Dirt racing newbie

[Iowa crawler]

I have been tuning and fiddling all week to get ready for the race today. Yesterday I went to the track late because I knew everyone was going to be practicing and after they left the track would be very clean. That paid off big. I got to test different tires in my 4wD buggy. And I tried out different gearing on my short corse truck. I’m getting a little hot toward the end of the race and want to see how gearing affects temp when it’s 90 deg.
The tires on the 4wd buggy combined with the polished clay track made unbelievable traction.

So I’m all charged up and ready to go. Except today it’s raining. So the race is next week.

That’s racing.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Another beautiful day for racing. Last week was a rain out so this week and next week are back to back racing.

I was out at the track last night and worked filling and rolling everything. Should be really nice today.

 

[Iowa crawler]

The weather is 68 deg no wind and overcast clouds.
Track is absolutely fantastic. We work on it last night and the water and wind worked it’s magic. A light watering this morning should set it right.
I drove all three rigs and they are really running well. Tire choices are all OK and I’m waiting for the other sho to drop because everything is perfect.

First qualifier went well .
17.5 buggy and I got tangled on the first lap. But fought my way back to forth at the end. Feeling pretty good about the next round.
Next up is 4wd buggy. The rig is super solid. And this is the first race on Tekin electronics.

 

[Iowa crawler]

The 4wd buggy is on fire. I got 3 rd there and forth on the modified z4wd short corse. First round of qualifying is complete. On to round two.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Epic battle in 4wd short corse. I get second place.

 

[Iowa crawler]

What a day.
I got second in the SCT BMain so I did not make the A main but winning the 2nd qualifier was a thrill. I got fifth in 2WD buggy but was really feeling good mentally and kinda relax some. and 3rd place in 4wd buggy. That was my first podium.

Next week we do it all again.

This is a data log from my SCT first qualifying round.I finished fourth and feel really good about my run. I crashed on the 3rd lap and the 11 th lap and you can see it in the data log and the timing sheet. I am holding 22 second laps and need to get it down to 20 and maybe one crash . I did win the next heat but ran out of data for that one. Truck is a rock .

 

[Iowa crawler]

Been very wet this past week and I have not been out to the track till tonight. I snuck over to see how it looked and test run my Losi 22 DC 5.0. Two wheel drive buggy. I am using a 13.5 motor just to see how it handles before I drive it in the race with a 17.5 motor. Tomorrow I’ll race it in practice to make my decision for Sundays race. But I have to say it is really solid. Almost felt like it was going in slow motion. But clearing the jumps with ease. I actually started to use breaks to control the rear end. That gave me a lot of confidence.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Out at the race today. I did not expect to race today. The weather was very threatening but it never rained.

I got a new Losi 22 5.0 2WD buggy and wanted to test it out. So yesterday I went out and raced my friend with my current Associated B6.3D 2WD buggy. We spent four hours swapping transmitters and comparing buggy’s. The Losi was much more stable. Both are great but the edge goes to the Losi. Let’s see how it does in competition.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Well that was a crazy day. We got one full round of qualifying in before the sky opened up and delivered a mud puddle. I fell very good. I was definitely running with the 2WD fast guys and actually I finished third place and was on the lead lap most of the way.
The four wheel drive buggy is so good it definitely gave em a run for there money with my best race ever. Finishing second, and that was purely from not cracking under pressure. The first and third got into a tangle and I was able to stay clean for the last half the race.
In 4WD Short Corse the truck is so solid I let complacency get the better of me. This morning as I was setting up I realized the tires on one side are gone. Totally bald on the edge. I rotated them but was definitely loose. It was loos yesterday but I was to involved with the 2WD to notice. Live and learn.
That was a rain date make up race. So I got one week to get ready to go.

 

[WickedFog]

Man, I love that Losi 22. Sweet looking buggy, and great color for that.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Man, I love that Lodi 22. Sweet looking buggy, and great color for that.

