At the track.

[zeeprogrammer]

0 times anything is....

Or as Dad used to say...if you wish in one hand and crap in the other...what do you get? 

I continue to wish.

[steamer]

0 times anything is....

Or as Dad used to say...if you wish in one hand and crap in the other...what do you get? 

I continue to wish.

Well   I'll tell ya Zee......I ain't getting any closer to retiring by racing with William on the weekends.....but we're having fun...

[Tin Falcon]

.I ain't getting any closer to retiring by racing with William on the weekends.....but we're having fun...

Keep good notes keep a journal maybe one day you can write a book on creating a champion or give seminars on setting up championship cars. And that could help retirement and yes always have fun!!!
Sometimes it takes years to have overnight success !!

[steamer]

Thanks Tin!

We'll I've been working every day for the past 2+ weeks...not working this weekend, but we're club racing today, and next weekend we have a big race at our local track

That said, we've got our 2017 XB4 we're tuning, and we wanted to revisit the short course

William drove someone elses truck and LOVED how it handled....Hmmmm says I.   Lets work on that then

I've heard a lot about this product, so decided to get back into it it, and I purchased a copy for myself

http://www.rccrewchief.wrightdesign.ca/

Now, I know what the truck is doing....lets see what the software says?...so I inputed the data for our truck, and low and behold...yup...major push (understeer)....

What I hadn't noticed by observation at the track, was that the SCTE Pro4 suspension geometry has a quirky roll center that is very sensitive to ride height and camber link position...and I mean REAL sensitive!....

This truck really doesn't like having the ride height lowered, it makes it MORE prone to roll over ....which is totally counter intuitive, but I said....lets try it!..

Last night we pretty much had the track to ourselves, and we started making changes based on the software....and wouldn't you know it...

We ended up going DOWN on sway bars... a lot!....and going up on spring rate in the front....this balanced the car out....but it was too neutral at that point....William wasn't comfortable with that, he wanted just a bit of push (understeer) as it's easier to push the pace with a slight push as compared to sudden and violent oversteer.

So I went down on the rear sway bar....just a scouch.....which put a little push in.....and we went from a 16.3 lap times and all over the place consistency wise to a 15.7 seconds and locked down!....

We also went up 3mm on ride height, and it was WAY more stable and planted in the long sweeper where everyone is traction rolling....1/2 mm changes are VERY noticeable!.....25mm ride height is unstable, but 24 1/2 mm ride height is DIALED!......Like I said....quirky!....the position of the roll center suddenly lowers and shifts violently sideways...which makes the truck suddenly traction roll unless you have the set up just so...then it's nice and predictable and stable to drive

All predicted by the software!    Impressive!

What it doesn't do is factor in differential oil viscosity, which on a Pro4...there are 3!   so there's a little Kentucky windage there to take into account....but I liked it!..

So club race today....I hope to get into the shop again soon....

Dave

[steamer]

You'll notice what the banner says....We showed up like a Chevy at a Ford convention, and William took 5th in Mod 4x4 buggy behind the guys who were paid to be there.
The guy who won it....Dakota Phend.....is the current national champion in 4x4 Mod Buggy

We dominated Pro4 with a TQ and won 2 out of 3 in the triple A mains, with a 5 year old MIP Pro4mance truck against at least 4 New Losi 3.0's with 2 factory drivers.

The TLR business manager and chief designer won't speak to me, and tried to "not mention" William when he got on the podium.....myself and few other drivers sorted that out...

William just had a grin on his face.   He said of watching the mans discomfort during this moment, it was like watching a dog with a stick that was too long to go thru the door....hmmm what's he going to do now?....

Just sayin....

[b.lindsey]

Dave, William is obviously more mature than some of the adults at these event. Its great that he can stay above the fray and just have fun. When it gets to be a cut-throat business its time to get out. He has certainly earned the respect of many of the other drivers and that says more than all the trophies!!

Bill

[steamer]

The TLR guys are making 6 figures....its damage control....William understands that.

[90LX_Notch]

That is just great stuff Dave.  It's like a movie script.  A small home grown team beats the factory teams.   

A big congratulations to William and his abilities.  A big congraulations to you and your technical abilities.  It takes a true team effort to beat the factory teams and you and your son have a magic combination.

-Bob

[steamer]

We won't win every time, but I'm proud of him.   It was his set up changes that made a big difference in the buggy.

[Jo]

Have you suggested to them that they could pay your son not to go to their meets 

Tell TLR that he is looking for a sponsor to pay for his college education, if he is studying at college he won't be at their meets 

Jo

[steamer]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0eG9A-yV7M" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q0eG9A-yV7M</a>

Get some!

[steamer]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvcOGX9iNA" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtvcOGX9iNA</a>

[Tennessee Whiskey]

Better than Fast-n-Furious 

Cletus

[steamer]

Race Report
This past weekend we ran round 2 of the TLR cup held at R/C Excitement in Fitchburg mass. We ran 4x4 Mod Buggy and 4x4 Short course. This event was scored with qualifying points with heats and triple A mains.
4x4 Mod Buggy
Talk about a stacked field! Phend, Mitch, Root, Anderson, Kothman and others…tough crew. We got a good chance to run our new Xray 2017 Xb4 this weekend on only it’s second race and the very first one outdoors! The track has a challenging surface. When hot, Proline Holeshots in X2 compound were absolute money, until the sun went down and the track cooled off, then the right tire were the Proline Electrons in M4. The buggy was really good right out of the box with the supplied stiffer springs, a center diff which we always run and slightly higher ride height. William wheeled it , crashing out at the very end of the first qualifier, but came back strong in the next two qualifying 6th overall.
After A1, William made the decision to make some changes. We went up on center diff oil, and down on front diff oil to help the car put down the power of our Team Scream Racing 5.5 motor and battery , and the Hobbywing Xr10 pro esc, and to rotate a bit quicker. If you’ve ever worked on an Xb4, you know how easy that is to do!. That made a big difference and he was bouncing back and forth between 3rd and 5th during the next two mains with a 4th place in A2 and In the end we took down 5th place overall. The set up changes were a gutsy move on Williams part….I thought the changes were pretty drastic in an A main situation, but I can’t doubt my driver…and I’m glad he made the decision.
4x4 Short Course
We managed to TQ in 4x4 short Course. Our trusty MIP Pro4mance outdoor truck, in bone stock configuration. This truck, powered by Hobbywing and Team Scream Racing batteries, is amazing.
In A1, William had a bobble after the triple that traction rolled him, and came back second, then a run in with leader and his duty to wait for him to be marshalled, put him down 4th. He got to work, and drove it back up to second for the finish. During A2, William got in the front and took off when second place broke out. During A3 William went off the front and stayed there to take the overall win!.
I would like to thank our sponsors. #TeamXray, RC America, #Proline, miponline , Team Scream Racing and Douglas and Co for their continued support. I also want to extend our thanks and congratulations to the Andersons and R/C Excitement for putting on such a great event! This was a very memorable race that the two of us will not soon forget. We really did bond well as a team.


William and David Piper

[steamer]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4-9j0Q2C0" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ao4-9j0Q2C0</a>

Test and tune day.....

the outdrives are going.....time for a complete driveline rebuild.......