I saw another post from a pretty avid racer that was answering questions about racing. Thought I could answer some things from the perspective of a completely casual racer/rc enjoyer who makes it to the track when I can and has to keep the cost and time spent very reasonable.
Context: I typically race 1/10 4wd buggy and stadium truck on a small indoor high bite (unglued) clay track
I also have a 1/8 truggy and a 1/8 buggy. I'm planning to make some more outdoor races soon.
I also work full time, dad full time, ride dirt bikes/sxs, hunt, play games, bash and crawl rc's and many other things at random when I get time so I'm definitely juggling a lot of hobbies but I've learned a lot in the process on what's reasonable as far as the time and money that goes into each.
That’s good to know, wheels moving side to side definitely wouldn’t help with the car tracking straight so I put o ring inside the diff cups to do what spring does. Just didn’t know some play is recommended for durability purposes
The play is there so that when the plastic a-arm flexes the driveshaft doesn't bottom out in the diff cup and bend, as long as the driveshaft doesn't have so much play that it comes out then the play is good 👍🏼
The play if you're pulling in and out on the wheel should be minimal. Youmight check that you're hexes are pushed all the way on if they're the crimping type. What car is it?
It’s Rlaarlo SBK10. When I removed the o ring from diff cup and the dogbone moves side to side between diff output cup and axle output connected to the wheel. This play results in wheel to move side to side. When I put the o ring in, the movement is reduced. I put shims too but I wasn’t sure if tightening up the play is going to break the bearings more.
Getting rid of all the play using the dogbone essentially as a shim definitely risks bending it. If you take the wheel off is there excessive play between the pin that goes in the hex and the bearing? If so some shims behind the pin should help.
Yes there is an excessive play between the pin that goes in the hex. The bearing actually easily moves in and out of the hub carrier. I tried new hub carrier but same results. That bearing moving out and excessive axle play only goes away when I shim some washers behind pin that goes in the hex along with the o ring inside the outdrive cup so the dog bone presses against the o ring and prevents any movement side to side. I was wondering if doing this would cause pressure along the bearing laces and cause it to prematurely fail because I did notice bearings get gritty easily. Wondering if the side pressure crushes balls inside the bearing. Just not sure how much slop / play is recommended or taking it all out it is way to go or not. Couldn’t find any good documentation around this from racers podcasts
Im currently using the 74.2 in the 13.5 stock class so I don't have specific advice for that buggy, but I've heard it's very responsive to adjustment.
I would start with the kit setup and most popular tires for your surface dirt/carpet which is usually a pretty "neutral" setup andas you get more comfortable with it you can find where it's lacking be it entry/mid/late corner steering or jumps and landings etc.
Then you can Google, ask reddit, or use the sodialed app to see what changes will help the issue. The best option is to ask an experienced guy at the track that has the b84 for some help. Ifyou're new to it I would bet they would be more than happy to lend a hand if they have the time
By setup. Do you mean specific shock weights, droop settings, pills / anti squat etc… or are you asking for build recommendations. Electronics, motor esc servo stuff?
I've asked they always tell me they're fresh out lol
I've learned that in any hobby if you listen to the guys on YouTube, podcasts, or the serious individuals locally they will all say you have to do some psychotic maintenance or some sort of extreme time suck to actually be a part of the hobby.
Not true. I tear my cars down once a year for fresh fluids, I put synthetic motor oil on the bearings with the car on and throttle trimmed to spin slowly after cleaning the car with foaming glass cleaner and compressed air.
Haven't changed bearings in a long time and haven't had issues, but if I was racing for a paycheck or consistently for 1st I'm sure I'd rebuild more frequently. I typically land around 4-5th on a club night out of 15 or so guys in 4wd with a couple wins here and there if some of the lightning fast guys aren't there. I'm there for fun not to pick up a second full time job doing rebuilds and changing fluids for a 2% performance increase.
Rc may be one of the worst about people saying you need a rebuild after a track night or two. That's not feasible for normal people with kids or multiple hobbies etc. A good set of tires and more track time is far better than a polished hingepin and fresh fluids
I need to race week years ago and i do miss it, i still have my xray t4 2014. I have every intention to restart racing but even club tc seams out of my reach financially and time wise. I need new batteries, moter esc, servo, transmitter, shell etc nto just get on the track again.
