Enduro's, what works?
 

I've been trying to get my local club excited to run an Enduro over the last few days. I was wondering if your club has run an Enduro, what works and what doesn't?

I have seen reports from races in Europe, and some in the US that have run for a full 24hrs. We were looking at a shorter event to avoid having to hire lights and a generator (at least the lights anyway), probably more around 4-10hrs.

My basic Idea was to run bog standard TT01E kits. Which can be picked up from Tower for less then $150. Limit to the kit 540j and one additional 540j, 1-2 sets of Ride RE36 tyres (works well depending on heat). The teams can share the cost of the stuff needed but it will be something like $50ea if one set of tyres is used (4 drivers in a team). Open radio, open battery.

To me, this would make for a very even playing field. And limit the cost of the event so no deep pockets can buy a win.

Some of the concerns have been cost. Some have suggested running their own gear. Spare parts are another worry.

But that's what I was thinking. If you've run an Enduro, what advice can you give us on this?

I know both systems and both work if you find the teams.

For the first system we bought RTR-cars for 140€. The car was given to the teams 2 hours before the race started. Instantly the teams began working on the cars, rebuilding diffs and testing which diffoil works best, and so on. This wasn't really wished, but the RTR-cars didn't work well out of the box on our indoor track. So it was Ok. We also handed out two sets of Sorex 28. What keeps people away here is that they have to buy the RTR-car and tires. So it is better to be a team of three or four.
If you want to attract new people to the hobby this system is better.

Tomorrow is the 2-hour-race at the AMSC Augsburg track. Everything is allowed except for Lola bodies. So everybody can use his 1/10 EFRA-homologated-stuff and race. Every teammember uses his own car.

I for myself prefer the last system. I know my car, have the spares and feel confident on the track. The teams can work on their strategy and the batteries are limiting runtime depending on the motor. The people there have the equipment anyway, so why not use it?!

The best thing to do is do a search in the racing forum for a race called "24 hours of Jackson." The first one was 3 years ago and it has been a huge hit.

I think there are 5 person teams, with each racer responsible for his own battery packs. Each team is given an unopened TT01 kit which must be built at the track, even the body must be painted. And there's a one lap bonus for the best paint job! Also I think you're allowed the motor that's in the kit, and that's it!

I know some of the racers who do this race, and there is some serious planning that goes into it. Each member gets one part of the car to build, and each team usually has a "painter."

The race is run for 24 hours, and each car must have working head and tail lights for the night hours.

The next "24 heueres du Jackson" is scheduled for Sept 16-17.

I participated in a 500 lap enduro at one of the local clubs here.
We were allowed to use any TC chassis. 21.5 motors with an FDR limit of 4.2. Blinky spec ESCs. Approved GT shells. Had to have working lights. Teams were 2-3 people. Equal wheel time required. It was a lot of fun, but was a bit crazy when the parking lot lights went out near the end of the race and the only things we could see at all were the lights on the cars. Had to use the force to not hit every wall. :D

I prefer allowing any TC chassis over having to purchase some POS like a TT-01 that no one will use again after.

Our club (in Oz) runs a yearly enduro. Teams are made up of three drivers, covering the three classes we run in the championship, so everybody can play, no need to buy anything you don't already have, restrictions are the same as per the championship. Each driver drives 1/2 hour, changeover is on the siren sound, no need to stop the race. Great fun for everyone and sometimes nail biting finishes but the race is won or lost in the pits on the battery changes. Repairs to the cars are allowed during the race.

It's a cost control feature. $400 TC chassis vs. $150 complete car. Makes it far more equal for everyone. There's also a big TCS following here, and some of the 24 hour cars have been seen at club races.

Don't knock it til you've tried it!:D

No one bought a new $400 chassis to race in the enduro here because we all have $400-$500 chassis already, so having to spend $150 on a useless car would not have saved anyone money. It's $150 we wouldn't have to otherwise spend. All the other equipment is the spec equipment for a class that is popular here. I fully realize that in other places they have run successful TT-01 enduro races, but if the organizers here had made everyone buy a TT-01 to participate, the race probably never would have happened at all.

Correct, Jim

Each team averaged 6-7 guys and figured out the best way to handle the logistics of battery charging and maintenance...The first year, my team used 6 different packs - last year, we had 9 5000mah packs in the rotation

had a 'used' spot and a 'ready' spot for charged batteries...

depending on how long they are planning to go - lighting on the cars is also a major factor..the Jackson race requires lights from dusk-to-dawn and you NEED to have lights on the car...so careless planning on lighting will haunt you (like my team the first year) because you'll be off the track fixing your lighting..

you don't need anything better then a TT01 for an enduro - especially when you're taking in excess of 12 hours...

we did the math the first year, and 1 24hour race equates to roughly 6-7 months of every weekend (sat & sun) racing -- so why would you want to subject your $500+ baby TC to something like that??? The winning team the last 2 years have turned in excess of 4100 laps - so that's a lot of damn racing :)

the TT01's are perfect for this - even right out of the box with the friction shocks and the kit silver can motors and stock Tamiya speedo...you need to replace the tires (use what works at your track) and the center shaft needs the metal version...but after that, you're set..

Anyone got other questions, ask away :) I love enduro racing and the 24 hours of Jackson is awesome and you LEARN a LOT :lol:

This is basically what I was thinking to begin with. Wasn't sure on the number of packs required so thanks for that.

What about spare parts for your TT01's? How is that handled? Especially for the first race or two?

we start each year with a brand new kit, built 2ish hours before the start of the race...first team with theirs built and pass tech, is 'TQ' or P1 on the track...they so on down the line..

for spares, we had a shop onsite opened the entire race...most people don't break much - the first year, we broke front suspension parts, and the 2nd year, broke less...one team actually snapped a chassis the first time around :) the big things we went thru were motors (2 last year, 3 year 1) and speedo (blew one up last year)...the tamiya speedos are actually very good in this kind of situation - cheap to replace (like $35US) and have a voltage cutoff (granted it LIFE, not LIPO - but it still has a cutoff)....just get in the habit of recalibrating it every 3ish hours - just to get the most from the speedo..

batteries are variable - we had ours setup with MAX gear (option spur/pinion set)...and we were figured about 35-45 minutes per 5000mah pack...you might get longer, but as the motor heats up, the runtime will drop - so we opt'ed to figure 35-45 minutes on pack...naturally the more packs you have at your disposal, the more rest each pack will get between charges/discharges - and we all know lipos don't like back-to-back-to-back running...