Well, our new track is still dusty and green. We used foams on our mini's when we had carpet laid, if we are not happy with grip then carpet it is again.

I remember something about watered soda?
Anyone tested this? Will it stick to car and body?

Bradd,

The Tamiya Type B 60D tyre works very well, just isin't as fast as the older style Ride 60D. Pit Shimizu do four different grades of 60D size mini tyres going from super soft, soft, medium and hard. Using the firm Pit Shimizu insert in the hard tyre works well at Windsor and Castlehill. :nod:

Fleety,

I have to agree with Bob, that there is a time and a place to race with either the 55mm or 60mm tyres and will always be track dependant. I will not say that 55mm can not be competitive, however the 60mm was the tyre to use this last weekend. Difference in laptimes was over a second per lap, adds up when you are doing 6 minute racing.

The 60D size tyre is a great choice for a large open track as proved when used at Newcastle and Kambah this weekend. I used the 60D Rides to TQ mini. The front tyres worked in both the hot and cold conditions. The biggest factor with Kambah was that VHT is used in the corners otherwise there is no grip and traction rolling occured when the track heated up.

On friday with overcast conditions trying to find a rear tyre that would handle these conditions was like plucking teeth. I found rear that worked for the cooler weather, however when the track heated up I had some traction issues. I was not alone with this problem.

In the end the Cross rear in the high heat was the choice, but either setup hard so it would slide or having the rear Tamiya camber link in the hub in the lower position. this will give less tyre contact when cornering.

BadSign,

Stick to the original plastic on the front, especially the upper links, c hubs and lower arms. If you use alloy stuff and have a large impact, things can and do bend which can cause all sorts of handling issues. Especially when you think they do not bend.

Hopefully we can continue to share mini stuff and not a whole heap of dribble from the trolls.

BTW,

The above is just my opinions. Others will have different ideas and that is good because we can have friendly discussion on mini topic stuff.

I prefer to do my talking at the track from the drivers stand.

That's where and when it all counts. :nod:

Apologies for the long post, just got carried away and had a long weekend of racing, so I was absent from the mini thread.

Later,

Calvin.

Rosso, yup, cheap orange or grappop, hell, any sugary pop, watered down 2 or 3 to 1 will provide you with some traction. In the past we've used a garden sprayer to do the job. After some time has passed and you've had to do this a few times, some rubber should start laying down and you'll need to do this less frequently. How long it takes depends on how smooth the concrete surface is. If it's polished, you'd better stock up.

Jim, RossoTorro,

The only problem with using goop is once you start using it you have to keep applying it. If the track is in the open it will also collect dust, dirt etc which just makes things worse.

Perhaps if you use a lower temp tyre with a softer insert you should get grip. Sweep 25 with a 5mm medium insert might work or if you can acquire Pit Shimizu then get ther rear only tyre. Only good for low temperatures, but work excellent.
In the end you will come up with your own solution, however I have raced on a gooped surface, which was inconsistant week to week due to variations in the amount applied and weather/temperature changes. Every week we chased rear tyre and front tyre combinations to get the cars to stop traction rolling.


My two bob's worth.

Calvin.

Please keep coming, Calvin, I do look out for your outdoor track tips, all the way across the seas in Durban.

All our outdoor tracks barring one have abrasive surfaces that work fine without goop. The one requiring goop has routinely thrown me each every time as the car is locked down for the first run then deteriorates badly (for me) as the track heats up.

Contrary to most of my local opposition I run with a stick radio and also manual brake a lot more for turns than most others. So traction rolling is extremely rare but rear end traction vital. This may partly explain why I suffer way more than most at the hot gooped track.

The set up that works well for me at most other tracks has been the HPI MX60 soft on front and Team Powers 36 degree 55mm rears (size mixing is permitted). Most folks run 55mm belted HPI Xpats at the rear but I am at sea with those. I recently tried two sets of HPI MX60 medium on the fronts, presuming these would be harder and more long wearing but these are toffee and I am hoping HPI have not changed the MX60 soft compound at the same time!

I did try the Pit Shimitzu 60D Super Softs on the back yesterday (after adjusting shock height) and it was so locked down, I was battling for turn in! This will be kept for an emergency back up on a hot day at the gooped track. The newer Team Powers have a slightly thicker insert and do not seem quite as dramatic as my older lesser packed set, but the issue remains.

Which is a long story to get to me being very interested in your running with the Ride 60D on the fronts. I also would appreciate any tips on a sticky rear tyre like the Team Powers, that is also capable of handling the extreme mid day heat (track surface temperature was 56C at a recent meet).

