Kraig

iTrader: (81)

Don't forget, Toys for Tot's race this Saturday! In addition, it is Round 3 of the Saturday Fever Series too!

Regular racing program Friday night as well!

Truth be told, Trackside has a great selection of items to purchase for the Toys for Tot's race! Hurry in before they are all gone!

AssocRacer

iTrader: (10)

Agreed. 13.5 wheeler has really taken off. There's been a class every Friday I've raced but only a few times has there been mod wheeler.

Kraig

iTrader: (81)

What a great day of racing yesterday for the 1st Annual Toys for Tots! Special thanks to everyone and I mean everyone who helped make this race very special!!! I know there will be some very happy kids this Christmas!



Speaking of the racing, check the "Results" tab on Live RC for Trackside! Stock Buggy A-Main qualifying was separated by less than 5 seconds! Modified Buggy top 2 were just over 1 second apart whereas 3-7 where right around 3 seconds.

Sorry, I forgot to get the results before I left last night.

More photos and videos can be found on the Trackside Facebook page.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

psst..what are AE guys running for gearing in 13.5 wheeler?

thanks

AssocRacer

iTrader: (10)

Biggest pinion I can fit on my 44.3 is a 29. Thought I had heard that some guys have elongated the holes for the motor mount to be able to fit bigger ones. I'm good with the 29. Good temps and I can still clear the triple no problem if I make the corner right.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

On what spur?

AssocRacer

iTrader: (10)

AE only has one spur for the 44.3 right now. It's an 81T.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

I have more options then, I'm not running a .3

But now that I know the numbers (81/29ish) I can at least do the math and get myself close. Thanks for the info.

heinen81

Ok, not to start a fire... but 13.5 wheeler? Another class? I guess I have a few questions because maybe this makes more sense than I originally thought. First, is 13.5 a blinky class? If so, this will just ratchet costs up again as everyone tries to get the lightest buggy with the lowest possible rotating weight, among other things... just to drain every ounce of power and acceleration out of it. Much like 17.5 racing. I have 40% more cost in my B5M 17.5 to be competitive than in my 44.3 with a 7.5 that has way more than enough power and acceleration than is needed... to the point where I dial it way back, but its free power if I need it. I just cant imagine taking 4wd buggy and now forming 2 smaller classes separated by motor. If its to make it a beginner class, I can somewhat see the point.... but if it was intended to lower costs, it will undoubtedly raise it. A blinky setup does not cost a whole lot less than a mod set up, and the cost of adding all the lightest parts to make up for the limited power negates the intended purpose of the class. Like I said, not trying to start an argument, just wondering its intended purpose.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

Adding 13.5 wheeler is no different than having stock and mod 2wd buggy,IMO.

Look how many 13.5 wheelers were at the Spektrum race, do you think all of those people would have run Mod/Open wheeler..NO

heinen81

If there was no 13.5 class, why wouldn't they run mod? I cant imagine the 13.5 option is the only reason they got into wheeler. I'm not even arguing its a bad idea.... just wondering if it's blinky, and what the 13.5 class was designed to do? It sounds like its cutting the throat of mod wheelers, and that turns racers away at the door who mostly likely own a mod (such as the guy visiting for the holidays), as 13.5 is rare anywhere else. I guess it depends if you want one big class of a certain vehicle, or several smaller classes. Or worse yet.... one dies completely. I will say this, spec classes cost way more than open ever will in the long run. Whether it be racing RC cars or big cars.

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

This is the Trackside forum. I'll let the regulars answer your questions. But it seems to me that the 13.5 wheeler class is growing in popularity, and not just at Trackside. You talk about cost but look at the popularity of Stock buggy at Trackside. Tell them all to run Mod buggy and see what happens..lol

heinen81

lol true story. We have days of 12-16 stock 2wd buggies, with next to no mod 2wd. I really like stock 2wd buggy, minus the fact you have to replace half the parts with lighter option parts. I feel like the racing is allot tighter though in stock.

Kraig

iTrader: (81)

Yes, 13.5 is blinky. Yes, it is very popular in the short time that it has been offered.

I see people running this class that would probably never run either buggy (stock or mod) or mod wheeler on a consistent basis. Personally, I am jumping into this class in the near future because I know darn well there is no way I could handle a full blown modified wheeler. I tried mod buggy and I took my lumps and I am currently in a healing process.

As for having light weight everything for stock 17.5 I don't buy into that theory. My B5M has the aluminum top shaft and a few aluminum screws. I didn't buy the mip puck system, cut my plastic, have my chassis machined or anything else fancy done to it. In fact, I am running the hard plastic in some areas and while I have not weighed those parts myself I believe they are heavier than the stock pieces. My car seems to be pretty quick and once in awhile I can turn that hero lap that is almost as fast as those really fast guys but my talent prevents me from doing it on a consistent basis.

heinen81

I would agree the lightest parts may not be critical for everyone, myself included, but for sure the top drivers by us are to the point they need all those items to keep up with each other. You can really tell in the technical parts of the track where their high torque rotors and aluminum top shafts and puck set up really spools up quicker. Straight speed is pretty close across the board, but when it comes to the tight sections, they just launch 2 car lengths on everyone else running the same lines. Also, where everyone else needs to run a perfect line to cleanly "double-single" the triple, they can afford to come off the pipe tighter and clear it with ease. That's another $150 in parts above stock, plus the other lighter items they switched out, and they tried my car and said it handles good and has good power, but they could tell it needed to lose some rotating weight in the quick transition sections (after determining motor temps and gearing is where I needed to be). They also spend a ton on the best batteries as well, anything that will wring that last ounce of power out of a 17.5 spec setup. Now with my 44.3 with a 7.5, it is way overpowered to begin with...so no lightening of the drivetrain or car is needed, $40 SMC batteries more than do the job, so power isn't an issue, and handled great out of the box so it comes down to all driver and tires...smooth on the throttle and brakes. Anytime you make everyone run a stock setup, that can use every ounce of the electronics available power on motor turns of 13.5-21.5, it forces people to find other ways to gain an advantage and compensate for the fact the car could use more power than the electronics can supply (which usually lands up being high dollar batteries, lightest drivetrain/chassis parts & high torque rotors). I think the 13.5 is a cool idea, and if Innovative switched to that, I would have zero complaints... but I do realize the cost to compete at a high level will go up. I will probably order a 13.5 so I can come down by you guys and give it a shot.