You wanna watch one of the closest races i've EVER seen, watch this:

2014 ROAR Fuel Off-Road Nationals :: Truggy Final
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NQEwHoVGAbM

Mind blowing skill between two drivers, swapping back and forth for 45 minutes straight. Not sure I've ever seen a race that tight from start to finish. In ANY kind of racing, not just RC. Holy crap.

[Edited on August 14, 2015 at 9:57 AM. Reason : .]

8/14/2015 9:56:20 AM

Watched the last few minutes of that. Damn!

8/14/2015 2:41:08 PM

got a used tekin sytem with a 9.5T motor and a used Hitec 7985 servo for $165

[Edited on August 15, 2015 at 6:28 PM. Reason : didn't think that was bad]

8/15/2015 6:28:40 PM

You'll like it a lot I think. Not a bad deal at all

8/16/2015 7:46:47 AM

buggy arrived today (USPS delivers packages on sunday now?). it's setup as mid-motor, but dude said it came with all the parts to swap back to rear motor. he left some parts out. hopefully he makes it right. bought it off carolinas RC racers.

8/16/2015 8:22:45 PM

To be honest, I dont know of many folks running rear motor anymore. Even on bigger open tracks.

People are saying time and time again that even though their buggy feels a little more "twitchy" and less stable with mid motor, their lap times are consistently faster. I'm willing to bet within the next 5 years they wont even be offering a rear motor setup anymore on newer models.

I'd run it mid motor and see what you think. I'm running my TLR 22 2.0 mid motor and loving it.

8/16/2015 9:34:51 PM

idk, man. our track is usually very dusty and way low on grip. i was thinking i would need all the rear bite i could get.

8/16/2015 9:52:33 PM

I hear ya. I've been wanting to convert mine to rear motor just to see the difference. But I've really been diggin the mid motor.

I'd look up what Jared Tebo is running in his RB6 on tracks that are loose and open. Should get you at a good starting point.

I'm sure you've come across these, but here's a page dedicated to setups and tips/tricks for the RB6.
http://www.petitrc.com/setup/kyosho/SetupSheetsKyoshoUltimaRB6.html

I notice many are running mid-motor configuration, even on low traction.

Particularly, here's 2 setups from that list that were for dirt, low traction, dry conditions.

http://www.petitrc.com/setup/kyosho/setuprb6/RB6_RemyBertrand_Bonneville2014091314/

http://www.petitrc.com/setup/kyosho/setuprb6/RB6_JoePillars_Portland20140608/


[Edited on August 17, 2015 at 10:23 AM. Reason : .]

8/17/2015 10:20:39 AM

I'll probably have to run it mid-motor if I run it at all this weekend. Not sure if my batteries will arrive in time. The seller said he'll send the missing parts, but I won't have them in time. No big deal. I can try both setups and see what's better for me.

[Edited on August 17, 2015 at 3:40 PM. Reason : Thanks for the links]

8/17/2015 3:40:05 PM

If you need to borrow a few packs, you're welcome to come borrow mine for the weekend. I wont be using them this weekend. But I also live in Durham near Southpoint mall, so quite a drive for you I think. You could probably go buy some cheap packs for the amount of gas money you'd spend

8/17/2015 6:21:22 PM

i appreciate the offer, but, yeah, it's too far. i'm not even sure enough folks for a class would show. i'll run 1/8 nitro.

8/17/2015 7:26:19 PM

y'all can check us out on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/RockyPointRaceway/

we're more active there than on carolinas rc racers forum.

8/18/2015 10:25:37 PM

ok, this electric stuff is a whole different thing. i got everything soldered up and working and ran it around the cul-de-sac a little.

explain motor endbell timing, ESC timing, gearing, and how i put them all together to make sure i don't burn my shit up. Tekin says not to exceed 180 deg F. i have an infrared thermometer, but where do i measure this? on the endbell? also, how do i know if my slipper is setup right? what about the ball diff? the endbell was set to 10 deg when i got it and i left it there. i left the ESC in 0 deg blinky mode because i don't know what i'm doing. i put a 22t pinion and a 76t spur gear. (that's the only pinion i have, but it came with spurs from like 69 to 80-something. 76 is stock with the kit and the manual recommended somewhere around a 22 for a 9.5T motor). the buggy came with the Avid Triad slipper clutch and aluminum topshaft. the ball diff is stock.

9/5/2015 4:43:12 PM

I, too, struggle with this and have honestly not done a ton of research into it since I'm basically running "stock" classes for now.

