New Caster Racing Nitro Buggy Just Announced!
02-10-2009, 05:18 PM
#271
Sooo, how did the Team Caster drivers (both sponsored and non) do at the Psycho Nitro Blast last weekend?????
This race is known as one of the toughest races on equipment of any around! Should have been a GREAT durability test for this buggy & Truggy!!!
Did they run an electric 1/8th class????
This race is known as one of the toughest races on equipment of any around! Should have been a GREAT durability test for this buggy & Truggy!!!
Did they run an electric 1/8th class????
02-10-2009, 07:28 PM
#272
Ok....here we go..................
PNB 2009
Between Thursday morn and this morn at 3 am I had 6 hrs of sleep.
Practice didn't go like I wanted it to.....I only was able to run 1 tank during the day. I came back out to practice around 2am Sat morn.....got about 3 tanks in.....buggy felt pretty good on Losi Reptiles/red.
Round 1....During warm ups my wingstay broke off. I pulled off the track.
Round 2....Was running pretty good.....still on the Losi Reptiles....till I hit a new hole at the entrance to the big triple that threw my buggy sideways....toward the front straight. lol I landed in the middle of oncoming traffic and got hit REALLY hard. I drove away from it but the damage was done.....2 laps later the rear shock end and sway bar mount were toast.
Round 3.....I made some changes to the buggy. I changed my diff oil from 5-5-3 to 3-3-3 for a more even feel. In the corners....the front seemed to grab and pull at the "honeycombed" looking track surface. When it did this it would seem to throw the rear end out or just make it feel very unstable.
I also wanted to lighten up the suspension. I only had down to 40wt in Fusion oil and wasn't going to run anything else. So I drilled out 3 holes in each piston to 1.5 holes and went back with Fusion 40wt oil. I was running all 1.4 pistons and 40wt Fusion. I decided to go with the M3 Bowfighter combo....except I run the CRs on the rear....this combo has worked well for me in the past....but it didn't this time. I finished in 5th place with an 11 lap in 10:56 run. The buggy itself felt super sweet. On the right tire...I KNOW I could have put together a solid 12 lap run which may have been upper c-main to lower b-main.
Main.....I hadn't slept in a solid 24hrs. I went wit M2 Holeshots with Reino's Ragu tire softener for the main.
During warmup I was layin' it down!! I was super stoked at the hook up and the car in general. I blasted to the front on the first lap and was a good ways out in front coming back to the line to start the clock. I continued to pull away from the pack on the second lap....back to the line....still way in front. About half way through the second race lap....one of my front turnbuckle ends broke. It may have been damaged earlier in the head on crash....or it could have been cause it was a mugen rod end. lol j/k.
Anyway I was done....but several people commented to me on how good the buggy looked that time.
Final thoughts.....
DAMN I'M TIRED!!!!! lol
I had fun....that's all I really wanted from this race this year. Last year was miserable and I hated being there. I got to meet some of my internet buds....got to hang out with Drake and Truhe....I couldn't have done that at home. lol
I genuinley just had a real kickass time.
Alex....I had a blast in the shop dude. Thanks a ton for lettin' me hang out with you guys. Call me later in the week so we can settle up the stuff I got from the shop.
PNB 2009
Between Thursday morn and this morn at 3 am I had 6 hrs of sleep.
Practice didn't go like I wanted it to.....I only was able to run 1 tank during the day. I came back out to practice around 2am Sat morn.....got about 3 tanks in.....buggy felt pretty good on Losi Reptiles/red.
Round 1....During warm ups my wingstay broke off. I pulled off the track.
Round 2....Was running pretty good.....still on the Losi Reptiles....till I hit a new hole at the entrance to the big triple that threw my buggy sideways....toward the front straight. lol I landed in the middle of oncoming traffic and got hit REALLY hard. I drove away from it but the damage was done.....2 laps later the rear shock end and sway bar mount were toast.
Round 3.....I made some changes to the buggy. I changed my diff oil from 5-5-3 to 3-3-3 for a more even feel. In the corners....the front seemed to grab and pull at the "honeycombed" looking track surface. When it did this it would seem to throw the rear end out or just make it feel very unstable.
