Sedan & Buggy Racing in Arizona
Tamiya Fast Attack Vehicle: Ok, so I never owned this car, but I did drive it enough to warrant a mini-review.
This car was slow, and it had coil over springs instead of shocks. It was also extremely heavy, and almost always bottomed
out over jumps and other obstacles. It was equipped, stock, with street treaded tires, making off-road traction poor at best. This car
was really made for the street - it was difficult to flip. However, what it lacked in performance, it made up with sheer scale realism.
This was perhaps one of the coolest buggys I have ever seen!
Tamiya Hornet: This was basically the modified version of the Grasshopper. It featured a double spring rear end that kinda simulated independent suspension, but it really didn't work. Other features included real oil-filled shocks in the rear, front springs, direct steering with a servo-saver, and a plastic tub chassis. The lighter weight of this car made it faster than my friends Fast Attack, but it was still an entry level car.
Tamiya Frog: My first car with full independent suspension. I traded my Hornet for this one! I even raced this car for a while. It featured 48 pitch gears, fully booted dog bones, oil filled shocks in the rear, and a ladder frame chassis. Unfortunately, it also had metal spider gears in the differential that proved to be troublesome under high stress. Especially once I started racing it! This car did get me a second place win at our local track though.
Mauri Big Bear: For those of you that don't remember Mauri products, they were inexpensive kits that came out in the late eighties, and they were pretty much gone within a year and a half. The Big Bear was their monster truck, with tires that measured four inches across! It sported full spring suspension, and the smallest ball joints in the steering linkages. All it took was one good hit, and the steering linkage would pop right off. This thing sucked! But it was impressive to run.
Kyosho Icarus: This would be the first car I owned that would sport four oil filled shocks. However, a poor suspension setup that consisted of suspension arms that you folded for movement, made this car a poor purchase. It had WAY too much steering, but the coolest thing about it was its full plastic roll cage. I didn't keep this car very long at all.
Kyosho Ultima Outlaw Stadium Truck: My first and only stadium truck, I was extremely satisfied with this model until I tried to race it. Never confuse a recreational model with a race ready one. I began to modify my truck in hopes of catching up with the Losi LXTs and the Associated trucks, but all that I ever did was strip out spur gear after spur gear.
Parma California Sport Truck: My first direct drive car was by far the fastest electric I ever owned. Unfortunately, this was one cheap model. It had no rear suspension, and the kit consisted of less than twenty total parts. The hardest part was probably the rear axle, this was the first ball differential I had ever assembled. I hooked up an eleven turn double to this car, and instantly had a 45mph rocket! This thing was fast, but very out of control. It was almost impossible to keep it in a straight line.
Kyosho Stinger: Suddenly, speed was everything, and I wanted longer run times, and... Well, you know all those stories they tell you about gas cars. So I purchased my first one, a 1/10th scale 4wd buggy. I also purchased an OS CZ-R, a stage three head, graphite fly wheel, hard anodized shocks, tuned pipe, all the support equipment, and some different rims and tires. Soon I was screaming up and down the street. I learned a hard lesson with this car. Things break a lot faster at 40mph! I remember one time, at the local park, where I came off a bike jump at full throttle, jumping the car seven feet in the air, and about fifty feet in distance, and for about $70 in damage. It didn't take long before this thing sucked up all my money. Make no mistake, gas cars are EXPENSIVE! If you ever go gas, I would recommend a 1/8 scale before you pick up a 1/10 scale. The smaller motors are much more finicky.
Tamiya Toyota Pre-Runner: I picked this one up because the kit was fairly inexpensive, and it looked kinda neat. However, the novelty of a scale truck soon ran out. This thing handled worse than my Outlaw Ultima did! And you couldn't really stunt it, even with the 4wd. Well, following a long time urge, I lowered it, and what followed may seem slightly excessive:
For on-road action, I use Associated 80wt silicon shock oil and one hole pistons, both front and rear.
I run blue springs in the front (hard), and yellow in the rear (medium). I also run about a degree of
front toe in, and about a degree of camber. My on road car uses a 69 tooth spur gear, and a 22 tooth pinion.
It's fast with this combo, but not nearly as fast as the Yokomo and the HPI touring cars.
Those cars are so much faster that I have retired from racing for the moment. And if anything, this car bites too much!
It gets massive traction on all surfaces, much to my dismay! With the in-line chassis, the car just wants to flip over on high bite tracks.
I am a little foggy on my off road setup, but here it goes. (When I was racing my stadium truck) I used soft springs in the front, and mediums in the rear. Try Associateds 30wt silicon shock oil, and two hole pistons. I used this combo and never was too embarrased by all the race trucks.
So why modify my current car so much? Well, I wanted to start racing. Unfortunately, we had to wait for Fast Line to open before there would be any real Sedan racing in the valley.
But when they did, oh was it ever worth it! The track was laid in blacktop so smooth, it was like concrete, but with bite! This track was suitable for the type of twisty road courses I would be craving!
Unfortunately, Fast Line doesn't exist any more. Such is the short termed life of a hobby store. All we can remember them by are a few
pictures I took while racing.
Do yourself a favor. If you want to be competitive, buy an HPI RS4. They are much faster, handle better, and are easier to tune. The day I placed second at Fast Line, I was eaten alive by a stock RS4. Not even ball bearings in his car. It was just plain out faster, could hook a corner better, and was lighter. However, if you want to just toast them all...
Yokomo's YR4 is by far the fastest R/C car I have ever seen. One day while racing, a man from Minnesota popped in, beat every single one of us, and did it with a mildly modified Yokomo YR4. His motor wasn't better than anyone else's, and other people drove flawless races also, but for some reason, he could hook that corner just a little faster than everyone else. It was the most stable car on the track.
Racing Style: Ok, I have been debating this one in my mind for a while.
I have tried both over-steering corners, and the steady apex method. Taking a corner nice and easy has it's merits,
but if I am going for the gold, I will over-steer the corner every time. It looks very dramatic when the car suddenly spins 180 degrees and takes off.
It also seems to upset other people. Well, that is part of the fun of racing.
Following a major surgery, I decided to buy another kit to occupy all my free-time away from work. What to get? Well, my Big Truck conversion was a failure. Weak dog-bones prevented me from running truck tires (Probably should only run buggy sized tires) or a modified motor. I know I wanted an off-road car, but should I get a truck, or a buggy? I decided to go with the buggy.
I ended up purchasing an Associated RC10-B2. See the links below to read all about my build with this car. Essentialy, this is a race kit, and does not come with Electrics. This means that you must supply some fairly expensive stuff to get this kit to run. Here is my build list:
You might notice that I purchased a new center drag link, and a new spur gear. These purchases were necessary to finish my car since the correct parts were not supplied with my kit. A quick call to Associated had new parts on the way, but being the impatient builder I am, I went ahead and blew the seven bucks.
Before you blaze off into the sunset, check out some of these places!
| Links | Title | Descriptions |
|---|---|---|
 |
Painting Bodies | I don't claim to be an expert, but this how-to will get you started! |
 |
Converting your TA-02 | Hankering to convert you TA-02 into a serious thrasher? Check out the pros and cons with this how-to guide. |
 | Associated's RC10B2 | An in depth look into the build process of a true race car. |
 |
Tower Hobbies | The definative Authority. Go here to find tons and tons of links! |
 |
Ballistic Batteries | One of our local manufacturers, Ballistic offers some of the best batteries on the market! |
Thirst for knowledge? Need to tell me a thing or two? Send me some E-Mail.
