An evening session at Adur RC

I made a return to touring car racing yesterday.

Adur RC Club have been running an evening series over the summer so I popped along. The series comprises 10 rounds held on Tuesday nights.

I prepped a car at the beginning of the season with a view to contesting this series but alas the awful weather put paid to that idea so last night was the first time I made it along.

I was glad I did, it was a lovely balmy evening which prompted a decent turnout of around 30 drivers across the classes.

For the very reasonable entry fee of £6 we all enjoyed 4 heats of qualifying and a final.

I know what you are thinking.

Mi4LP SpecR front gear diff

Fed up with destroying my buggies on a weekly basis I decided to ring the changes at the weekend.

I popped the Mi4 on to the set-up station and prepped it for a days club racing at the Adur MCC circuit.

A bit of a gamble given the preceding weather but one that turned out to be worthwhile as Sunday dawned chilly but dry.

I don't know about you but now the mornings are getting cold and dark a strong will is required to get me to the track on a Sunday!

Part of the resaon for this effort was to try out my new SpecR diff. No not that one, I have treated myself to another for the front.

I built it up, filled it with 500,000wt oil, and popped it in the pit box. (Yes 500,000wt)

I ran the spool in heat one for comparison purposes but then dropped in the diff and ran it for the rest of the day, 3 more qualys and two finals.

It was a slippery day and grip was slow to come up so it's difficult to come to a definitive conclusion but my feeling is that I will not be removing this diff anytime soon. It seemed to suit my driving style, giving me just a little more entry steering and sacrificing almost nothing at the exit all the while remaining predictable.

Nice.

It was a small field but I managed to win all my heats and both finals, just the fillip I need after the last few weeks.

So my money wasn't wasted on another useless 'go faster' item and I had a good days racing to boot, I returned home happy.

This time!

GM90 . . . Smooth as a baby's bum!

A couple of weeks back I picked up a used GM90 speedo. I have seen lots of guys going very fast with these and become convinced that I would be just as fast if I got one.

Of course I wont but my delusional attitude is what keeps RC companies in business!

I squeezed it into the Mi4, I really should invest in a micro rx to replace the housebrick that currently resides therein. The GM has quite a footprint, slightly smaller than a HW but still more navvy than tekin sized ballet dancer.

Schumacher Mi4 Gear Diff by SpecR

Gear diffs have been very popular this season and SpecR have been capitalising on this by releasing versions for most popular touring cars. Until now Mi4 owners have felt a little neglected, but not any longer.

Schumacher, in collaboration with SpecR have finally released a version to fit the Mi4 range.

We all love a new bodyshell ... Team Titan Blitz ISF

Team Titan have got some great BRCA approved shells including the ISF, ALTIS, S5 and G35.

They claim various handling characteristics for the various designs.

I have splashed the cash and got myself an ISF and an S5 to try.

I picked them up from  RC Direct  for £16.99 each, which I thought was pretty good.

I have painted up the ISF and plan to give it a run on Sunday.

BRCA Electric Nats . . . West London

Well my not so illustrious RC career continued last weekend with a vist to West London for the 1st round of the BRCA touring car nationals.

I haven't been to an electric national before so wasn't sure what to expect. These meetings are where the top drivers in the UK test themselves against each other so I knew it would be a tough weekend.

Adur MCC: Winter championship decider.

A dry day on the south coast ensured a decent turn out for the last round of the Adur winter series.
There were trophies at stake so people were soldering in their quick motors and charging up their no.1 batteries.
I had an outside chance of winning the superstock class but needed an unlikely set of circumstances to fall into place. A tall order with the quality of the field that had turned up to race. The more achievable goal for me was to confirm 2nd place.

Entrants included Jay Westwood, Timmay Langdell and Tim Hancock so today was going to be quick!

 Chris Betts was in attendance and feeling confident. 

A spring day at Aldershot MCC.

This weekend I made the trip to Aldershot Model Car Club on the Surrey/Hampshire border.
Not such a big deal as it's only 2 miles from me!

Despite the damp start there was a good turn out of 40 - 50 drivers running superstock, prostock and modified. I ran in superstock which was the best supported, as seems to be the case at most clubs, with an entry of 27.

Most of you will know it well but for those that don't it's a great track with  a lap time around 15sec.
There is plenty about it to test any level of driver including a tricky chicane that will punish inaccuracy and a scary high speed banked sweeper that rewards bravery.

   

I have decided to commit myself to my Mi4 and was determined to get it working.

Oh dear ... I dun broke it!

Hello people.

I am afraid to say that I am once again seeking your commiserations rather than your congratulations.

This is what my Xray 009 looked like after heat 3 at the Adur circuit this past weekend.

They have, in their wisdom, installed some very solid and unforgiving concrete beams on the straight.

I decided to pay one of them visit and this was the resultant carnage!

  

It looks worse that it is however and although it effectively ended my meeting, and my tilt at the club winter championship, it is now fully repaired and ready to hit the tarmac again.



After the accident I did at least get the chance to run the new Mi4, as seen in my last post.

This didn't prove to be a big success however and I couldn't get close to the pace of my Xray.

It suffered with 2 problems.

• The rear diff far was too loose, thanks to my great build, and I really struggled to get off the corners quickly. A rebuild and a tighten up for now then hopefully just a short wait until SpecR release the new gear diff.
• Off power the car was really loose in the rear (ooh err!). I hope some attention to shock oils and and rear droop will help with this.

So it's back to the drawing board.
Any advice from you good guys most welcome at this point!

It was all worth it though to see Chris B suffering the after effects of a Jager bomb (or 3) and looking like he had slept in a hedge. There isn't enough coffee to put that right.
Top work fella!

Schumacher Mi4LP

I know the Mi4CX is available now but I recently spotted this Mi4LP at a decent price and couldn't resist. I've seen a lot of guys going really fast with this chassis and I wanted to know what all the fuss was about. Now the fast guys are fast because they are good and will be fast whatever they drive, the question is will it make me any faster?

Well you never know I remain ever the optimist!

I bought the chassis from a guy on Oople, he was a decent fellow and on arrival it was, as promised, in mint condition, albeit with a rather pink shell.

I set about equipping it with some electrics and have ended up with a Hobbywing speedo and a Team Powers 13.5t motor. I run the Hobbywing speedo in my Xray 009 and think it's great value for money. It's also pretty quick with the correct software installed.

For the steering I settled on the Savox 1251, hoping it will be tough enough to survive my ham-fisted stick twiddling without a fitted servo saver.

After a once over and a little remedial wrenching I took it out for a spin on the Aldershot track. I am a member there so took advantage of a sunny Tuesday to give it a run. One pack down and my first impressions are good, I really enjoyed the way it drove, quick and responsive. Maybe a little too responsive for me but I am sure I can dial that out with a few minor changes.

So is it going to turn me into Chris Grainger overnight? No!

Am I going to enjoy driving it? Yes!

I will take it to Adur on Sunday where they are having a circuit meeting and see how I get on. I am not sure if it will oust my trusty Xray just yet but time will tell.

Repeat after me... "Change is good"