Chicago Racing (track info inside)

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
OK, my R40 is running out of fuel in less than 5 minutes, Walt you mentioned, reducing the Gear Ratio. Should I just change the Pinion, Spur or both?

I mentioned that only assuming that you first adjusted the engine to the proper settings. I still think that the biggest determining factor in getting poor mileage is an engine running too rich.

But, assuming you've got the engine adjusted to where it needs to be to run, then about all you can do to get more run time out of it is to spin the engine slower. You can adjust it to shift into second gear sooner, or you can change the gear ratios to keep the engine turning at lower RPMs. In general, you'd either want to make the pinions bigger or the spur gears smaller, but remember that there are only certian combinations of pinions/spurs that allow both first and second gear to have the proper gear mesh at the same time. Stick with the gear combinations HPI recommends in the manual. If the ratios are listed numerically (like 3.80:1), you want a lower number which is often refered to as a 'higher' gear. That will make your mileage better, just like in your 'real' car, driving in 5th gear will get you better mileage than driving in 4th gear at a given speed.

By the way, I'm hoping to get that car to run 6 minutes between fueling stops so I can stop 4 times insead of 5 times during a 30 minute race...

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
I mentioned that only assuming that you first adjusted the engine to the proper settings. I still think that the biggest determining factor in getting poor mileage is an engine running too rich.

But, assuming you've got the engine adjusted to where it needs to be to run, then about all you can do to get more run time out of it is to spin the engine slower. You can adjust it to shift into second gear sooner, or you can change the gear ratios to keep the engine turning at lower RPMs. In general, you'd either want to make the pinions bigger or the spur gears smaller, but remember that there are only certian combinations of pinions/spurs that allow both first and second gear to have the proper gear mesh at the same time. Stick with the gear combinations HPI recommends in the manual. If the ratios are listed numerically (like 3.80:1), you want a lower number which is often refered to as a 'higher' gear. That will make your mileage better, just like in your 'real' car, driving in 5th gear will get you better mileage than driving in 4th gear at a given speed.

By the way, I'm hoping to get that car to run 6 minutes between fueling stops so I can stop 4 times insead of 5 times during a 30 minute race...

As far as the mixture, I went as lean as possible, only to have my mixture go real lean just past the 5 minute point in of the main, so I think I went a little too lean. I'm sure next season my performance and milage will change with a N.M. 3 port.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
As far as the mixture, I went as lean as possible, only to have my mixture go real lean just past the 5 minute point in of the main, so I think I went a little too lean. I'm sure next season my performance and milage will change with a N.M. 3 port.

I figured you already had the engine tuned, so about all you can do is change the ratio.

[Walt]

I'm taking a look at the R40 gearing during my lunch break. Yesterday, I ran the highest ratio 1st gear that Associated has for the NTC3, which is 6.75:1, and my second gear was 5.21:1 (also their highest numerical ratio available to my knowledge).

The stock R40 gearing (which I assume you have Rex) is 7.26:1 first gear and a 5.73:1 second, so you were turning quite a bit more RPM than me.

So, you might be able to get more mileage out of your car by shifting really early out of 1st gear, but you might want to change ratios instead.

I'm also trying to figure out gears I want to run with my engine in your car in Vegas. Much of this year at Tinley I ran the stock NTC3 gearing, which I think would be a good starting point for the Vegas track with the 200 ft straight. Those ratios were 6.75 first and 4.81 second.

It looks like I can keep your 45/48 spur gears in there and put in an 18/21 combination for pinion gears to get 6.46/5.19.

I'm a little confused which gear combinations are allowed on the R40. If anyone can figure out HPI's ratio chart for the R40, please let me know: http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/instr/r40/R40-P45o.jpg

Maybe I'll pick up some extra pinion gears for your car before I head out there.

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Walt
Nick won yesterday, followed by Bobbo and Espo. I was a couple of seconds behind Bobbo at the 12.5 minute mark (in third place after flaming out on the second refuel stop) and closing in on him when I lost a front wheel... I blame Associated... first they use machine screws to thread into plastic, then they put nylon inert lock nuts in to hold the wheels on but make the axles too short so that the nylon doesn't even touch anything. Stupid.


Walt,

Had the same problem on the TC3 and NTC3. I used low profile nuts and it seem to help. My nut driver doesn't fit on these too well but does the job.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXMW71&P=0

[Rookie Solara]

Dan...still planning to finish up the season at HTOP..? (2 more race left....)

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Dan...still planning to finish up the season at HTOP..? (2 more race left....)

I was planning on the last 2. This sat. was shot down because of a nephew birthday party (I may drive out to watch depending on when the party is over)

I am marking the last HTOP on the calendar. I want to make this one. That's if it doesn't snow:) I keep telling the wife I need to burn off the rest of my fuel so it doesn't go bad over the winter:cool:

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by wrxdan
I was planning on the last 2. This sat. was shot down because of a nephew birthday party (I may drive out to watch depending on when the party is over)

I am marking the last HTOP on the calendar. I want to make this one. That's if it doesn't snow:) I keep telling the wife I need to burn off the rest of my fuel so it doesn't go bad over the winter:cool:

I need to write this one down....."I need to burn off the rest of my fuel so it doesn't go bad over the winter"..........

I have 1 good gallon to burn........maybe I can put them on my TRD instead........(come on, can't beat 20% over 93 octane).

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
I need to write this one down....."I need to burn off the rest of my fuel so it doesn't go bad over the winter"..........

I have 1 good gallon to burn........maybe I can put them on my TRD instead........(come on, can't beat 20% over 93 octane).

Why not??? My NTC3 runs great on 93:confused:

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Why not??? My NTC3 runs great on 93:confused:

Yeah...........damn, how come I never thought about that...? Why 30% if you can go for 93 octane......? Some station even have RACING fuel for 106 octane for only $8.95 per gallon....

Wait.....8.95 per gallon, it is 60% cheaper then my 20%......

Why was I using 20%........:confused:

[Sundog1]

Walt,
Congratulations on a successfull year! You provided a great place for all of us to enjoy a great hobby. We rookies also greatly appreciate the help that you, Tony, Ric, Albert, Howard, Jim and all the others gave us with our car's setups. You are an asset to the sport. Others will join the hobby because of Walt's hard work and patience, and Chicagoland RC will continue to grow. I'm addicted!
- Dan

[Rkmori]

Walt,

I'm not going to run the R40 this saturday, I may run the RS4, if I can get all the gear into to it by then, and If somebody can loan me a S9451 servo for that day. Since there are many parts on back order I won't take the chance of breaking parts before you take it to Vegas. It's a very good possibility that a lot of HPI stock went to Vegas, but I don't want to take the chance. I plan to leave the servos in the car for you, They are Futaba is that OK with you......? Pick up the gears and I will buy them back from you when you get back. They are only $4.00 each. As far as the gear ratio combination I'm not sure if you can mix 1st and 2nd gear. If you get the chance ask somebody from HPI.

Rex

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Walt,

I'm not going to run the R40 this saturday, I may run the RS4, if I can get all the gear into to it by then, and If somebody can loan me a S9451 servo for that day. Since there are many parts on back order I won't take the chance of breaking parts before you take it to Vegas. It's a very good possibility that a lot of HPI stock went to Vegas, but I don't want to take the chance. I plan to leave the servos in the car for you, They are Futaba is that OK with you......? Pick up the gears and I will buy them back from you when you get back. They are only $4.00 each. As far as the gear ratio combination I'm not sure if you can mix 1st and 2nd gear. If you get the chance ask somebody from HPI.

Rex

Are you sure you don't want to run the car this Saturday? This might be your last race of the season... I'd hate for you to miss it. I don't really care if I race or not, so why don't you just run my NTC3 there instead... I'll have all winter to fix that car should it get broke, plus, parts for it are everywhere, including Albert's trunk.

How about this. I'll pull the engine out of my NTC3 (the one I want to run in your R40) and put my backup engine into the NTC3 for you to use on Saturday. That way, I can spend Saturday getting your engine out and my engine in right there at the track. Once I get done with the engine swap, I can take the car around during practice times to start getting the hang of it and to make sure that my engine is running right in there, but I won't run it much either for fear of breaking it.

Actually, I'm really liking that plan if it's OK with you. I'm really going to be pressed for time on Sunday to get everything ready for the trip, so if I can already have gotten my engine into your car, I'm that much closer to being ready. And Howard will likely be there to give me a quick lesson on Centax clutches (I've never even seen one before).

Let me know what you think. Oh, and maybe I'll order the gears through 'Buy HPI', but only if I'm sure they will be here in time... it's getting pretty close.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Sundog1
Walt,
Congratulations on a successfull year! You provided a great place for all of us to enjoy a great hobby. We rookies also greatly appreciate the help that you, Tony, Ric, Albert, Howard, Jim and all the others gave us with our car's setups. You are an asset to the sport. Others will join the hobby because of Walt's hard work and patience, and Chicagoland RC will continue to grow. I'm addicted!
- Dan

Thanks Dan. I appreciate it. We're going to have an even better season next year. I think we managed to get a lot of guys addicted to this hobby this summer.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
Are you sure you don't want to run the car this Saturday? This might be your last race of the season... I'd hate for you to miss it. I don't really care if I race or not, so why don't you just run my NTC3 there instead... I'll have all winter to fix that car should it get broke, plus, parts for it are everywhere, including Albert's trunk.

How about this. I'll pull the engine out of my NTC3 (the one I want to run in your R40) and put my backup engine into the NTC3 for you to use on Saturday. That way, I can spend Saturday getting your engine out and my engine in right there at the track. Once I get done with the engine swap, I can take the car around during practice times to start getting the hang of it and to make sure that my engine is running right in there, but I won't run it much either for fear of breaking it.

Actually, I'm really liking that plan if it's OK with you. I'm really going to be pressed for time on Sunday to get everything ready for the trip, so if I can already have gotten my engine into your car, I'm that much closer to being ready. And Howard will likely be there to give me a quick lesson on Centax clutches (I've never even seen one before).

Let me know what you think. Oh, and maybe I'll order the gears through 'Buy HPI', but only if I'm sure they will be here in time... it's getting pretty close.

Well the engine is out of the car, but I noticed why the car seem to have a little push and that is because, the steering servo was completely loose on one side, and the mount was cracked, and the servo mounting ear was completely shearded off. This is no big deal, the mount is really just a plastic bar, I'm almost positive that one from the RS4 will work, but the servo case is a problem, I ordered a new case, but I'm going to see if one of the other servo cases will work. Other than that the radio is out, the engine is out. I will hand you the engine with the clutch still on it, this way all the pieces are all together, and all you will need is the nut for the long shaft. The chassis is clean too (I know rookie will be looking at that). Your Idea sound like a plan. ..I will be there Saturday, depending on the kids, I will try and get there a little earlier.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Well the engine is out of the car, but I noticed why the car seem to have a little push and that is because, the steering servo was completely loose on one side, and the mount was cracked, and the servo mounting ear was completely shearded off. This is no big deal, the mount is really just a plastic bar, I'm almost positive that one from the RS4 will work, but the servo case is a problem, I ordered a new case, but I'm going to see if one of the other servo cases will work. Other than that the radio is out, the engine is out. I will hand you the engine with the clutch still on it, this way all the pieces are all together, and all you will need is the nut for the long shaft. The chassis is clean too (I know rookie will be looking at that). Your Idea sound like a plan. ..I will be there Saturday, depending on the kids, I will try and get there a little earlier.

Sounds perfect. If you don't want to mess with the broken servo, don't bother. I'll just bring one along on Saturday and install it at the track along with my engine. I've got lots of spare servos.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
Sounds perfect. If you don't want to mess with the broken servo, don't bother. I'll just bring one along on Saturday and install it at the track along with my engine. I've got lots of spare servos.

Bring the servo just in case......:)

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Bring the servo just in case......:)

No problem.

I just ordered some extra gears for the R40 through Buy HPI. It's too bad that these parts aren't available at the local hobby shop (or Tower for that matter) yet.

BuyHPI has a minimum order of $20, so I ordered: 17, 18, 20 and 21 tooth pinions and 43 and 47 spurs to get the total to $22.

If you don't want all that stuff just let me know and I'll sell it out there once the race is over.

[Rkmori]

Sold.....I'll take them....NP.....I had plan to order them sometime soon anyways......:)

[Rookie Solara]

Dude....CLUTCH SHOES (87096)..........order that man.

Beside.....you guys should consider a TURBO engine.....since that is allowed for the WORLD (turbo but no custom boring or porting), and I am sure there will be RS-12 everywhere especially the 200mm Modified class.......

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Dude....CLUTCH SHOES (87096)..........order that man.

Beside.....you guys should consider a TURBO engine.....since that is allowed for the WORLD (turbo but no custom boring or porting), and I am sure there will be RS-12 everywhere especially the 200mm Modified class.......

Man, you are going to get slapped by my wife for saying stuff like this...

I think my engine will be fine. I won't be running the one I ran at the HPI Challenge in Michigan. I'll run the Novarossi RS12S2 that I ran in my NTC3 all this year (yes, it's got a lot of hours on it). The engine runs pretty strong and it's very reliable.

I 'might' consider buying a new engine in time for this race, but I doubt it. I really haven't kept up with what is the 'hot' engine (so I'm not even sure what to get), and anything I buy now will only get one weekend of use before sitting all winter long. By next season, there will probably be a new 'hot' engine, so I hate to make the investment right now.

However, if I were going to purchase a new engine this week, for use out at HPI, what, exactly, would you guys recommend, purchased from where, and for how much?

Anyone got a guarenteed 'killer' engine that I can 'rent' for the weekend? Remember, we have to use hand out 20% fuel out there. Make an offer and maybe we can meet up on Saturday at HTOP (which is when I'll be putting in whatever engine I'm going to run).

[Rookie Solara]

You have to modify the clutch first, I garantee you that ALL the A-mainer that drive R40 already did that...........
That is the old Serpent trick that ppl used that about 10 plus year.....and I need a new clutch shoe to do the mod.....(too bad Serpent clutch does not work cause R40 use 4 legs instead of 3)

Oh...someone please bring thread lock....the centax need that.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
You have to modify the clutch first, I garantee you that ALL the A-mainer that drive R40 already did that...........
That is the old Serpent trick that ppl used that about 10 plus year.....and I need a new clutch shoe to do the mod.....(too bad Serpent clutch does not work cause R40 use 4 legs instead of 3)

I don't think I can get clutch shoes by this Saturday unless they are at a local hobby shop.

Even paying a heavy premium for shipping from Buy HPI, I probably won't have the parts until Monday.

[Rookie Solara]

Any chances at Al's...?

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Any chances at Al's...?

I'll call them, but I don't think that much R40 stuff has come in yet.

[Rookie Solara]

Walt...I will bring my Serpent book and show you the CONCEPT of doing the clutch mod....it is a 2 minutes job, but the problem is you will have no time to tell the reaction time and do the adjustment....

If you have that by this SAT...........then I can set it the way you like. and we can keep adjusting the clutch and once it reach the way you like.................THREAD LOCK the setting, R40 has experienced some problem inside teh clutch nut that will engage LATER AND LATER when you drive the car longer and longer...

[Rookie Solara]

The HPI World Rule book said.....

"............Engine must be .12 or small block .15 engine (any manufacturer's engine allowed for 2003 World Final) Turbo engines are allowed.

Any tuned pipe and header made for .12-.15 engines is allowed........"

I have a wonderfull setup for you Walt.........and Rex.......make sure the BRAKE is in good condition.......

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Oh...someone please bring thread lock....the centax need that.

Threadlock I have.......what is the risk of mod. the OEM clutch. could you modify that?

[mab_man20]

We are getting final approval to put carpet down for Micro racing and it should be down within a few weeks. Everything else is falling in place.

Calling people who live near HTOP We need people to help clean out the basement room so we can put down the carpet. It should only take a couple hours (1-2), but many hands make for light work. We will most likely do it one evening next week.

Im thinking 4 ft wide lanes, but would people like 3 ft lanes and more technical tracks?

Once i get my car going Ill see if i can make it down to Tinley.


Walt: Seeing as this saturday is your big practice day, id like to do my part to bring the world championship trophy to chicago. Do you have any requests as far as track layout goes? Sweepers, 180's, chicanes? I know you like back straights. Let me know and Ill try to incorporate them.

[Walt]

Originally posted by mab_man20
Walt: Seeing as this saturday is your big practice day, id like to do my part to bring the world championship trophy to chicago. Do you have any requests as far as track layout goes? Sweepers, 180's, chicanes? I know you like back straights. Let me know and Ill try to incorporate them.

That's nice of you, but don't do anything special for me because I don't think I'll actually be driving. The plan now is to let Rex run my NTC3 on Saturday while I sit at a table and start converting his car over to my components (engine, radio equipment). I might get a chance to shake down the R40 after converting over all the parts, but it would just be for a few laps between rounds or something, mostly to make sure that the new engine is running right and the clutch is working and such.

And if I was running, what I'd really need is a 200' straightaway to see just how close the car is in terms of gearing... I'm not sure that you can accomodate that request...

Thanks for the offer, but just plan on doing whatever you were going to do...

[Rookie Solara]

Walt: The best time to try out the power of the engine and the 2 speed is when the track is DOWN..........the whole parking lot will be empty and I believe they have 15-20 parking spaces across, if each space is the legal size (LOL) of 9'-0" wide, that will give you 135' to almost 180' long straight..........

