You Am I posted:

Wow, that almost looks like a TA04 but with the spur/pinion on the other side. Strange setup for a TA05, usually they ran the motor on one side of the chassis, like the 415.

Somewhat Heroic posted:

SCX10 SPOTTED! That Tamiya looks sick! The local hobby shop I used to work at has one in stock and it looks AWESOME! I would totally get it, but just don't want to spend that much on a car I will slip and slide with. I would consider the Hot Bodies Cyclone D-SPEC since parts would be more easily accessible to me.

krushgroove posted:

If you just like to build stuff and won't race, you might want to look into things like the rc4wd.com truck kits or the Tamiya vintage re-release kits. Lots of good stuff out there

TremorX posted:

I've been reasonably successful with mine over the past few months. The HD lightweight outdrives all around are a must-buy, as the stock ones will start to notch or break after a few races. I run the same motor you've got; use a 13T pinion on a tight track, 14-16 on a larger one.

Our track is a bit loose and dusty but grooves up pretty well, and is fairly tight with only one decent-length straightaway. I run 27.5W in the rear shocks, 32.5W in front. For diff oils, 3-5-2 is awesome - plenty of quick acceleration and tons of steering both on and off throttle. I've ran 5-7-3 too, but in this truck it's too stiff. Terrible off-power steering and your tires will look like pizza cutters going down the straight. It's more ideal for larger tracks with more straights and bigger jumps (worked great at Psycho Nitro Blast). Keep your ride-height fairly low (I go with arms level in the front, dogbones level in the back). I cut the side parts off of my rear bumper because mudflaps just drag and the bumper tears the body up.

I've also got the M2C tapered-hole shock pistons and swear by them. It really settles the truck down on bumpy surfaces and lets you barrel through them with ease.

Also, you're probably aware but if not - take off the battery tray and look underneath - there are small clips for you to run your ESC wires through to your radio box. Neatens it up a bit and keeps the wires away from spinning parts. Definitely try to grab an aluminum servo horn at some point.

Since November I've consistently had the fastest Losi on the track, and I've only been beat by a guy with a Durango, and our resident Fast Guy's SC10.

TremorX posted:

Yep, that's them. They're fantastic on bumpy and blown-out tracks.

BTW, how well does that Castle fan fit on the Pro4? I want to put a fan on mine but haven't really looked into what all fits.

TremorX posted:

Nice! Here's mine:

TremorX posted:

Nice! From the looks of it you've got more than enough steering... you might want try a little thicker diff oils, 5-5-3 might work a little better on that track, especially if you power out instead of in on curves. It should really help you launch on those areas covered in astroturf, too. With the extra acceleration and if you can get the hang of gyroing this truck around you should be able to clear that triple in the middle with it.

Since switching to the Pro4 4600 from a Novak 550 4.5t, I've had to watch how much throttle I use going on jumps because I kept overshooting everything. I think the setup I've got now is about as close to perfect for me on the track I run as I can get it... I ran a 34.1s lap last race, 2 seconds ahead of the field during quals. I choked in the main (lap traffic decided to play bumper cars instead of yielding to leader) and wound up 2nd.

Olde Weird Tip posted:

Best current MT continues to be the Stampede 4x4

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

I had a typo in my quote, I meant AE SC10 (not SCX10).

Yeah, our stock class just means you have to run the stock motor or a 17.5 brushless. I liked my SC10....but it didn't really handle that much better than the Slash, and I would snap parts on it from time to time. I had some horrific crashes with the Slash (flat bottoming on pipe w/ railroad stake sticking out) and the fucker just wouldn't break. Even watching the pro class guys race the Short Course trucks makes for a ton of bangin'.....but that's why I love the class!

Speed Energy is now a sponsor of Bigfoot, so I'm trying to work a connection for them to hook me up with a Speed Energy-edition Slash truck .

You Am I posted:

I have a M03, earlier model. The M series chassis, once you are using a Lipo battery, are almost maintenance free and nearly impossible to break (c-hubs in the front suspension are the weak point).

The M05 has a lower centre of gravity, so won't traction roll when you go through corners too fast, unlike with the M03.

This site has great info on most M Chassis: http://www.rc-mini.net/joomla/index.php

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

Welp....I just listed my SCX10 w/ all my bodies & radio for $500 on several forums. That will give me the budget to get a SCT and deck it out with new radio & electronics.

loving racing....I try to quit but the urge keeps coming back.

TremorX posted:

No poo poo, I just dropped about $700 today on a Hot Bodies Ve8, Tekin T8 1900KV, and a couple of batteries. Electric buggy is blowing up around here and I want in.

needknees posted:

1/8th e is a loving blast. You won't regret trying it out... other than paying for tires, hah!

I've had a few different e buggies and they've all had pros and cons. I started out with a Tekno v4 converted MBX6. Great car, built like a brick shithouse. Easy to drive hard, very stable at the limit. Later ended up with a Kyosho MP9 converted to electric and partially upgraded to TKi2 spec. Nimble but still easy to drive, not quite as sturdy as the Mugen was though. Awesome motor mount. Parts prices are INSANE for Kyosho, that's a huge turnoff for me.