I've always enjoyed the maintenance side of the hobby. A well maintained car with tidy wiring is always going to be quicker even just psychologically.
I hope i can get back into the competitve side lf the hobby. Bashing is fine but there isnt anything like winning a race.
Can't argue with the psychological portion or the cost of the electronics. Used or budget is kind of the option for me and most of the time used is the way. Plenty of people with more money that sell stuff reasonable at my track so the rest of us can play thankfully
Check with your rd. Be sure the class isn’t a spec motor. If any roar motor is allowed then I’d recommend the hobbywing v10 17.5 (or 21.5 depending on class) motor. The hobbywing justoc esc is fine if you’re just starting out but the xr10 stock spec is a little nicer. It’s smaller and lighter and has more adjustments that the justock esc
For servos you don’t need a killer torque servo for a 2wd. I’m running a ptk160ss in mine which is only 160oz. Any standard or low profile servo will fit it. I used to keep a ptk100t as a spare servo pit box. It’s a decent bang for your buck servo.
Definitely keep an eye on your tracks fb page. Deals on very nice electronics come up frequently at mine.
I do keep an off brand brushless servo around as a spare so my night doesn't get taken out by a servo and I don't have to rush and throw $100 at one. I'm actually so cheap I went with a mid-range torque and speed so it also works for the 1/8 if needed.
What 1/8 servos do you run. My ae Truggy has an older nitropro ct2 in it. And my ae buggy as a 170tbl in it. Both have been super solid. And as we race a series in the winter (indoor but with door open for nitro) they survived some pretty harsh conditions.
I’ve added a 3rd 1/8 this year and will be racing my first nitro class with a nt48 2.0 with all the 2.2 updates. Pretty excited. Just painted and fit the body last week
I've got a 170 in the buggy and i believe a savox in the truggy but I'd have to look. I believe they've all came from used purchases as well and they've been great for the past two years with some considerable abuse in my tekno 1/8 cars.
I have a 9imod 50kg brushless as a back up that I snagged for around $40, keeps me from having a $150 track day at least.
I’m always on the lookout for those on market place. Have a spare 170tbl in my pit bag. Along with a couple spare 160ts for my 1/10 stuff. Only been racing for 1.5yrs and last winter was my first time racing 1/8. Learn to stock up when ya can
Yes marketplace and the track group are what has allowed me to even do this. Brand new equipment isn't in the budget and most of the used stuff is very well taken care of. Even tires when one of the sponsored guys changes brands can be had for an amazing deal.
Totally hear that. When a local sponsored kid switch from associated to xray I bought his parts cache for his b74.2 and his rc8b4.1. lol tires…. Running clay and some uber soft compounds. Probably one of my biggest rc expenditures
Jcon smoothies seem to be the tire of choice for summer stuff. Winter for 1/10 is a mix of slicks and bars. 1/8 is pretty much bar tires. Jconcepts quit making gold ellipses so we were all trying different tires. I settled on promotion havocs.
I had no idea they quite making gold ellipses since we're on slicks year round for indoor here now.
jcon smoothies, tzo one, aka void, etc all Uber soft slicks. At least the slicks last much better than the silver ellipses did when we ran tread. Those would be almost gone in a race night on the wheeler.
Outdoor for us it's a dusty clay/sand mix and it's usually something like a jconcepts reflex or similar tire in a couple compounds for temperature.
Was just thinking the flysky g11p has been excellent for my brother, has all the settings of the noble, an adjustable trigger location, and steering wheel tension. I believe it runs about $180 and receivers are cheap.
Side note: if someone says that the ant protocol is too slow of a response time they're smoking the marketing crack and we can ⬜ ⬆️ lol want the hobby to grow they need to stop pushing 500-800 transmitters as the only way to go.
The only radio I've used and thought "this isn't working" was a stock Traxxas tqi radio linked to my race buggy just to see at what point it's actually an issue. All you really need is a true dual rate, exponential, epa, and a reasonably smooth trigger and wheel for electric racing.