Mab can verify how many parking spaces there....I forgot.

As of micro......let me know the time, I will help clean up....but I will take whatever I like in that basement back to my home...and ebay them.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
....but I will take whatever I like in that basement back to my home...and ebay them.

You might have to take everything either to your house or to the dump, since there isn't any more garbage collection...

Rookie: I don't think I'll be able to stick around too much after the racing is over... wife is already not happy that I'll be at the track on Saturday AND helping Brian with the Monster Jam on Sunday, plus, I'll have a lot of packing and stuff to do once I get home.

And now it's looking like I might not get the gears from HPI in time... Just got an e-mail from them saying they did not ship yesterday because my 'ship to' address didn't match my 'credit card' address... that's crap. The post office just changed our ZIP code, so I'm sure that is the problem, but now it is probably too late to get the parts unless I change to next day air... $60 shipping charge on a $20 order... I don't think so...

[HauntedMyst]

mab,

Since we will be offering the option of people running the new Losi mini T's, 4 foot lanes would be a better option to start out with. If no one comes out with them, we can narrow it down. I don't think we will want to have to yank apart the track every time the trucks race.

Rookie,
Most of what is in the basement is gaming stuff. The last time someone tried stealing something, the gaming geeks got mad and put a curse on him. His balls dried up and dropped off.

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst

Rookie,
Most of what is in the basement is gaming stuff. The last time someone tried stealing something, the gaming geeks got mad and put a curse on him. His balls dried up and dropped off.

hmmmm.. sounds like effective birth control. I may have to show up and pocket something.:eek:


What day is HTOP planning on running micros?

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
Rookie,
Most of what is in the basement is gaming stuff. The last time someone tried stealing something, the gaming geeks got mad and put a curse on him. His balls dried up and dropped off.

No....not my balls, I am only down to 2.........and I can't get any of them DRY anytime soon, still need them for the future IRS rebate bonuses........

I am hooked to ebay...........and now, I love all my old-school, can't believe ppl will pay TOP DOLLARS for some old RC stuff.

I will race my micro tonight before it get shipped to NY............Walt, do you know that Tony G is running micro tonight....?

Then...............the X-ray M18, for those who wants to have one...or planning to get one, let me know, I ordered 20 of them, and I can give the locals a deal..........the release time is late November.

Hauntedmyst..............when I saw that M18 at the CHS, I kept hearing...."John john....buy me..." the M18 kept calling your name....:confused:

http://users.rcn.com/arsa/chs2003/x-ray18/IMG_0155.JPG

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by wrxdan
hmmmm.. sounds like effective birth control. I may have to show up and pocket something.:eek:


What day is HTOP planning on running micros?

WRXDAN, you knew you need one of those bad boy for Winter season................(devil is coming to town)

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
WRXDAN, you knew you need one of those bad boy for Winter season................(devil is coming to town)

Your right about the old RC stuff on ebay. I just sold a 80's pulling sled for $100+. I thought I would get around $50:confused:

I also sold a WRX muffler for $57, I got it off ebay 4 month ago for $3 + shipping!! Mmmmm profit, something I never see.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Walt, do you know that Tony G is running micro tonight....?


Yep, he's running micro races tonight. The turnout has been low lately, but I think it will start to pick back up now that the outdoor season is ending.

[wrxdan]

Does the motor on the micro sit real high? I looks like it is the highest part of the chassis??

[Walt]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Does the motor on the micro sit real high? I looks like it is the highest part of the chassis??

I think that the HPI micro, once converted to a pan-style chassis, is still the better car for racing on carpet... here's a link to a picture of mine (best picture I could find):

http://www.chicagolandrc.com/media/photos/indoor_030226/images/DSC00122.jpg

[mab_man20]

We will be running micros on Thursdays. We will have a start time as soon as we figure out what time we can get over there and set things up.


I assure you that there are no cool old RC stuff down the in basement (i made sure of that a while ago :wink wink: ), but anyone's help will still be greatly appreciated.

[Rookie Solara]

There was a reason I want to keep my HPI MICRO just in case the X-ray version is "ALL SHOW and NO GO".......however, not untill someone AIM me and offer me $110 for my HPI micro......that is just a little too hard to resist.

Well, I can always sell the X-ray on ebay if I don't like it......from what I have heard, I will never lose any money on that M18, as long as I am not investing something like EX02 on the M18.

Can you believe the EXO2 goes for $120 just some carbon fiber chassis and crap...? Wow....$120 just chassis....? I can buy almost 3 7075 chassis for my NTC3.

[HauntedMyst]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara

Hauntedmyst..............when I saw that M18 at the CHS, I kept hearing...."John john....buy me..." the M18 kept calling your name....:confused:


I'm thinking about it. Are you getting the blue chassis? I have 2 Mini Z F1's sitting here that need running. I am hoping we will get a good class for them.

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Does the motor on the micro sit real high? I looks like it is the highest part of the chassis??

Nevermind. It looks to be mounted TC3 style.

http://www.swiss-rc.ch/2003/2003_09_11_fichiers/M18_4.jpg

[Walt]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
I'm thinking about it. Are you getting the blue chassis? I have 2 Mini Z F1's sitting here that need running. I am hoping we will get a good class for them.

We hoped so too, but every time someone showed up with a mini-z and saw the micros, and then tried out a micro, they showed up the following week with a micro... they are just much more fun to race than the mini-z... I bet the same thing will happen at your track. The only way to keep mini-z's would probably be to NOT allow micros, because micros are contagious.

[Walt]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Nevermind. It looks to be mounted TC3 style.


Maybe I'm confused here, but you keep saying 'micro' but the picture and description are of the x-ray. Is that car also refered to as simply the 'micro' like HPI's?

Anyways, as far as I could tell at the Hobby Show, the x-ray can have the motor mounted in two different ways.. on the side (like a TC3) or up above the spur gear like you noticed. I think you need to mount it up in the air if you want to fit more than 5 batteries or something.

And there better be a way to mount a 'big block' motor in the X-ray (a Graupner speed 300 style motor), or it is going to have trouble competing with the micro... those 300 sized motors are cheap, reliable and very fast. It would be a big drawback if you couldn't fit one in the x-ray. Smaller motors that deliver that performance are very expensive.

[Rookie Solara]

Yes....the M18 (not micro, X-ray has a name for it) will have 2 motor mounting position like the picture I posted above....left side or UP position...........Up position is for those who need to run 7.2V 6 cells (Saddle pack) or those who want to lay everything flat and nice.....

However, the higher the CG, the worst of the handle..........but, in order to mount 6 cells on the M18, there is one solution......mount all 6 cells on one side by USING the STOCK chassis which has no batteries opening cutted out.......in that way, according from my measurement, it should fit 6 2/3A cells and use tape to tape it..

You cannot use the battery plate anymore, cause those 2 post took the extra space for the 1 extra battery

About the big blcok, if we can mount the battery on one side, the big block should fit......ONLY if someone make the big block motor mount that mount on the side.

Then....we can place the servo, receiver and STACT the SPY ESC on top of the servo........

Overall layout will be slappy.....definitely not going to be better then the ARM chassis on the HPI micro...........cause HPI Micro's motor position is at the far back in stead of middle.....that really killed the space on M18...

However, I believed the M18 shaft drives and gear design will be the advantage over the HPI Micro one.........all I have to do is get one, drop the equipment on and show everyone..........I don't thnk X-ray designed a micro that is aimed for Kyosho Mini-Z instead of the HPI micro............(with the outlaw modification)

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Walt
Maybe I'm confused here, but you keep saying 'micro' but the picture and description are of the x-ray. Is that car also refered to as simply the 'micro' like HPI's?

Huh never thought of that. I guess is use the word "micro" to describe the class (size). Like 1/8, 1/10, 1/12, Micro.

[Walt]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Huh never thought of that. I guess is use the word "micro" to describe the class (size). Like 1/8, 1/10, 1/12, Micro.

Ah... that makes sense. HPI named their 1/18th scale car the 'Micro RS4', and although that is the name of their car, it is also coming to define the class. The same thing happened when they introduced the 'Super Nitro'. In fact, in that case, there really is no well defined 'scale' for that car... they are just refered to as 'super', even though other manufacturers now make that same size car.

I was just confused as to which car you were refering to earlier.. I'm on the right page now.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
You might have to take everything either to your house or to the dump, since there isn't any more garbage collection...

Rookie: I don't think I'll be able to stick around too much after the racing is over... wife is already not happy that I'll be at the track on Saturday AND helping Brian with the Monster Jam on Sunday, plus, I'll have a lot of packing and stuff to do once I get home.

And now it's looking like I might not get the gears from HPI in time... Just got an e-mail from them saying they did not ship yesterday because my 'ship to' address didn't match my 'credit card' address... that's crap. The post office just changed our ZIP code, so I'm sure that is the problem, but now it is probably too late to get the parts unless I change to next day air... $60 shipping charge on a $20 order... I don't think so...

That S*^ks, call HPI and b#%ch, IF you want you can have it shippe to me and I can next day letter it to you but even if it ships today you can still possibly have it by next week before you leave.

As far as the track we can open up the back straight after the last main race so you have and open straight, Heck we can just stop traffic on Lake street!!!

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
That S*^ks, call HPI and b#%ch, IF you want you can have it shippe to me and I can next day letter it to you but even if it ships today you can still possibly have it by next week before you leave.

As far as the track we can open up the back straight after the last main race so you have and open straight, Heck we can just stop traffic on Lake street!!!

I'm already working on HPI to figure out a solution. According to their shipping schedule, they don't ship today or tomorrow, so Friday is the next day they ship. Since I'm leaving on Tuesday, I'd have to use their 'next day air', which is outrageously priced.

Actually, I can't have it shipped to you unless you bought the stuff... you see, that was the problem in the first place... they thought I was trying to ship to someplace other than the card holder's address.

Frank at HPI thinks that perhaps he can talk to the 'BUY HPI' guy and get him to pull the parts, charge my credit card, and give the parts to Frank to bring to me at the event. If he can't, my back up plan is to call up Joker and see if he can order the parts with his credit card to be shipped to him and then give them to me and I'd pay him back. If that doesn't work, I can call a local hobby shop down there and see if they would be willing to do this for me... I'm working on it.

I don't want Howard's engine doing 50,000 rpm down the back straight...

[Walt]

HPI just got back to me. They will process my order and give the parts to Frank to give to me... crisis averted (along with outrageous shipping charges).

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Walt
I don't want Howard's engine doing 50,000 rpm down the back straight...

Don't worry, my engine has a special feature...........called "$220 worth of fancy fire work activation system....":D

Again, Walt, you should learn a very good leason, always think ahead..........how come you didn't think about that early this year?
You should know that you need gears 12 months ago, then you should know that HPI will not ship today and tomorrow for the HPI god knows why special reason.......and you should know that HPI will forced you to spend $60 for the next day shipping with the $20 worth of parts, then you should know that they will ship on FIRDAY anyhow and realized next day is SAT........and SAT no delivery..........then you should know the next thing they will do is ship MONDAY - when you are at the airport.............waiting to take off while the parts you needing on your wife's hand...

No to mention, when she find out the cost of the gears and ON TOP OF THAT........the cost of the $60 next day shipping receipt.

Those are not human mistake, those are marketing, and HPI hired ppl with MBA degree for a reason.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
HPI just got back to me. They will process my order and give the parts to Frank to give to me... crisis averted (along with outrageous shipping charges).

Alright...... Frank don't let us down!!! (not to say he reads this forum)....

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
No to mention, when she find out the cost of the gears and ON TOP OF THAT........the cost of the $60 next day shipping receipt.

This cracked me up! I know the feeling. It's not like I spend tons of money are RC. Anything over $100 the wife knows about. Plus I sell stuff on Ebay to recover part of the expense.

She gives me carp sometimes. But today it has all evened out. My "wifes" cat had a lump on the side of his head. She took him to the vet ($29), had to have the lump drained and needed antibiotics ($96), needs to take him back next week ($29). And the biggest hit, he need a tooth or 2 pulled and a overnight stay ($$$$$$). So all and all the cats tooth problem will cost more them my whole yearly rc budget!! Ha! Just for a stupid cat!

[Rkmori]

[i]Those are not human mistake, those are marketing, and HPI hired ppl with MBA degree for a reason. [/B]

Rookie must work for many MBAs'........Rookie do you like golf??? If not you are true Asian.......:D

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by wrxdan
This cracked me up! I know the feeling. It's not like I spend tons of money are RC. Anything over $100 the wife knows about.

Mine never itches about the money or time but I figured that I better avoid a conflict mention that that I'm not making any more big purchases over $100.00 untill after X-mas.....lets see 10 here 20 there 15 here....:)

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Mine never itches about the money or time but I figured that I better avoid a conflict mention that that I'm not making any more big purchases over $100.00 untill after X-mas.....lets see 10 here 20 there 15 here....:)

I think we all had this discussion about wives a while ago... my wife and I have an agreement... she doesn't complain when I buy RC stuff and I don't complain about her buying shoes (or the vet bills for her 14 year old, diabetic cat)... we each 'get' a reasonable amount of 'mad money' each month, and we don't say a word to each other about how we spend that money... works great for us.

My new RC12L came in the mail yesterday... not a word. She couldn't care less how much it cost me, as long as I stay within my budget.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Rookie must work for many MBAs'........Rookie do you like golf??? If not you are true Asian.......:D

I love golf, I have to.......cause a lot of my client won't talk about their project except at the GOLF course........I am not good at all, but beside business, I love golf cause I used to date my wife at teh Golf Course.......teach her how to play golf (but I learn how to golf via GOLF CHANNEL on cable....LOL)

I am more prefer to work in CHINA or JAPAN.........they won't sign their contract untill they arrived at some NIGHT CLUB or KARAOKEY with 10-15 18 years old gals around them........

Now...........that is BUSINESS and being an MBA's all about.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Mine never itches about the money or time but I figured that I better avoid a conflict mention that that I'm not making any more big purchases over $100.00 untill after X-mas.....lets see 10 here 20 there 15 here....:)

You see.........that is the GOLDEN rule of investment, you invested $10 on this.......$15 on that, and $20 on those.........never released the $250 bill for the wives, they will never ask you about the $10 items from Al's..........but they will ask you the $250 items from the same place......

Just like fisherman, using the fish net to catch all kind of fish......"You rather BUY the wrong stuff, but will NEVER miss any of the good stuff"

Wait a minute...........what in the world are we talking now..? Business and fianancing 101?

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara

I am more prefer to work in CHINA or JAPAN.........they won't sign their contract untill they arrived at some NIGHT CLUB or KARAOKEY with 10-15 18 years old gals around them........

Now...........that is BUSINESS and being an MBA's all about.

Yes......Private Karaoke Room with "HOSTESS", When I was in Shanghai, My vendor took me almost every night......for 1 week...Golf.... I don't like, I would like to try 1 time though....Ok, enough with Asian business 101.....

[Rookie Solara]

Lets try not to "REVEAL" too much of our business function...........my wife tend to come in to this forum and see what I wrote from time to time..........

And there are no DELETE or EDIT function to remove what we say here....that is dangerous.

[mab_man20]

what compound tires are you guys using on the micros? Rookie mentioned R-pink, F-Purple. Everywhere i look is listed as soft, medium, hard.

My guess would be medium front, soft rear. Is that right?

[Rookie Solara]

Like I said.....PINK = Soft...and PURPLE = Hard

TRC use COLOR system

and Orion use Hard/Soft system

And I don't think there are any others sell foams for micro beside them.

[wrxdan]

I never could get the foams fronts working real well. I always used med rubber fronts.

[mab_man20]

We will have to experiment on the new carpet.


ANother stupid question: How many different battery packs are you guys using?

2 and charging each twice? im guessing run time is about 8-10 minutes depending on pinion. Im looking at the 2/3a cells.

[HauntedMyst]

mab,

I've seen Rookies car, it uses the "pull back" charging system. All he has to do is pull it back on the carpet a couple of times and the rubber band..., I mean battery, is full charged.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
We will have to experiment on the new carpet.


ANother stupid question: How many different battery packs are you guys using?

2 and charging each twice? im guessing run time is about 8-10 minutes depending on pinion. Im looking at the 2/3a cells.

mab,

Do you know if Fred will start carrying more of the hard core racer parts any time soon? I'm mean at this point there is a pretty good mix of hard core and casual racers at HTOP. I'm not talking alu. parts more like Foams, Fuel, maybe a few high end motors. I realize that he can order most of these Items but sometimes that just doesn't work. Also let him know that for next season he'll need to stock more R40 parts there are now 2 for sure if not 3 or 4 by next season.

[Walt]

Originally posted by mab_man20
We will have to experiment on the new carpet.


ANother stupid question: How many different battery packs are you guys using?

2 and charging each twice? im guessing run time is about 8-10 minutes depending on pinion. Im looking at the 2/3a cells.

I still think that you need one pack for every run you plan to make in a night. I show up with 1 pack for practice, 3 for qualifiers and one for the main... 5 packs.

The reason is because these batteries don't like to be hot (NiMh's that is). They will get hot when you run them, and unless you have a HUGE turnout compared to us in Tinley, or have huge breaks inbetween rounds, there won't be time to let the batteries cool AND recharge at a modest (not getting them hot) rate in time to run the same night.

