Live on Twitch

For 2019, I am finally joining in the fun of streaming my "gaming" on-line through a program called Twitch.

My account is Bodies By Clayton - go figure.

My gaming will mostly be Zwift.

I've only posted three videos on Twitch as of this post to my blog, but there will be MORE! I hope you have fun watching them. I'm trying to be candid during my rides. I'm also trying to talk, as much as my heart rate would allow anyway.

So, please follow me on Twitch and keep it rubber side down!

2wd Stock Buggy

At my local track, and I think I'm safe in assuming every other track in The Continental U.S., 2wd Stock Buggy is pretty much the number one racing class to be part of.  I think it is intended to be an inexpensive way to get into RC racing.  However, the 2wd Stock Buggy Class is not inexpensive.

These are the electronics required to run 2wd Stock Buggy: the motor is a 17.5 turn brushless motor, the electronic speed control (ESC) has to be a stock-specific one or put into The Remotely Operated Auto Racer (ROAR) race spec "blinky" mode in the settings, and finally the battery is a two cell (called 2S) Lithium Polymer (LiPo) battery.  Having the latest versions of these three components can make a big difference in power generation.

This is such a popular class that all the big names in the hobby cater to this class with a specific car, like Team Associated's B6.1 Factory Lite, Team Losi Racing's 22 5.0 Spec Racer, and Yokomo's YZ-2 DTM 2.0 Stock.  These specific versions of buggy have been put on a strict diet to increase the power-to-weight ratio as much as possible. They also all feature a direct drive system instead of having a slipper clutch.  The direct drive puts all the power to the wheels immediately. As well, it reduces rotating mass from the drive train, which increases acceleration.

There are a million and one hop up parts for all of these cars, both from the Original Equipment Manufacturer as well as aftermarket.  It is very easy to drop a lot of money trying to have the fastest, lightest car (at least on the work bench!).

As well, the latest greatest car seems to update about every year or two.  I had the Team Associated B5M Factory Lite back in 2015 and 2016.  Then they came out with the B6 for 2017.  That only lasted a year.  Then the B6.1 showed up for 2018 with its three versions; B6.1, B6.1D, and B6.1 Factory Lite.

So, my brilliant idea is to avoid the chaos of trying to keep up with The Jones'.  Instead, I'm going to race the Traxxas Bandit in 2wd stock buggy!  I thought I was totally novel with my idea.  However, Voyage RC on YouTube beat me to it.

Voyage RC calls his Traxxas Bandit Project Underdog.  He has quite a few videos showing the buggy itself as well as him racing it and winning with it. Voyage RC is definitely not a hack driver like I am.  In the first club race video, with the completely box stock Bandit, he wins at the end of the race!

I'm stoked on this project.  I'll keep this page up-to-date with my initial purchase as well as the various upgrades I make.

Until then, keep it rubber side down!

Lap Monitor

I recently purchased the Lap Monitor training kit with the JR connection from the Lap Monitor website.

I was turned onto this product by RC Driver's video review.

Here is RC Driver's response:
     "Drivers are always looking for something extra to do to their RC racing cars to make them quicker on the track. Some buy the best batteries or motors. Others spend lots of time tuning. And of course there is practice. Lots of practice. But often there is a part of practice that is left out. Lap timing. Going out to practice is fine, but if you don’t see your laps, how do you know you’re improving? Often tracks don’t have their timing system running during practice and of course you need something better than a stopwatch. This is where the LapMonitor comes in. This handy timing system places a small IR unit on the track, a transponder in your car and your lap times transmit via bluetooth right to your phone! That’s not all, you can even run simple races with other drivers and count multiple drivers laps! In this video we show you some of the neat features of the Lap Monitor. Want to improve your RC skill? You need to watch this!"

I don't know if I can say it any better than that.

So, I'm excited to play with my new Lap Monitor and see if I can actually improve my hack driving!!

Until next time. Keep it Rubber Side Down!

Axial SCX10 II

I had an Axial SCX10 Jeep that I spent way too much money on, but had a ton of fun upgrading, and then actually rock crawling with.  Most of the crawling I did was over the four or five days of Axial Fest each summer in Cisco Grove, CA.

I have since sold my SCX10 and am now contemplating a new one.

There are a TON of RC Crawlers out there now.  Plenty of companies have joined in the fun, from Team Associated, Losi, HPI , and Traxxas which are familiar companies to folks that race.  As well, there are more RC Crawler specific companies like Axial, Cross Rc, and RC4WD that gear almost all of their product towards RC crawling.

However, if you want to go to Axial Fest, you have to have an Axial vehicle.

As of right now, Axial Fest 2019 is on hold because the Cisco Grove RV Campground, the home of Axial Fest since its inception, is under construction for renovations until September of 2020.

As well, Axial Racing was purchased by Horizon Hobby in 2018.  It is unclear if Horizon will spend the money to promote the brand as much as Axial did on its own.

All of that aside, if I were to build a crawler most likely it'd be an Axial SCX10 II.

At first, I was dead set on the SCX10 II 2000 Jeep Cherokee Kit.  It comes very well equipped out of the box and has a unique transmission not found in their Ready To Run versions of the SCX10 II.  The RTR kits still have the old AX10 transmission which totally works and has tons of aftermarket support.  However, the kit version is a more in-line transmission that cleans up the drive axle angle and puts the weight of the transmission in a better position.

Axial recently released a complete kit transmission as its own part.  This opened the door to getting any SCX10 II kit.

Axial also recently released the Raw Builders Kit which sells for $200.  This is an awesome idea because it leaves out a body, wheels, tires, and all of the electronics.  Unfortunately, it also has the old AX10 transmission.  However, with the kit transmission available separately, this is a very attractive kit option to me. I already have a Proline 1966 Ford Bronco body with Ridgeline Trail Cage, Savox water proof servo, Sanwa MT-44 transmitter, Sanwa water proof receiver, Boom Racing wheels, and JConcept Rupture tires ready to be installed.  I just need a new electronic speed control and motor.

At the same time, for $300, I can get the SCX10 II version of my original Jeep in the Dead Bolt RTR kit.  It comes with a body, roll cage, lights, wheels, tires, electronic speed control, motor, servo, transmitter, and receiver.  The electronics are all standard RTR gear, nothing special.  At the same time, I ran all of 2016 Axial Fest with the RTR electronics and made it through with only a few minor problems.  The kit itself is not as well appointed as the Jeep Cherokee Kit nor the Raw Builders Kit, but I'm going to make upgrades and changes to whichever kit I get.  It's nice to have all the spare parts when you're out in the middle of the national forest and, quite possibly, miles from your campsite.

In any event, we'll see if I get an RC Crawler at all in 2019.  I have other plans and ideas that will require $$$!!

Until next time, keep it rubber side down!