Motor endbell timing allows you to increase or retard the timing on the motor. I THINK most motors have 20degrees of built in timing, so basically if the endbell is set at 0, the motor is running at 20degrees. If you turn the endbell to +10, you're now running 30degrees. Turn it to -10, and you're running 10degrees. The higher the timing, the higher the RPM. Lower timing increases torque (low end grunt/acceleration). Supposedly. I think.

*edit* After a quick search on RC Car Action, I found this:

Quote :

"A motor with lower (less advanced) timing will produce maximum horsepower at low rpm, and a motor with higher (more advanced) timing will produce maximum power at high rpm. The best timing setting does not necessarily achieve the maximum horsepower that the motor is capable of, but rather produces the maximum horsepower within the rpm range you’e most frequently using on the track. Finding the ideal motor timing setting for your car and conditions will take a bit of trial and error, but in general, you can expect heavier cars and/or tracks with shorter straights will benefit from lower timing settings. A heavier car and more frequent accelerations require more torque, which calls for lower timing. The additional RPM and speed a higher timing setting may provide are wasted if you don’t have long enough straights to exploit them. However, if you have a lighter car and/or are running on a track with long straights (or an oval), higher timing settings may increase your top speed and decrease your lap times. Just watch the motor temperature; the more you advance the motor’s timing, the hotter it will run. If your motor reaches 150 degrees F or higher during a run, it’s overheating and you should reduce timing, install a smaller pinion, or both. "

As for ESC timing, who the hell knows. I'm just running blinky because it's all i'm allowed to use in stock class.

Here's a video from Jared Tebo (pro racer for Kyosho) on how to set Slipper Clutch Adjustment and diff break-in/adjustment.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf0do3YArfM


[Edited on September 6, 2015 at 3:34 PM. Reason : .]

9/6/2015 3:28:10 PM

this is dated (brushed motors and such), but i found it useful in addition to that stuff^:

http://www.repairfaq.org/filipg/RC/F_rc-offroad6.html

9/7/2015 7:18:47 PM

Yep, good info there. I'm much more familiar with brushed motors. I was constantly tearing mine down and rebuilding back in the day. With brushless though, things are a good bit different and I'm just not as comfortable with them yet. I just need to tear one down at some point to familiarize myself.

The whole "Turbo" and ESC timing thing is foreign to me. I didnt have these options before so I've gotta read up on them.

I realize brushless and lipos have made things much easier for most folk, but I definitely miss the old days.

[Edited on September 8, 2015 at 10:39 AM. Reason : .]

9/8/2015 10:34:55 AM

just trimmed and painted my first body. wussed out and just went solid white

also, http://www.dollarhobbyz.com is the shit

[Edited on September 8, 2015 at 9:06 PM. Reason : dasf]

9/8/2015 8:49:33 PM

Sweet! So you've ordered from them successfully?

I've ordered a fuckton from Hobbyking over the last few months. It's kinda like "cheaperthandirt.com" in that they have multiple warehouses and you cant mix/match stuff from different warehouses on a single order, FYI. That tripped me up for a while until I figured that out.

Here's my latest body I painted for my touring car:


Didnt turn out too terrible for a rattlecan and masking tape job. I REALLY want to get an airbrush though. Also gonna pick up another practice/bashing body that I'll probably just spraybomb a single color.

[Edited on September 9, 2015 at 10:07 AM. Reason : .]

9/9/2015 10:03:49 AM

Yes. They're webpage checkout system is kinda fucked up right now (for me, at least), but I ordered from their eBay store. I messaged them on Facebook about the checkout issue and they gave me a coupon code, so that was cool. You have to look around good on their store. I needed MBX7 bearings and it said they were sold out, but they did have MBX7T bearings. They're the same bearings.

That is a good looking paint job. I have a hard time putting a lot of time and/or money in a paint job for an off-road buggy. It's just going to get destroyed over time.

[Edited on September 9, 2015 at 6:38 PM. Reason : I'll church it up with some of those stickers that come with all RC crap]

9/9/2015 6:36:16 PM

I used hobbyking once. Actually bought 3 of those shorty batteries you recommended. Only problem is it takes a week to get stuff from the west coast. Seems like all RC stuff is in California.

