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Slow Poke Helper Plan Idea
- Thread starter The Iceman
- Start date
B_Regal Racing said:
I hear ya. Just dropped $425 on a new Traxxas Slash XVL and LiPo battery... Also bought a LCG chasis for it and getting some clay tires Wed. Ughhhh
What I am curious about the most, now after learning all the steps, is what mainly went into the many hours of work between just knowing the process and mastering. From what I gathered so far 2 of the biggest factors is perfecting the drilling and keeping wheel/axle prep free of contamination.
I don't expect my first car (BASX) to dominate. Especially since I used un-laithed wheels that still have the second step and axles aren't grooved. I think I did pretty good with the wheel/axle prepping. I am mostly concerned about my drill job and getting anything on the axles between tuning and packing it away for shipping.
I don't expect my first car (BASX) to dominate. Especially since I used un-laithed wheels that still have the second step and axles aren't grooved. I think I did pretty good with the wheel/axle prepping. I am mostly concerned about my drill job and getting anything on the axles between tuning and packing it away for shipping.
Those were just some of the big parts for me. I would think for everybody it's a little different and depends on your background, skillset, etc. It just takes practice and repetition before you recognize and pick up on some of the little things and put it all together. I mean I've got a long ways to go, but I can sort of feel this coming together for me right now that's why this thread struck a chord. I have felt lost at sometimes when I'm not sure what I'm looking for or at, and it is helpful to look up someone close to where you live or PM someone in the forum who seems to have a good grasp about an area you struggling with.
To answer your question about other areas specifically. I don't know, I've always struggled when waxing the bores I would get it everywhere on the inner and outer hub and it was a pain to clean off and I think the dried chunks would sometimes break off. That inner bore part I hate. I finally got one of DD4H's applicators and I figured out a nice twisting action from the outside that allows me to apply the wax without getting it all over the inner bore. I think other people use an air compressor to blow the excess off after it's dried a little but I can't run my air compressor at 11PM when my kids are asleep in the room above the garage LOL. Also, when polishing off the wax I used to stick on the pipe cleaner, polish in the drill, then pull off. Problem was any excess wax would get stuck on the front of the pipe cleaner and when I pull off it would stick back in the wheel bore. Now I take a small 1 inch piece of pipe cleaner and push it in the inner bore and pull it out the front bore. Now all the excess wax is off. Now I can stick on the pipe cleaner in the drill and buff. Just little things like that to tweak my process. Everybody has their tricks I'm sure and mine probably aren't the greatest, but they work for now. Also, I always blow out the wheel bore with compressed air before and after I touch it with anything, especially the pipe cleaners. And I always blow it out and inspect it with a 40x loupe before insert the axle. I also inspect the axles with the loupe and use the fiber optic cleaners to remove any specs of dust. Sometimes I blow off the dust, but that doesn't always work. So yeah, little things like that. There are tons of posts with this type of info all over the forum and you just pick up different things each time you read and reread them.
To answer your question about other areas specifically. I don't know, I've always struggled when waxing the bores I would get it everywhere on the inner and outer hub and it was a pain to clean off and I think the dried chunks would sometimes break off. That inner bore part I hate. I finally got one of DD4H's applicators and I figured out a nice twisting action from the outside that allows me to apply the wax without getting it all over the inner bore. I think other people use an air compressor to blow the excess off after it's dried a little but I can't run my air compressor at 11PM when my kids are asleep in the room above the garage LOL. Also, when polishing off the wax I used to stick on the pipe cleaner, polish in the drill, then pull off. Problem was any excess wax would get stuck on the front of the pipe cleaner and when I pull off it would stick back in the wheel bore. Now I take a small 1 inch piece of pipe cleaner and push it in the inner bore and pull it out the front bore. Now all the excess wax is off. Now I can stick on the pipe cleaner in the drill and buff. Just little things like that to tweak my process. Everybody has their tricks I'm sure and mine probably aren't the greatest, but they work for now. Also, I always blow out the wheel bore with compressed air before and after I touch it with anything, especially the pipe cleaners. And I always blow it out and inspect it with a 40x loupe before insert the axle. I also inspect the axles with the loupe and use the fiber optic cleaners to remove any specs of dust. Sometimes I blow off the dust, but that doesn't always work. So yeah, little things like that. There are tons of posts with this type of info all over the forum and you just pick up different things each time you read and reread them.