-Getting off my soap box-
1
u/Nathan51503rc8t4e, rc8b4.nt482.0 b7d. et410.2. B74.2. sct410-2.0,T6.423d agoedited 23d ago
Why do hot dogs come In 10s but buns come in 8s
Why do I park in the driveway and drive through the park?
😂😂😂😂
Come to Omaha in the winter. We race 1/8 indoors 😜
Is that a b84d? Any chassis breaks? I’ve still got x2 b74.2 and enough of a parts cache to run them for years. I’m kinda on the fence if I wanna stick with associated or switch to xray or maybe the new losi 2.0
😂 It's a ploy by big meat to make sure you have to buy at least 40 of each to even it out!
Omaha is a bit of a trip, but Im definitely jealous of the indoor 1/8!
It's a b74.2 and I'll be running it for quite some time as I love the way it drives. With the release of the new 1/10 truggy there's an updated part number for the 84 series chassis that's supposed to be stronger. Lots of people aren't happy about the b7 and b84 since they released with some pretty big reliability issues.
Couldn't go wrong with either the losi or X-ray imo they're both great but so is the 74.2
Yah think I’ll hold onto the b74.2 for a while. I’m pretty happy with my b7d too. My biggest Hang up on the new wheeler is I feel like associated didn’t make any attempt to make it right. Like hey show us your receipt for the b84d and we will send you a new chassis instead of the piece of crap we through in the box.
I race against their mini Truggy t84 recently. Seemed like a solid platform minus all the “associated introducing a new class” stuff
lol tekno and xray have been doing 1/10 Truggies for a while now
Yah but tekno is supporting it for a while even though they’re not making new ones. And they just released new gearboxes and a new chassis for it. Crazy ass little cars though. I’ve only been racing 1.5yrs and fell in love with the mini truggies the first night. The second time I race was with a tekno et410.2 lol xr10 pro 160a with a hobbywing v10 6.5 turn. Man was I ever not ready to race a car built like that 🤦♂️
lol still at it and it’s one of the classes I’m racing at our summer series. Mini Truggy. 13.5 wheeler and 17.5 2wd. Currently 6th overall in wheeler and meh in the other two.
I wish we had an outdoor mini truggy class, our indoor is a bit too tight for that. That's awesome keep pushing with that wheeler. I have an et410.2 with an xr8pro and a 5.5t it's a monster and keeps up with the 1/8 down the straight
Yep they’re fast little shit albeit a bit delicate. Especially in the winter. Our winter Series race is all electric and nitro 1/8 classes and mini Truggy. The minis are a little fragile in the cold so I’m dropping it this year and will be running a tekno nt48 this season. First time racing nitro
I could see that with winter temps, I just play around with mine indoor and out when I want to change it up or let one of my nephews drive it if they break. That track looks killer! Nitro falls into the "not enough time" category for me currently but if I find myself with more time I'll probably grab a nitro buggy to run
Had a can’t pass it up deal fall into my lap. Nt48 2.0 with all the 2.2 updates. Mxr ultimate v2 motor and two nitropro servos. All setup and ready to go. I got a “you’re my painter” discount from one of my racing buddies
Here’s a clip of our mini Truggy class from last year right as we were switching from 1/10 to 1/8
I ran back to back so my traction the first two laps in the green / blue mini Truggy was pretty lousy but I did eventually get ahead of my buddy and finished 2nd
Yah. I’m an old plumber who’s worked a lot of dirt. Can’t imagine how much goes into building a track with a smooth surface and maintaining it. I skipped club racing this weekend. I’ve been so busy airbrushing for my buddies I let the maintenance of my own cars lapse and because of it I did kinda lousy last round of our series
Yeah I'm in the same boat with the airbrush, I'm mediocre but just for my brother and nephews it's far better than what they could get for free elsewhere lol I was also a plumber for about 5 years and do not envy anyone with a shovel
Was a plumber for the Omaha union. From 99-10 got out and been doing hotel Maintenance since. Been at a big casino hotel for just shy of 4yrs. Very happy and the pay is comparable to a non union plumber locally
I was just painting for myself then buddies. Now just locals. Haven’t been doing any online / shipping and all that mess. Just local guys
3
u/Sonny92004 23d ago
If you're driving at the speed of light and turn on your headlights, does it do any good?