There are people that push their packs really hard to reuse them in one night, but I think they are doing themselves a disservice by doing so in that they are shortening the life of their packs.

I think you need about 2 hours between uses of a pack if you are going to let it cool and recharge it for another use. Since these night races barely last 3 hours, it's difficult to reuse a pack... maybe the one you used in practice will be ready for the main, but that's about it.

[mab_man20]

Originally posted by Rkmori
mab,

Do you know if Fred will start carrying more of the hard core racer parts any time soon? I'm mean at this point there is a pretty good mix of hard core and casual racers at HTOP. I'm not talking alu. parts more like Foams, Fuel, maybe a few high end motors. I realize that he can order most of these Items but sometimes that just doesn't work. Also let him know that for next season he'll need to stock more R40 parts there are now 2 for sure if not 3 or 4 by next season.

This has been the topic of many a long discussion. Its kinda a circular cycle, stock lots of parts and people will come to you to buy them, but if you dont have a good stock no one comes in so it appears that there is no demand so you dont stock a lot of parts. Not to bash Albert or Anthony, but they do not help because they have no overhead but shipping allowing them to price things much lower (ive bought things from them so dont feel im all holy and good and your all scum...well maybe....lol).

However, with the micro races I'm going to do everything im my power to have a killer micro section full of GOOD tires, suspension pieces which break often, motors, maybe ARM brand stuff (they only give a 20% discount to shops), and anything else you guys want and make sure that on race day all of these parts are ACTUALLY IN STOCK!
So if you guys can help show Fred that having performance parts in stock is NOT a waste of time and money it will be a lot easier to get good parts next year for the NTC3, R40, and possibly Serpent.

::gingerly hop off the drivers stand i.e. soap box::

[datamike]

Anyone here in the nw burbs (around crystal lake/mchenry)?

I've got a new Savage and have found a few good spots to run. Anyone want to get together, let me know.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
So if you guys can help show Fred that having performance parts in stock is NOT a waste of time and money it will be a lot easier to get good parts next year for the NTC3, R40, and possibly Serpent.

::gingerly hop off the drivers stand i.e. soap box::

I see your point, but OEM replacement parts for the R40 would be nice, and I realize that at this time they are hard to come by...Next Season you will have me, Mack running R40s', I know Bill has been talking about get rid of his Super to get a R40 so ther is 3 potential broken cars per race day. I would hate to crash and be done for the day because of a $4.00 part. I can sit down with him and tell him what is common to break in a really hard board hit.

[Walt]

Rookie, Rex,

Take a look at the R40 forum on R/C Tech... I asked which combinations of 1st and 2nd gear ratios can be used together and still get the right gear mesh... someone responded that any combinations will work together... this doesn't seem possible to me.

Also, he said that the engine never needs to be adjusted to get the right mesh because the gears are designed such that the mesh will always be the same with a given engine location. Rex: did you have to slide the engine front/back to get the mesh right?

Rookie: Do you see any way that you can have any combinations of pinion/spur gears and NOT have to adjust the mesh between the two gears??? If there is some way to do this (within the confines of this discussion, ie: there are not 'different' 47 tooth spur gears depending on which 18 tooth pinion you happen to be using), then I missed something important in engineering school.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Walt
Rookie: Do you see any way that you can have any combinations of pinion/spur gears and NOT have to adjust the mesh between the two gears??? If there is some way to do this (within the confines of this discussion, ie: there are not 'different' 47 tooth spur gears depending on which 18 tooth pinion you happen to be using), then I missed something important in engineering school.

YES, any combination of the pinion WILL work with any combination of the SPUR (well, not all, but almost all)

I will bring my 835 and show you what I was running at the MWS...and back before when I was running my IMpulse PRO.....

The SIZE of the gears are DEEP enough so it can mesh with almost all the gears (unlike NTC3).

For example.....I believed stock gears for R40 pinion are 16/19 (like stock serpent centax = 3 tooth different)....and spur are 48/45 (same again, 3 tooth different)...ina perfect world, especially like NTC3, if you have 6T different in pinion, you must have 6T different on spur....

HOWEVER, in SERPENT world...that is NOT necessary, since each tooth are deeper (like 32 pitch versus 48 pitch versus 64 pitch)....32 pitch gives you more ROOM to mesh different gears combination....

For example...on my 835, I use 15/20T (5 tooth different) on a 48/45 spur (still, 3 tooth different).......all I have to do is ANGLE the engine position a little so I can mesh the 15/48 nicely and also meshed the 2nd 20T/45T nicely too.........

Walt....it is very hard to tell you, but that is why SERPENT Centax system been using for so long and everyone is copying to their cars and using it....

Beside...look at Atsushi Hara and Thad Garners setup for Revelation Raceway (August 2003) gear setup.... they both using some weird gear combination.....see below

1st: Pinion Gear: 18
2nd: Pinion Gear: 21
1st: Spur Gear: 49
2nd Spur Gear: 43
Middle Pulley: 23T

but look at the tooth different....18/21 (3 tooth) 49/43 (6 tooth)....and it still work fine....again, he must mount the engine slikely a little with angle in order to mesh both gear....

You will see exactly what I am talking about when you see my 835 or Rex R40 IF you decided to use some ODD gears.

[Rookie Solara]

Walt......again, it is the beauty of SERPENT, they invented that engine mount position.......it is not just moving the engine forward and backward to get the perfect mesh, it can also let you tighten the engine in ANGLE postion.........

If you have the ODD pinion/spur combination......you WILL ended up a angled engine position (if you are looking the car/engine from above)........if you want both 1st and 2nd gear mounted / meshed nicely.............

However, you might ask, if the engine/gears are in angle position, how does the gears SPIN nicely...........? That...I really dohn't know....all I know is, that things works for all SERPENT for more then 10 plus years (and all my serpent too).........but I think, that has to do with the THICKNESS of each spur/pinion gears....

They are at least 2-3mm thicker then typical 2 speed like NTC3 and HPI and others.........those extra thickness might be the key that it gives extra space for the gears to not MISSING the connection to the spur...

Again...seeing the actual thing will gives you the whole concept.......I am having a headache right now for seeing what I am typing.............

[Rkmori]

I got a headache just reading it, Esp. after staring at Blue Prints all day......

Walt, yes there is adjustment for gear mesh.

[HauntedMyst]

Hey all. I got a new mini temp gun this week so I will be selling the one I bought just 4 weeks ago. If any one needs one cheap, find me at the track on Saturday.

[mab_man20]

KAN zapped batteries?

How many people would be interested in these cells? They are about a mm larger than the regular 2/3A cells and give a LOT more punch. I will charge $2.25 per cell, only $0.25 more than the regular cells.

[Rkmori]

Ok, now after reading Rookies dissertation on gear meshing with a clearer mind, he is correct, the holes which the motor mount to the chassis are much larger dia. than the screws, not just slots to move back and forth, you can actually pitch the motor slightly to allow more mesh on first gear and less on second, or the other way as well as front to back. If the crankshaft represents the X axis, you have adjustment in x and y, and any combination in between only limited by the larger dia. hole.

[g12314]

Originally posted by mab_man20
KAN zapped batteries?

How many people would be interested in these cells? They are about a mm larger than the regular 2/3A cells and give a LOT more punch. I will charge $2.25 per cell, only $0.25 more than the regular cells.

I would be interested in 6 to try out.

Jimmy

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
KAN zapped batteries?

How many people would be interested in these cells? They are about a mm larger than the regular 2/3A cells and give a LOT more punch. I will charge $2.25 per cell, only $0.25 more than the regular cells.

tsk tsk tsk........now you cannot complain about Anthony or Albert.....are you selling the cells loose or in premade packs? If loose do you have the shrink wrap and solder bars? I will talk to you on saturday, I may want to make a FEW packs for the winter micro races.

[Rkmori]

Hey mab,

Is there a link you can post so we can read the battery specs.??

[kakolitoy]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
Hey all. I got a new mini temp gun this week so I will be selling the one I bought just 4 weeks ago. If any one needs one cheap, find me at the track on Saturday.


I might need one. What brand is it?

[kakolitoy]

This is the last race for me this season. I would like to bring my whole clan. from 1/10 200 mm, 235 and my 8th scale. I would like to feel them again before I store them again in their home. Especially that my Ko radio is fixed and was remanufature. I had a bad race last race because of my broken radio. Hopefully, this Saturday will be a good day to end the season.

PLs. give us an idea of the lay out for tommorrow. Its better to set up my cars today than tommorrow. Last race the track were so tight for the bigger cars. @ least I will know if I need more steering and reduce the whole diameter of the front end of my and brother's cars.

thanks

[Rkmori]

Mab,

1 more thing the sech. says that 10/18 is a Rain/make-up day, will there be a race on that date? I would like to know if I need to scramble to get the R40 back together after it's trip to Vegas....otherwise I will just leave it apart bec. I plan to get a NM 3p turbo, and a new radio (not sure what or who's yet I'm open to suggestions) over the winter months, and come back screaming next season.

[HauntedMyst]

Originally posted by kakolitoy
I might need one. What brand is it?

It's a RadioShack Noncontact Infered

http://www.radioshack.com/images/ProductCatalog/ProductImage/22/22-325.jpg


Mab,

Tomorrow is also my last race day this year. I'd like to see a big track lay out if possible.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Mab,

1 more thing the sech. says that 10/18 is a Rain/make-up day, will there be a race on that date? I would like to know if I need to scramble to get the R40 back together after it's trip to Vegas....otherwise I will just leave it apart bec. I plan to get a NM 3p turbo, and a new radio (not sure what or who's yet I'm open to suggestions) over the winter months, and come back screaming next season.

I can get the car back to you quickly if need be. Also, if you're looking for radio suggestions, I have been VERY happy with my JR XS3 radio... for about $240 you get a computer radio with nearly all those fancy features (that I will never use) AND every single 75 mHz frequency by the turn of a dial and the punch of a button... that's the cool part!

I NEVER have to wait any more to get in practice time... just go up to the frequency board, grab ANY clip, change the radio over to that frequency and go. Man, that's a nice feature. It is especially nice at a 'big' race like in Vegas... I can get in practice time without any problems. Even if I had 3 channels out there to choose from, it's likely I wouldn't be able to find any of them when I want to practice.

The radio is also comfortable and relatively light-weight, which, on top of being affordable, is what made me buy this one when I wouldn't buy an M8 with the synthesized module or the Hiteh 3D... those things are just too heavy, in my opinion.

Now that synthesized is available and affordable, I think it's the only way to go if you race with a crowd, period. Best thing since sliced bread and starter boxes.

[Rookie Solara]

Rex......if money is no object, try 3PK with the Novak synthesized module and synthesized receiver..........3PK = $280, synthesized module $150 and synthesized receiver $150.....

I want to know who would buy that.... .....well, there are quite a lot ppl using the M8 one now.

I will second that JR radio that Walt has, very fancy radio below $250...........(Like Walt...more then 70% of the fuction of the 3PK I will never touch or don't even know how to touch...)

[mab_man20]

Originally posted by Rkmori
tsk tsk tsk........now you cannot complain about Anthony or Albert.....are you selling the cells loose or in premade packs? If loose do you have the shrink wrap and solder bars? I will talk to you on saturday, I may want to make a FEW packs for the winter micro races.

lol...I want to make one differentiation between what im doing and what anthony and albert are doing.

These cells cannot be ordered via a hobby distributor, therefore fred would have to find a completely new source to get the cells, where as A/A are in direct competition with the LHS's.

Anyway, I will sell them individually, but will assembly for a small fee. Let me know on saturday how many batteries you want so i can get an idea of how many are needed. I can put together little "battery building kits" for people. It will include shrink wrap and ill do some research into the best battery bars (ive heard lots of solutions), i think most people can get solder and wire with ease. What else would people want in a kit? I will let people know on a price once i know how much the supplies are, but i assure it wont be a rip off like the Trinity battery building kits ($7!!!!! for bars and shrink wrap!)

I will make a big flowing track (oval) for this saturday. J/k no oval, but open.

[Rkmori]

mab,

There is no great science to the bars, We make electrical connections at work we have the tinned brass and copper, every thickness from .010 - .040 thick, in any width you need, and it's free....I can bring some on saturday.....try it out....

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
mab,

There is no great science to the bars, We make electrical connections at work we have the tinned brass and copper, every thickness from .010 - .040 thick, in any width you need, and it's free....I can bring some on saturday.....try it out....

So you're saying that the advertisements in the RC car magazines are lying when they say you need bars with fins on them? Say it ain't so!

In recent memory, there has been little that I thought was as silly as the 'you need super expensive pieces of metal to connect your batteries' push.

Can you bring some bars with on Saturday for me? I'm about to put together some packs for 1/12th scale... only need two bars per pack, and I'm putting together 3 packs for now, so 6 bars, but I'd also like to put some kind of bar at the ends of the pack for where I solder on the positive and negative leads so that I'm not always applying that much heat to the end of the batteries (I don't like using connectors for 1/12th, but maybe there are better connectors now then when I last raced 1/12th in the late 80's).

[Rkmori]

[i]
I will make a big flowing track (oval) for this saturday. J/k no oval, but open. [/B]

We should give Walt track time with all of us not on the track, Mainly for 1 reason, R40 parts ar back ordered and hard to come by, and lets face it these Oval are FUN but can be brutal. Now R40 parts might be back ordered because they sent all stock to Vegas Hobby shop but we cannot confirm that.

[Rkmori]

Walt,

Here is the list:
R40
Build Manual for R40
Spare parts
Centex Clutch (attached to OS motor)
Long shaft clutch nut
xponder
2 speed Wrench

am I missing any thing????

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
We should give Walt track time with all of us not on the track, Mainly for 1 reason, R40 parts ar back ordered and hard to come by, and lets face it these Oval are FUN but can be brutal. Now R40 parts might be back ordered because they sent all stock to Vegas Hobby shop but we cannot confirm that.

I don't need all of that... we can make sure the engine/clutch/2-speed is all working (after we get it all installed) and then I'm just going to pull the car. I'm not going to learn anything on the Hobby Town track that's going to help me in Vegas.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Walt,

Here is the list:
R40
Build Manual for R40
Spare parts
Centex Clutch (attached to OS motor)
Long shaft clutch nut
xponder
2 speed Wrench

am I missing any thing????

Are you leaving your electronics in the car for tomorrow? If not, I won't be able to test the R40 until after I pull the receiver from my NTC3 you'll be using.

I can't think of much else. I hear that the R40 came with some set up spacers or something... might as well bring those along. The rally body I'm going to put on it is very tall, so if there are 'tall' body mounts, I'll probably need those.

Also, if you have foams that you like for HTOP, bring those along to use on my car tomorrow... I'm pretty much out of foam for that car, and I don't want to run any of the new ones I bought for Vegas. Plus, I have never run foam at HTOP (only my Super in the past, I think), so I have no idea what works there.

I'd probably like to use your receiver battery pack because I think the R40 needs a pack unlike what I own. I could (and might) build a AAA pack for use there (Hara used one to win the Nationals), but most likely I'll use whatever you've got in there now, assuming it's in good shape and will have no problem going for 30 minutes.

Uh, can't think of anything else...

[kakolitoy]

I will make a big flowing track (oval) for this saturday. J/k no oval, but open. [/B] [/QUOTE]

PLs. no Oval. I rather practice in my practice area than racing in an oval. Anyway, if you decided to do an oval pls. let us know.

thanks

[Walt]

Originally posted by kakolitoy


PLs. no Oval. I rather practice in my practice area than racing in an oval. Anyway, if you decided to do an oval pls. let us know.

thanks [/QUOTE]

Don't want to speak for Mab here, but I think the "J/K/no oval, just open" part meant "I was joking about the oval".

[Rookie Solara]

Don't worry about OVAL or not OVAL........try weatherchannel.com first

Cubs game is going to be delay..........and tomorrow, very good chance early rain.........

P.S. Not a big fan of that AAA receiver pack conversion.........30 minutes main............? And unless we are all HARA, I don't see the AAA batteries pack have hugh advantage.....beside, I don't even know how to mount 5 cells underneath the tank.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
Are you leaving your electronics in the car for tomorrow? If not, I won't be able to test the R40 until after I pull the receiver from my NTC3 you'll be using.

I can't think of much else. I hear that the R40 came with some set up spacers or something... might as well bring those along. The rally body I'm going to put on it is very tall, so if there are 'tall' body mounts, I'll probably need those.

Also, if you have foams that you like for HTOP, bring those along to use on my car tomorrow... I'm pretty much out of foam for that car, and I don't want to run any of the new ones I bought for Vegas. Plus, I have never run foam at HTOP (only my Super in the past, I think), so I have no idea what works there.

I'd probably like to use your receiver battery pack because I think the R40 needs a pack unlike what I own. I could (and might) build a AAA pack for use there (Hara used one to win the Nationals), but most likely I'll use whatever you've got in there now, assuming it's in good shape and will have no problem going for 30 minutes.

Uh, can't think of anything else...

Radio is out I plan to bring my Radio Sat. and put it into the your NTC3, Albert, should have the new servo case. I have never tested the discharge rate of the pack to say it will not have problems in a 30 minute main, I cannot say. The pack is a handmade pack, cells bought from Albert, all Solder joints are good and bright. I always put it on a 1A fast charge on my peak charger befor a Main Race, and trickle in between heats, I do have a spare pack, that I plan to send with the car.