In all fairness, this hobby is far less expensive than some others I have (RC, photography, coin/stamp collecting, etc.); and its more exciting.[/QUOTE]
I hear ya. Just dropped $425 on a new Traxxas Slash XVL and LiPo battery... Also bought a LCG chasis for it and getting some clay tires Wed. Ughhhh[/QUOTE]
That's the beauty of having sons. You get to buy all the toys you wished you had when you were a kid. We too have the Traxxas Slash 4x4 and the Rustler truck. I think I've played with them more than my boys.
I hear ya. Just dropped $425 on a new Traxxas Slash XVL and LiPo battery... Also bought a LCG chasis for it and getting some clay tires Wed. Ughhhh[/QUOTE]
That's the beauty of having sons. You get to buy all the toys you wished you had when you were a kid. We too have the Traxxas Slash 4x4 and the Rustler truck. I think I've played with them more than my boys.
I have an older Rustler and EMaxx. Convertd both to brushless, LiPo, and aluminum chassis/suspension. That's was/is crazy money. Want a divorce? Get into RC...Ickabod Crane said:
Derby on in 15 min!!!
I used to race rc 1/8 scale buggy and truggy nitro cars till the local track and hobby shop closed. I still have a couple left, a gs sut truggy all aluminum and carbon fiber with a werks collari .28 and my buggy is an ofna with a modded Picco .26. A lot of fun and a lot of money. This was before I got married lol.
97 in Yak rc plane with a DA-100 on it with 8 channel Jr radio. The plane alone is around 900.00 bucks. So yes the little cars are a lot cheaper! Plus they come home in one piece. Some times my rc planes do not do this. A paint bucket is used to transport them home in.
PS. I think flying these rc planes is easier than going sub 3 for me
PS. I think flying these rc planes is easier than going sub 3 for me
The Iceman said:
After reading a couple of other posts on this forum, I now agree that BASX is the place to do this.
Much cheaper for newbies, but still they would pretty much learn everything required to advance to SS or SP.
But still, I would want at least a verbal commitment that with the help, they commit to entering a certain percentage of the next few NPWDRL events.
- Nov 24, 2011
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I'm all ears as well.
Figured out where I am and after the race, went back to the skunkworks and started making more improvements.
Figured out where I am and after the race, went back to the skunkworks and started making more improvements.
/images/boards/smilies/frown.gifHi , I was bitterly disappointed with my Street stock car's time on Saturday (ave 2.9971) which was actually slower than the same car ran in Sept (2.9908). On my homemade test track, the car ran much better relative to a benchmark car than it had in Sept. So I went into Saturday, not wondering if the car would run better than its previous time, but how much better.
Needless to say, my initial reaction is to throw my hands in the air and quite now. But I would like to at least achieve a sub 2.98 . Any experts that want to weigh in via PM and offer assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Wayne
Needless to say, my initial reaction is to throw my hands in the air and quite now. But I would like to at least achieve a sub 2.98 . Any experts that want to weigh in via PM and offer assistance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
Wayne
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Guest
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My guess is that the benchmark car changed along with the one you ran.
Either that or a host of other variables that only God knows for sure.
Just a thought.
Either that or a host of other variables that only God knows for sure.
Just a thought.
I'll say this -CHR Racing said:
I started with a homemade track and since purchased a Besttrack to do my testing. My homemade track, as good as it was, was not able to demonstrate the subtlies in alignment, weighting, etc. needing adjustment in a build. I do understand that a track is not for everybody, either because of money or space, so it can take some without a track a bit longer than others to find the speed that is being sought after (I'm still looking myself). I also initially used a benchmark car before I had a timer; it works to some degree, but only a timer will provide you with exacting feedback (which is why you need to race).
To share a recent story with you: I'm a fairly new racer, being here for only 6 months or so, but got hooked by the PWD bug. With a lot of reading on this site, I was getting faster with each successive build, until about 2 months ago. Every car I built appeared to run better, but in actuality, was getting slower than I expected, until it was not worth the postage to me to enter September's race. With the help of those here, I was able to work through those problems (my re-prep was inadequate), and now back to where I was. I'm still not as fast as I want to be, but I can now work on getting that extra bit.
If you like building and racing, post a specific question other than "I'm not fast", and you'll get the help you need. Guaranteed. Remember, if you are a proxy racer like me, you are subject to the whims of the postal service employees, so be sure to ship your cars appropriately. I know one of the 4 cars I raced this month was tweaked (wiggled ridiculously); it did not perform the way I set it up. I know John and company handles these cars with great care, but happens before John gets it is outside everyone's control.
Honestly, the only way to get faster is to keep building, racing, taking notes, and asking specific questions. It does take time...
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