t wait to lay down my top two rivals and take the victory home.

The tc mains were up 1st. Just making the A seemed like a victory all to itself. I was ready to lay it all on the line for a chance to get on the podium. Starting in 5th place with my launch control engaged the tone went off. The 4th place X-ray guy was sitting directly in front of me and not to the side as he should have been. So blam up his back side I went, pushing him into the sweeper. This caused me to goto the back of the line on lap 1. But I knew I had 6 minutes to put down some serious laps to at least be a contender. Anyone that saw this race (other than the 12th main) saw the best race of the day. The top driver was gone but the rest of the field fought tooth and nail all 6 minutes. After passing some very stiff competition it came down to a photo finish between me and Zach for the 5th place spot. Zach pulled it out with only a fraction of a second difference. The top 6 all finished on the same lap. Very tight at the end with Zach with a 5.21.876 to my 5.21.926. And 4th place Brian L. with a 5.19.704

After that awesome race everything else seemed small. But I was ready to do my duty and do my best to lay it down in VTA. We was going to do a rolling start, but that wasn’t the way to go. Which was a good thing for me cause even after all that practice without any glitching, as soon as we got on the track my car went crazy. So during the re-start I went to the pits and changed modules again. But that failed as well. There was no way for me to finish the main without screwing someone else up. So after a couple of laps I pulled the car. The ironic thing was that Melvin had a half charged packed, so when I did have signal I was a lot faster than he was, finally., but to no advantage. So with me out, Justin pulled up and took home 3rd with Melvin in 2nd and Q as the BTH champ.

Just a side note, but if you missed any of these races you have people say you missed out, you really missed out on probably the best on-road race of the year. And to just give props to Robert Dirla and Arun, the best race of the day with a standing ovation. Great job!

I would like to say thank you to all the locals that attended, Brian L., Brian, Brad, Robert, Eric…also thanks to TEAM X-RAY pro drivers for all the support and giving back to the r/c community. It was very nice of all of them to answer all the questions you could throw at them along with free setup for your car…makes you want to get one..hummm 009?

results

http://www.msra-racing.com/2009resul...THResults.html

pictures

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/inde...lbumId=2579813

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xSvbDTPBu2A

http://www.flickr.com/photos/2726470...7621512753290/

Dondor

iTrader: (2)

It was Melvin's fishing pole man. It was the fishing pole.

Frank had said before we ever started qualifying and there were a few that signed up after this, there were over 120 entries.

Scottrik

iTrader: (261)

Did I fall into a time warp? I didn't know July 18-19, 2009 had even happened yet...

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

...lol...Im just glad VTA could be part of such a huge event. We got plenty of attention from non-vta racers.

and Melvin pole wasnt in my way, even with that 30lb bass hanging from it..lol..but its something to do with 2 or more Fasst system that are turned on before the older Spectrum system. wish i had that info at first. but it was fun all weekend long and i wouldnt change a thing...almost..

Zdiddy

iTrader: (5)

Good post and good racing with you battman, but I'm going to have to strongly disagree with you about the start. This is the first I've heard about "sitting to the side" on that type of start. All 10 cars were in a straight line with one another in stock TC as well as every other class for the mains. Also, my radio locked out as it had done on and off all weekend, and I had no response from the throttle or steering for about the first 5-6 seconds of the race. As I said before, it was certainly not your fault that you hit me from behind, but it was nothing to do with my position on the grid, it was my radio equipment.

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

that goes to show how much I know about tc racing...I was thinking we was in stagger stlye...and of course at that distance I couldnt tell if I was to the side or right behind you...Im sorry I didnt correct myself at the start as well. btw...what radio system was you running?

Zdiddy

iTrader: (5)

No problem battman, I was running a Airtronics M11, but will be swithcing to KO ASAP. You were having radio problems as well? What system to you have?

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

same..thinking of the 4pk or M11x...is the KO better...I saw the books at the track....seem to be good stuf.....

Its crazy to think you are safe cause you are running DSM...I was told that with that many radios, alot of glitching went on with spectrum...Dirla changed out to fm after his went nuts...and several ppl had the same issue...guess its time for an upgrade with spectrum...

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

Its finally done...

CASHVILLE 24HR SCALE TRANS-AM ENDURO

SATURDAY AUGUST 29, 2009 @ THUNDER RC RACEWAY
http://thunder.rc50.com/vtaenduro.pdf

$500 CASH MONEY AND 24 HOUR SCALE(2.4 HOURS) OF NON-STOP TRANS-AM RACING

MIN 18 ENTRANTS...3 MAN TEAMS..MARSHALL,DRIVE,PIT

EVERY TEAM MEMBER CAN USE THEIR OWN CAR

LAPS WILL BE ADDED UP FOR EACH TEAM TO DETERMINE THE WINNERS

YOU CAN WORK ON YOUR CAR(TEAM CARS) AS LONG AS ONE OF YOUR TEAM MEMBERS ARE MARSHALLING

ALL CARS WILL BE TECH DURING THE RACE

ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST PIT TOGETHER

ALL TEAM MEMBERS MUST RUN SIMILAR PAINT SCHEMES AND SAME BODIES

USVTA AND TMPL RULES APPLY

http://www.usvintagetransam.com/

http://coolspringsracing.com/Home_Page.html

ONE QUALIFYING ROUND FOR DRIVERSTAND AND PITLANE POSITION, STARTING AT NOON

1ST PLACE $200
2ND PLACE $120
3RD PLACE $90
4TH PLACE $60
5TH PLACE $30

SIGN-UPS ARE DUE IN BY EARLY AUGUST

ENTRY FEE WILL BE ONLY $30 PER TEAM

a regular club race that Friday nite @7pm...for those who want more track time before the enduro....It will be a totally new layout with a pit row

GOTO THUNDER.RC50.COM FOR MORE INFO

sponsored by KRC,Risk Sciences,Nashrcracer.com,Slot Spot

you can goto

http://www.nashrcracer.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3859

to post your team info....

Zdiddy

iTrader: (5)

Myron, I have ALWAYS ran Airtronics, but have just never been quite satisfied with my M11. I need to be running KO, but I already had the M11 when I got hooked up with RC America and have just not switched yet. I hear nothing but great things about KO. I'd say give one a try if you are looking to switch. I know Futaba is popular, I've just personally never been a huge Futaba fan myself. It all pretty much comes down to personal preference like anything else.

DARKSIDE

iTrader: (2)

thanks for the info...once Im done giving all my money away for the 2.4 race, Im getting something new...thats interesting?...Im sponsoring a "2.4" (24 hour scale race)...and Im having 2.4 issues...and on top of that Im putting up $400 for the race,...just enough to buy a new radio....go figure...lol

y2kgtp

iTrader: (35)

I bought what looks to be a very nice TC5 VTA car off a different forum (still waiting for it to show up) and am looking for 2 more cars for my kids.

I was thinking of a couple TC3's with 27T\4 cell NiMH to keep the costs down, but is there a car that might be recommended over the TC3 for any reason?

They are 5, and 16yrs old, and obviously the younger one does not have much racing\driving experience....other than the Slash around the driveway\front yard.