The postman cometh .. With my Cougar SVR

Mid motor?

Rear motor?

There are almost as many opinions as there are cars although accepted wisdom amongst much better drivers than myself seems to be that on high grip tracks mid motor is the right choice whereas on lower grip tracks rear motor has the edge.

I dunno, I just like a new kit!

Whatever your opinion the arrival of the new rear motor Cougar SVR Schumacher has you covered.  

Manufacturers such as Losi, with the 22, and Durango, with the 210, have adopted the jack of all trades approach whilst others, including AE have gone down the conversion route, although great cars these inevitably end up being something of a compromise.

TORCH Summer Series Round 4

The RC gods smiled upon us for once this summer and granted us a decent day on Sunday to go racing.

I took full advantage of this and headed off to TORCH for round 4 of their popular summer series.

The TORCH committee have worked hard over the last year or so to turn this venue into a top notch off road destination for southern buggy racers that now regularly attracts national and even international drivers to darkest Hampshire. This season they have already played hosts to a round of the 2wd drive mid south regionals with a round of 4wd scheduled in a couple of weeks. 

(Click on any pic for full size version)

As has become the norm these days there was a decent turnout for this event, I estimate around 70 drivers.

All were catered for with a wide range of ability across 2 and 4wd classes. There was also a juniors class who were to be rewarded with trophies for their efforts at the end of the day.

Pro-line SX3 Bulldog Body Kit

I know this is a controversial subject but I have succumbed to the hype and indulged myself with a forward cab body shell for my trusty Schumacher SX3.

I think I am correct in saying that Pro-line are the first mass producer to offer this kind of shell for the SX3 although the final product is very similar to the versions already available for the B44.

I got mine from MB Models for the princely sum of £21. When I opened the package I was very pleased to discover the kit included not just a matching undertray but window masks and a full sized rear wing . . . Result! 

Layin' down the astro at SHRCCC.

 Everyone loves a bit of old school grass action but when the weather doesn't play ball the post race clean up can become a little tedious. This, coupled with the inevitable wear and tear of a grass track, has prompted SHRCCC to up sticks and relocate just down the road to a year round astro based facility.

I made the trip on a nippy Sunday in April for the innaugral meeting.

The enthusiastic committee, headed up by Neil 'Dudders' Dudman and Darren 'Tartman' Parker, have put in some hard graft to turn a 5-a-side footy pitch into the bristly green oasis seen in the pics below. The various members have bought their respective skills to bear and produced an interesting track with something for everyone.

(click on the pics for full size versions)

MKGP ... Indoor off road at its finest.

It was off to Newbury at the weekend, to compete at the MKGP, an indoor off road event being held at the well known Newbury RC club venue.

So after an early alarm I arrived in the dark, bleary eyed, excited and nervous.

This was my first big buggy meeting and it was going to be a big one. Fully booked weeks in advance with 120 2wd entrants on Saturday and 100 4wd on Sunday. I was only attending on Sunday so was playing catch up from the start, most racers had made a weekend of it and the track remained unchanged overnight.

First lesson learned!

It was well organised and with plenty of room, tables and power all provided. I found a spot booked in and settled in. I was off the line in heat 3 at 8.16am.

Spoilt for choice at SHRCCC

I have entered the MKGP which is being held at the home of  the Newbury RC club on 18/19th November.

This is to be an indoor 1/10 off-road event running mainly on carpet, more specifically the actual carpet from SHRCCC.

With this in mind last Thursday I made the trip to Farnham to have a run with some (all) of my cars in an effort to to establish some kind of battle plan with the aim of minimizing potential embarrassment come race day.

Dudders set up a great little track with a variety of obstacles including a cross over, a couple of table tops, one being on a corner and some slippy stuff. It was all crammed into a fairly small space but more than enough to test any car. 

SHRCCC hits the carpet.

Thursday night is now carpet racing night at SHRCCC.

 Located in the Swiftsure hall on the same site as the outdoor track this brand new indoor venue aims to continue its popular weekly meetings regardless of the weather.