I think we are good.....All you need to do is tweek the set-up and WIN!!!

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Don't worry about OVAL or not OVAL........try weatherchannel.com first

Cubs game is going to be delay..........and tomorrow, very good chance early rain.........

P.S. Not a big fan of that AAA receiver pack conversion.........30 minutes main............? And unless we are all HARA, I don't see the AAA batteries pack have hugh advantage.....beside, I don't even know how to mount 5 cells underneath the tank.

Ok every do the Sunny day Dance 1 last time........

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
PLs. no Oval. I rather practice in my practice area than racing in an oval. Anyway, if you decided to do an oval pls. let us know.

thanks

Don't want to speak for Mab here, but I think the "J/K/no oval, just open" part meant "I was joking about the oval". [/B][/QUOTE]

I think you are right....so don't worry about oval kakolitoy

[Rookie Solara]

Well, tomorrow is probably a good wrenghing race day instead of actual race day........and www.cltv.com does have some good news

Partly Cloudy and a little SUN tomorrow...........(hint, no rain)

Even though they are wrong and off most of the time, this time, I think they get it right....

[mab_man20]

Originally posted by Walt
Don't want to speak for Mab here, but I think the "J/K/no oval, just open" part meant "I was joking about the oval".

We have a winner!!

Can't you guys take a joke?

:p

Thanks for the bars rex.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Radio is out I plan to bring my Radio Sat. and put it into the your NTC3, Albert, should have the new servo case. I have never tested the discharge rate of the pack to say it will not have problems in a 30 minute main, I cannot say. The pack is a handmade pack, cells bought from Albert, all Solder joints are good and bright. I always put it on a 1A fast charge on my peak charger befor a Main Race, and trickle in between heats, I do have a spare pack, that I plan to send with the car.

I think we are good.....All you need to do is tweek the set-up and WIN!!!

Alright... if your radio is out already, I'll go ahead and pull out my radio (well, just the receiver) from my NTC3. All you'll have to do to get my NTC3 going is to put your receiver in the box, plug in all the wires and route the antenna wire. I'll leave in my servos and such.

Once we've got my car running with your receiver, I'll start working on putting my receiver in to the R40 and probably one of my back up servos as well. Then the engine which I will be purchasing from Howard.

I'm pretty sure your receiver pack will be OK. As long as it has a capacity of at least 700 mah, I'll trust it for the 30 minute main (assuming I even make the A-main).

No rain tomorrow!

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Well, tomorrow is probably a good wrenghing race day instead of actual race day........and www.cltv.com does have some good news

Partly Cloudy and a little SUN tomorrow...........(hint, no rain)

Even though they are wrong and off most of the time, this time, I think they get it right....

Howard, Rex: Just in case it is raining tomorrow, should we come up with a back up plan? I was thinking that we could meet at Howard's house to swap everything around, but I hate to invite myself over to someone else's house.. you are both welcome to come to my house, but that seems awfully convenient for me and not for either of you.

Let me know what you'd like to do.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
Howard, Rex: Just in case it is raining tomorrow, should we come up with a back up plan? I was thinking that we could meet at Howard's house to swap everything around, but I hate to invite myself over to someone else's house.. you are both welcome to come to my house, but that seems awfully convenient for me and not for either of you.

Let me know what you'd like to do.

Actaully Rookie and I already talked aboout that.....that was a possible plan b......

[wrxdan]

I am going to HTOP tomorrow, but will be late. I'll be there around 1-1:30. What heat are we usually in by then? Mab - can I sneak in? That's if it's not raining.

Dan

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Actaully Rookie already talked aboout that.....that was a possible plan b......

I'll be leaving work in the next 1/2 hour or so (no more forum talk)... if the weather is questionable tomorrow at 8:15am, which is the time I was planning on leaving for HTOP, I'll call both of you and figure out what we should do. Feel free to call me if it's raining and I have not called yet... I have a baby that wakes up around 6am, so you probably won't be getting me out of bed.

At that time we can decide if meeting at my house is better or at Howards or at Rex's or whatever...

One way or another, I'll see you guys tomorrow.

[Rookie Solara]

AH...........just missed this conversation, yes, I think my house is probably the middle point of WALT or REX...and both of you were here before, so I don't think there is any problem.

Only problem is, my wife has the right to use the bathroom any time and at all time......if anyone of us need to use bathroom, we have to use the backyard (unless someone can loan me $10,000 to build one in the basement)

Just in case it rain, bring your micro and we can do some mini racing in my basement track........

Beside, very good chance no rain or even sunny..........

[Rkmori]

Nah I think you just sniffing too much Nitro.....we were on MSN and you mentioned if needed we can meet at your place make the change and go to the Odium to try out the car.....$10,000 for 2nd Bathroom, what kind of bathroom you want, you can build bathroom for 1/2 that.

[mab_man20]

Originally posted by wrxdan
I am going to HTOP tomorrow, but will be late. I'll be there around 1-1:30. What heat are we usually in by then? Mab - can I sneak in? That's if it's not raining.

Dan

Ive got you covered. We are usually just starting the 3rd heats.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Rkmori
$10,000 for 2nd Bathroom, what kind of bathroom you want, you can build bathroom for 1/2 that.

If you can errect and finish a full bath (even just a standing shower type) in my basement (with correct/working wasting and water supply device system) for $5000.....you will get my job, and I will hand you $1000 for a signing bonus.............(yes, for real)

[g12314]

Heck I'd give you $8000 to do mine. Currently we are at $13K for a complete gut & rebuild job.. I thought my drag racing /auto-xcross hobby was expensive till I bought a house.

Jimmy -> waiting for micro Thursdays to begin :)

[mab_man20]

Someone requested to see the battery info. Here it is:

*ZAPPED* KAN 1050 2/3a cell

SPECS:
Rechargeable 1050mah NiMH KAN cells
Capable of pushing 30+amps with out a drop on cell voltage
Perfect for any high output motor application, including Brushless Setups, the cell of choice for competitive racing with big block / speed 300 / watt-age 370 motors. We recommend these to compliment the Rabid Chihauhau motors!

Dimensions: 15mm X 28mm (1mm taller than regular 1100mAH 2/3a cells)
Weight: .75oz

Compaired to:

2/3 A size NiMH battery, 1.2V, 1100 mAh
Most popular cell for Mini battery pack for RC cars and aircraft (park flyers)
Ultra high capacity , 40% more running time than Ni-Cd battery
Rapidly charge up and long cycle life.
Dimension: 17D x 28H mm.
Weight: 0.72 Oz.

[Rkmori]

Walt,

Good Luck in Vegas!!!!!

[Rkmori]

Mab.... I forgot to take out the Xstal for the xponder, I think it was #3. I'll bring it back on the next race date or at the micro track clean up which ever comes first....... Sorry......

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Walt,

Good Luck in Vegas!!!!!

Thanks. I managed to get both cars all cleaned up and nicely packed, along with my other required stuff. I think it's all going to get there safe and sound.

I'll call you when I get back to figure out how we're going to get the car back to you.

[mab_man20]

Thanks rex, i appretiate that. Dont take offense to what im about to say, its just venting.


I yell at people after every single race to bring back the transponders, after every race the first thing people should do is take out the trasponder and return it, yet people dont so when the next racer asks where it is, ive got to look up who had it last and yell at them.
During the micro races we are going to put the transponders right next to the drivers stand so you walk past them on your way to and from the drivers stand. After every heat i will expect everyone to take out their transponder, place their car on the table, and go onto the track to marshall. The next heat should then be ready to go, we dont have to worry about starting/warming up engines so there is no reason we cant run the next race within 3 minutes of the previous one. That way we can take longer breaks between the rounds and have more practice/track time.

[Rkmori]

No Offense taken, but I can say that in the last 2 years of racing I think I have only taken a xtal home 1 other time. I do see a pattern, though...it seems that during any race, if there is a crack up resulting in broken parts, we scramble to get the cars together before the end of the heat, or get as much done before having to have to marshal/next heat. So now the focus seems to shift from racing to getting the car back toghether. So the thought of the transponder goes on the back burner.

I know there is a bunch of us that have the AMB personal xponder. Is there any thought of going to a new system? I'm not sure what the accounting methods of the track is, in order to calculate the pay back for a new system. I think with a slight increase in race fee + a xponder rental fee, might be a slight reduction in some of the headaches. Because at this point 100% of us still need to grab a xtal or transponder unit. This percentage can be reduced, and as more and more people get the personal Xponder your need to yelling (and need to preach) should get less and less.

[Rookie Solara]

I don't want to say for Mab, but I know the problem is....

Very simple.........$$$$$$

AMB system is around $3000 (Walt, you can verify that)....and you must buy at least 10 handout units min....
Then the allycat software.........$$$$

Overall, it will be difficult for HTOP to dedicate those money onto the track and attract around 20 ppl per week for every 2 weeks.

Unless someone can get one AMB system used and very cheap or charged $30 to race per person per car.......I don't see the number works out at HTOP

I would like to see the AMB system at HTOP, but I think I would rather race there for $10 and do the crystal things instead.

A close nearby race track with a little extra work to do (and SAT is a much better day) is more important then a good counting system (at least that is my opinion.

[Rookie Solara]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3148148397&category=34063

Just saw that on ebay.......but I think that is the old analog system that DOES NOT support the personal transponder system (which is digital).........I don't think that will work.

But allycat software is only about $200........much cheaper then I thought.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
I don't want to say for Mab, but I know the problem is....

Very simple.........$$$$$$

AMB system is around $3000 (Walt, you can verify that)....and you must buy at least 10 handout units min....
Then the allycat software.........$$$$



First of all, if I had anything to do with HTOP, I'd at LEAST get the Alycat software regardless.. it will work with the current K.O. system or AMB, and it would allow the races to start automatically at exactly 5 minutes (or whatever you set it), so no more "really guys, I'm serious now, we're really going to start in 2 minutes" blah, blah. That is just too much work for the poor guy trying to run the races AND race too. It is so nice to have the computer run the whole day for you. Plus, Alycat generates the race results HTML, so it is very easy to get the race results up on Brian's web site after the race. And having the computer call out race positions, time left, etc. is really nice.

Anyways, if you want to go the full AMB route, Howard is pretty close. You're looking at about $1900 for the decoder and about $1000 for the 10 hand-out rechargable transponders with the charging rack, so about $3000. You can probably make your own scoring loop instead of buying theirs, but theirs is made of really nice wire/cable (another $100 if I remember right).

Before I purchased mine I did a lot of thinking about it. The K.O. system is by no means free either (about half the cost if I remember correctly). For the extra $1500, it seemed worth it to go with AMB. But in HTOP's case, the K.O. system is a sunk cost... much harder to change now, but at least get new software, and Alycat is the best and the least expensive... a real 'no brainer'.

What you might want to consider for next season though is the possibility of 'renting' other local AMB systems. I have one that I didn't use on Saturdays this year, and Cory has one that he hardly ever uses. Maybe something can be worked out? I HOPE to be using mine on Saturdays next year for off road races, but if we don't, I'm sure the bowling alley owner (who ownes everything now) wouldn't mind making a little extra money off of his investment in the system. Maybe Cory feels the same way. But getting the system back and forth would be difficult.

It's just a thought... the TP system isn't even mine to offer, and, like I said, I'm hopeful that we'll have off road races going on Saturdays next year.

Just don't get stuck in the 'trap' where you feel you need a big turnout before you can invest in a better track, but then you never get a bigger turnout because the track is not 'worthy' of a big turnout... it's a catch 22. If you guys invested in an actual driver's stand that could sit in the middle, and then made the track the full size of that parking lot, and had AMB scoring, you would probably draw a lot more guys and those investments would pay off... wait, what am I saying... don't do that... everyone just race at my track instead... just kidding...

[mab_man20]

You guys are reitterating the exact same conversation i have with hauser on saturday and will be relived again tonight at a organizational meeting for the micros.

I personally want to get the AMB system and this is how I want to go about it.
We will be racing micros every thursday for 6 months (end of october through april) that is approximately 25 races (minus a couple for christmas and what not) so we are looking at about 22 races.
Keeping race fees at $10 (which in my mind is the most important part), if we get 10 racers every week thats $2200. Which is a good chunk of of the cost. But 10 racers is a rather low turnout. If we could get that to 15 then $3300 which is almost exactly the cost of the AMB, the wire, and alleycat software.

As walt mentioned there is a catch-22, how do we get this money upfront? if we dont get it up front then we may not make enough to buy it next spring.
Solution: Propose a one month trial period and set a goal for entree fees. If the goal is reached in that one month period, then we project that the system will be paid off and we buy it up front.
I will let everyone know how the meeting goes tonight and if we do set a trial period, it would be great if everyone could come out and help us reach the goal!

[Rkmori]

Ther drivers stand is another thing but I figure it is a liability issue as well as storage. Not to mention I don't know, the politics/policies of the parking lot use and the owner. Next season I just plan to bring a box to stand on. Mab can use as a "Soap Box".......when necessary..........:)

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
You guys are reitterating the exact same conversation i have with hauser on saturday and will be relived again tonight at a organizational meeting for the micros.

I personally want to get the AMB system and this is how I want to go about it.
We will be racing micros every thursday for 6 months (end of october through april) that is approximately 25 races (minus a couple for christmas and what not) so we are looking at about 22 races.
Keeping race fees at $10 (which in my mind is the most important part), if we get 10 racers every week thats $2200. Which is a good chunk of of the cost. But 10 racers is a rather low turnout. If we could get that to 15 then $3300 which is almost exactly the cost of the AMB, the wire, and alleycat software.

As walt mentioned there is a catch-22, how do we get this money upfront? if we dont get it up front then we may not make enough to buy it next spring.
Solution: Propose a one month trial period and set a goal for entree fees. If the goal is reached in that one month period, then we project that the system will be paid off and we buy it up front.
I will let everyone know how the meeting goes tonight and if we do set a trial period, it would be great if everyone could come out and help us reach the goal!

Will the current computer support the newer software.......

[Rookie Solara]

I personally would like to express my thought (again, ME only)....

Micro race......$10 to race, I will not be there.......the reason? TP charge $5 and so does other races (from other states) charge, TP does their homework and they set up the price........Race is only about 2-3 hours long the most...$10 is too much.

2nd........I hope next season, there will not be that $50 membership thing........

Mab.......I wish HTOP can get everything, but again, no one is perfect, and there are no perfect solution.

The KO system is definitely FINE then counting by hand and fingers or pan and paper...........I really don't think having the AMB system will generate the large crowd of ppl to race there.
To solve the problem, doesn't necessary need to spend a fortune...using the existing equipment MIGHT be able to resolve the problem.

Like Walt said, may be the $180 alycat software will take care most of the problem.......yes, it is sucks to replace crystal and return transponder and this and that, but it is definitely much better then paying extra $5 per race, or having $50 membership and other stuff........that won't attract ppl, only drives ppl away.

Understand one thing.......HTOP has it own advantage....SAT race, closer negihbourhood, small track, and perfect for newbie.......but there are quite a lot of disadvantage.....small track, no good racer will be interested, KO transponder system, no driver stand....etc

One more thing to concern........lets say you can attract 20-30 more ppl per SAT........that means, more classes, more ppl to deal with....and more trouble, have HTOP ever consider that? Right now, we started the race like 11:30 and ended like 4:00.....with only 3 classes 16 ppl racing.....what will that be if we have 32 ppl racing and 10 or 15 minutes main....?

Again, we can talk about 1000 solution or ideas, but actually DOING it is another story...........if that is so complicated, why don't we just use whatever we have now, and do the BEST from it......KO system will work on MICRO and RC as well, if ppl have problem swapping the transponder, they will not be at HTOP..........I don't like it, but I love racing at HTOP, so I have to deal with it.

About Micro....I don't know how to say, I think you guys need to write down the cost of carpet, pvc, corner dishes and all other necessary supply and add them all up, and figure out the cost to race...........and like I said, I would not agree to spend more then $5 to race micro at HTOP.

[mab_man20]

Thanks for your input rookie. I had talked to people from other tracks and they had charged $10, but we will discuss it tonight. I will fight for $5 because that is what Walt is charging and i feel that keeping consistancy in the region is a good idea.

The biggest problem with the KO system is people's inability to maintain the transponders (or lack of strength from KO). Last season 5 were broken and countless wires were frayed and ripped. This year we tried to prevent that by having people use their own transponders, but the race software quickly destroyed that because it fails to recognize that assigning a car car #3, means it should use transponder #3, but it doesnt. Hense the crystal shift. This year we have even more broken and missing transponders. :mad: After a while keeping track of the transponders becomes a full time job and seriously reduces my fun at the track and my willingness to run the races. Having only 10 and not changing crystals would be much easier.

We may have to try the alleycat demo to see if it works with the KO, every other program mark tried did not work. That will be determined tonight.

Drivers stand: Storage is the issue, we dont have the space to put it anywere. I have thought about building a highly modular stand, but then i would be more worried about its stability.

We have been consistantly finishing before 3 and that is because i tend to give a little longer break so people can get a full day at the track. If its a busy day then the breaks are strictly 15 minutes. Recently the 5 minute rule between heats has been run very strictly and has worked well.

