A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

Every time I find a new translator I have to test it out...

I have always raced Tamiya the TA04/TA05 sedans have been pretty strong and competitive for the buck. Usually the 415/416 have been fragile from my experiences. Probably why I have not bought them plus they are expensive. Although 1 year at our Nationals they sold Ver1 415 for $75.. I missed that deal. ::

Xray has been a good brand from what I know of. If I did not run Tamiya, I probably would be into Xray.

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Though I have to agree that car (performance and strength) do make a difference. I did experimented with a Plastic Tub based Tamiya TT01 (Weigh like a tank)in a 23T stock race using the Red Enzo Body (heavy and not so aero friendly) just for fun.

One thing I notice is the speed differential. At the straight ( due to limited gear ratio - cannot go below 6 plus or 7, other cars went to 5 plus), my car was overtaken by the likes of graphite chasis Xrays, 415s, Losi, Yokomos, but I made some ground during corners and making less mistakes.

In the end I managed only B-main 1st. Not too shabby eh....So moral of story. Go by 80:20 rule. 80% skill and 20% equipment. Develope your skill 1st before thinking about getting state of the art equipment.$$$$.....

A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

I see this happen alot. People will buy a car then 3 months later find they want something else and then unload it. If you are jumping from a TT01 to a TA05 that is one thing but if you are switching cars, usually for no real reason, that is a mistake.

A friend of mine bought a TA05, got it to run pretty well then sold & switched to a HPI Cyclone. The Cyclone is running much worse than his TA05 did, with no fix in sight, plus he lost out on support that could be given to him by the many that own a TA05 locally.

Which goes into my SS. . .
I suggest learning a car inside and out racing it for a year at least. Learn how to fix, gets a few setups under it and how to get to the top of the A with it locally. If you are slow with it, usually it is either the setup, gearing or electonic equipment. Buying a different car for the same class, only wastes money, forces you to start over with setup and you still don't learn how to setup your car to your liking.

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Yes, how very true..... many years ago I had a lot of success with my Tamiya FWD with Honda Civic body. I knew the car inside out. But than due to some itchy hands, I tried the then state of the art (don't ;laugh... those days.......in 1995) Tamiya TA02 4WD. Wrong move......Had to learn from scratch. Failed miserably...Not long after that, TA03 was the rage.... remember DAve Jun hand many success with it. follow his basic set up and wallah.... I dare say the car was quite competitive. Switched to Z10 (Taiwan Kit) so... so.....


Morale of story, stick to a car that you are comfortable..... learn inside and out and you'll probably enjoy the car better...

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Pssst wanna hear a speed secret. A lil bird told me that 4-5 top racers quit (may be more of a taking a break, especially after the recent TAC fiasco) RC car racing scene and was spoted flying RC planes. Well actually it's true....Akhirnya kena racun juga mereka heh heh heh. Well, we had fun yesterday especially the Raya gathering at our beloved flying site early morning with Nasi Lemak, karipap, cakes, nasi himpit and teh tarik..... yum yum......

No politics, no rivalries here. Melayu, Cina, India, Serani all can sit, chit chat and joke together...... Anyway kita flyers semua kawan.....Well in RC Racing we are rivals but in Flying RC planes, we can be friends. Welcome aboard guys.....

If you wanna taste the joy of flying freaking fast planes, come join us in Putra Prima Flying site. The arguably one of the most friendly flying site. Kita semua mesra alam.....

Can you spot a couple of Former RC Racers in the pics below? Ithiks it was Daryl tengah pegang perut and thinking apa mau makan lagi..... heh heh heh......

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Kalau dah rempit is still rempit. A few ex RC racers were spotted racing their planes at insane speed. Just like RC cars, there was an accident where a propeller from one plane chewed another while rempiting causing one to crash.

Bull dog's plane was another victim of the famous bermuda triangle.His plane lost control and crashed into a semak never to be seen again..... Crash site investigator revealed the one of the probable cause might be due to using heli receiver instead of plane. but then, the bermuda triangle theory might also hold true

sim600

iTrader: (15)

RedEnzo,
What brands of Lipos do plane kakis use? I'm looking for a small one to put into my 1/18 scale buggy. Saw one Align brand one (2s1p, 1900mah, 18c) but not sure if it's good or not. I figured you'd be the person to ask. Thanks.