To this end Dudders has procured carpet from, the alas now defunct, RC Arena.

TORCH Summer Series Finale

As the summer season winds down I made the now familiar journey to TORCH for the final round of their popular summer series.

This series has been consistently well attended all year and Sunday was no exception, 72 drivers booked in for what promised to be a good days racing under a late summer sun.

There were some nice trophies to fight over for 1st 2nd & 3rd in the A, B & C finals.
Bring it on!

Losi TLR22 2wd Buggy . . . The Build (Part 3)

Now the, not so straightforward, job of wiring it all up.

There are plenty of options for the layout of the electrics.

Losi sell a 'stubby' sized lipo specifically for this chassis that allows a bit more room. There is no way I am buying a battery that will fit only this car so I needed to work out the best way to do this with my saddles, not so easy with an enormous HW speedo and standard sized Sektrum rx.

As the saying goes; 'where there's a will there's a way'!

I like the HW speedos but the size doesn't help when space is at a premium. It is the 60a version and will be running the '119 stock' (with boost) software to spin up an 8.5 turn 'Bullistorm' motor.

This is what I ended up with, I think it's best described as functional rather than pretty but I will probably tweak it over time.

Indoor buggy racing at Taplow

The indoor buggy track at Taplow was my destination of choice this week.

This was one place the awful weather couldn't spoil my racing.

Taplow is a well known venue in buggy circles and is highly thought of by some top drivers who make occasional appearances here.

The track is run by Janos who spends most of Friday afternoon clearing his employers body shop and putting together a testing track. The track changes each week but is mostly carpet, liberally punctuated with testing features including jumps and yumps of varying sizes. The restricted space guarantees a fairly tight technical track that tests driver ability and car durability. 

I couldn't resist it! (Part 3) . . . Losi TLR22

Ok ok . . . I know I didn't need it and I admit I am being profligate but as the title says, I couldn't resist it!

I promise that I will now stop buying and start building.

 There is something of a buzz surrounding the TLR22 just at the moment.

It seems to be the marmite of the rc world, you either love it or you hate it!

I had to find out for myself. So rather than borrow somebody elses car, which worries me as I'm bound to break it, I bought one of my own.

I couldn't resist it! (Part 2) . . . Durango DEX410R

Do you remember what I said about a good day at the track prompting exravagance?
Well I had better start having some bad days soon or I am going to be completely boracic!
(I didn't really mean that oh great gods of RC)

Anyway I blame Michael Ball at MB Models.

Michael has struck a deal with Durango meaning that right now he is doing a cracking price on the 410R.



I couldn't resist it! . . . Schumacher Cat SX3

It's amazing what a good day at the track can make you do.

I spent Sunday at TORCH competing in one of their club meetings. It's a track I really enjoy. So much so I am pleased to call myself their newest member. 

I ended up being really happy with my day. I achieved 2 of my personal targets on one day. I cracked the 11 lap barrier and bagged myseld a 28 sec lap.

Yay for me!

Regular readers will know that it is only couple of months since I bought a brand new Schumacher SX2. Well I didn't let that stop me celebrating my day and went ahead and rewarded myself with a brand new SX3.

This is the latest buggy from Schumacher and is claimed to be awesome. In fact I fully expect it to make me the next world champion. (Maybe!)

SHRCCC ... 'Old Skool' buggy racing!

In a previous post I wrote about a 1/10 off road club in Surrey, SHRCC, the baby of the venerable Neil 'Dudders' Dudman.

I'm new to 1/10 buggies and am told that running on grass is considered 'old skool' these days as, for various reasons, most clubs opt for a more maintenance friendly astro surface.

Nevertheless it appears to have been a great idea. Neil has been running a number of successful events including the Fastrax GP, a summer  'Shootout' series and regular club events on Tuesday evenings and Sunday mornings.

I've been turning up for some of these events with my new Cat SX2 to see what 'old skool' buggy racing is all about.  

The Fastrax GP is probably the biggest event held thus far at SHRCC. The meeting was sponsored by CML and all entrants recieved a set of control tyres for the bargain entry fee of £12.

