black wheels give me slower lap times. I am serious, lol. White are also slower for me. I am fastest with flo yellow. I like the looks of white the best, but Flo is faster.....Why? because i watch my wheels when I race and black throws off my depth perception and white can be a little less noticeable on the track. Flo Yellow just pops and makes it easier to see the wheels at all angles. When i drive with black wheels I loose 1-2 laps... I am serious, lol.

Bwuahahahaha!!!

While hysterical, I completely understand!

That's why I prefer a predominantly Neon Green and White lid with metallic blue and the only black being pin stripes to separate the colors that don't register. In my 410 I am going with Neon Purple and white with a bit of Charcoal. I might end up regretting not using the Neon Green as that is the most contrasting color to the bright red-orange clay here in South Florida. The 8th scale track runs exclusively at night and being it's a very large track, my depth perception on the back side of the track is putrid, but if I get there early on wednesdays for practice when the sun is out, I do quite well.

If the Purple doesn't work out well I will be doing another shell with Neon Green.

Ok so I'm planning for the fall/winter indoor season and it looks like the track where I will be racing is going to have a stock 17.5 blinky class which they didn't have when I was there last season. I really think slowing things down a bit will be good for me so I'm going to race this rather than mod. So this begs the question: what motor and gearing should I be running?

I have a Viper VTS17.5 in my son's XXX-SCT that I could snag but I know that may not be the best choice of motor. So what's the hot 17.5? Reedy Sonic? Trinity D3(.5) (that is legal again right?)? Other? Then how should I gear it? I have the AVID 'stock' Triad kit sitting in my pit box which comes with a 72 and a 76 spur. RC GearHead suggests 72/29, 76/30...is that a good starting point?

Track is smoooooth high grip clay with wood jumps...would small bore V2 shocks with BB springs be a better choice than BBs (I was reading some prefer that setup)?

I would not recommend the viper 17.5's. They aren't known for being a good blinky motor. If you want something that everyone else has then the reedy is good for blinky. The d3.5 is technically legal...until march I believe when it gets taken off the legal list once again. The new Novak Vulcan motors are very good, and super smooth. I would start gearing in the 72/33-34 range with timing pretty much maxed out (for either the reedy or Novak) and check temps from there.

I'd suggest BB shocks over the old V2's. As well I was told by a couple of sponsored drivers that I should try a 69/32-34 or a 72/31 on my son's stock buggy and that a Reedy Sonic 17.5 would be the way to go.

Also, the D3 was reinstated but it is temporary so if you don't have it, don't buy it. Go with something else. The SP V3 Motors are pretty nice, especially for the price ($40-ish) and the bullets make for a super clean and easy install. As well they have different Sensor units you can buy to make them even more potent. Personally, I couldn't be happier with my SP V3 7.5.

As for Novak, I have never had anything but failures with anything from them dating back 25+ years. My most recent experience was a burned out 13.5 that ran like turds from the get and when it burned out their CS was putrid. Their way to address it was for me to send it in and throw another $50+ their way for repair. This on a motor that ran all of 20 runs, if that. Novak can go fly a kite as far as I'm concerned. The Tekin Gen2 Motors are pretty nice but I've not owned one personally.

Check out the team power plutonium V1 17.5. ROAR Legal and crazy fast. I think the only place to get it is from ebay or superior hobbies.

If you don't care about ROAR legal, the plutonium V2 was the fastest 17.5 I've ever experienced by far.

Ok so no D3...other than the Viper which I pretty much know I won't be using (son may actually want to race) so I will be buying. The SP is interesting...do you have a photo of it from the end with the motor connectors? Do they stick out very far? I would be worried about that a little bit as opposed to a more standard setup.

Unless you go to ROAR races, I would say get the D3.5! It is RIDICULOUSLY fast! If you do, I would say the Reedy is the next best option.

the sonic mach 2 and the orion r10 are the fastest combo i have used to date. 33/69 timing at 37* had to prove it was on blinky the other day...

does anybody still use the rims with the open spokes? . and why not? i alwys kinda liked em and i had a pair a few years ago but they are hard to find now .

Weren't those the J Concepts ones? I used to use them and loved them! IDK why nobody around here uses them!

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-Wheel-White-4

They are for cross pin axles... Maybe that's why?

outdoor's the spokes become little scoops that hold dirt,disk rims stay clean & lite.

I always thought the spoked looked silly.....and it seems like whipping would be harder.

Hideeho
Thats the JC Rulux wheels. I LOVE those wheels & ran them until I converted to hexes. Every few weeks I'll get on the JC thread here & pester Paul to make rulux with hexes. Maybe if a few more folks jump over there & ask for them we will get them eventually.

here's the thread...
http://www.rctech.net/forum/electric...hread-429.html

True, they are a pain to clean lol
yeah, I have a few sets of the pins rims, and they are all the reflux style!

I'd like to argue with this one, but your right But, there isn't that big of a difference unless they turn the track into a mud bog right before you race (been there, done that, wheels weighed EASILY twice as much after the race)

Looks are purely subjective, I like them & hate dish wheels (they are my only choice though). The twist/pitch/roll effect in the air comes from torque of the motor/brakes & the gyro effect of the wheels. Dish or spoke has nothing to do with it.