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Sorry sim, been ages since I've been to this thread. My advice is go for as hi C as possble. I'm flying with 20C. Some helis are using 25-35C. Meaning, the higher the C, the more current draw it could take. I suppose since you are using just 18 scale the current draw will not be as much as 1/10th. Be carefull not to over discharge the cells. You'll damage thems. It would puff up like karipap.


Okay, since I'm in this thread, I might just share another speed secret. You may notice some cars roll better then the others. Why? It is just the design. I woud say the Xrays has one of the most efficient design drive train. But the drawback is that it may not be the easiest car to set.

Let's compare apple to apple. If you compare two cars of the same design/brand, one might roll better than the other. Why you might ask? The other car might have a little bit more bind. Binding creates resistance and rob the car of precious horse power. In other word, the car would be a lil bit slower, consumes more fuel/batteries or even handles terribly.

Binding can be due to a few factors. Part defects like warp wish bones, inconsistant hole size especially hinge pin, ball and socket joints etc. The way you built your car might contribute to it. Eric from hobbyhaven malaysia advice me to be carefull when you tightened the screws. Everytime we tightened the screws, make sure you untighten it a bit.

Cheers...

sim600

iTrader: (15)

Thanks RedEnzo,
That was helpful. In the end, didn't get a 2nd battery yet. First battery is still giving me very good runtime. Been taking good care of it, which isn't difficult at all (since no need to discharge).

I see you're back to racing in the small scale. I think I'll join you sometime soon. I quite like 1/18 scale myself but don't have a tourer yet. Will get one next month, when I have more time to play. Really looking forward to it.

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Anyone elsewilling to share speed secrets?

I got one more. You might notice that over time, your battery pack is not as punchy as before. Chances are, one or more of the cell is either discharging at different rate or may be damaged.

I'm not sure of a better/cheaper way to do this but what you may wanna do is check the cell one by one. I normally do it with my charger that has a 20A discharging facility. Fully charge all the cells and discharger the cells one by one. Record the voltage reading at say an interval of 10 seconds over a period of say 10 minutes. Use excel program to record your readings. Do it for all the cells. I know it's a chore but I tell you that it's fun........ It would be great if you could generate line graphs of the readings. From the graph you can differentiate the good batteries from the bad ones.

You may replace the bad ones or if you are on a tight budget, rearrage/resolder the batteries according to the discharge rates.

Happy trying...

Cheers..and selamat menyambut hari raya puasa....

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

ahhh..... Thank God that me and my family are back from our raya holidays in one piece, albeit bigger pieces. Yeah, after consuming huge amount of Lemang, Ketupat and Rendang. Not to metion those high sugar content cookies....Mmmmm I feel I am a bit on the heavy sight.

Talking about weight, another speed secret is try to keep your car as light as possible at the same time keeping it within the legally specified weight limit. For instant, you may use titanium screws to keep the weight down. Remember, plastics and carbon are lighter than those bling-bling alloy parts. keep the rotating mass items such as wheels, drive shafts, UJs as light as possible coz the lighter they are, your car will accelerate faster.

hmm...... I really wish some of you guys can share your your thoughts on this subject.

cheapskate.brok

iTrader: (10)

I dun think this is a speed secret, but if you fancy an aftermarket bodyshell for your bugs (lets say of a different car completely), some shells feature a raised front end in order to fully cowl the bulkhead screws (which connectes the shock tower to the vulkhead) and this will make it impossible to install the bodyclip transversely. What you need to do is get a 2mm drill bit, and drill a new hole 90deg off from the original. THis will enable you to slot in the bodyclip in-line with the bodyshell.

Anyone understand ? Sorry if I wasn't clear

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Maybe some pics would help bro....

A-Ko

iTrader: (2)

I would buy a lipo. You save tons of time and can forcus more on your car.

I have done many battery games including lengthy things like you mention in this post. If you go lipo, you lighten your car, have constant voltage and no longer have to worry about battery problems. A 2nd speed secret is usually the lipo is flatter cold or the 1st run of the day, the 2nd & 3rd run usually you will be faster.

RedEnzo

iTrader: (2)

Agree with you 100% A-ko. At 7.4V compare to 7.2V for NiMh, Lipo si definitely faster. I have not use Lipo for cars before but only in RC planes and heli. It's not as hardy as NiMh and need proper care.

I've had my fair share of Lipo batteries damaged (puffed like pillow-due to over discharged or storing it with full charge, minimum charge over long period of time. You need special Lipo chargers.