I don't like it, but I love racing at HTOP, so I have to deal with it.
I appreciate hearing this, it makes everything above a little easier to put up with. If the system i want to use for micro works, then it wont matter what system we have, things should go very smoothly.

Rex: I think i use my soap box enough already. lol

[wrxdan]

I do not know if I have any useful input. But I think HTOP does a great job. I mean... 4 TC tracks around me, 2 only run Saturday. HTOP is easy to get to. I will to cut them some slack. It may be different for me because I only make a handful of raced a season. I'm just glad I have somewhere to race. I'm not sure what HTOPs focus is. If it's to have fun, and have nice competitive people to race with then you do a great job.

The current transponder system is fine, it works. A nicer system would be cool, but if it means raising entry fees then I feel your shifting your focus. Full time racers will pay more to race, some kid down the block will not. Like stated, HTOP has the Saturday advantage, I like the size of the track, good people, well organized, and most of all... fun.

How come HTOP doesn't draw more eclectic people?

Also, if you draw more people that pit space becomes real tight! It was tight Saturday.


When I first saw HTOPs i thought " great...they have 2X4s for walls". But have racing a few time I noticed the wall give a lot. So the boards may not look the greatest but they do absorb some of the impact. I broke one part out of 4-5 races.

Last. This may sound stupid. But when I was younger and racing, maybe jr high age. What drove me to be competitive was the little trophies or banner thingies. Now it's not a huge deal, but I still have my old trophies from Metrofast back in the day and still am proud of my effort. So if you are looking to draw more younger kids then some kind of reward system would be good.

[Walt]

My understanding is that Alycat does support the K.O. system AND it has the ability to be set to 'keep flags' which means that it does everything in it's power during a re-grid or sort to keep everyone's flag (crystal #) the same... obviously, if the #3 guy from the A as well as the #3 guy from the B qualifiers both make the A-main, someone has to change, but it will do as much as possible to keep everyone on the same flag. I have not personally used that feature, so I don't know all the details, but I'm sure people using Alycat have used K.O. and have figured this out. The Alycat Forum (access through their web site) would be a good place to ask the question.

I'm also pretty sure that the free demo of Alycat will allow you to at least make sure that you are interfacing to the K.O. system properly and that it all works before you shell out the $220 for the full version.

[Rkmori]

Ok........ well............ it looks like my suggestion based on simplicity has brought on controversy. Allow me to Explain myself.

1) I'm not dissatisfied with HTOP, by no means, I enjoy racing there for many of the points that Rookie pointed out. I offer my help when I can afford to give it, most times after most others clear out. I'm one of the few that stay to help tear down. I might say that the after race Javilin toss is, very competitive too.

2) If I did not like racing there.... I would not be there.

3) I truly think Chris and Mike have done a great job, and I hope that HTOP is around for a long time.

4) I really don't mind swapping out Xtals on the xponder. Maybe pehaps new software will change this problem.

5) Every track has its share of problems, and the xponder problem is probably most common (Walts Scoring system and Walt reminds Driver 2 or 3x's to return xponders). Unless you make everybody buy a person xponder (which is unrealistic) this will be on going.

ok, I'm going back to studying blue prints......no more forum for this afternoon.

[Walt]

Add some better software that will keep the racing on schedule and announce positions/ time left in race, etc, and you'll be set at HTOP.

I also think some form of driver's stand is necessary.. either that, or set up the track another 5 feet away from the wall. There were many times that someone would walk in front of the scoring table and totally block the view of the far right corner... I only ran one heat on Saturday, and twice I had to just come to a complete stop in that corner because I couldn't see a thing. Maybe you could just put up one of those 'felt rope' things so that people don't walk right along the edge of the track.

For next year I'm trying to think of a better way to deal with the transponders. Charging a $5 rental fee for using our transponders has helped get most of the regulars to just buy a personal transponder, which helps a ton. For the guys that use ours, I'm considering making those guys give me a picture ID or something else as collateral... they'd get it back after they turn in their transponder after their last race of the day. I don't want to loose any more club transponders (only lost one all year, but that's $85).

I'm constantly trying to improve the racing at TP, and I'm sure the guys at HTOP are doing the same. I don't mind suggestions, as long as there are solutions given, not just complaining with no ideas how to make it better.

[Nexus]

How come HTOP doesn't draw more electric people?

Alot of that has to do with the track, drivers stand, and transponder issues.

1. It would be nice to see HTOP expand the track and use more of the lot.

2. Not having the drivers stand centered is key.

3. The whole membership, buying transponder issue kept many away.

I think HTOP has one of the best locations and a centered drivers stand and bigger track layout would definitely draw alot more people.

wrx...if you want some bigtime electric racing checkout Venture on Sat or Trackside on Sun. either day you can catch a bunch of electric racers....some of whom are sponsored by Trinity, Losi, AE, ect. So far it seems like everyone up there has stepped their level of racing from last year.

Hopefully something can be figured out....I know walt/mab want to race...but one of the main reasons Venture runs so well is that Darrin does not enter on days he runs the races. plus i really like the fact he does commentary during the races....kind of like how they do it at trackside. It adds more excitement for the racers and spectators

I like the way Tinley was run...I just wish the track was a bit more technical. One of the other problems was when alot of electric guys did show up. It seemed like it was a fight to find electrical hook-ups. Is there still a plan to build a permanant onroad course? If anyone gets a chance take a look at AJs outdoor course...it's probably one of the nicest around this area.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Nexus
I like the way Tinley was run...I just wish the track was a bit more technical. One of the other problems was when alot of electric guys did show up. It seemed like it was a fight to find electrical hook-ups. Is there still a plan to build a permanant onroad course? If anyone gets a chance take a look at AJs outdoor course...it's probably one of the nicest around this area.

I tried to compromise on the track layouts... some more technical, some less... actually, we had about a dozen of our inner boards stolen about half way through this season, so many of our track layouts could not be built with the amount of boards we have left (don't know why someone would want to steal boards???).

We won't have a dedicated, R/C only track next year, BUT, it does look like we'll have a brand new, bigger, much smoother parking lot to set up our track on next summer AND we will be able to leave the track set up all summer long instead of having to set it up and tear it down on Sundays. It will also feature a permanent driver's stand, bigger than the one we have on the trailer right now (and maybe covered?). I will try to get more electrical outlets out there than we had this year.. thanks for that suggestions.. I didn't hear many complaints about that this year, so I figured it was OK, but I'll work on it now that you mentioned it.

The current track area is about 180 feet by 90 feet. The new track area is about 175 feet by 175 feet, so we'll be able to do a lot with it. Also, the plan is to have one of our regular nitro racers do the paving, so we know he'll do a job suited for RC racing since he'll be racing on it himself. He knows we need a fine mix of asphalt and smooth joints, etc. It should be really good. With the track set up all summer long, every day will be open practice, and we have the ability to start earlier in the morning if by popular demand (couldn't this year because I was already getting out there at 5am to start setting up).

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Nexus
wrx...if you want some bigtime electric racing checkout Venture on Sat or Trackside on Sun. either day you can catch a bunch of electric racers....some of whom are sponsored by Trinity, Losi, AE, ect. So far it seems like everyone up there has stepped their level of racing from last year.

Hopefully something can be figured out....I know walt/mab want to race...but one of the main reasons Venture runs so well is that Darrin does not enter on days he runs the races. plus i really like the fact he does commentary during the races....kind of like how they do it at trackside. It adds more excitement for the racers and spectators



I ran venture last winter in super stock. Darrn's commentary rules!!

[Nexus]

walt.

weird that someone stole some boards :confused: :eek:
overall i would say that the layouts were really nice. one advantage is to tinley is that the lanes are very wide....which makes for some interesting passing. the new pavement should help alot cause i remember there being some big dips and bumps which disrupted your suspension bigtime.

i'm sure i could talk more guys from Venture into checking out Tinley next year with the freshly paved track, drivers stand, and more outlets.

wrx or any other electric guys....checkout venture again....Brian Jucha (Trinity/Losi) and some other racers have been laying down some awesome track layouts.

[mab_man20]

I dont really mean to be complaining on here, but i think thats what im coming off as.

I had also thought about some form of collateral for transponders. For micros I would like to get a photo ID from all the racers. They will be kept in a safe location to prevent anyone from taking them and they will be returned at the end of the mains. I know some people are going to complain we may lose them etc, but we've managed to never lose the money which is MUCH more likely to walk then a bunch of photo IDs.

Im not really worried about attendance, i personally love having about 15-20 guys who are familier with the system and who are my friends, than have 40 people and only know half of their names. Its more a focus of enjoying the racing instead of running around like crazy for 8 hours and driving for 20 minutes.

3. The whole membership, buying transponder issue kept many away.

Why? Many people never bought transponders or joined the club. Club members only paid $5 per class ($10 for everyone else) so regulars got a great deal on racing and people who couldn't make it out all the time paid just $10 to race. Also many people are shelling out $60 for personal transponders when the KO ones were free with the club or $15 without.

Derin does an amazing job, i would love to be able to put on a show the way he does, but Venture races 2-3 times a week so he can race and run races every week, where walt and i would miss out entirely if we didnt race while running the races.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Walt
I tried to compromise on the track layouts... some more technical, some less... actually, we had about a dozen of our inner boards stolen about half way through this season, so many of our track layouts could not be built with the amount of boards we have left (don't know why someone would want to steal boards???).



For next season I have a table saw I can throw in back of my truck and bring with to make more boards.

Re: The membership, that is NOT an issue for me either.

Here is and idea, give the option to people buy the xponder, but sell them for 1/2 the cost and keep the xtal. So in a nut shell, you are selling the xponder body only. The xtal remains with HTOP, Maybe even buy back the xtals only from thoses of us who have xponders. This way ppl have the xponder bodies and HTOP should have multiple xtals for every number.

As far as xtal check out, taking photo ID such as DL may cause a problem, esp. if somebody remember 1/2 way home and get into and/or accident. I'm not comfortable handing out my DL. Maybe a simple laminated card with the persons info. This can be printed up straight from the computer, business card stock and laminator can be bought from Office Max. Lost card charge $1.00, but no card no xponder/xtal.......for the walk in who does not have the xponder body fill out a blank card + $5.00 deposit, hand them a xponder w/o xtal. so really in order to get the 5.00 back they should be returning a xponder and xtal........since they will be using the xtal in the main race....

Your thoughts????

[kakolitoy]

Because we have one more race to go. I thought last Saturday was the last race @ HTOP. I am glad that we have one more race to look forward to (Nitro, Battery challenege). I would like to race w/ Alexa, Mike, Dan Kmori, TEd, and (The Destroyer) Miguel... Those guys almost made it every race @ HTOP. Its cool to race and have fun with them @ least twice a year. Also, Ted and his Buddies brought some sandwiches and a jug of Orange pop in the middle of the season. They might bring pancakes and Hot chocolate from MC,D on the last race of the season.:p

I was about to put everything away, good thing Mab made it clear that we have one more Saturday to go.

[Euge]

Hey Mab,

what's the scoop on the nitro/electric challenge? Are you doing it the last race day? If so, I need to get some foam tires. I plan on running a D5 and some foams.

[mab_man20]

The first race will be October 24th. It will be FREE, no charge! We will run a full race schedule to iron out any issues and to take suggestions on how to make it better.


We will supply tables chairs and power, bring a power strip if you plan to use more than one outlet. Also i would suggest bringing a small desk lamp. If you have a table you are welcome to bring it and store it in the basement if you like.

Practice starts at 5:30, Racing at 6:30. Registration is $5 and there will be a $10 deposit for the transponder which will be returned at the end of the day pending the transponder is still in working order and you return it.

You may park in the parking lot across the street from HT (north of the parking garage) it is free after 6. DO NOT park directly behind HT, you WILL be towed and there is nothing we can do about it, its a private lot.

Let me know if you have any Q's.

[HauntedMyst]

Originally posted by Rkmori
For next season I have a table saw I can throw in back of my truck and bring with to make more boards.

Re: The membership, that is NOT an issue for me either.

Here is and idea, give the option to people buy the xponder, but sell them for 1/2 the cost and keep the xtal. So in a nut shell, you are selling the xponder body only. The xtal remains with HTOP, Maybe even buy back the xtals only from thoses of us who have xponders. This way ppl have the xponder bodies and HTOP should have multiple xtals for every number.

As far as xtal check out,...

Your thoughts????


I think all of those are great ideas. I particularly like the ID program, with a deposit. I think we can work with Fred to put together an ID program. That way, we can make them on the fly with some simple off the shelf supplies and work to maintain the crystals.

Since Saturday was my last day of racing, I'll give my thoughts on the past year and some coming for the micro season and next year.

* All in all, I think we had a great year. We had a strong core of racers and over all, the races ran smoothly. Chris and Mike did a tremendous job this year of managing and setting up the races. Support was shown for them when we got them the gift certificates. I don't think there was a single regular who didn't jump at the chance to show their appreciation, which made me proud of not only Chris and Mike, but also of everyone else as well.

* As a group, everyone showed support for everyone else. For example, I bought a new OS motor this year and was having a hard time tuning it at first. All I had to say was "do you think this is too...." and before I knew it, both Howard and Albert dropped what they were doing and were standing over me tuning my motor! That's the kind of people I want to race with. I don't want to race at a track where some newbie kid with his Traxxas 4 Tech can't get help because the pros keep their help and their knowledge to themselves. I want to race at a track that has strong competition, quality people and wants to grow as a club. The day we have to worry we have too many classes and too many racers will actually be a very good day for all of us, though it doesn't seem like it.

* For next year, we are already thinking of how to make it better and how to expand our track. Mike and Chris are looking at the Alley Cat software, or even the KO software to make the races run more smoothly. I'd like to see us get an AMB system but that isn't likely. It's like the world said buy Windows and we bought OS/2. Hind sight is what it is and we have to, at least for now, live with what we have.

- We need to attract 2 levels of racers, more novices and more experts. I'd like to see a race full of Howards all running at once. To me, those are the most entertaining races to watch and I don't think its fair to either the level of racer to be mixed into one class. We need a novice and an expert class. I want to race with people at my level and then go watch Howard and Albert and 5 other guys with their skill level battle it out. I think it makes for more exciting racing on both ends. The question is, how do we attract more new racers and experienced racers at the same time? We're open to any and all suggestions.

- I'd like to see us eventually switch to a flat board/hinge system system like Walt has and get rid of the 2x4's. I think it is more stable, more forgiving and I believe it will also make for quicker set up and take down.

- we're getting a fog horn so that at 2 minutes before the heat, racers will know they have 2 minutes and marshalls will know they have one minute to be on the track. People stepped up to marshalling this year, especially in the later half, but we're only half way there. I think part of the problem is in all the excitement, people don't know when races are starting. This will solve the problem.

- Drivers Stand: Here is the challenge in order to get a centrally located racing stand. It has to be safe, it has to be stable and it has to be taken down and set up every weekend and stored. If anyone can figure out how to do that, we'll be more then happy to make it. I have a hard time believing that the engineering minds on this board are unable to figure something out.

- The store has to carry more parts. Specifically, we need more parts for the R40, the NTC3 and the Serpent. Those are the cars people run and the store needs a supply of the breakables. I think we can tackle this one this year. We've put in place the ability to order foam tires for just $14 a pair and I am sure we can get Fred to stock at least 3 sets of 40 fronts and 37 and 40 rears at all times for that price. We're also enabling the electric people to order fresh matched GP3300 packs at an economical rate. That way electric racers can get them for at or less Promatch prices and the store doesn't have to stock cells like Trinity, Reedy or Orion that grow old and are over priced.

- We need a Cross Town Series or two. Tinley vs HTOP vs Venture. Mab, Walt and Darrin all pick one weekend where we pack it up and head to the other guys track and show ourselves as a team from each track. Who gives a rats *** who wins or loses as long as we have fun racing and meet more people who enjoy this goofy, expensive hobby we're all addicted to.

- For outdoor on the week we don't race, we need a Monday night (or pick a night) Jam Session. Whether that means we get together and drag race, oval race, nascar race, endurance race it doesn't matter. I'd like to see it as a practice night. We all enjoy time behind the wheel, so lets make some more time to get behind the wheel!

* As both Walt and Mab have expressed before, HTOP and Tinley are clubs. Even though HTOP is connected to a store, its still a club. What does that mean? It means everyone who is a core member is part of the club and has responsibility to make the races exist and go smoothly.

How can you help? Sometimes it means just voicing what you would like to see and giving solutions to problems that arise. If the people I race with are one thing, its creative. For every problem, there is a solution sitting in one of your minds.

For some, it will mean sharing your time. For the micro season, we will have a night shortly to set up the room. People have already volunteered to help clear it out. Mab just posted the first race night as a test night. If you have ideas for how the races can best be run, show up and speak your voice! It is valued. The same will go true for next years season. Maybe it will mean 4 or 5 of us get together and spend an afternoon or two sawing and hammering out new boards and a new drivers stand so we can all enjoy a better track.

For others, it means using their resources to make a better race day. Ted stepped up this year and brought McMuffins and juice on a race day. Cool! This year at almost every race, Anthony, Peter and others pitched in to either set up or take down the track. Rex is loaning Walt his car so Walt can step up for all of Chicago and kick some nitro *** in Vegas. For almost all of us, there are stories for how we've helped each other get a little better, run a little better, fix something faster. For all of us, it means inviting our R/C friends to race with us, both at HTOP and Tinley since we share many linkages, namely people.

