fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

they had a 2 day states event there about 2 weeks ago. it brought down alot of racers from the greater phoenix area for 3-5 weeks prior. after that it slowed drasticly, also saturday race is now on summer hours 7 pm.

to top that HT drivers stand was broken into, someone stole the race computer. so this past saturday was just a practice day, not sure if they will be ready this weds/sat, you may want to call

fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

HT crew has redone the layout, pics below JoeAdezign LLC track

full length track straight, huge roll over/jump option, three doubles and one triple. track is much faster than previous 2-3 layouts

Steingass

Do they still use mylaps transponders?

Socket

iTrader: (61)

Yes.

fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

Jason and Cole did some serious work on the track for HTs Western World race this past friday and saturday. some testing also being done huge jump had two types of carpet at landing/turn area, and carpet on triple launch. there was no traction issues in dirt to carpet transfers, tire selection overall was same as usual. dirt portion of the track was seriously smooth and hard packed. very nice flowing layout

the oval track was dug up and redone, and steamrolled smooth. the infield also smoothed out drivers are able to roll into, out and thru mid easier. inner white pipes were removed, and replaced with 4 dots at each end and inner arc paint marked. there was some concern over inner pipes being removed, corner cutting, etc. the dots will roll or slightly launch you, imo are less punishing than the inner pipes were.

fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

there was a facebook announcement made today, i was sent a copy to my phone, basicly says:

Hobbytown Tucson AZ
- going to astroturf for the offroad with wood jumps, starts 4-5th feb
- new track rules will be inplace
- ROAR rules will be mostly used
- technical side will be enforced: motors, ESCs, length, width, weight
- astro tires are coming with special price (discounts?)


i do not do FB, so not sure which FB exact name page they are posting it on, the FB link i find for this HT https://www.facebook.com/pages/Hobby...63007883726588 shows like last posts from 2-4 years ago.

as you see from previous post photos carpet (2 types) was being used/tested on the track, more was added later, (not in photos) and it worked really well.

Riverbluff

Not looking forward to the change at all. This is an out door "Off Road" track. going to turf is going to sterilize the off road portion of it and just make the fast guys that much faster. I'll give it a try, but I really think I'll be spending most of my racing time up in Hobby Action.

The decision to go to turf, is just adding a lot of expense having to set up for turf. The only ones that really seem in favor of the change are the fast guys anyway.

DesertRat

iTrader: (2)

I think you are completely wrong. It will make a consistent racing surface and people wont have to deal with tires a tenth as often as they had to before, as a result it will speed up the slow a lot more than it will speed up the fast.

Or do you want it to be a constant fight to keep the exact amount of moisture in the dirt from round to round, the parts in the shade and not, and in the end wind up drawing the short straw of running in the 'mud heat'?

Riverbluff

Honestly, that's part of the fun. I like the fact the track changes. Sure there are time the track is not perfect, sometimes too wet, sometimes too dry. It is off road and it's a big part of what makes off road what it is. It actually defeats the purpose of haveing an off road buggy/truck. If we were running rally cars then I'd say let's go for it, but we're not. We're running off road buggys and trucks.

Plus, this change to astroturf is going to exclude the 1/8 scale racers that came out. It's already been said 1/8 scale will be on hold, and if they let 1/8 scale happen, it is going to destroy the turf.

fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

i myself have never run astro for offroad, i have run grey ozite with wood jumps but only thru winters till summer came, this used to be frowned upon for near 30 years....now run year round for some. today's specialized dirt tracks come damm close to having the same traction as various carpets and track surface changes are minimal at these indoor unique dirt/clay/additive tracks where slicks/non pinned tires are the norm, by far not extreme as what racers experience on what is referred by some as old school outdoor untreated tracks. with RM in charge of Hobby Actions new track, pretty sure it will be a consistent med/high traction track and will be done up to match other top racing facilities across the country. although dirt, there will be no racers having to run heats run muddy, then some closer to perfect and others having to deal dry/slick conditions on a race day/night.

i have not talked to anyone at the track since this announcement that was phone linked to me, just recently found out about 1/8 scale will not be allowed thru Pat who informed me what daddy doh and crew were told. i understand that eight scales can be very damaging to most track surfaces. curious now on stance HT will take on many 4x4 short course trucks since they are basicly 1/8 scales made into SC? before i convert my 1/8th scale

DesertRat

iTrader: (2)

A big limiter to RC racing is the control racers have over their cars. Astroturf will eliminate chores and guesswork. When a surface is grippy and the tires are a known quantity, the tuning the car is considerably easier as is the driving.

A turf track will better stand up to the elements, not need to be swept or messed with, and better put down power. As long as it's not built into a motocross track with 27 jumps it should be a lot of fun.

fast-ho-cars

iTrader: (4)

in a conversation with jason back in Oct, he was mentioned flattening the track, putting down some specialized substrate that is compacted. this material would also enhance drainage.

he showed me some carpet samples then and asked one type, if i thought 12th cars could be run on it. imo it looked runable, in the past i have run 12th cars at indoor tracks that weren't Ozite/felts type. with astro going down now, i would say no.

onroad racing on astro? if the track will be flat and jumps are portable and removable with ease has me thinking in terms of TCs though. maybe 21.5 or 25.5 VTA TCs might work with a spec tire.

Coke in a can

iTrader: (23)

You can't run onroad cars on astro.

mrbirchum

iTrader: (1)

Hello all,

I used to race at SRS and Fear Farm up in PHX about 6 years ago. Now I find myself in Tucson (about 5 minutes from the now closed Competition Hobbies dammit) and getting the itch to get back into things. Looks like Hobbytown is the only option here now with the sports park closing off Ina/I10.

I see they are switching things up with Astroturf or whatever, but wondering what are the popular classes here. I ran an SC10 and dabbled in the SC10 4x4 (and got my @ss handed to me by Tommy Hinz, Ryan Maifield, et al) so just checking to see what would be a good class for a novice to get reacquainted with. At SRS most classes were dominated by the local pros, so looking for something that mere humans might be competitive in.

Thanks!

Coke in a can

iTrader: (23)

2wd buggy is the largest class. Since they're going turf, your friendliest and lowest cost option is to buy a rc10B6 (NON D) and run it. Hobbytown is converting to astro turf on february 4th and after yesterday will no longer be dirt.