I also wanted to lighten up the suspension. I only had down to 40wt in Fusion oil and wasn't going to run anything else. So I drilled out 3 holes in each piston to 1.5 holes and went back with Fusion 40wt oil. I was running all 1.4 pistons and 40wt Fusion. I decided to go with the M3 Bowfighter combo....except I run the CRs on the rear....this combo has worked well for me in the past....but it didn't this time. I finished in 5th place with an 11 lap in 10:56 run. The buggy itself felt super sweet. On the right tire...I KNOW I could have put together a solid 12 lap run which may have been upper c-main to lower b-main.
Main.....I hadn't slept in a solid 24hrs. I went wit M2 Holeshots with Reino's Ragu tire softener for the main.
During warmup I was layin' it down!! I was super stoked at the hook up and the car in general. I blasted to the front on the first lap and was a good ways out in front coming back to the line to start the clock. I continued to pull away from the pack on the second lap....back to the line....still way in front. About half way through the second race lap....one of my front turnbuckle ends broke. It may have been damaged earlier in the head on crash....or it could have been cause it was a mugen rod end. lol j/k.
Anyway I was done....but several people commented to me on how good the buggy looked that time.
Final thoughts.....
DAMN I'M TIRED!!!!! lol
I had fun....that's all I really wanted from this race this year. Last year was miserable and I hated being there. I got to meet some of my internet buds....got to hang out with Drake and Truhe....I couldn't have done that at home. lol
I genuinley just had a real kickass time.
Alex....I had a blast in the shop dude. Thanks a ton for lettin' me hang out with you guys. Call me later in the week so we can settle up the stuff I got from the shop.
02-10-2009, 09:50 PM
#273
1.) Shane is running the ZX1R, not the 1.5R.
2.) Shane was running a VERY old wing mount from even before Caster USA....
3.) Shane needs to learn how to sleep at events.......
Glad you had fun Shane, that is what it is all about anyways.....
So when are Drake and Truhe switching over? hah hah hah....
2.) Shane was running a VERY old wing mount from even before Caster USA....
3.) Shane needs to learn how to sleep at events.......
Glad you had fun Shane, that is what it is all about anyways.....
So when are Drake and Truhe switching over? hah hah hah....
02-11-2009, 05:37 AM
#275
1.) Shane is running the ZX1R, not the 1.5R.
2.) Shane was running a VERY old wing mount from even before Caster USA....
3.) Shane needs to learn how to sleep at events.......
Glad you had fun Shane, that is what it is all about anyways.....
So when are Drake and Truhe switching over? hah hah hah....
2.) Shane was running a VERY old wing mount from even before Caster USA....
3.) Shane needs to learn how to sleep at events.......
Glad you had fun Shane, that is what it is all about anyways.....
So when are Drake and Truhe switching over? hah hah hah....
And yes....I ran the old buggy....which is still good.
There will be plenty of time to sleep when I'm dead.
02-11-2009, 05:02 PM
#278
02-17-2009, 06:11 PM
#279
Sorry to hear that you had a tough time Shane - guess you were the only buggy or truggy there as no one else has posted! It's TOUGH to be the only representative of ANY brand at a big race and the format of this one makes it particularly tough!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
02-17-2009, 06:50 PM
#280
Sorry to hear that you had a tough time Shane - guess you were the only buggy or truggy there as no one else has posted! It's TOUGH to be the only representative of ANY brand at a big race and the format of this one makes it particularly tough!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
The super old wingstay was the only parts faliure due to the parrts themselves.
3 months with no track time didn't help either.
02-18-2009, 05:32 AM
#281
Sorry to hear that you had a tough time Shane - guess you were the only buggy or truggy there as no one else has posted! It's TOUGH to be the only representative of ANY brand at a big race and the format of this one makes it particularly tough!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
I figured that with all the FL and Southeast support for Caster stuff that there would be more then just ONE racing at an event of this size and stature!
Which main did you make????
Well, better luck at the Tallgrass Race - certainly NOT as big of a race as the Psycho/Nitro but hopefully you'll do better!
On a side note, I'm in Des Moines and I think I'll drop by Hobby Haven and see if they have the cars in stock to look over - who knows, I might be next!