The bottom line is it doesn't matter what you have or how much money you have, it just means pitching in when you can and with what you have to share, whether you race at HTOP or Tinley. It means stepping up to the plate and doing what you can to make a better race environment for every one. While the racing is our main goal, a real close second for me and everyone else is spending time with people who love this hobby and want it to grow. I think we're there as a group. After 4 years, people are feeling a sense of ownership for the track(s) and its a very real sense of ownership. With out the core people, the tracks will fold and I don't think HTOP shows any sign of that.

I'm glad we're micro racing at HTOP this year. Most of the core racers have expressed interest in racing and it will be nice to know we won't have to wait 6 months to hang out together and race again.

Personally, I'd like to thank all of you for making my racing season even more enjoyable this year and for being a group of quality people to race with!

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
Personally, I'd like to thank all of you for making my racing season even more enjoyable this year and for being a group of quality people to race with!

Haunted........I could not have said it better.............again any resources I may have to offer I have no problem bringing to EITHER track.........even though I cannot participate in the Micro Race as often as I would LIKE......I WILL try and show up as often as I can , but as far as the next outdoor racing season. I really like the Idea of a TEAM mini Chicago Series, say best of 5. Shop sponerships for prizes would be the icing on the cake and whats not to say that guys from stanton could not join in on the fun.......HMMMM....hey haunted PM me your Ph# you and I need to hook up.........also mab!! I have and idea for a micro game that can be played just for S@%&* and giggles I totally think it would be fun... As far as the drivers stand I think I have a really good Idea, and It can be torn down in a matter of minutes after a race........ but Haunted .........again I could not have said it better.........Thanks

[Nexus]

here is a pic or the old drivers stand at the "Gate"....this pic is from the Indoor Champs. warm up race...

http://www.the-big-al.com/norcar/IMAGES/WarmupRace/Picture_128_640.jpg

not collapsable but small and portable

[Rkmori]

[i] where walt and i would miss out entirely if we didnt race while running the races. [/B]

Mab

what you need is a few ppl that can man the console (from the nitro group) to M/C the electrics so you (and chris) can race. Need to put a little faith in the regulars that come to the track. Lets face it there are a few of us with degrees and if we cannot run the computer while you race we should have not gotten the degrees we have.......

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Nexus
here is a pic or the old drivers stand at the "Gate"....this pic is from the Indoor Champs. warm up race...

http://www.the-big-al.com/norcar/IMAGES/WarmupRace/Picture_128_640.jpg

not collapsable but small and portable

That is good but we also need the height, Mab what i have in mind will work........and will hold!!! and have a bit of height.....actually the drivers stand at the HPI challenge in MI is what I have in mind. It can be purchsed used for cheap.....and will hold 1000's of #..........

[mab_man20]

Nexus: I like that setup, if Rkmori's idea doesnt pan out id like to do something like this.

Rkmori: My number is 708-466-6865. Im putting it up here because anyone on here is welcome to call me and b&(*% about the racing or offer suggestions. Chris was running nitro when he did run, so we would alternate running the races, its just impossible to yell any effective race annoucing over the nitros. If the micro races go well Im going to push heavily for the allycat software so everyone can enjoy racing and no one has to worry about running the computer (no matter how much education they have! lol)

[Rookie Solara]

I think I don't need to post more INPUT of mine anymore......so, lets move on.

On the 10-24-2003 first Micro race, I will be there to RUN the computer and the be the track police........since I am no longer having any micro with me now (waiting for the M18 shippment) but that doesn't mean I won't be there....I will.

So Mike or Chris, show me how to run that 80486 and I will be there all night so you 2 can go race.........I still have 2 ABC pocket racer that I think it can be race with mini-z, but racing with big-block powered micro, that is a waste.

Beside, I think getting the Alycat software is a priority..........for $200, that will enhance the whole process of racing, I think that is worth it........and the best part of the alycat software is, there is no need to have someone sitting near the computer heat after heat to start or cancel the race.........the program will schedule itself to do so, so EVERYONE (including Mike and Chirs) can race like everyone of us.

One more thing about MICRO race at HTOP.........LIGHTS is a problem, most likley, racer will need to pit at the corridor and elevator entracne space OUTSIDE the Micro track (in that way, they can maximize the size of the track and use the whole full room)............but the corridor was kinda dark, so bring extra lights is a good idea.

[Rookie Solara]

http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/challenge/2003/us1-mi/dscn4817.jpg

If Rex can get some hook up with these industrail "RACKING" system........I think having a nice driver stand is possible, since those are detachable and can store in a small space.

However, to get a new one, can be as high as $1500 each......we have several of those in our office, very easy to build and store, but very expansive.

[wrxdan]

Is this the same type of racks that would be in a large store like service merchandise? My friend (who has too much money) bought a store full of racks when service went under. I know he is selling them slowly. I can ask. He may even have the PA system??

[mab_man20]

Thanks rookie, that will be a HUGE help. That allows Chris, John and I to focus on the pits and addressing other problems without interfering with the racing.

YES do bring a light. Along the hallway there is good lighting, but not directly outside of the room. The track room as excellent lighting!

Fred said we will look into the allycat software after we recoup from the carpet and pvc. Come on out and help us get the new software!

Dan: Could you look into the shelves and the PA and get back to me with prices? Maybe we can work something out.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
http://www.hpiracing.com/graphics/challenge/2003/us1-mi/dscn4817.jpg

If Rex can get some hook up with these industrail "RACKING" system........I think having a nice driver stand is possible, since those are detachable and can store in a small space.

However, to get a new one, can be as high as $1500 each......we have several of those in our office, very easy to build and store, but very expansive.


Yes!!! Yes!! that is what I'm talking about the drivers stand used at the HPI challenge in MI.........Yes Yes!!! Excelent...now all we would need is 2x6 to make a floor to stand on. and stairs to get up there........Dan, yes talk to your friend I would be willing to pitch in a few$$ to help pay for it......I'm sure others will too......I know a Co. in the industrial park I work in had some out on the street with a for sale sign on it.....although I may try and ask the owner of Co. I work for to perhaps sell me a rack or possibly "donate" a pair of up rights and 4 x-members......

[Rookie Solara]

I don't think 2x6 as flooring is safe enough......if there is a GAP in between, someone's leg will slip thru........however, if I remembered correctly, these industrial rack usually came with a METAL WIRE (diamond shape) MESH as flooring that have mulitple hanging anchor that place around the orange beam (not really a flooring system, but we can stand on it...not sure when REX, Haunted and Bill are all at the same main) that we can lift up and stand up on the side against the wall (space saver)........then the whole rack (by using rubber surfaced hammer) can be detach into pieces very quickly.

Then the wood stair......REX, that is your job. (don't ask me for blueprint, I only do metal pre-frab or concrete ADA non-slip....)

Oh, one bad thing about that stand in the picture.......the top rail to WAY too high, at least, for me 5'-7"...I have to hold my radio up against my chin to clear the upper rail....I know that is not a problem with REX or Haunted, but that is total so NOT OSHA requirement..........(handrail need to be no less then 34" and no more then 40" above finish floor............)

[wrxdan]

My friends shelving is really beefy if I remember correctly. How would we build and take down this thing? I think I also remember the mesh flooring?? I will check. He is a pilot for American so he can be hard to track down. I have seen part of the shelving installed in someone's barn, it was huge! I think 1 -2 sections would be enough. Now I haven't seen this stuff in a year so I need to give him a call. I think he would give me a good price if he has a ton of it left.

How much $$ does this go for?

[wrxdan]

I work in construction insurance so I have to ask. What are the lot owners going to think?

slip and falls are one thing, falling from a structure is completely different.

[Rkmori]

No No, cut 2x6 (many of them) same as the depth of the rack so like 2 x 6 x 36 and gap I could just rip a pieces to fit the gap so no gaps, Cannot go 2x6x96 it will bend. Plywood would still bend and warp. 2x6x36 would be esier to tear down and stack rather than a 3/4x36x96" pieces of plywood very heavy bec. it would need to floor grade plywood to support the weight. Most decks are made from 2x4 and 2x6 wood......

[Euge]

Hey Mab,

I think my question got lost in the shuffle. Are there still plans on doing a nitro vs electric challenge on the 18th?

Euge

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
I know that is not a problem with REX or Haunted, but that is total so NOT OSHA requirement..........(handrail need to be no less then 34" and no more then 40" above finish floor............)

The cross member is adjustable in 4 inch increments, so it can be raised or lowered, I thought it was too high at the challenge too.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by wrxdan
I work in construction insurance so I have to ask. What are the lot owners going to think?

slip and falls are one thing, falling from a structure is completely different.

That is something no one would like to see, but just need to deal with it............

I don't even know there is insurance coverage of the parking lot to race RC car now...........if any RC car got run away, hit a 2 years old who is sitting on the ground while watching the race.........what will happen next....?

Euge........from what I heard last time (last sat) the Nitro/Electric Challenge will be on 18th......it is a go, so get your foams and 3300 ready.

Besides, when are you guys (Nixus too) going to get in the MICRO thing.......? They are electirc, and you guys should have a big advantage about it,

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
That is something no one would like to see, but just need to deal with it............

I don't even know there is insurance coverage of the parking lot to race RC car now...........if any RC car got run away, hit a 2 years old who is sitting on the ground while watching the race.........what will happen next....?


Trust me..you don't want to know or find out.

law = insurance
insurance = law

in-fact to be a higher lever claims person you need a law degree. Guess what class i'm taking this winter:( And I'm the tech guy:confused:

[Rkmori]

Well Walt has a drivers stand perhaps we can ask him....or when he reads this thread he can answer that.....I'm sure if the insurance increase out weighed the cost to run the track, Walt would not have the stand.....Walt is very careful guy, and would not want to jeopardize people or business......

[Euge]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Euge........from what I heard last time (last sat) the Nitro/Electric Challenge will be on 18th......it is a go, so get your foams and 3300 ready.

Besides, when are you guys (Nixus too) going to get in the MICRO thing.......? They are electirc, and you guys should have a big advantage about it,

sweet! my 3300s are good to go. i just need to get some foams. Forget the 19T, against you good nitro drivers I'll have to run my 11T or 13T. :cool:

Micros are okay, but they don't really interest me. I know we're just playing with toy cars, but the micros seem a little too small, even for me. Besides, I'm having a blast running 1/10th scale TC indoors.
:D

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Well Walt has a drivers stand perhaps we can ask him....or when he reads this thread he can answer that.....I'm sure if the insurance increase out weighed the cost to run the track, Walt would not have the stand.....Walt is very careful guy, and would not want to jeopardize people or business......

That is different, I think the track owner = bowling alley owner has insurance covered all the activities for the whole property....remember there is a beer garden and sand volleyball court out there......? I think TP is well covered.

HTOP.........they don't own that parking lot, so they don't have to bother about the insurance.........and the lot owner, probably just AGREE to rent the lot for them to use, does not reconized that their existing insurance coverage might not cover any injury from any SAT race due to the use by HTOP.

See, that is the loop hole I see in HTOP, but of course, HTOP might already get that covered, and Mike can answer that later.

Now, I know why all the parent want their son/daughter to be a lawyer........how come I didn't think about that before and married a docter instead......? Stupid me.

[Rkmori]

Now Rookie!!!! TSK TSK TSK.....

[Rkmori]

Mab,

Now you see what I have in mind now put on your salesman hat and sell the Idea to Fred..........

[Rookie Solara]

I just found these pictures under Tinley Park Chicago Racing's site regarding the Sept. 21st race day........and I especially like these 2 pictures...

The rest of the pictures are here....

HTOP pictures (http://www.chicagolandrc.com/media/photos/onroad_030928/index.htm)

HTOP ATM machine, but somehow there are no money come out...?????

http://www.chicagolandrc.com/media/photos/onroad_030928/images/IMG_4716.jpg

The dealer "Mobile Hobby Store"..........especially Serpent_Impact, he look so "serious"....look like Father and Son picture

http://www.chicagolandrc.com/media/photos/onroad_030928/images/IMG_4684.jpg

[Rkmori]

Mab,

What the reason why couldn't we spray sugar water in the turns at HTOP. We have an "oil slick" I'm sure the sugar water is more enviromently friendly than oil.....:D

[Hanibel]

How much will you be asking for the M18?

I was going to get out of the micros because I am not that good, but this car intriques me.

If the price is right, there will be another HPI going to Ebay.

Thanks

[mab_man20]

I will try and sell Fred on the drivers stand and other expenses after a few months of successful micro racing :D.

We have thought about the suger water, and it would be a lot of fun to use, but over time the whole lot would become a sticky mess with all the cigarette butts and dust. And then we may not be able to race without power washing the surface.

I got the KAN 1050 Zapped cells in! They are $2.25 a cell. If your interested let me know. Tomorrow i will have everything thats needed to build the packs also.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
I will try and sell Fred on the drivers stand and other expenses after a few months of successful micro racing :D.

We have thought about the suger water, and it would be a lot of fun to use, but over time the whole lot would become a sticky mess with all the cigarette butts and dust. And then we may not be able to race without power washing the surface.

I got the KAN 1050 Zapped cells in! They are $2.25 a cell. If your interested let me know. Tomorrow i will have everything thats needed to build the packs also.

I'm sure with 2 weeks between races nature will take care of the sugar residue, and I'm not sure but the mix for sugar to water really is not that great to cause problems after the races. when racing at TP I did not notice any residue of sugar from the week prior. Like I said the mix of sugar to water is not that great. Maybe we try it few time if it causes problem we can just not use it. Pehaps Walt can comment on this as well.....How did the copper bars work for you?

[mab_man20]

We can give it a try for the 18th. Its the last race of the season so it cant really hurt much. Derrin out at venture uses deluted orange soda, I will try that unless someone else has a better solution (pun intended).

I havent had a chance to put any of them together, but i will tomorrow.

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Hanibel
How much will you be asking for the M18?

I was going to get out of the micros because I am not that good, but this car intriques me.

If the price is right, there will be another HPI going to Ebay.

Thanks

Yes....I will have shipping sometime middle of November....if ppl in Chicago would like to have M18, pelase let me know....no matter what, we will match or even lower then the lowest price on the net, please no shipping.....(I cannot list the price now cause I don't even know how much I have to pay....)

Beside, I sold both of my micros already.......ready for the M18 to reach my home.

I will let you know.....

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
We can give it a try for the 18th. Its the last race of the season so it cant really hurt much. Derrin out at venture uses deluted orange soda, I will try that unless someone else has a better solution (pun intended).

I havent had a chance to put any of them together, but i will tomorrow.

A lb of sugar and water is chaeper.......now all you need is a sprayer.......

[Kenji]

Have any of you who race indoors at HTOP or Tinley ever see anyone running a BRP SC18?

How do they perform?

I know most of you guys run micro RS4's, but being that your on carpet I'm assuming the SC18 coudl still compete.

Here's the car:

http://brpracing.com/18scale.html

[mab_man20]

Originally posted by Rkmori
A lb of sugar and water is chaeper.......now all you need is a sprayer.......

True, but you cant drink whatever is left over. :D

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Kenji
Have any of you who race indoors at HTOP or Tinley ever see anyone running a BRP SC18?

How do they perform?

I know most of you guys run micro RS4's, but being that your on carpet I'm assuming the SC18 coudl still compete.

Here's the car:

http://brpracing.com/18scale.html

Yes, there is ONE at the TP micro track..........it is a father and son team, but son is driving a decked up MICRO...(of course)..

Car is alright.....but there is no competition with those at the B-main and A-main.

It is not the traction problem..........it is just 2WD, lack of turning power.

[kakolitoy]

Mab

I would like to sugest 3 things for this Saturday. It does not have to be granted, but @ least give some time to think about it.

1. Pls. do not charge rent for the transponders for the people that does not have a transponder or member of the club, such as Euge, Nexus etc. However, ask for deposit instead. Probably, $10 each racer. At least all of them will not forget to bring back the transponders after the race. Also, the deposit will be the insurance that if they brake the transponder and line we are responsible to pay for it.

2. Pls. make the track little bit longer. If we will have 10 racers in the main for Nitro/ Electric, I think bigger track can save some damages from all of our cars.

3. Finally, to spice this event a little bit, I do not mind paying $5 for the Nitro/Battery event. I think its ok to charge $5 each racers so we have a price in the end. Let's say there are 6 racers, the winning team will get the cash. The scoring system will be who have the highest lap per team. We will add all the laps to win this event, so @ least everyone have a chance to win the race. Last time Peter DNF the event. We were doing points, but if we did the count lap of each team the battery team would have won that event. Also, do you think we can have a 10 min. main in that event? How many min. to take when replacing a battery in a electric car? Off course there will be penalty for blocking, harrasing, and damage cars in purpose or accidents. Let's say take off 10 laps if the racers hits a car in purpose and 2 laps if it was a accident/w damages.

If you like the idea, pls. ask some of the racers too. Racers are free to give a feedback on some of this suggestions. I am asking now so in case we will do some of my suggestion, we will have enough time to prepare.

My goals:

A. Attract more racers to join this event and might come back for next year's season.

B. Challenging fun event with prices

C. A season and a Saturday to remember. :)

[mab_man20]

There will be NO charge for transponders this weekend. Only the $10 entree fee. We may do a $10 deposit for the transponders, but I will have to get back to you on that.

I will try to make the track as big as possible, but the second drain pipe hampers that, I will make wide lanes though.

The prize for the nitro/electric challange will be bragging writes for a year. Im working on something kinda special to commemorate the winning team, but ill keep you in suspense until saturday before the race.
I highly disagree about racing for money. The only race I would ever do for money would be a no marshall race. The only reason I would do that for money is because the point is to NOT hit anyone and to drive as CLEANLY as possible.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Well Walt has a drivers stand perhaps we can ask him....or when he reads this thread he can answer that.....I'm sure if the insurance increase out weighed the cost to run the track, Walt would not have the stand.....Walt is very careful guy, and would not want to jeopardize people or business......

I'm back... got a lot to read here (and work related, but needed to take a brake from that... starting to go nutty...

Anyways, the 'legal' issues were the main reason that I sold my entire 'stake' in the TP track to the bowling alley owner. At the beginning of the year, I had purchased most of the track stuff and was keeping entry fee money to recoup, and the owner of the bowling alley was keeping beer/food sales money. The liability issue kept bothering me though, so I talked to the owner, told him what my investment was in the track at that point, and he bought me out. Now I just race for free (and bowl for free) in return for running the races, and that's fine with me.

Now then, regarding liability insurance, since the entire track is owned by the bowling alley, it is covered under his blanket policy, which is a WHOPPER of a policy... remember, he's got drunks throwing horseshoes at each other out there, not to mention old ladies with fragile hips bowling, etc. When he talked to his insurance agent about adding the RC races his rates didn't even change... like adding a Cavalier to your car insurance when you already own a Vette, a Harley and a Ferrari.

The better person to ask about insurance would be Brian... he really did his homework on this issue back when he ran the races at Harper.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
I'm sure with 2 weeks between races nature will take care of the sugar residue, and I'm not sure but the mix for sugar to water really is not that great to cause problems after the races. when racing at TP I did not notice any residue of sugar from the week prior. Like I said the mix of sugar to water is not that great. Maybe we try it few time if it causes problem we can just not use it. Pehaps Walt can comment on this as well.....How did the copper bars work for you?

As soon as it rains, that sugar water is gone. We had NO build up over the summer.

We used a few different mixtures of sugar water this year, but the sugar/water content was always about that of soda pop, about 1 lb/gallon. I found that brown sugar got stickier than white sugar, so that's what I pretty much settled on.

Haven't had a chance to make up any batter packs yet... maybe later this week (after I pull my engine and servo out of your car, which I have not done yet)... maybe it's time to give my race report (don't get your hopes up... it's not good...)

[Rkmori]

Walt,

Glad to see you made it back safely, when you get the chance read my email and let me know if Wednesday works for you?

[Walt]

Well, if it were not for bad luck, I don't think I would have had any luck out there at all... that is the short version of the story...

Friday was practice day. They sugar watered the heck out of the track.. it was SUPER sticky... you could loose a shoe out there if it wasn't tied on tight. I ran several runs of 'uncontrolled' practice and both cars were great. We ran two rounds of 'controlled' practice (just regular races, with transponders, but they didn't 'count'). I had the second fastest times in both classes, behind only the top driver from Japan (Kobiyashi). I felt pretty good.

Super Nitro:

Saturday morning, more super sticky sugar water laid down on the track. Kobihashi ran first in Super Nitro and was the TQ. I ran in the heat after him and was on a new TQ pace (Scotty called the race, so everyone knew times, which car was in the lead, etc.). With about 2 minutes left in the qualifying race, Kobiyashi (now marshalling) stepped out in front of my car, I crashed into his foot, and then he pulled my car off the track, even though it was still running and not broken. I bunch of people saw it. We all agree, it was done intentionally to protect his TQ run, but HPI wouldn't do anything about it because everything was highly biased towards the Japanese drivers. I've never seen anything like it in my life.

I had good runs in the rest of the qualifiers, but they never did put down any more sugar water the rest of the weekend, so the track went from 'so sticky you could loose a shoe' to 'so slippery you could easily slip and fall' (and several people did slip and fall out there). We were running 15-16 second laps in that first round, and in the second round, all we could do was 20 second laps, and by the mains, it was down to 25 second laps... so, when I got taken out of the first round of qualifying, I was basically taken out of the A-main. I ended up qualifying 12th in Super Nitro on the slippery track in the second round... terrible. I didn't even bother running in the main. Just spent the time cleaning up the car for the trip home and helping the other guys out there that did make the A in round 1.

Nitro Mod:

Car was great the whole weekend. I put in a conservative but fast run in the first round of qualifying, and basically just sat on that run to not break the car. I ran the rest of the qualifiers, but just took it really easy and experimented with tires (which had to keep on changing as the track went from sticky to slippery, but at least with the R40 class we were running foams, so we could adjust, not like the Super with the hand out rubber tires).

I qualifed 4th overall, which was fine with me. I had not hit a darn thing in 4 qualifiers.. the car still didn't have a scratch on it.

I got a great start for the 30 minute main, in second right behind Kobiyashi (TQ... more on that later). I was pushing harder now and was keeping up with him just fine. Long race, no need to try to pass. At the 4 minute mark we were already lapping 4th or 5th place... the car was running awsome. Suddenly, my car just seemed to loose power... still running, but barely. No punch. Seemed like I lost a rear belt or the brakes were stuck or something (can't hear your car with 10 on the track). I came into the pits and the engine stalled (which it had not done all weekend, so we knew it was an engine problem). The engine was very hot. We tried for a minute to restart it, but it would not stay running, so I dropped out. Turns out that the exhaust gasket on the back of the engine had ripped causing an exhaust leak which messed everything up. Oh well. It happens. Just wasn't my race. I still feel good about the run though... I could have won it, at least I was competitive.

I also came really close to winning the Concourse with the body Mike H. gave me for my Super... it was a close choice between me and one other guy out there, but he ended up with it. My second place Concourse was my best event... go figure.

I left that race with a really bad taste in my mouth, so to speak, regarding HPI. This event was totally biased towards the Japanese drivers. They were never penalized for rules infractions while everyone else was. At times they were clearly cheating (like when they took out my Super in the first qualifier), and nothing was even said about it. And HPI allowed ONLY the Japanese drivers to use R40 hop-up parts like: super light chassis, hollow shafts, light weight 2-speed, front one-way diff, titanium screws etc. Anyone else that tried to use those parts was told they must remove them. Here was their 'logic': those parts are available in Japan, so the Japanese guys can use them, they are not 'widely' available in the U.S. (even though several guys had them) so U.S. drivers were not allowed to use them. This is the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. No good reason could be given why NOT to just make EVERYONE run the stock R40, since that was the 'least common denominator'... no good reason. The real reason was obvious: Japanese company, Japanese advantage.

Talking to guys that race in Japan last year for the World Final, every time a U.S. driver was about to win a final, the computer would crash and they had to restart the race... this happened THREE times! One of those times, a U.S. driver was about to win by 5 laps with only 30 seconds to go when they said the computer crashed and had to restart the race.

I won't go to any more HPI World Final races. The HPI U.S. employees are clearly subservient to the Japanese owners of the company, and everything is set up to go the way of the Japanese guys. Overall, it was a SUPER expensive race weekend for me, and a total waste of time. I'm glad to be back home.

Oh, and to start off my weekend, the TSA guy at Midway decided to make a new rule, just for me: no internal combustion engines allowed. I asked if he was sure about that, and he said yes. Then I pulled out the list I had just printed from the TSA website and asked him to show me... that just pissed him off. There is no rule that says you can't have an engine in your checked baggage. I asked if I could just take apart the engines, then it wouldn't be an 'engine' anymore, it would just be 4 pieces of aluminum and a piece of steel. No good. He opened my luggage and pulled out the two cars and let the rest of my luggage through (with 2 spare engines in a separate box, I might add, so even if there was a 'no engine' rule, he only caught two of the four engines I had).

Luckily, Tony lives near the airport and was able to meet me out there and ship the cars out to me UPS... cost me $55 though. And, of the 40 or so other guys that flew out to this race, I'm the only one that had a problem, and I didn't have any problem coming back. The Midway TSA guy was just a jerk, plain and simple. Bad start to a bad week.

[Rookie Solara]

Darn............overall, I felt absolutely horrible about the engine issue.......and I thought the white gasket for the engine is very new, not a used one.

And second................I can't believe that will happen to the Japanese racer.......wow, even in AMERICA? For those 6 racers, they have all those advantage in USA?

I am sorry to hear that.............but sounds like you are actually UP there in the A-mains.....it was just not your weekend this time (which is odd).

[Rkmori]

Ouch!!! Embarassed at people from my culture and homeland to allow and do such crap, that is totally bogus esp pulling your car while it was running and not broke. I'm actually speachless and embarassed to be related to that culture!! Hey Rookie can I be Chineese instead. Sorry to hear that the experience as not a good one........

[Kenji]

Originally posted by Walt
We used a few different mixtures of sugar water this year, but the sugar/water content was always about that of soda pop, about 1 lb/gallon. I found that brown sugar got stickier than white sugar, so that's what I pretty much settled on.


Anyone ever try bottled liquid corn syrup mixed into warm water and use a lawn sprayer? the lawn sprayer is a 3 foot high cylinder that you pump and it has a small diameter hose and a valve handle. It would laydown a consistent volume of liquid exactly where you wanted it, and the can holds about 3-5 gallons. Finding the proper mixture of corn syrup to warm water would be needed.

[wrxdan]

Did Kobiyashi just stuck his foot out and HPI did nothing? He didn't even fake like he was chasing down a car? I'm starting to think HPI World Finals = WWF. Sorry to hear about your rough weekend.

About the TSA. I would have been pissed off at that jerk too. But at least he was in error on the side of safety. Still doesn't make it right.

[Walt]

Originally posted by wrxdan
Did Kobiyashi just stuck his foot out and HPI did nothing? He didn't even fake like he was chasing down a car? I'm starting to think HPI World Finals = WWF. Sorry to hear about your rough weekend.

About the TSA. I would have been pissed off at that jerk too. But at least he was in error on the side of safety. Still doesn't make it right.

You basically got it regarding Kobiyashi... my pit guys nearly killed him. HPI did nothing. Scotty said he couldn't do anything.

If the TSA guy 'thought' there was a rule against it, that's one thing, but when I showed him the actual rules I had just printed out and he wouldn't back down, that's when he was a jerk. He could have said at that point 'oops... maybe they changed that rule' or 'I must have been thinking of the 'no fuel' rule' and then let me go. He just couldn't be wrong.

[Rookie Solara]

Well, after 911, I don't think ANYONE can say he is wrong.....if you posted this matter onto TV........like Dan said, he was in error on the side of safety.........it is plain BAD LUCK.

Rex.......you don't want to be Chinese.....cause 4 children is NOT even close to be enough...LOL

To be my surprise...........I cannot believe there were no PERSONAL problem with those Japanese racer? Step on the track to stop a car and PULL it out when the car is absolutely normal? If I was there.....I will do the same thing at the main but I will also flip the car several times and make sure never drive again...and I would like to see what HPI will do to me....DISQUALIFIED me....? Wow...I am scare..............

Now....I am questioning myself about those Japanese world champion...........not because they are faster, it is actually their PIT man knew how to STOP the lead car by his foot, knew how to PULL the lead car out, and knew WHEN to pull the AMB-IT system wire when their guy was not in the lead and say "Start over"....

Even though when they get caught.....their ultimate weapon is..."OH oh....saw-ly, me speed no good ink-car-lishy......."

It is nothing racist.......but that is just not right.

[Rkmori]

I'm totally embarassed...........:o .....

[Rkmori]

Kind of makes you wonder if Hara won fair and Square.......

[Rookie Solara]

Rkmori............we are AMERICAN, they are Japanese.........don't be embarassed, and I am sure they are those small group of racer from Japan that do stuff like that.

I am sure HARA did win fair and square, so does all the other TOP RANK racer in Japan............but again, if HPI trying to get themselve out of the "TOY RC CAR" mfr list........they better step up and set up some rules, they finally got their R40 to race National....and PRO4 is already there........how about all those HPI Challenge race.............?

I don't think ppl asking too much........we just want FAIR and SQUARE.........then, have fun...period, how hard will that be...are you telling me track like Venture, Tinley, HTOP or Leasure hour did better job then a world wide company....?

[Walt]

Remember guys, this is the HPI Challenge, not ROAR or IFMAR, and HPI is a Japanese company. If they want to give the Japanese guys an advantage, there isn't really anything that anyone can do about it. It's their show... I just won't go to any more of their World Final races, and I probably won't buy an R40.

[Rookie Solara]

Well, enough those BS......Walt, with the foam tires, the R40 and the good motors.................overall, how GOOD is the R40 at that track?

Also, how come was the track? Technical? Open? Too Easy?

Last.......what are the rest of the other R40's spec? I am talking about A-main....and how many R40 were there?

Beside......you ended up B-main on your best shot SNRS4....how did that happen? The 33R tires getting too hot? Not stick or no trackion at all....?

I would like to know......................

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Well, enough those BS......Walt, with the foam tires, the R40 and the good motors.................overall, how GOOD is the R40 at that track?

Also, how come was the track? Technical? Open? Too Easy?

Last.......what are the rest of the other R40's spec? I am talking about A-main....and how many R40 were there?

Beside......you ended up B-main on your best shot SNRS4....how did that happen? The 33R tires getting too hot? Not stick or no trackion at all....?

I would like to know......................

The R40 was good there... can't compare it to other cars because it was all R40's, but it seemed fine. I have no complaints about the way the R40 drove.

The track was OK. Smooth overall, with just a few large, wide cracks in it, but they didn't seem to bother the car. The track would have been huge if we ran the full track. The shortened version we ran was pretty technical. There was a turn in the very back (to avoid the 'real' straightaway, which we didn't use) that was very difficult to judge since it was so far away from the driver's stand, but that's the same problem for everyone.

Regarding the Super, like I said before, since the track went from SUPER sticky in the first round of qualifying to super slipery in the second round (and worse and worse), if you didn't get in a good run in round number 1, you couldn't make the A-main. I won a couple of the other Super Nitro qualifiers, but was no where near as fast as in the first round. I ended up missing the A-main by 9 seconds, but my fastes run was on the slippery track and the guys that beat me made their run on the sticky track. My run in the first round was a TQ pace until my car was stopped by Kobiyashi.

I've never seen a track deteriorate that much before. We went from running 15-16 second laps to over 22 seconds... that's a HUGE drop in lap times. They either should not have sprayed the track at all, or they should have resprayed the track often.

But that's racing... sometimes thing go your way and sometimes they don't. No big deal. I was very competitive out there. I want to attend some 'real' races next year to see how I can do.

[Rkmori]

I think next season I will start racing in ROAR and IFMAR sanctioned races. I will still do the HPI Challenge, but I also plan to get the serpent 950.

[wrxdan]

Sorry rookie, I'm bs'n again.

HPI has a way bigger market in Japan, right? Why was the world finals held here? I haven't followed the HPI series.

I understand HPI's motivation to have a Japan driver win, looks good in Japan. But since the race was here, wouldn't you want a US driver to win to boost sales? I guess since HPI spent the bucks to get their drivers here, you might as well have them win it all.

[Rkmori]

Still does not make it right......

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Still does not make it right......

Agreed

[Rookie Solara]

Well, Dan...........I think that is the secret deal between the HPI Japan and HPI USA........afterall, HPI Japan paid HPI USA, so, in return for a WIN, that make sence.....but if that is what they want to see, they might as well change their rule...

NITRO MOD........only Japanese Racer are allow using R40, all other racers must use HPI Micro with small block 12 engine....ok, we will let those 12 powered micro use aftermarket parts too, but only allow Serpent aftermarket on HPI micro chassis.

Anyhow.....Dan, do you think you can make it this SAT...the last race?

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Anyhow.....Dan, do you think you can make it this SAT...the last race?

Yes, I have been cleared by the "boss". I will be there (early). Weather looks good, lets hope it stays the same.

[mab_man20]

I see the motivation for HPI Japan to take home a win, but as in any event rules are set up for a reason and should be followed.

If you think about it more and more, Kobiyashi TQ'ed in the first heat, therefore they have no motivation to keep the track at that level, let that be the fastest anyone can be. Also maybe they purposely released parts in Japan, but not in the US for this exact reason. I personally think parts should either be classified as "Released" or "Not Released." None of this "Released to stores were Americans are not allowed to shop."

Just when I was building up some respect for HPI with the R40, and getting into Micros, they go and do something stupid. Against my better judgement I would love to repost your summery of the races in the General Discussion forum. If word of it hits HPI then maybe they will rethink things for next years world final. But Walt, I will not do so without your permission.

:mad:

[Rookie Solara]

Yes....please make sure WALT is aware of that and OK to list it at General Topic...........agian, it might be just WALT and several individual.....or may be the other FAST guy have no problem about being stop and picked off from the track, or they have no problem with less options then the others...

You will neve know.............but I would love to see someone like that do the exact same thing at the NATIONAL..........because he can garantee a team "WELCOME" celemony after the race.....and I will give him a personal chinese version of celemony.