9/9/2015 6:40:19 PM

i changed to an 84t spur and the motor is way cooler just dicking around the cul-de-sac. i need to buy some more pinions to make changing ratios easier.

all the tires that came with the RB6 were for clay tracks, so i got some blockades, hybrids, and impacts for the rear and some jconcepts rips for the front.

club race tomorrow if the track isn't too wet. idk if we'll have enough to run 1/10, but hopefully i can at least get some practice time. i really need to get a decent lipo charger before i can seriously race 1/10 electric. i started with just a cheap Align balance charger for my tx/rx and starter box batteries. never needed to charge at the track for 1/8 nitro.

9/12/2015 12:27:30 AM

rained out

9/12/2015 4:47:18 PM

Dang, that sucks. I've been itching to get some wheel time too. I'm not too familiar with the Kyosho's, but is it possible to clip on a heat sink/fan onto the motor? I know for my TLR 22 I can put one on in rear motor configuration, but not in mid-motor. But that might help a lot with your motor temps.

As for a charger, I LOVE my iCharger 106B+. It was on sale at Hobbyking for like $55 a few months ago and it's awesome. Can't beat that price.

HOWEVER, my next charger will be the Turnigy Reaktor.
http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=71592

It's basically identical to the iCharger 206, but only $66. Hell of a deal. At that price, get two and you can enjoy two chargers (think backup) at the price of one Hitec or higher priced charger. (Pro-tip...on Hobbyking's site, if you view and item for like 5 minutes without adding it to your cart, it will typically make you a pop-up offer for like 10% off)

These are DC only though. Do you have a power supply? If no, I can send you the exact model number for the computer server supply I bought and how to mod it (literally just solder one resistor in place and it's ready to use). I paid like $25 for it and it's 900w 75A. Been rock solid for about a month now and others have been using them for years.

Also, I was the 500th "like" on facebook for the MBM Podcast. It's an RC podcast run by some dudes up in Canada but it's pretty cool. Just a bunch of dudes talking RC and they have interviews with pros, etc. They sent me a CowRC pit mat.



[Edited on September 12, 2015 at 5:12 PM. Reason : .]

9/12/2015 5:08:38 PM

the motor temps aren't a problem now. just had to get the gearing right.

thanks, i might go ahead and order one of those chargers. i figured out the thing on hobbyking where you wait for the real price.

i like those magnetic mats. i was looking at cow rc's parts trays just the other day. ended up just buying some RPM plastic parts trays for ~$3 each. they have a tiny little magnet that isn't really sufficient, so i was just going to shoe goo some real magnets onto the back of it.

[Edited on September 12, 2015 at 5:23 PM. Reason : dasf]

9/12/2015 5:20:10 PM

go ahead and send the info on that power supply

9/12/2015 9:45:03 PM

i'm guessing it's this one http://www.ebay.com/itm/iCharger-12v-power-supply-75A-900w-iCharger-Powerlab-8-6-efuel-hitec-/171821287340?hash=item280158c7ac

9/13/2015 10:44:22 AM

Yep, that model looks identical to mine. Only difference is how I soldered the power plugs. You'd only save like $10-15 over that price if you did it yourself. But you can see that this is a very popular model for R/C power supplies.

The power supply I use is a HP DPS-1200FB A

Specifications:
Input: 110V-120 Volts AC
Output: 12V DC, 75 Amps, 900 Watts

Only Measures 3.375" x 1.50" x 9.50"

Detailed instructions on the conversion:
http://www.rchelination.com/setting-hp-dps-1200fb-power-supply

Given the rugged nature of these particular PS (Redundant and Hot-Swappable) they hold up much greater than a typical PC Supply.


Here's mine:




For my pit mats, I've been using a grey $10 yoga mat from Wally World. Works like a damn champ. That CowRC one is sweet but honestly I like the foam a bit more. The magnetic aspect is nice though.


[Edited on September 13, 2015 at 1:27 PM. Reason : .]

9/13/2015 1:16:23 PM

my sister's boyfriend is getting setup to run ebuggy, so he needs a power supply as well. the ones in my ebay link ship free if you order 2 or more. that, combined with the Reaktor, means we're both setup with more charging power than we should ever need for about $100 each. hard to beat that.

i might get one of those yoga mats. so far, i've been doing what little bit of work i've had to do at the track on my tailgate. i usually don't do much more than change air filters and tires. i could use it to protect my kitchen table. it's been too hot lately to work on the RC stuff in the shop.

[Edited on September 13, 2015 at 4:04 PM. Reason : adsf]

9/13/2015 4:01:35 PM

fuck this ball diff crap. i ordered a gear diff. i'm not good enough for it to matter and it should significantly reduce maintenance.

