[PeterV]

Group shot before we start breakin' stuff. Ordinarily, the overcast weather would have been a bummer, but for heatwave-wracked California, it was a welcome respite from the blazing 100+ temps.




The MHRA draggers came out for the WFRCCC with their rails and nearly broke 100mph. Here's Jim Schauer in the pits, getting ready for another blast. Best pass, 98.1mph




Jimmy Louis brought his brushless bike and pulled off the fastest two-wheel pass of the day with a 64.6mph run.




Tony Phalen's RC18T was ballistic with a 76.9mph best run, and it really flew. Seriously, it left the track, aerodynamically glided, then landed on all fours. Tony even drove it back to the pits!




Frank Killam drove his VS Modelsports-supported machine to a top speed of 83.8 mph. That's fast for any RC car, but especially a big 1/5 scale machine.




Tim Hepler's 125cc kart-based car was the one everybody wanted to see in action, but he just couldn't get it to hook up. (However, it did go 55mph when he was just blipping the throttle!) Craps, come back next year, we gotta see it go!




This green monster is the work of the father (John)-and-son (Brian) Pohlman team, and it was right behind Tim's 125cc car on the gotta-see-it-go list. Sadly, clutch issues sidelined the car. Next year guys, next year!




Here's the car to beat, Nic Case's 160+ Custom Works dirt oval car. Who would have predicted a dirt oval car winning this thing?




RC Car Action Editor-at-Large Lito Reyes, rockin' the keys as he records radar data. Thanks Lito!

SEE FULL COVERAGE IN THE NOVEMBER ISSUE OF RC CAR ACTION!

[NotWalkinBlind]

In the rules...
http://www.rccaraction.com/rc/news/car_challenge.asp
...it says (Rule no. 6): The vehicle must remain operable after its speed runs. Sacrificial motors or power systems that are inoperable after a run are not permitted.

So, I’m assuming Nic’s car was operable after its 160 mph crash, right? In order for it to be considered the fastest by the rules the way they’re written, it would have to be. Of course, there are different shades of meaning for “operable.”

I guess one way to interpret it is if you could make the car move a half inch with the transmitter, it’s somewhat "operable."

Just curious.

[balang_479]

The point is he broke the record of the fastest ever speed performed by a remote contrlled car, and thats all that matters.

Crashed or not, he did something nobody in the world was able too, so Congrats.

[NotWalkinBlind]

Yeah, that's great... fastest is what the competition was about... but there are specific rules... and what about the next fastest guy who didn't crash, and had a car that was still fully operable after its run?

[PeterV]

The rule reads, "The vehicle must remain operable after its speed runs. Sacrificial motors or power systems that are inoperable after a run are not permitted." This was written in case drivers planned to use motors or engines they knew would detonate after each run, with a plan to simply install a fresh motor/engine for each pass. The rule is not meant to disqualify drivers who break their cars.

The controversy comes from the huge jump in speed. Nic's previous best was a 134.4 with his 4WD car. When he rolled out with his 2WD car, I didn't even know it was a different car (all I saw was a neon orange blur!). When the radar showed a clean 160mph pass, I thought, "no way he found an extra 25mph that easily." But it was, in fact, a whole new car that was a pound lighter than the 4WD car (and may have had more cells as well, I'm still writing the story). I wanted another run to confirm the car was capable of that kind of speed, but the car was broken beyond repair within the remaining time of the event. Nonetheless, I'm letting it stand, and here's why:

The radar didn't glitch all day.
Every pass was clean, and the speeds were consistent. We've used the Stalker ATS system for years, and it rarely has any problems. If it does, you either get no data, or data that's off by a mile and usually SLOWER, not faster. If we're going to say that the radar gun determines top speed, then we have to stand by the radar gun.

No one is getting screwed
It's not like there's some 150mph guy going home without a trophy; the next-fastest run is still Nic's, with his 134mph electrified Nitro TC3.

Nic can prove it next year!
If Nic went 160 this year, you can bet he'll do it again next year. So let's set the bar high! --but not too high. Given the aerodynamic forces at play and the power required to go from 134mph to 160mph (the power requirement goes up exponentially, not in direct proportion to speed), I'm afraid that if there is an error we may have a record that will be unapproachable even by the guy who set it! And so, the OFFICIAL record will be set at 134.4. Full credit will be given for the UNofficial record of 160, and we'll tell the whole story in RC Car Action. Next year, we'll use a speed trap to eliminate any chance of radar error. I'm rooting for 160!

With all that said, there will be a new rule for next year's event that says the car with the fastest top speed must make a second pass within a certain narrow percentage of that speed to make the record official.

[NotWalkinBlind]

Cool... no one should have any problems with that interpretation of rule no. 6 if you say it was originally written to guard against "sacrificial power systems".

Where did most drivers stand? Halfway point? Was there a scissors platform?

[Paul Songas]

You mean there was no back up run needed ???? LOL ok

[Brian23]

craps didnt win with that huge gas car with the heli canopy i was rooting for him

[GTB_USER_ERIK]

That is sooooo Fassttttttt..

[GTB_USER_ERIK]

How did craps do????/

[Hard Case]

Hey Guys
Thanks for the props!
It looks as if all the details will be coming out in an issue of Radio Control Car Action soon. I'll share all......

Just for the record----------
My car was operational after the 160.1mph run. I slowed it down successfully and went for a second attempt. On the second run, I squeezed the trigger sooner & the limiter on the ESC momentarily switched on. (I think that pass was ~100, or something) But, when I tried to slow it down----I screwed-up and it got side-----------ways and hit the wall. Ouch!

It was all worth it.
Nic

[rockpiledriver]

Congrats Nic!

You fully deserved to win. Your cars were the fastest, most consistant, and straightest of all the cars there. It was a pleasure meeting you and all of the competitors, and I look forward to next year.