Well, I am now recovering from the longest week in my life. The Psycho Nitro Blast. I was really really fun despite only having 6 hours of sleep in the last 3 days!!!! I was there from Wednesday til Sunday at midnight! Having said that, here is how I ran with my 1.5r. This was only the 3rd outing for me since building the car in late December.
Friday practice: The buggy felt almost perfect, I tried different tires to see how it would work,. I settled on bow-ties then hole-shots for the 3rd qual and mains. I ran 3 tanks in practice and felt very confident the car could do this race. (me... might be a different story).
Saturday qualifying:
1st qual (3PM) - I got 3 laps into the race running 3rd and my center CVD came undone in the front. Poor lock-tight job. SO I preceeded to go back and tear down and motor pray every parts and re-lock tight. Additionally, the front upper hinge pin on the right side was coming out so I had to re set the set screw.
2nd qual (9PMish IIRC) - First warm up lap, came over the triple, slapped the chassis. Bam! sheared off the clutch bell went to 14 tooth to 0 teeth in 1 sec. Additionally, I didn't notice this until Shane told me, but I had my gold filter break off in the gas tank which he then lent me his from his stash of Caster parts.
3rd qual (3:30AM) - Ran great. did 11 laps in 10:49, that was B/C main level. I was pumped but was exhausted and went to the RV to sleep.
F MAIN: Woke up at 7:30 to find out the mains posting at 8AM. I had 30 minutes to get my buggy ready for the main. Being half asleep and just running over the buggy very fast, I failed to see that BOTH of my upper front hinge pins were undone again ( I hate this design BTW, I am captured kind of guy) not used to looking at this part for issues, I overlooked it and went to the track and my pit man noticed it on starting and tried to reset them, well, I started in 2nd and fell to 4th, trying to catch Shane I was fast approaching 3rd place past 3rd to only stop steering and went completely straight, the car was done. I was positive I would have bumped if I would have checked the car over better. So it was not the car's fault by my own here.
Conclusion: this is why the Psycho Nitro is a tough race. Mentally it is hard to be on your game with all the weird time schedules. I am REALLY looking forward to the next club race to really drive this car properly with no distractions.
Big thanks to Shane Keller for all of his setup advice, help, customer service, tire gluing, wit and charm. I look forward to pitting/racing with you and the next race we are at together!
Also, the WireGrass is possibly as big as PNB, I have some new reports some well known drivers are coming. The facility is awesome, time of the year is awesome, it should be a great race. Also, there will be a HEAVY Caster presence there.
Last edited by modhobby; 02-18-2009 at 05:34 AM. Reason: typo
02-21-2009, 10:01 PM
#283
I ran at DC Off Road Park again tonight for race #4 of 6 of there points series. The first 2 quals I sucked. Did not know what was going on. Crashing could not clear some of the jumps, 15 seconds of my normal lap times...... weird. After the second qual I found out my rear skid plate was bent down in front acting like a shovel off jumps and in the whoops. Removed it and in the main I dropped my times from 65-70 second lap times down to 50-51 second laps!!! Low turn out as the state race was this weekend too but had to work so everyone was in the A main. I won the A-main by 2 laps. I also think I took the lead on the points. Not sure yet. The 1.5R was dialed in the 20 minute main!
In the Quals some guys even said they were waiting for my front end to break as I was lawn darting one of the triples so hard but the 1.5R took it like a champ and kept going. No issues at all! I have broken one knuckle on this car since owning in and that is the only piece that has broken at all. My old ZX1-R only had one front and rear lower brake in over a year and that was it. No diffs on either have ever broken too. Not bad I at all I would say and I race an average of almost 3-4 times a month so my stuff has got some time on them.
In the Quals some guys even said they were waiting for my front end to break as I was lawn darting one of the triples so hard but the 1.5R took it like a champ and kept going. No issues at all! I have broken one knuckle on this car since owning in and that is the only piece that has broken at all. My old ZX1-R only had one front and rear lower brake in over a year and that was it. No diffs on either have ever broken too. Not bad I at all I would say and I race an average of almost 3-4 times a month so my stuff has got some time on them.