The color is Tamiya PS16 blue. After a long time of debate and trying to come up with a color or color scheme I decided on that color.
I have very little skill at tape and no imagination. So I decided on a color from the rack that just caught my eye and no one else was using.
I don’t do anything but mask the windows. Then It’s two coats of PS16 and one backer coat of PS12 silver. Slap it with crooked stickers and go racing. Everything is going to be that color from now on. It adds 20 grams

 

[WickedFog]

It's a cool looking buggy. I need to get me one of those, along with a newer RC10. Still kinda keeping my eyes open for an old Losi 2wd roller or slider to go with my RC10B4.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I really like the 2WD class in general and the 22 DC 5.0 elite is worth every penny. It comes with full carbon upgrades and titanium tie rods.

 

[WickedFog]

I really like the 2WD class in general and the 22 DC 5.0 elite is worth every penny. It comes with full carbon upgrades and titanium tie rods.

Oh, I was wondering if you added the carbon bits. Very cool.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Even the metal ABCD blocks are in the kit. No sway bar thought but it’s 20 bucks

 

[Iowa crawler]

The one thing the TLR22 5.0 does not come with is a sway bar. After spending the day racing with my Associated b6.3 with has front and rear sway bars I’m even more on the fence about them. But I ordered a front and let’s see if it helps or hurts.

The kit comes with five different sway bars for tuning. I am looking for just a little more on throttle steering so let’s see if this helps.

 

[WickedFog]

I have only ever tried a sway bar on my Jato. It did help because when turning it would always nose dive away from the turn. It helped it corner flatter.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I have only ever tried a sway bar on my Jato. It did help because when turning it would always nose dive away from the turn. It helped it corner flatter.

I think that’s what I want. Actually I don’t really know. With my 6.3 the set up is such that it plows under throttle. I have been racing it for four months and I have gotten used to letting off the throttle to turn. Or I go fast and slow down for the turn. If I try to break is spins out. I am using 10% drag brake and that works well. 20% spins out every time I let off. The Losi on the other hand is just going around the track and I have not really driven it trying to tune anything. Honestly with the box stock set up it is dialed in so well I retired my B6.3 to carpet. And I went out and raced the fastest guys in the club. I did not win but I did not get lapped and more importantly I did not crash. So now I’m adding a sway bar and changing nothing else. Should be fun to see how it reacts.

This is the results the Losi is the right hand column. I crashed on lap 2 and was ok from then on. Center column is a B6.4D driven by the track owner and the first place was a 6.1 driven by a maniac.

 

[Iowa crawler]

The biggest take away from this first racing season is learning how to read the track. I am now at the point that I don’t just drive off the side for no reason. So now I am trying to be more aggressive since not crashing only gets you to the point of the other races that don’t crash. Being more aggressive simply did not work. Trying to go faster I just crash. I began trying to figure out how to gain speed o reduce time. There is a big triple jump mid track and I tried to focus on clearing that. It has turns at both ends so aim and slowing down plus timing the throttle make it a risky proposition. And the 17.5 buggy can’t do it.
So it’s math time.
5:00 minute heat and twenty second laps would be 15 perfect laps.
I have never run a 19 second lap. Most of my best laps are 20~22. And those are my best laps. But I have laid out four or five 22 second laps and if I could take the 25 second laps and make them 23 seconds it would be huge. So I need to find the two seconds. And I think I have found them.
The race starts at the bottom front straight and a fast left with a jump then another fast left. Down the back straight there is a jump a doubly a very loose left and another double leading into a hairpin. Then it is over a table top around to the triple another hairpin and it back down the straightaway to the finish. It’s that back turn with the two doubles. I slow down way to much there. I need to go just fast enough on the back straight to hop the double make the turn and then hop the next double. I slow down and drive over that double and cut the hairpin tight ti the inside and then go for the table top. I have to double turn double turn in a smooth motion. That’s my two seconds.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Back for another round of racing.
Cool overcast about 75 degrees. The track is looking really good and should be blue clay by the end of the day. Wind might be a factor for the jumps but otherwise the track feels fast.