I like that idea of bring out the cars. That way we can see them run on the track and get a better feel for what we would like to see.

Looking forward to tonight!!!! Last night I was able to best my fast lap from 10.0 to 9.9 I am in the 9s!!!! My top 20 improved as well I went from 10.5 to 10.4/3s and I improved 1 more lap to 29 lap pace. Lets hope I don't throw it all away tonight. I feel the suggestions that everyone is giving me is really working out. I get so many that I have to put them in an order where I can attack them one by one. Jim gave me one last night that I will be trying on Wednesday. Tonight is all about a chapter review test (Treating RC racing as I do for studying for certs as Joey suggested). It is really helping as the numbers are showing.

One thing I forgot to ask in my last post that I am seeing with my car. During the start of a race about 5 or so laps its hard to drive (which is to be expected by what I am hearing.). Towards the middle of the race the car is just kicking ass. Then when I get to the end of my run the car feels like it is starting to push a little bit. I personally think it is my driving and how I am trying to push the car to much after hearing really good lap times during the middle of the race or the car falling off like normal. I also think the car could be improved in some way. I am kinda on the fence with this one. When talking to Ryan and Jim yesterday I think Jim kinda agreed with me that it could be my driving (Please correct me if I am wrong in my understanding Jim). Anyone including Jim and Ryan have any ideas as to what it could be? Normal car falloff, driving, something I can change, or all of the above?

For me, with the 1/12 scale:

If I don't wipe the excess dope from my tires with a towel before I race, then it takes longer for the car to settle in.

If I don't stay in the groove, the the car gets unsettled and picks up fuzz and other stuff, making it push in the last 5 laps.

If you think the car can be improved, then ... ? Figure out what you want it to do and make a change. You can always change it back.

All really good points.

I don't think it is the excess dope as when I say it is harder to drive I mean is it has a little too much steering that I have to be really smooth about my driving to not loop out or traction roll. I have also changed how I dope and I have been wiping my tires before every race (more than I was after I made the current changes). What do you think after what I said above? Should I try to dope less or maybe wipe the tires more?

In regards to the groove. That could be what is causing this. Question for you. When you get outside of the grove does the car feel good for a few more laps and then start to mess up?

I am not sure what I can improve to make the car last longer. If I add more steering it might add more of the hard to drive laps and cause the middle to be less which would lower my lap times. Should I try and add more steering to get the car to last longer?

jeremy - the tires we run in wgt (lilac) come from the same family as purple/pink. they have a tendency to gather fuzz and other debris (tire dust) from the track. the groove is generally free from this debris due to the number of cars that travel over a small area on the track. ever watch a nascar race when they drive by the on track camera and all the crap rolls across the ground? same thing here. when your tires wear, they are actually being pulled apart by the friction between the carpet and the tire. little pieces of foam are flying everywhere(same stuff as what builds up on the under side of the body). it also falls off when people like you and ryan and brent hit the walls, which is why people should clean their bodies. add this to the natural fuzz that gets pulled out of the carpet and you get a bunch of crap that sticks to the tire and decreases the surface area of the tire to the carpet. which over the course of the course of the run takes steering away from the car. in other words. stay in the groove and quit hitting shit.

you see all of us "scrub" our cars in before we run. this does the same thing as running a few laps around the track. when you set your car down and it feels like it is on ice, you still have dope in the tire. wiping it off better and scrubbing it in better will make the car feel better in the early going. this is especially important with the purple/pink family, not so much with the black/white family (which is what we run in 1/12). in other words we dont do this because it make us look cool, you should do it too.

if your car goes to hell when the dope wears from the tire, it means your car needs more natural bite (setup), and applied bite (traction compund). but there is a natural "fade" from beginning to end. look at the qualifying sheets and mains listings. look at the fast guys first five laps and last five laps. average them and subtract. this will give you an idea of what should be "natural". in i start on 9.4's and finish on 9.9's then my car faded .5 from begining to end. your car should fade the same amount. if you start on 10.2's you should finish on 10.7's. in other words, you may be chasing a problem that is not a problem. i have to drive my stuff really easy the first few laps or it will lift too.

hope this helps.

I know what you meant by the first 5 laps .. if you don't wipe/scrub your tires properly you will most likely feel like you have alot of steering and it is hard to drive at least it is for me in 1/12th. Mario went into detail about this and things you can do.

The further away from the groove you get, the more crap you will pick up, especially near or on the boards. Sometimes you pick stuff up and sometimes you don't. Mario explained that as well.

If it was me .. I would figure that my tire preperation and driving line are something to look at if the car isn't completely going to hell at the end of the race like Mario said. For me at least, driving a foam car - I accept the fact that the first few laps will have a bit more steering than I want and the last few laps will not have enough steering, but during the whole run, the car is completely driveable.

This sounds like what I am seeing the most. This sounds like normal fade to me. I guess I will just have to live with it. See I have changed how I wipe the tires off and scrub the tires before the race since the last time you have watched me race (Took your advise on Saturday) .

I am also aware of the crap that is outside the line. I know I need to stay in the line and for the past couple of days I think I have been doing a lot better job of that than the past. The shit I keep hitting is the inside of a corner maybe like 1 to maybe 3 times at the most. After a couple of days of practice and implementing the suggestions I have been given thus far it seems that I am starting to notice the normal fade that I wasn't before (I take this as a good sign).

Like I said in the posts above I kinda thought it was normal fade but wasn't sure (like 25%). I also thought it could be getting out of the line, setup, or driving. I guess I was 50% right. That still means I failed... lol

Thanks

Fine with me. I was just echoing what some of the other guys in the club were saying about a meeting.

anyone have a 21.5 motor that they want to part with for a few bucks?

Got the f1 ready to go for thursday so if you have one bring it out..

1:15am

My F103 will be there.

Hey guys, just saw this posted and I know this layout would be loved by all at CORRC .......... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzIG7VU5SI4&NR=1

Mine will be ready to go.

What is the schedule like for Thursday?

I should be their around 3:30 and racing starts at 6:30

I am at the track (taking a day off work) if anyone wants to join me.