9/13/2015 9:24:33 PM

I've actually never tried a gear diff on a 2wd buggy. Let me know what you think. Typically gear diffs are for very high traction surfaces, no? I'd think a ball diff would work better for you. Curious to see how it does.

9/14/2015 9:30:08 AM

I read that traction really doesn't matter. They both will do the job. It's just that a ball diff is adjusted by simply tightening or loosening. A gear diff can only be adjusted by changing fluids. I'm not good enough for it to matter, so as long as I'm in the ballpark on diff oil, I will be fine. Rebuilds are way cheaper and less frequent. I bought the gear diff for what just a couple ball diff rebuilds would've cost.

9/14/2015 12:38:27 PM

I hear ya. Although less frequent, it's a pain in the ass tuning gear diffs. I've been trying to find the right fluids for my touring car gear diffs. Pain in the balls to change fluid every time.

[Edited on September 14, 2015 at 1:09 PM. Reason : .]

9/14/2015 1:09:19 PM

My lap average is a good 6 seconds from being competitive. I don't think being a little off on my diff oil will matter now. If I become Tessman overnight, then maybe I'll pop the ball diff back in.

9/14/2015 3:52:16 PM

got a particular battery you like for 1/8 ebuggy?

9/14/2015 5:47:51 PM

When I was racing my 8ight ebuggy in 2010, I just ran Turnigy 5000mah 4S 45C packs. Not the greatest/most expensive, but they were more than fast enough and ran great for the whole season. I remember turning my throttle EPA down to like 70% or something because it had too much power. And I could still clear the triples with ease, etc.

Does your track require hard packs? If not, I ran the cheaper soft packs and never had any issues. Even in some gnarly accidents

I've always had good luck with SMC packs as well. Great company. Great customer service.

ALL Lipo cells are manufactured overseas anyway. There's basically only 2 companies I believe that are sourcing "grade A" cells. That's Thunderpower and MaxAmps. Thunderpower basically gets first pick of the highest grade cells because they also manufacture equipment for the military. So it's safe to say that the best of the best goes towards that. Then the slightly lower performing cells get used for their RC packs. You also pay $texas for these.

MaxAmps (also $texas) also sources Grade A cells, and are still a degree of magnitude better than all other companies other than Thunderpower. They do not preassemble ANY of their packs, so you can be assured that when you place an order, you are getting the freshest cells possible, matched for performance, and assembled in a pack/configuration/plug of your choice. That's really the advantage you get with MaxAmps. Freshness and ridiculous matching tolerances/ability.

All of the other companies get preassembled "B" grade packs, which they can sell at a much cheaper price. There's nothing at all wrong with most of these other packs and will likely do the average club racer just fine. They may have just been sitting on a shelf, etc. for a few weeks/months before being sent to you. I've always been a fan of Turnigy packs, but there are tons of haters out there who think they suck. Same goes for SMC, but they are at least in the USA and have good customer service.

Like you said, unless you're Tessman or are obviously lacking in power compared to the other guys (which isnt typically the case these days), I like to go the economical route.


*note* - most of this info comes from Tim Smith, who is CEO of an electrical engineering company, electrical engineering degree from MIT, and is a sponsored "driver" for Maxamps. But he tells it like it is. He doesnt really "rep" Maxamps because he is "sponsored" by them. He's only sponsored by them because he was already using them for years breaking world records in his drag cars.

[Edited on September 15, 2015 at 11:09 AM. Reason : .]

9/15/2015 10:48:45 AM

Good info. Thanks. I had already mentioned SMC to him. Good to at least keep it somewhat US-made.

9/15/2015 11:41:52 AM

Got about 5 hours of practice in yesterday at the carpet track.

I was able to shave about 1 full second off my average lap time since my last trip out there. I'm definitely still undergeared as my motor was only 110F coming off the track...and I'm running at top speed before I'm even halfway down the straight. Gonna switch up some gearing and head back out next week to see if I can shave another .5 seconds off my lap time. That will put me in the low 11's. I think the guys making the A-main in 17.5t are running low to mid 10's. So I wont be too far off at that point and feel confident enough to run with them. I always step my game up when there's other cars out there to race/follow. It's tough to turn fast laps when you're practicing all by yourself.

And this is with my $49 touring car. I'm freaking STOKED to even be this fast, knowing the other guys are running $300-400 Xrays and Associated TC6's, etc.

*EDIT*
Ho-LEE-SHIT. I just found out that it's legal for us to adjust timing in 17.5t touring. I was under the impression that we had to run 0 timing (stock) and thus have been practicing all this time with no timing on the motor. That also means that it's just going to be THAT MUCH easier for me to pick up a few more tenths off my lap time. FUCKING STOKED over here right now. So all these dudes that are averaging low 10's are running advanced timing on their motors...I'm not quite as terrible as I thought

Side-note - I messed around with "turbo" on my ESC yesterday and I was immediately running in the high 10's. Not sure how that will equate to advanced timing on my 17.5, but I'll find out next week! It's ON like donkey kong.


[Edited on September 19, 2015 at 2:51 PM. Reason : .]

9/19/2015 2:23:33 PM

it's like that for offroad stock classes too. you can adjust the timing on the end bell, but the ESC timing has to be 0.

couldn't really enforce endbell timing limit anyway. someone would just come out with endbells with offset tick marks or something.

[Edited on September 19, 2015 at 8:57 PM. Reason : afds]

9/19/2015 8:35:06 PM

turned my fastest lap ever today. also got my average lap time down a little more. the track was kinda slick today, so that makes me feel even better about the improvements.

9/19/2015 9:49:09 PM

You running any tire sauce? I've heard amazing things about Liquid Wrench Lubricating oil. (not the penetrating, or other options)

Havent had a chance to try it out though.

9/19/2015 10:49:50 PM

no. no one runs anything like that out there. seems like that kind of stuff works on smooth, hard-packed, indoor clay tracks. we had dust and fines on the track that were making it slick.

9/19/2015 11:03:08 PM

Yeah, I wasnt sure if it had much effect on dustier outdoor tracks. Awesome that you improved your laptime though. Keep at it!

Im still hoping to get my 2wd buggy out to the track one of these days. It's hard for me to find time to practice/race on the weekends because I have a 7mo son who takes up most of my time.

Cape Fear RC is about 45 minutes from me, but they're not really racing this season and I'd assume not really maintaining the track at all. Only other closeby offroad track is The Warehouse in Haw River. It's indoors, but they only race on friday nights and practice on saturday mornings. So still hard for me to make it out there.

One day....one day.


[Edited on September 20, 2015 at 10:24 AM. Reason : .]

9/20/2015 10:21:18 AM

we had some guys come race with us from up around raleigh. they usually race Cape Fear. they said the track is a wreck. it hasn't had any maintenance.

9/20/2015 12:36:53 PM

Looks like I might get my chance for offroad racing next friday night...wife is heading out of town, so might see if the grandparents want to babysit for the night. (they're always JUMPING at the chance...mwahaha)

Look out folks. Time to play in the dirt.

9/21/2015 9:39:33 AM

gear diff and MIP pucks shiny drive axles installed. low maintenance

9/21/2015 9:12:27 PM

Sweeeet. A few less things to worry about haha.

Not sure if I've posted about this before, but there's a SICK series of videos that a dude is producing for all of the large races. He just posted the ROAR Nats vid.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GKP_O9hyfE

9/22/2015 9:35:26 AM

i need to fix my stuff

9/22/2015 3:55:29 PM

I'll be racing at King RC next saturday (Oct. 3) I think. The Warehouse isnt racing that weekend unfortunately...sighhh.

Might drop the kid off at my parents house and keep on truckin up to King. I've raced there before but it's been 15 years I bet.

9/22/2015 4:39:31 PM

NRR,

what tires are you guys running at your track? Especially for 2wd buggy front/rear? Most of the tires I have on hand are for indoor/clay types...but I have a pair of new holeshots for the rear and a new set of 4-ribs for the front. That's what I used to run in 2wd buggy 20 years ago

I think King RC is pretty similar to what you guys run on.

9/22/2015 7:04:46 PM

For 1/8 scale, we use impacts, blockades, holeshots, etc. I've been liking the jconcepts chasers and hybrids, depending on conditions.

I'm not really sure for 2wd as I've only done a little practicing with it so far, but I had some unbranded 2-ribs on the front (came with the buggy) and blockades on the rear. Seemed to be ok. Track was kinda loose. I also have impacts and hybrids for it. And some new jconcepts rips for the front. Trying to get some more folks to run 2wd out there.

Hybrids were great on the loose track this weekend as long as I stayed in the groove.

[Edited on September 22, 2015 at 8:42 PM. Reason : Dh]

9/22/2015 8:41:17 PM