A good turnout for the Fastrax GP

Schumacher SX2 'Body Off' Pics

Hey there RC dudes and dudettes.

I went racing with my SX2 today at TORCH. I really enjoyed the day and will write a report later in the week.

In the meantime I promised to post a few 'body off' pics, so here they are!

Click on any pic for full size version.

My new baby ... Schumacher SX2 S1 Buggy

Hey all. I have not posted for couple of weeks as I have been moving home. It's all done now, thank goodness, so I can get back to embarrasing myself via this blog.

All of a sudden this 1/10 off road lark seems to be all the rage.

Now I'm not one to get left behind, well maybe I am on the track but it's not for a lack of equipment!

So I smashed the piggy bank, counted up all my pennies and guess what? I had enough to buy myself a Schumacher SX2 S1.

This model has now been superseded by the SX3 but it seems the main change is in the chassis layout (now utilising a mid mounted motor) whilst retaining front and rear bulkheads and the parts mounted thereon. 

Because of this I managed to get what I felt was an irresistible deal.



My new O'Donnell SS21 engine

It's always great to get something new for our beloved cars.

As an IC driver it is a real thrill to open up a box to find a brand new engine nestling inside.

I recently had this pleasure when my new ODonnell SS21 engine arrived. I hmmd and ahhd for some time before I decided on this as my motor for the 2011 season but made the decision based on 3 things.

1. Good forum feedback, buttery smooth and easy to tune apparently.

2. It's something a little different, I'm not one to run with the crowd.

3. Good value, it cost about the same as an Alpha 850.

The large heat sink is an understated black.

RC SureStart Engine pre-heaters

OK hands up who likes running in engines . . . ?

Yep, I thought not.

I too was like you until I discovered the RC SureStart. 

I know it sounds like the opening line of cheesey advert for washing powder but it really is a genuine sentiment.

Lipos ... A cautionary tale.

Touring cars have been using lipo battery packs for around 3 years now, mostly without incident.

In fact the BRCA electric board have published some basic principles governing the use of lipo packs. These principles have been incorporated into the regulations and can be seen here.

The US governing body for RC racing is ROAR who also have a conservative attitude towards the use of lipo batteries. The US rules govering the use of lipos are even stricter than those of the BRCA and go as far as excluding the use of warmers. The rules for lipo use under ROAR can be found here. (Rule 8.3.2.1) 

These regulations have been rigorously enforced at most circuit events I have attended over the last couple of seasons. Most people understand why and are, for safety's sake, happy to oblige. 

OK if you are still awake you are no doubt thinking . . . "What is he banging on about?"

I'm getting to it!

In the US 1/8 electric buggy racing is becoming increasingly popular and what happens over there eventually happens over here, albeit more expensively!

I have been attending a few 1/8 rally-x events over the last few months and electric buggies are definitely growing in popularity, which is great. I think it's a brilliant way to get people interested in the off road scene without the added complication of those noisy, smelly gas engines that I love so much. 

Here's the thing. I don't think I have seen one electric buggy using a hard case lipo. 99% of the time this is no problem but as for the other 1% ?!

I don't know who this was but I'd guess it ruined his day.

(Get in touch if this is your car)

A trip to Slough RWMCC for the SRS Round 1

A few weeks back I prepared myself for a trip to Slough RWMCC for a club meeting. On that occasion the weather was uncooperative so it didn't happen.

This weekend the weather was glorious, if a bit on the windy side, so there were no excuses. I was off to play with the big boys!

RMWCC were hosting the first round of this years SRS, a regional series giving club racers the opportunity to race at other clubs around southern England. 

This was to be my first buggy race away from the Adur track, and at a fairly big event, so I knew it wouldn't be easy. Had I bitten off more than I could chew? Probably, but I had already told myself I was going along for the experience and to see what I could learn. 

An awesome rostrum.

There was a full entry of 105 drivers so an early start was required to ensure a decent spot in the pits.

I arrived at the track at about 07:45, it was already busy but I had no trouble finding a spot to set up.