I've now got a RC8.2e and I'm pretty drat happy with it. It's definitely cheaper to run than the MP9 and performs just as well (if not better). The suspension is shockingly plush, and it handles great. It can almost be too edgy depending on setup, still playing around with it.

However, if you're waiting till next winter to get a 1/8th e car I'd take a VERY SERIOUS look at Tekno's soon-to-be-released EB48 I linked to on the last page. It's their first full car but it looks extremely well laid out, and was designed to be electric from the get go. The way they packaged everything in there is brilliant. The driveline is near perfectly straight, and the weight bias is designed around electronics rather than a light nitro engine.

It's also extremely light... In testing they've gotten full ready to run cars down to 6.75lbs! I think this is going to be the buggy to beat for tight tracks, and the videos I've seen of it on a large outdoor track is also very promising.

Here comes that addiction part again... I'll probably snag one to try out after they've been on the market for awhile to work the kinks out

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

Yeah, I love the truck....but I want to go racing again! Crawling was a nice "palette cleanse" (and a ton of fun), but I'm looking to race again. My budget right now won't allow me to own several models like the old days .

I'd love to try out 1/8 electric. I know it's totally blown up here. Our summer racing track used to just be 1/8 nitro (and still predominantly is), but there is gigantic class of 1/8 electric now, too.

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

Yeah, what did me in was driving by our outdoor track. Here are some shots of the two big offroad clubs.

During the winter, this is the hot spot. Normally 2 national races per winter, and club racing with 100 cars on a slow day. It's called SmacTrac. During the summer they race a short program on Thursdays to leave Saturdays open for the club below.



This is the awesome St. Louis Dirtburners club track. Normally 2-3 national races per season during the summer.




I also have 2 carpet tracks, a killer dirt oval, and a more laid back "basher" offroad club also in STL. 10 years ago there wasn't much, now it's just insane.

I do have some question that perhaps the racers in here can answer. I got out of racing because I was sick of people taking it too serious, and I was also frustrated because I was rarely shown the same "politeness" on the track that I would show other racers. I ALWAYS yield to leaders, and try and pass/give the right way. I would routinely get plowed, etc. I think I'm going to just go by the "I'll give you one chance to let me by, and the second time I'm going to plow through you" way of driving.

Never done it before, but I think it would alleviate the frustration of being "the nice guy" on the track. How do you folks handle it?

edit - That Datsun is loving sweet!

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

I'm leaning towards to a Castle SCT 3800 system after hearing good things....and it's much cheaper than a Tekin/Viper system. I had a Castle brushless system in my mini late model when I used to race dirt oval, and won many a feature with that thing.

Would the castle be decent for my XXX SCT?

Aceshighxxx posted:

I've gotten my Tamiya M-05 kit put together and painted, and now it's time for electronics. I was thinking about using Traxxas parts since that is what I'm familiar with. Would I be putting myself at a disadvantage by doing this? Here is a tentative parts list:

Team Orion Rocket Pack 25C 4000 mAh Lipo
Stock Silvercan
Traxxas XL-5 ESC with low voltage cutoff
Traxxas 2075 servo
Traxxas TQi 2.4 GHz transmitter and receiver

I'd love to hear suggestions for better parts to use. I really have no R/C experience beyond my two Slashes.

Jim Silly-Balls posted:

In non-scaler news, I pulled the trigger on a Pede 4x4 rolling chassis. Cant wait to be pulling wheelies again! I like my Slash, but I'm not racing anymore, so the bashing isnt as fun with it.

needknees posted:

Oh help me god. I just ordered a 1/12th pan car.

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

Sweet drifting video, I could watch that poo poo forever....it's very hypnotizing.

ColonelJohnMatrix posted:

Yes they are. Proline sells a JK 2 door body to fit the Dingo wheelbase, and a 4 Door Unlimited body for the Honcho wheelbase.

That 1/8th scale looks like a beaut. If I ever decide to race again I should just bite the bullet and buy one of those things.

front wing flexing posted:

This is what it's all about. Amazing cars, control, and even track. Love it.

tuna posted:

Cool stuff, newly built 1/8 kit buddy

What tires are you going to be running?

needknees posted:

Sucks about the battery... always always always use blue loctite on your pinion grub screw and really crank down on that sucker. The torque of 1/8th is pretty insane.

Also please fix your camber . Aim for ~ -1 to -2 degrees of camber. You've got positive camber right now, that will really affect how the car handles.

HoWSeR I'm insanely jealous. Definitely picking a tekno car up in the near future... looks like it's going to be an rear end kicker.

needknees posted:

Haha it is a sickness... I swear! I just put my name on the last Tekno car in our LHS... damnit.

Crawlers would be a bunch of fun to mess around with but that's just another whole segment of the hobby I know nothing about, lol. Kinda like this!

needknees posted: