R/C Car Racing

[Jeff Higgins]

I thought you folks might get a kick out of Team Porsche, my son's and my R/C car racing team. The cars are Associated NTC3's, which are 1/10 scale gas R/C race cars. The bodies are 996 Turbos, with the yellow one (my son's) cleverly disguised as a 997 Turbo. These cars normally run .12 ci two cycle glow engines that produce up to 1.2 hp at 35,000 rpm. They can hit up to 60 mph in second gear, having two-speed centrifugal transmissions that are externally adjustable for shift point. My son's car runs a fairly typical O.S. .12TR with the Associated tuned pipe. My car is a little different, running a four cycle engine. It is still a glow engine, running on the same methanol / nitromethane / oil mix as the two cycles. It started life as an O.S. .26C, rated at 0.5 hp at 18,000 rpm. It is now bumped up to .30 ci, has a manifold from a .40C, a slide carb from a .12CR, a larger diameter header pipe, judiciously ported head, and is supplied by a Perry micro-oscilating fuel pump. It now revs willingly to over 24,000 rpm and has apparently at least doubled its power output. Anyway, here are the pics:

[cstreit]

Holy Schnarkies...

What sort of relexes does one need to have to drive that thing?

What sort of track do they run on?

[BRPORSCHE]

I bet it looks cool when they crash!

[Jeff Higgins]

It takes the reflexes of a 14 year old weaned on video games; us old farts have a hard time with this. Since you are not in the car, it is surprisingly difficult to learn. It is all by sight; you get none of the feedback through the seat that we are used to in full size cars. The tracks we run are set up in parking lots with 2x6's or 2x8's for the outside borders to contain the cars. The inside layout of the track is usually PVC piping or something like that. Here is a quick video of some 1/8 scale Can-Am style cars running. They run unrestricted .21ci engines that make over 2.5 hp at over 40,000 rpm. They can top 70 mph quite easily. This video is from the Winter Nats in Florida. It may appear to be sped up like an old Charlie Chan movie or something, but it's not. Try keeping this up for 45 minutes in an A main. Fuel lasts about five minutes, so there are lots of pit stops. Some guys even change tires - they have quick release hubs to facilitate this.

http://sarcarracing.com/syd.wmv

[mikester]

Man - I'm so proud of you for having a 4 stroke in there.

I fly R/C airplanes; I love 4 strokes.

[kycarguy 935]

I use to sell, race and build the 1/10 off-road cars back in the 80's when the RC car craze first got started. I love racing them and was so fun. I even went to race the SCORE show at Anaheim Ca. a few times and that was pretty exciting with my Toyota truck body I painted like Ivan Stewarts truck and let him drive it some. The most fun trip was going to the Off Road World Championships in England back in 1987.

I use to make alot of parts in my own shop and would build about 3 cars a night after I got off work. Im actually thinking about starting up again.

Thanks for showing your cars, I havent really done much with on road except a high bank oval track I raced about 10 times.

[David McLaughlin]

Can I play too??
My car isn't as serious as those two though. I have a HPI RS4/3SS

[84CAB]

here's my 1/8 nitro off-road. lots of fun but makes a porsche seem inexpensive to maintain.

[Jeff Higgins]

Beautiful GT3 there David. And you are right, Elvis, maintanence on these is horribly expensive. I carry enough in the way of spares to a race to build two more complete cars. It can get pretty rough with a dozen of these racing side by side. Between race weekends I pretty much dissassemble and completely rebuild both cars in an effort to keep them race worthy and clean. Our engines last quite awhile by virtue of the fact that it is a restricted class. .12 two cycles are restricted to three intake ports, a maximum height on the exhaust port, and a maximum diameter of the hole through the crankshaft for the crank induction. We typically get a whole season out of a motor. The unrestricted .21's run in 1/8th scale, on the other hand, typically require a piston and sleeve for every gallon of gas. Most racers bring at least two motors to a race. These motors can run up to over $800 for a good one from a reputable tuner. Our .12's run around $200-$300. I've got about $300 in the four stroke, and it will run a couple of seasons between rebuilds. Not a cheap hobby, unfortunately. Loads of fun, though.

[racemor]

Thanks for the pics Jeff, nice looking cars. I used to race for Associated back in the 80s in Florida, running 1/12 scale, 6-cell electrics. 1/10 gas road race has a real appeal to me and I'd like to get back into it, but around the only tracks are off road or oval. West coast always was the best market, even then.

There used to be a great 24-hour 1/8th scale gas car event in Miami in the early 80s! Talk about going through some equipment!!

Jeff, is there a lot of weight difference in the four stroke?

[JavaBrewer]

I'm happy with my Stadium truck and can say the hobby is super fun but not without alot of fustration. My new truck was issue free for the first .5 gal of gas. Now it seems like something breaks on every run. You need a BIG portable tool box loaded with spares. I have broken 3 rear suspension arms, all the left side. Of course the replacements come in a pack of two, one for each side, at $18.00. Just waiting to break the right side arm cause I'm all set there Of course most of the failures are my fault (bad driving, jumping, etc...) however you reach a point where stuff just wears out. Would love to start league racing with my son but I'll probably start him with electric vs. nitro.

[Jeff Higgins]

It's actually only a couple of ounces heavier than the two stroke, Tom. It carries the weight a little higher and raises the CG of the car a bit, so I do notice that a little.

The four strokes are pretty popular in Asia right now. I have never seen another one run in a car in my area, although there are a bunch of us on RCTech that exchange information on them. They are very poorly supported by O.S. in this country. I'm convinced they would be more popular if O.S. offered conversion kits for the more popular chassis. As it is, those of us running them have to pretty much make everything from engine mounts to exhaust systems. There is a flywheel and header pipe available, but that's about it. Gearing is another big issue. These have to be geared so much taller than two cycles that you really have to get creative. My pinion and spur gears are metric parts from HPI, so I had to adapt them to the Associated transmission and make my own pilot shaft for the engine to accept their clutch bell. Too much work for most people.

It's interesting too in that O.S. quit selling the FS26C here for over a year. They just brought it back as the "FS26CII" with a lot of improvements over the first one. Improvements our little gang on RCTech had been developing and bouncing off of each other for a couple of years. One of the guys on that forum markets R/C size dynos and has run virtually every engine on the market accross his. Our improvements raised the little thumper from about .4 hp to over .9 hp on his dyno. The very best .12 two stroke he has ever tested only hit .7 hp and some change. This is all relative, of course, and just numbers to use for comparrison. The manufacturers commonly rate their .12's at 1.1-1.5 hp, but there is no industry standard dyno in use just yet. He is convinced our hopped-up little thumpers would pull 1.5-1.7 on a dyno calibrated to show those numbers on a .12 two cycle.

David, if you want to start with your kid, do yourself a favor and follow your instincts to go electric. Years ago when I started with my then 9 or 10 year old, I thought gas was the only way to go. A couple of (very expensive) months of frustration down the road, we went electric. You will be maintaining two cars for awhile (I still am, although my son is getting better and better). It is a lot of work on a race day with a couple of novices breaking things every round. Gas cars are heavier, faster, and hit things harder. Now that we can pretty much get through a day without hitting anything the gas cars are great, but I still bring a couple of cars worth of spares.

[targa911S]

I have the HPI car also. The nitro cars are crazy fast. talk about video game reflex's! I love these little cars. I take mine out in the street on the wekends and drive my dogs nuts.

[rcecale]

While nowhere near as hi-tech as the cars you guys have posted, mine do LOOK pretty cool.



Randy

[88BlueTSiQuest]

I have an HPI RS4/RTR.



I'd love to get a more serious car, but this does just fine for parking lot bashing. Considering the only on-road track got bulldozed, there isn't anywhere we can take them anymore.

It has a .16 motor in it, but I've been thinking of upgrading and getting the optional 2 speed tranny.

I'd love to have a Serpent though, just can't justify the price for bashing it up and down the street.

[mikes72t]

I am actually in the market for a car now that my 8 year old son and I can learn with together and do some cheaper father son stuff than a car or go-kart right now.

I am thinking an electric truck might be the way to go as a starter car, so if he goes in the grass he doesn't get stuck every time. My friend is recommending an associated RC10 T4. Any thoughts?

Thanks

Mike

[Saintly]

I had an Associated RC10 T3 and loved it.. it was quick and stable and a good competition car. then some *****er took it and i didn't get back into it (they got the chargers, radio gear, batteries, tools.. everything.. about $1300 australian pesos!)

[Jeff Higgins]

The RC10 T4 is an all-out competition type truck. It's only two wheel drive and is meant for groomed race tracks. For all-around bashing and kid fun you really can't beat a monster truck of some kind. The Traxxas E-Max is the standard by which all of them are judged. It comes in a ready-to-run package that will have most of the odds and ends you need to start. The Associated also comes in a RTR version, but it still borders on a serious race truck. The monster trucks are more play-friendly, and get around the back yard a lot better. There are a lot of them out there, and it is a very competetive and currently probably the largest segment of the hobby. There are some good deals to be had.

The Serpent is a great race car. One of the hardest kits to put together, though, and local hobby shop support is pretty minimal. The new HPI R4 is a great car (last year's Touring Car world champ). If you like your RS4 RTR, you'll love the R4. The Associated NTC3 is my preference obviously. It has some distinct advantages for parking lot racing and street driving. Shaft drive and sealed differentials are a huge advantage on anything other than a dedicated track. Parts support is second to none and the aftermarket is huge. Associated also provides a wealth of set-up information that most others don't.

[Saintly]

yes, the T3 and T4 are definatly comp cars.
you can't really go wrong with a traxxas car.. they build a good solid truck and for backyard / park bashing (must have missed the 8 year old bit) they would be better than a T4.
The traxxas cars can be "hotted up" to get better performance too.
the e-max is a 4wd

and the stampede is 2wd

2wd will be simpler to maintain.
they have two kits in the RTR stampede
MODEL 3610: Fully assembled, Ready-To-Race®, with TQ™ radio and ProGraphix painted body
MODEL 3606: Fully assembled, Ready-To-Race®, with TQ™ radio, XL-1 ESC and ProGraphix painted body

i personaly would go for the 3606 to get the esc (much less issues than with a mechanical sc)

i just noticed that the e-maxx is a twin engine.


i would go for the stampede just for the simple layout and weight saving

[kycarguy 935]

Ill have to dig out some of my cars. I still have a brand new Sand Scorcher, Rough Rider and 959 from Tamiya. I have enough parts from my racing days to build about 10 of the first RC 10's. Ahhh the memories..lol