One question since I left before the 160 pass. Was the 2wd car front wheel drive?

I'd also like to thank Perter, George, and Jason from RCCA. Thank you for putting on an awesome event, and thanks for feeding us too. You guys ROCK!

Brian Jones

[Hz-R]

Man, that IS impressive!!! Congratulations!
I would have never thought speeds that high would be reached, that like 256 km/h! That's more than the factory speed limit on most german road cars!
That is a high bar for next year.
It was was the first time the event was run, you'll aways have to test out if the rules work, but it sounds like it was a fair win.

Pictures please!

[CharlieS]

The little orange land missle was quite a site to see for sure.

This was a great time, run your cars just about anytime as many times as you could handle.

Thanks Car Action, Can't wait for next year!

Novak "out of the box", standard TC, Standard motors and ESC, and regular GP3700 NiMH pack. Geared for this huge track we saw, Speeds starting at 72 with a 4.5velociti and 6 cells, getting 77 out of the 3.5 with the same gearing. Both at 84/29, Way Way Overgeared, NOT recommended gearing AT ALL.

Probably would have been a lot faster with some more gear and all that space, next year we'll be much better prepared. In the end, I put an HV Maxx ESC in combination with a velociti 4.5R and got 105 out of it. Of Course, we Don't Recommend this application, The ESC Survived, but didn't last past the return run. This setup was 2 lipo packs and a Protoform G6 light weight body. This was not ideal setup yet, only were able to make two passes, probably had it overgeared way to much. Changed spurs and pinion for this run. Can't wait till next year.

I think next year we should be able to push 80+ with a 7.2-7.4 volt car, no problem.

We ran our HV4.5 in Kyosho 1/8th buggy converted to fit a HV system and two 7.4 volt lipos, topped out with "available" gearing at 67.5.

Some side information, the 4.5 with "race gearing" and race body, (my car off the track from the nationals) was 47, with the 3.5 it was 54 ("I think"). Of course again with a basic 6 cell GP3700 pack. (Novak Gold "budget" Pack)

Hey Peter- Maybe have one of these every 6 months instead of only once a year.....

[TMXONR]

Congratulations Nic!

Was there any video of the event?

[Sause]

Be cool to see this over on the east coast. I know the local hobby shop was talkin bout it today

[griz11]

Even though the radar gun appeared to operate properly those things are notorious for being in error. A backup run would have eliminated any doubt. Any of the systems used for R/C drag racing could be used to do the trap. A simple toggle switch for reverse runs is all it takes to modify one. There are two clubs in California. Maybe you can work something out with one of those clubs to arrange for a trap type timing system for next year. I like the idea of a backup run. We have that in R/C drag racing for records. Having to back up a run takes care of the 'sacrifical engine' rule and if you crash on your first run you are done. But it was excellent seeing 160mph electric or nitro. I thought it would be about 130 for the record. Too bad the last date change had to happen. There would have been a lot more people there since the last date was a week after the Western Nationals drag racing series. There were some drag racers that were going to hang around for the Speed Challenge. Hopefully next year the two races will be closer together.

Griz

[thefasttrack]

i think the only reason nic won was because he kept it simple. and thats what i would look for if i were a judge congrats nic

[crono man]

so nic what was your 160mph setup?

[Patrick M]

First off, congrats to all who made attempts and particularly to those who did well.

Originally Posted by PeterV

With all that said, there will be a new rule for next year's event that says the car with the fastest top speed must make a second pass within a certain narrow percentage of that speed to make the record official.

IMO, the addition of a back-up rule and the use of a real time/distance clocking system will add immensely to the credibility and prestige of this event. These changes will bring the event more into line with R/C boat straightline speed attempts, as well as the traditional full size dry-lake and Bonneville time trials. The MHRA guys have drag timing systems that can be used, if a different timing system is more desirable, I would be happy to assist with the procurement.

BTW... my excuse for not participating in this years event was the decision to use radar guns, a less than optimum choice.

[SS Pede]

We ran our HV4.5 in Kyosho 1/8th buggy converted to fit a HV system and two 7.4 volt lipos, topped out with "available" gearing at 67.5.

HV 4.5??? I didn't realize there was such a system. Is this a pre-production system or am I just losing my memory??

[___rollin___]

Originally Posted by SS Pede

HV 4.5??? I didn't realize there was such a system. Is this a pre-production system or am I just losing my memory??

It's going to be a production system, it's already on tower.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXNPK0&P=7

[Akura2]

if you look at the "new products" section of this forum.. they're already coming out with a 3.5

[Akura2]

Originally Posted by GTB_USER_ERIK

How did craps do????/

unfortunately due to an earlier crash (before the event) and not getting a chance to test the chassis before the challenge, Craps couldn't get hooked up because of a chassis tweak... I tried to help him get the tires to sit evenly on the ground by changing some settings on the kingpins but to no avail....

@ rockpiledriver: Nice meeting you... I was the one with the Yellow RC Bike (Pigeonfarmboy's friend)

@ Hard Case: thanks for the use of the pinion... if I had a smaller spur I could have gone faster... but with your help I secured the "temporary" record with my bike

@ CharlieS: Nice meeting you and your brother (I came to the motor home with George and Jason ... I was wearing the black visor)... your 8th scale buggy is the bomb and I can't wait until you guys come up with a drop in kit to make all buggies electric-capable

@ PeterV: Great meeting you in person.. thanks to you guys for putting on the event... hope we can make the RC Superbike Challenge in September fun as well

[emu]

Thought somebody else would have posted pic's by now, mine are not that good but here are few more.

Nic's first car




Craps car getting out of shape before it hit the wall..



I like this one the most the Hpi guys, Did they bring parts... LOL