I've owned vehicles from most of the major brands . When I got back into off-road the choices were few - Associated or Losi. We were runing stock buggy class only and I found a good deal on a used B4 with some Factory Team parts. Very different from my last RC10; a world's kit in the mid 90s. I've run this for the last 2 years and can count the parts I've broken on one hand. Most of the parts I have broken have come in the last month running at Farmer's. Mod buggy speeds and ABS pipes marking the layout = broken parts.
My current B4 configuration:
Radio: Spektrum DX3-R with SR3000 receiver
Servo: Airtronics ????
Speed Control: Speed Passion Exige
Motor: Speed Passion M-Chassis
Battery: Team Orion Carbon 3200
Base setup
During my first race night at Farmer's I got tired of waiting around for my next race and it became clear that 2wd buggy may not be the best attended class on a regular basis. I always enjoyed running trucks and had a fair bit of success at that. So I went looking for an XXXT-CR. Opportunity knocked and plans changed when a local racer selling a well maintained Factory Team T4 appeared. The fact that some parts are interchangable with my B4 was also attractive. My first race out with the T4 was fantastic - once I re-learned driving that is. Winning the A was icing on the cake.
My current T4 configuration:
Radio: Spektrum DX3-R with SR3500 micro receiver
Servo: Futaba 9550
Speed Control: LRP Sphere (original)
Motor: Hacker 13.5
Battery: Trakpower 4900
Base setup
The Spektrum DX3-R and Speed Passion Exige Brushless systems are new items for me over in the last month. I will be posting my thoughts on each of these and trying some other new products as well in the coming months.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Introduction
I recently moved to Tampa Florida to be closer to family and to escape the cold winters of Ottawa, Ontario. One of my favorite hobbies is competitive RC Racing.
As a youth and teenager I raced dirt oval religiously at Walt's Hobby in Syracuse NY. I started racing in their J-Class with a Tamiya Falcon,progressing to my first competition kit a JRX-2. I raced this in both the EDM class and also converted between races to a stadium truck. I did some carpet oval and a bit of off-road as well. My passion for RC led to a part time job at Walt's where I took my RC knowledge and applied it in the store and ran many of the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday races. Working for Walt, Jan, and Bruce I learned a lot about customer service that has carried on to other jobs and my current career in sales.
I took a break while going to University in Canada, starting a career, getting married and having a couple of kids. A couple years ago I decided I needed a hobby to get me out of the house once in a while. I looked into some full-scale motor sports options and realized I didn't have the time, money, or ability for that. Thinking back to the fun times of my youth, a quick Google search led me to RC Ottawa. They had a big race that weekend and a trip to the track smelling of traction compound and foam tires had me hooked from the time I walked through the door.
I picked up an X-Ray touring car and a Tamiya Mini and spent my first winter racing indoors. As spring slowly approached I learned that some members of the club ran an off-road track nearly in my back yard. Since the person who previously ran the races was unable to do it I offered to assist "just for the first month or so" until he could take over for the remainder of the year. That turned into a full summer and the beginning of the next season. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy organizing and running the races. What you lose is the ability to focus on your setup, maintenance and driving, often running to the drivers stand hoping that everything will go smoothly for your 5 minutes.
Now that I have moved to the Tampa area I have found a number of tracks in the area where for a little extra money I can just show up and race. A number of like minded, friendly and competitive people who will give you parts out of their pit boxes, room on the track in qualifying and show no quarter in the main. Exactly what I remember from years past and I have having a great time. My new home away from home is Farmer's Hobby Shop and Raceway run by Greg Cardone. This place has an awesome track, a shop with the essentials, and above all a well run racing program. Friday Nights under the lights is where you can expect to find me. There is racing on Saturdays too, but 1 trip to the track each week is as much as I can expect with 2 little ones at home.
This Blog will act as an ongoing diary of my racing experiences here in the Sunshine State. I have a lot of new gear and I'll be sharing my experience with these as I go. I'm not sponsored by any manufacturer and every dime I spend on gear will be measured by its effectiveness on the track or in the pits. I hope you'll enjoy my thoughts and comments and feel free to share your own as well.
As a youth and teenager I raced dirt oval religiously at Walt's Hobby in Syracuse NY. I started racing in their J-Class with a Tamiya Falcon,progressing to my first competition kit a JRX-2. I raced this in both the EDM class and also converted between races to a stadium truck. I did some carpet oval and a bit of off-road as well. My passion for RC led to a part time job at Walt's where I took my RC knowledge and applied it in the store and ran many of the Tuesday, Wednesday and Saturday races. Working for Walt, Jan, and Bruce I learned a lot about customer service that has carried on to other jobs and my current career in sales.
I took a break while going to University in Canada, starting a career, getting married and having a couple of kids. A couple years ago I decided I needed a hobby to get me out of the house once in a while. I looked into some full-scale motor sports options and realized I didn't have the time, money, or ability for that. Thinking back to the fun times of my youth, a quick Google search led me to RC Ottawa. They had a big race that weekend and a trip to the track smelling of traction compound and foam tires had me hooked from the time I walked through the door.
I picked up an X-Ray touring car and a Tamiya Mini and spent my first winter racing indoors. As spring slowly approached I learned that some members of the club ran an off-road track nearly in my back yard. Since the person who previously ran the races was unable to do it I offered to assist "just for the first month or so" until he could take over for the remainder of the year. That turned into a full summer and the beginning of the next season. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy organizing and running the races. What you lose is the ability to focus on your setup, maintenance and driving, often running to the drivers stand hoping that everything will go smoothly for your 5 minutes.
Now that I have moved to the Tampa area I have found a number of tracks in the area where for a little extra money I can just show up and race. A number of like minded, friendly and competitive people who will give you parts out of their pit boxes, room on the track in qualifying and show no quarter in the main. Exactly what I remember from years past and I have having a great time. My new home away from home is Farmer's Hobby Shop and Raceway run by Greg Cardone. This place has an awesome track, a shop with the essentials, and above all a well run racing program. Friday Nights under the lights is where you can expect to find me. There is racing on Saturdays too, but 1 trip to the track each week is as much as I can expect with 2 little ones at home.
This Blog will act as an ongoing diary of my racing experiences here in the Sunshine State. I have a lot of new gear and I'll be sharing my experience with these as I go. I'm not sponsored by any manufacturer and every dime I spend on gear will be measured by its effectiveness on the track or in the pits. I hope you'll enjoy my thoughts and comments and feel free to share your own as well.
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