Author Topic: At the track.  (Read 285674 times)

Offline steamer

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At the track.
« on: December 01, 2013, 12:08:36 PM »
Spent 4 hours at the RC race track as pit crew for my son yesterday.   It was a practice session, but with 30 plus cars on the track at any given time, it gets pretty crazy!......My son did very well, and we are both learning a lot about suspension set up, and repairing damaged car bodies.   His car has way too much power for the conditions, and try as we may, we just couldn't get her to "hook up" well...so he had to be very controlled on his launches out of corners or he'd spin out.   The clay track is tearing up his tires, and the camber was off on one of the rear wheels, which is what I THINK was causing the car to not behave consistently....I've corrected that....additionally, I spent some money on GOOD tires and rims, and had them mounted.   Though he is to use these tires for the track only! ($$$$$$$$)   He has the speed on the straights to keep up with just about anyone there though, so as his driving improves...

I had to up the spring rates on the front and rear shocks, He was bottoming out too much, ....and we have some serious repair work to do on the body!.....they take a real beating.

Seems to be all about mastering the suspension and matching the tires to the conditions at hand....it really makes a difference!

Nothing broke, and he had a good day......though I'm beat!

Just so you can get a feel for this, this is a video of a recent national event at the facility we were at on the same track....some of these cars are pushing 50 MPH just before the turn on the front straight....and they stick the turn!.....full independent suspensions with oil shocks, anti-lock brakes...not I'm not kidding....ect

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgUP_6YFI6U" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgUP_6YFI6U</a>

Pretty cool!

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline wagnmkr

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2013, 01:44:13 PM »
That vid brings back many good memories. I played with r/c cars for many years and really enjoyed it. I found that the most important part of the whole thing was to have all the power going to the track. Tires, shocks, even the type of oil in the shocks made a large difference. Big power could be a problem and I found that stock power, with proper set up won most of the races. The big power cars spent a lot of time waiting to get put back on their wheels or the track.

Wait until your son wants to do a 24 hr race with you as part of the crew. I did 3 of them and they are very tiring.

Glad you enjoyed the quality time.

Cheers,

Tom
I was cut out to be rich ... but ... I was sewn up all wrong!

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2013, 01:58:05 PM »
Great video Dave...as you say, those cars really stick to the track too. The spotters didn't have a lot to do it seems though near the end it looked like one car almost flew into the leg of the near spotter...that could hurt!!

Glad you had a good day with your son though. I'm glad I don't need another hobby or I could really get into this...lol.

Bill

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #3 on: December 01, 2013, 03:22:27 PM »
Bill
That vid is of a recent national race.  So the drivers were better than the average bears

The practices are more like a football game on the 1 yard line..... 8)

Dave


I share your observations Tom.  There were a lot more highly modified cars there that were no faster than my Son's car.  It has all the pwer it needs.
« Last Edit: December 01, 2013, 03:34:42 PM by steamer »
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline smfr

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #4 on: December 01, 2013, 04:37:25 PM »
Wow they catch some serious air! Fun stuff!

Simon

Online Kim

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #5 on: December 02, 2013, 04:39:16 AM »
Glad you guys had fun, Dave!  That does look pretty cool.  I've only done street RC with my son.  We've had a lot of fun with that.  Looks like you've got a great father, son activity here!  Congrats and enjoy the time together :)

Kim

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #6 on: December 02, 2013, 05:33:35 PM »
Thanks Kim!   I'm enjoying it too....I don't even mind the $$$....well not that much.... 8)

We spent a good 2 hours getting the camber and toe in right last night...and we took a tip on body repairs utilizing fiberglass dry wall tape and "Shoe Goo".....works great...but smells bad!

He's ready to rock the track next week.....

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline Florian Eberhard

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #7 on: December 02, 2013, 07:36:15 PM »
Hi Dave

If your son drives a car that is also used in national and international races then there usually are setup sheets for them on the internet.  That may help a little with the setup.
I have always wanted to drive such races but unlike your son, my father didn't want to support that  ::)
However - I still had several cars (and still have - but am almost not driving anymore) and used them really intensive.

One old wish of mine is to build a little  engine with 4, 6 or 8 cylinders to fit an 1/8 buggy. But there are so many wishes that I don't know whether I can realize them all.

Florian

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #8 on: December 02, 2013, 08:27:04 PM »
Hi Dave

If your son drives a car that is also used in national and international races then there usually are setup sheets for them on the internet.  That may help a little with the setup.
I have always wanted to drive such races but unlike your son, my father didn't want to support that  ::)
However - I still had several cars (and still have - but am almost not driving anymore) and used them really intensive.

One old wish of mine is to build a little  engine with 4, 6 or 8 cylinders to fit an 1/8 buggy. But there are so many wishes that I don't know whether I can realize them all.

Florian


No Problem Florian!   Do what I do.....plan on living forever!.....you'll get to every project you want!

 :lolb:

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline Florian Eberhard

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #9 on: December 02, 2013, 08:48:25 PM »
I am still not shure if this is going to be long enough  :old:  :insane:

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2013, 10:35:03 AM »
Another day at the track yesterday.....Camber on all corners was set to 1 1/2 degrees....backed off on the toe two wrench flats....the car HOOKS!....looks good and he had a great day racing the guys....DON"T CHANGE THE SET-UP DAD! ...OK!.......now he wants to try the Sunday Novice race (Actually he was invited by a couple of the racers he was racing in practice yesterday).....I'm not sure about that...he can be far too UBER serious about competition....I told him I'll do it, if he expects to come in last, and isn't upset about it...and just wants to get the experience of racing and the joy of competition......so he said yes...but........ we'll have another discussion and see if he's REALLY alright with that.   This is one area he and I are having a lot of fun with and I don't want him discouraged.  I may council him to just go watch today...and get a feel for it.....and we can try again next weekend.


Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline b.lindsey

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2013, 11:50:06 AM »
Don't forget to take the video can Dave. Seems you have a growing following here on MEM and we need our fix   :whoohoo:

Bill

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #12 on: December 08, 2013, 01:09:04 PM »
We'll see Bill.. We may go Sans car today and take notes....note lap times and consistency this week.   Then rent a transponder next Saturday at practice so we can measure HIS lap times and see where we're at...He might need a bit more practice...though honestly I don't know.   I want to use this as a teaching opportunity...Define the goal....Define what it is you need to do to attain that goal...then make it happen...which may or may not mean more track time with the car in practice first...I just don't want him to go there and get his A$$ handed to him and then be completely embarrassed/discouraged....might need some training/practice/eye's wide open time.....off line.

We'll see how it pans out......

Dave
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

Offline 90LX_Notch

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #13 on: December 08, 2013, 10:02:04 PM »
Dave-

It sounds like a great father son activity.  However, I'll throw this note of caution out there:  Racing in any form gets expensive.   And once it's in your blood it's a tough disease to get rid of.  I still have withdrawls from the Mustang!

Your ace card is that you are an engineer and have a very capable machine shop.  That will help to keep costs down because you can make "trick" parts as well as modify parts.

-Bob
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My Engine Videos on YouTube-
http://www.youtube.com/user/Notch90usa/videos

Offline steamer

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Re: At the track.
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2013, 01:02:24 AM »
Thanks Bob....You're so Right!

Well.....we went....and we raced!....but not in the novice division...we were the only ones to show up and want to race in Novice.....so they put us in Pro 2WD 17.5T......Still not sure what class that is or what it means.....but they said don't worry about it.   Now. ....we're 4X4....and we are running brushless and lipo batteries.   I'm told 4X4 is much harder to drive than 2WD....but ...we did it anyway

William ran 3 qualifying rounds of races....and at the end of that, he qualified for the main in the middle of the pack!....not bad for a 10 year old in his first EVER race...considering he was competing against 30-50 year olds with MUCH MONEY invested in their cars...we just set the car down on the pit bench ....looked at each other...put a battery in and went!....

The qualifying races are running staggered starts with the other cars, but you're running against the clock.   He was running REALLY nice times!....I figured the transponder must be screwed up...but the cars he was passing had slower times.... :shrug:

OK......keep going!.

Two racers came up after the first heat and asked what in the hell did we have in that thing....well....it's a "stock" ie ....factory built...Slash Ultimate....which means it has all the factory upgrades and the performance motor in it from the factory as new.....

But what they were astounded with ...was the way he was driving....apparently...High powered 4X4' s are really hard to control...and he was making it look pretty easy.....including 4 wheel drifts and controlled under/oversteer.....which is really done with the throttle.

Here's some vid from his first qualifying race....he's the blue one I am focusing on....the vid is OK...best I could do Bill.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuANAf2fc8c" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SuANAf2fc8c</a>

He came in 4th in time....and they put him in a faster bracket....though I can't really say I understand how all this works ye....

His next two qualifiers were the same story...middle of the pack...but respectable...and more importantly...he wasn't over driving himself...or the truck.....which is something Adults have a hard time doing .....let alone a 10 year old.

After the third qualifying race....he clinched a slot in the "A main"....and didn't need to race in the forth qualifying race...so we sat it out...he was getting stressed about lots of things....people were banging...and banging to some extent is racing....you are also expected to marshal after each race...and some of the guys are pretty in your face if your not quick enough to get their car back on the track....tough duty for a 10 year old!..

So OK....Here's a shot from the pits after the 1st qualifier.



Well....skipping the 4th qualifier was a good thing...William was exhausted....and very stressed out.....but we spent some time in the hobby shop and found that we weren't supposed to be in that class after all!....but there we were...and we were only following what we were told to do......so now he's REALLY stressed....but we talked about it and pretty much he just came to the conclusion ....well...let's just do this!....and we'll see how we do.   I told him I was already proud of the fact that he had gotten that far!.....so ......the "A" main came....I had to marshal from the next to last corner...so I could only get a photo of the starting line....William qualified 5th out of 10.



Again....he's the blue car.....

He started slow .....following my advise...as I was hoping the first 4 cars would wreck in the first corner...but he came off the line a bit too slow...and got drove over!....but the second turn he was dead last!.....7 minutes of racing ensued...and William got to work!...he drove the wheels off that car...and went from 10th to 3rd ....when he wrecked...and fell back a position...and if he had another lap he would have gotten that back...he was putting it into the first turn very early...and punching it and letting the understeer take the truck  across the track to the outside wall...where he just straightened it out...and was MOVING going down the straight....though occasionally, he would get loose and have to catch it...which he did....the vid shows a couple of those events....
He was dropping cars on the straight like stones!....

In the end....he got a 4th place in the A main.....completely respectable...and I am very proud of the fact that he handled it!...

Go William!

Dave



« Last Edit: December 09, 2013, 05:18:01 PM by steamer »
"Mister M'Andrew, don't you think steam spoils romance at sea?"
Damned ijjit!

 

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