Mike.........hows the micro track doing?

[mab_man20]

The micro track is getting there. Im still working on a list of parts to always have in stock.

Front knuckles, F/R diffs, F/R foams, big blocks (w/ and w/o plate) micro servos, working on getting ARM bodies and chassis, pinions, shock tuning kits. This isnt everything, but please post if you notice something im missing.

Im also working on sample layouts to get an idea of how much pvc and connectors we need. Good news is connectors are cheaper than we expected. Hopefully this weekend I will go and get it. I need to double check, but next monday evening will be clean up day. Anyone who is available please stop by and help clean up so we can make this track possible!
Carpet goes in the next day, wednesday we will set up the computer and track and do some testing to make sure everything is in working order for thursday.
Thursday will then me FREE trial race day. We will run 3 heats and mains, but keep in mind it is a trial day so dont judge us by the first time out. We will have a suggestion box so everyone can put in their input and we will consider all the ideas. Plus its FREE!

[HauntedMyst]

wow Walt. Sorry about your troubles. HPI is a funky company. I think they are more of an embarassment to the hobby then they are a help. It's a shame Associated doesn't hold a similar style race.

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
wow Walt. Sorry about your troubles. HPI is a funky company. I think they are more of an embarassment to the hobby then they are a help. It's a shame Associated doesn't hold a similar style race.

Just got done running...can't type worth crap right now...


But word to your mother on this one!!

[Walt]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
wow Walt. Sorry about your troubles. HPI is a funky company. I think they are more of an embarassment to the hobby then they are a help. It's a shame Associated doesn't hold a similar style race.

The HPI U.S. guys are OK, until they are around their 'bosses' from Japan... then they have no backbone. Overall, HPI does put on some fun and inexpensive races for their customers, and not too many other companies do that... I can't bad mouth them too much. Overall, I've still had fun at these HPI Challenge races.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by mab_man20
Just when I was building up some respect for HPI with the R40, and getting into Micros, they go and do something stupid. Against my better judgement I would love to repost your summery of the races in the General Discussion forum. If word of it hits HPI then maybe they will rethink things for next years world final. But Walt, I will not do so without your permission.

:mad:


Actually I was going to write a letter to the VP and owner of HPI regarding this unsportsman like conduct.

[Rkmori]

Rookie....when is a good time to stop by and Pickup my R40...:D

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rkmori
Actually I was going to write a letter to the VP and owner of HPI regarding this unsportsman like conduct.

Frank has already written an e-mail to the 'invitational' U.S. drivers saying that the rules will be changed for next year to make sure that everyone can run the same parts. I would prefer it if everyone just let this one go. Remember, it's supposed to be fun.

If I want sanctioned racing following strict, fair rules, I can go to the ROAR Nationals instead of the HPI Challenge.

Really, it's not that big of a deal.

[Rkmori]

Originally posted by HauntedMyst
wow Walt. Sorry about your troubles. HPI is a funky company. I think they are more of an embarassment to the hobby then they are a help. It's a shame Associated doesn't hold a similar style race.

Well that would be nice, but I think that regardless of culture, or Mfg. or what ever. I think you may find a person like that in every crowd. The other part is that the ppl that are suppose to enforce the rules should be doing just that and they did not do that .............It is kind of hard to speculate what had happened at the HPI.W.C. We were not there....just Walt and yes I believe everything that Walt has told us......and really all it does for me is that, we race where we race because we are always among friends......and I think to truly be unbiased it would be better to race in a sanctioned event (like the midwest series) rather than a MFG sponsored event. MFG are using the winning stats to market their product. The HPI Challenges are fun and really that is all what they were ment to be. So how about a Mini Chicago Series among the the local tracks???? ROAR or IFMAR rules apply.....

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by mab_man20
The micro track is getting there. Im still working on a list of parts to always have in stock.

Front knuckles, F/R diffs, F/R foams, big blocks (w/ and w/o plate) micro servos, working on getting ARM bodies and chassis, pinions, shock tuning kits. This isnt everything, but please post if you notice something im missing.



Metal front universal, the rear axle (ppl did SNAP that thing believe it or not)....and the rear axle purple hub (very easy to get that set screw stripped...)

Front 1-way, ball diff and rear ball diff are good too, but they are kinda pricy....also, we can get some of those Trinity blue purple hex nut for the rear wheel hub.

About the PVC, the one I have in my basement (I believed) is 1" diameter one, the narrower the better.......L-connectors or T-connecters are dirt cheap....just buy a lot of those and if there are plenty left, return it......

[kakolitoy]

Sorry to interupt!!!


Cubs will win tonight. Yeah!!! Cubs will go to the world series. Cannot stand it anymore. Too much tension...

[mab_man20]

Walt: Its good to hear that Frank is doing something about it. Im more pissed about the fan now so ill let it blow over.


Thanks rookie, im doing some tracks to get an idea of how much we need.

Do you know the part number of the kyosho corner dots? Or any other corner dots that would work well?

[Walt]

Originally posted by mab_man20
Do you know the part number of the kyosho corner dots? Or any other corner dots that would work well?

For micros, upside down paper plates duct taped down work pretty well.

[Serpent Impact]

Tower part #
LXZY93
LXUJ53
LXUJ44
LXGH44
LXDWY3
LXBXB5
LXUB32

[Rookie Solara]

For a long shot.......getting a nice plastic corner dot is the way to go....you can see from Serpent_Impact's list and see which one are the nice and decent price on them........again, you don't need a lot, I will say 5-8 are more then enough.

SAT...high 58 low 40, but the best part...............SUNNY, no chance to rain or snow.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
SAT...high 58 low 40, but the best part...............SUNNY, no chance to rain or snow.

Remember Howard, Saturday is 'Sweetest Day'. This fact is going to keep me away from the track (darn Halmark!) Don't want you to get into trouble with 'mom-to-be'.

[wrxdan]

I forgot to ask. While taking my NTC3 clutch apart last night (after the 8th inning let down) I noticed that the face of the flywheel is all messed up from the shoes??? The shoes are plastic so I don't know how they wore out the AL flywheel?? I am going to try to sand the flywheel with very fine sand paper then polish it a bit. But if that doesn't work and I need to buy one is the 3 shoe flywheel worth the extra$$? It's a buck more plus I would need to get new shoes/springs. I have been running the AE heavier springs I wonder if these cause the wear??

I didn't feel like weeding thru all the post on the NTC3 thread, plus you guys are sooo smart.

Dan

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by Walt
Remember Howard, Saturday is 'Sweetest Day'. This fact is going to keep me away from the track (darn Halmark!) Don't want you to get into trouble with 'mom-to-be'.

Oh GOD.............WHAT DAY AGAIN...? Another one of those "I HAVE to stay home" day...?

No, are you kidding............damn, you are right, I've just saw that on the calender....
Well, I don't think my wife know that.....lets keep it quiet.....and beside, I will be home by 5.......should be able to cover her with a nice big steak dinner........

But I think I will be able to race this SAT only if the CUBS win tonight.....I was so upset last night (so does my wife) that we broke 2 glasses while we were eating, and she dropped a coffee mug as well..............don't let me see that DUDE.....I will make him to drink my 1/2 gallon 30% Byron striaght up.

Go Cubs.........

[Serpent Impact]

You have to mod the clutch if u are running a 3 shoes clutch. U have to cut it to lower the height of the shoes. Plz corrct me if I am wrong. thank you

[Rookie Solara]

Originally posted by wrxdan
I forgot to ask. While taking my NTC3 clutch apart last night (after the 8th inning let down) I noticed that the face of the flywheel is all messed up from the shoes??? The shoes are plastic so I don't know how they wore out the AL flywheel?? I am going to try to sand the flywheel with very fine sand paper then polish it a bit. But if that doesn't work and I need to buy one is the 3 shoe flywheel worth the extra$$? It's a buck more plus I would need to get new shoes/springs. I have been running the AE heavier springs I wonder if these cause the wear??

I didn't feel like weeding thru all the post on the NTC3 thread, plus you guys are sooo smart.

Dan

Dan....if you want to try it, I have the 3 shoes wheel, springs and shoes for sell, then you can try.

About the wear......it is normal, happened to my 2 shoes and my GPM one, it is not really a WEAR...it is just the black dirty marks...

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Dan....if you want to try it, I have the 3 shoes wheel, springs and shoes for sell, then you can try.

About the wear......it is normal, happened to my 2 shoes and my GPM one, it is not really a WEAR...it is just the black dirty marks...

I thought is was just that black junk till I tried to wipe it off. I rebuild the clutch before every race and normal have just black deposits that wipe off with a towel or green abrasive cloth. This time it's a ridge in the AL??? The clutch must have been binding like crazy. Or maybe that last time I installed the shoes I grooved the flywheel with my screwdriver when installing the springs???

Anyway, I'm stopping at my LHS to see if the have the stock flywheel. If not let me take a look at yours.



If the Cubs lose, my anger will be taken out on this flywheel.

[mab_man20]

The cubs shall NOT lose! Thou shalt be joyous comith the vanquishing of the vile fish!

Anyway, I remember sweetest day :rolleyes:. The first time my ex brought it up I thought she was kidding (As if a B-day, an aniversary, and christmas wasnt enough in 3 months), but low and behold all hallmark calenders say october 18th is sweetest day. Its good to have money again. lol


Ive been talking to a guy who is setting up a governing body for micro racing. He is looking for tracks and rules suggestions. If you get a chance head over to IMCRA (http://www.imcra.org/sites/imcra/default.asp). If races go well I will register the track and see if we can get some big events. If we get a big event we will probably run the races somewhere with more pit space and more public visability.

[Rookie Solara]

Steve Bartman..........where are you? I would LOVE to know what is your WISH tonight......?

Because if CUBS lost tonight............you know the first place you want to go immediately is the CHINESE ROCKET and have the CHINA MAN send you to the MOON.

And you better PRAY....................

[Rookie Solara]

Steve Bartman.....I am going to get you..............

Cubs SUCKS.........................nothing but fly balls.........

OH well............I believed....next year, its been 50 something years and 90 plus for the world series....might as well wait another 50 more years.

[mab_man20]

Im still young, win one in my lifetime??? we can only wait and hope.

[Rkmori]

Mab,

I Dbl check to see if I had the #3 xtal, I was mistaken it was returned. So racing this weekend is going to be $10.00 w or w/o membership???

[kakolitoy]

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

I know its just a game, Cubs have to move on and head to traning camp next week.

It was fun watching the Cubs in the playoff. I was really proud of the 2003 Cubs win or lose because this was the farthest they have in years. This series was like racing for a Half hour main. The best drivers hang on to the last min. of the race. The best driver take the win and celebrate @ home with teams and families.


Hopefully, they can do this again!!!

BTW: 2003 Bears SUCK!!!!

[mab_man20]

Rex: Dont worry, members still get 50% off registration (i.e. $5)

[Rookie Solara]

Sugar water will work tomorrow..............40s degree.

And how come CUBS cannot do somethings like Yankee does...? Exacly the same thing at the same inning and totally different outcome.....:confused:

[mab_man20]

I dont know, its frustrating.

Ill get some cheep super sugery orange soda today and mix it with a little water. Any suggestions for %? Im thinking 50/50.

[Walt]

Originally posted by mab_man20
I dont know, its frustrating.

Ill get some cheep super sugery orange soda today and mix it with a little water. Any suggestions for %? Im thinking 50/50.

Use soda pop straight. If you don't have a sprayer, you can poke a small hole in the cap and just spray it by shaking up the 2-liter bottles.

If you use water/sugar solution, about 1lb/gallon works well (and is about the water/sugar concentration of soda pop).

[wrxdan]

Originally posted by Rookie Solara
Sugar water will work tomorrow..............40s degree.

And how come CUBS cannot do somethings like Yankee does...? Exacly the same thing at the same inning and totally different outcome.....:confused:

This is why.

[wrxdan]

And this.

[Rookie Solara]

Steve Bartman...................now I know, in case I have a son, I don't need to call him "STEVE"...........

God bless INTERNET and PHOTOSHOP..............those are some funny pictures

[wrxdan]

Keep this handy guys. I hope you don't need it this Sat.

[Rookie Solara]

I've already got this one ready for tomorrow sweatestday...

http://users.rcn.com/arsa/copy.jpg

[wrxdan]

Good race everyone. It was lots of fun!

Dan

[mab_man20]

Thanks to everyone who made it out for the last race on Saturday. Chris and I almost went office space on the computer, but everyone still had a great time.


Micros:

Thursday is the first micro race at HTOP. Registration will be FREE, practice starts at 5, racing at 6:30.

Today at 6PM we will be cleaning out the basement room so the carpet can go down tomorrow. Any help would be greatly appreciated, even if you cant make it there right at 6. I hope to see some of you there.

Email me with any questions regarding the racing.

[Euge]

Originally posted by mab_man20
Thanks to everyone who made it out for the last race on Saturday. Chris and I almost went office space on the computer, but everyone still had a great time.


Yeah, it was fun racing outdoors for the last time this year. Thanks to you and Chris for running the racing for the day.
Congrats to Anthony for winning the nitro/elec challenge.

overall it was a pretty fun day.

[mab_man20]

Just a reminder that tomorrow (thursday we will be racing micros at HTOP. Practice starts at 5, racing at 6:30. I will post pics of the track later tonight once we get everything set up.

[kakolitoy]

Originally posted by mab_man20
Just a reminder that tomorrow (thursday we will be racing micros at HTOP. Practice starts at 5, racing at 6:30. I will post pics of the track later tonight once we get everything set up.


Euge: Thanks, It was fun day racing with you guys. I was expecting the local such as Dan, Ted etc. Anyway it was a good day and great race to end the season. Many thanks to HTOP (Mike, Chris,and Fred),and Brian from Chicagorc. It was a lucky day for us. We went home w/ 3 prices (heheheheheh).

Anyway, Mike how many micro drivers you so far? Me and my brother are still arguing of getting one or not? Still really not sure. My G.F. wants one, but she will not get one if I do not have one :rolleyes: We might stop by @ HTOP one of these days and check out the micro racing.

thanks for the info.

[mab_man20]

Im not sure about this week, but once the M18's (x-ray micro) there will be more people. Right now I know of about 10-15 who have told me they are getting cars, plus other people from the area.

[HauntedMyst]

Mab, Chris and I set up the track tonight and it's killer! The carpeting is wall to wall and lays nicely. We're using nearly the whole room. Mab did his usual magic with the layout and it should be a lot of fun. The lighting is great, the track practically builds itself and is a pretty nice sized space. You guys with micros will have to do some serious throttle control, while the mini-z's will be very comfortable. It should be a great space to race all winter long in.

[mab_man20]

ZZZZZZzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ......... Working on the track till 10 and then waking up at 6 is a bad combo. But it looks great. I was running my micro on the track it was a blast. The rear was a little loose so and i didnt have a body so i was driving a little gingerly, but there is enough room to open it up on the straight.

Hope to see most of you there tonight.

[Rookie Solara]

Waiting for the M18 is a pain....................keep hearing sometime November or December.........may be I should ask them "WHAT YEAR"....See you guys tonight....

[Asahi]

hi guys, may I know where do you guys used to play micro nowadays? I'm a newbie in chicago.

[Asahi]

and besides micro, what other class of RC do you guys race?

[Rookie Solara]

Asahi.....welcome to Chicago racing, first.....join us and go visit there
www.chicagorc.com

Nitro ON-ROAD is what we race MOST of the year....untill October, cause no NITRO will work on 6" of snow....now, we shifted to indoor only, and most ppl will go to VENTURE for indoor on-road, or AJ (Deklb) for indoor on-road touring and 1/12th pan scale.

If you are off-road...I think Leisure hour has indoor Nitro/elect off-road for year long.......

And if you are ready to MICRO....2 places to go....

1......Tinley Park Micro Racing....from beginner to PRO, you can get everything there....please visit www.chicagolandrc.com or contact "WALT" from this thread....he is the Co-owner of the track and the club...they race micro every WEDNESDAY night from 6-10.

2......Hobby Town @ Oakpark, contact "mab_man20" here and he is the co-owner of the club at HTOP.....they race micro on every THURSDAY from 6-10.

Hope to see you there....and if you have any question, post it up here and someone beside me will answer your question...

P.S. sorry, no RC airplant, chopper, submarine, bike or tank question here in Chicago cause we've spend all our salary on CARS already....

[Euge]

Just a note to all: Venture Raceways is closed for remodelling from October 31st to November 15th.

Raced today at Venture. There was a pretty good turnout with NINE heats (most I've ever seen). There were two novice classes, three heats of superstock (stock rubber), one heat of 1/12 scale (6 drivers), two heats of stock foam, and I think an Unlimited class where people could run whatever motor they want.

[Walt]

Originally posted by Euge
Just a note to all: Venture Raceways is closed for remodelling from October 31st to November 15th.

Raced today at Venture. There was a pretty good turnout with NINE heats (most I've ever seen). There were two novice classes, three heats of superstock (stock rubber), one heat of 1/12 scale (6 drivers), two heats of stock foam, and I think an Unlimited class where people could run whatever motor they want.

Do you happen to know what rules set the 1/12th guys were following (# of cells, type of motor)? I've just about got my 1/12th car together, and I'm trying to figure out where the racing will be (Venture or AJ's).