Cheers
Dave

TCS Race # 161 in the Books
 

Hobbytown USA Frederick, Maryland, March 6, 2011. TCS Race # 161

The doors opened at 9 am, and the event ended a little before 8 pm.

Outside the facility, it poured rained the entire day flooding nearly half the parking lot. Many racers had to re-park their cars to another location to avoid the rising 2+ feet of water. :eek:

Inside, though, it was dry, warm and the super smooth asphalt had an abundance of grip. The layout flowed nicely and was well lit. Turnout was great! I think there were 75 entries. Mini was by far the largest class with 21 cars, from the M03 to the M06. Most drivers seemed to be running the MWB chassis, but there were 3 or 4 SWB. Racers came from New York, Ohio, New Jersey, Colorado (based on the license plates I saw outside).

This was my first serious attempt at racing a Mini. As I watched my competitors practicing, I relaxed my expectations. It was obvious that some of these guys didn’t travel all the way to Maryland for nothing. I started practicing in early January in preparation for this event. I didn't anticipate this class would be so popular. Thankfully, I learned weeks ago that the SWB chassis is not the best for my driving ability.

I placed 9th in the A Main, and finished 10th overall. I really had to push my Abarth 500 in the 3rd qualifier to make the A. :sweat: I think I had the 3rd fastest lap time behind Doc and Casey. I had a lot of fun, and finished a lot better than I though I would. I really like the Mini. It's not overly complicated and once you begin to understand its dynamics you begin to appreciate this simple little gem.

Congratulations to Casey Young driving his Alfa Giulia M06 who just edged out Doc Mertes and his LWB Mini M05 for the win. Doc took all three qualifiers, but Casey got the jump at the start of the Main (it's not easy to watch a race that you are participating in). :)

Thanks to the guys (Grandpa, Swifty, and others) on this forum that answered my many questions and contributed to my success. Thanks also to my friends Doc and Ray K.

Oh, BTW, I don't think that there were any DQ's related to motors. Although, I purchased 3 motors, I didn't use any until the first qualifier. 16,600 was the number of my motor fresh out of the box. I used the same motor for all 3 qualifiers, and for the Main. At the end of the 3 qualifier, my motor tech'd 17,300 (if I remember correctly).

Considering how much my tyres have been getting loaned out!
I better be first in the line!!!!! :P

The new tamiya 60Ds are meant to be alright. But i havent tried them.
A couple of the castle hill guys have been using them regularly. I believe they are Type Bs?

For you mini guys out there, I have an unpainte 280 ZX body that I would like to sell. It is missing the lexan wing, but everything else is there. This is the body that came in the limited edition MO5 with the 280ZX body.

Let me know.

Anyone has the Scion Xb body?

Thank you, sir!

;)

and boy the m03 is 1 tough cookie. i give u mini guys credit. yeh i had no expectations and my car sure had a personality. i finished right where i thought i'd be. last 3rd of the B. thought i could move up in the main, but only 1 person rolled in 1st carousel and only 1 person couldnt avoid em. mua. 22sec lap game over. ha.

R

I think someone have said it before but I guess I will add to what have already been said :)

I bought the motor balance weight form rcnutbag and received a few days ago. I tried it just last sunday at our local club race. What had said before are correct! It make my car more consistent and handle direction change much better then before. I also notice that the car settle quicker when it run over the edge of some dot on our track.

Job well done rcnutbag!

Thanks Eddie!!

Nice to read that you had success with the balancer.

Now, fellow racers, I will soon be moving away from the sunny shores of Australia to the UK. As such, I'd like to make available my current stock of counterweights. I have 8 left; 3 polished, and 5 sandblasted.

For those in Australia, it's your last chance in a while to get them with local postage, and for those in the Northern Hemisphere your postage will soon drop accordingly!! Just in case anyone here hasn't seen the counterweight, here's a pic of one in the polished style.

I've put an order through for a new batch, and they will not be polished at all, as the finish across the front face has now been tuned to spec.

Please PM me if you want one. Don't use the gmail account at the moment.

Thanks all!

Anyone have pics of a HPI MX5 body mounted ?

I have one but it sits too tall in the rear, I think...

Thanks to all of you that have put their orders through. All of the current stock of balancers are gone :blush:

I will try to get some posted out before I leave in April and send the rest off in a ship to my new UK address. In that case it'll be around May when I can next provide deliveries.

PM me if you're interested and I'll endeavour to get some out to you early April.