Legend RC Class ... school me

[True Newb]

So I was at a local RC shop today and they have an indoor track which REALLY peaked my interest. I was talking to the guy working there and he told me they run races in the fall and winter. I asked a few questions about the different cars/classes they run and he said the Traxxas Slash with an Outlaw body was popular, so of course I'm looking now for one of those, BUT he mentioned that The most popular class was the Legend class where it is supposedly the least expensive and most "equal" racing class out there. So, what would you recommend to look for in a Legend Class car? They had kits there at $130 but I wonder what would REALLY be the total investment as they come with no controller or electronics? I see prices of electronics and it seems they are priced all over the place. Has anyone here run the Legend Class before? Was it as fun as he made it out to be?

 

[WickedFog]

The Legend cars are the RJ Speed cars. Pretty cool, and inexpensive little buggers. If they have them for $130 that is a pretty good deal. This one?

For the radio, you can get a decent one for around $50, but the sky is the limit here. I like my FlySky GT3C. They are cheap, and easy to use.

Here is a link to read up on spec class...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQIERAC&usg=AOvVaw1esFMyuJiWdvtDo-5FXtxs

 

[True Newb]

The Legend cars are the RJ Speed cars. Pretty cool, and inexpensive little buggers. If they have them for $130 that is a pretty good deal. This one?
View attachment 128893

For the radio, you can get a decent one for around $50, but the sky is the limit here. I like my FlySky GT3C. They are cheap, and easy to use.

Here is a link to read up on spec class...
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&sou...FjABegQIERAC&usg=AOvVaw1esFMyuJiWdvtDo-5FXtxs

Yes. That style is one of them in the LHS. So around $50 for a radio. I'm up to $180 at that point. I guess I would need a servo, ESC and motor correct?

 

[Greywolf74]

Yes. That style is one of them in the LHS. So around $50 for a radio. I'm up to $180 at that point. I guess I would need a servo, ESC and motor correct?

Correct. and a battery.

I've attached the Legends rules from RJSpeeds website. Might want to read it over but bear in mind your club could have altered some rules. Always double check for house rules.

 

[WickedFog]

Yes. That style is one of them in the LHS. So around $50 for a radio. I'm up to $180 at that point. I guess I would need a servo, ESC and motor correct?

Yeah, I would talk to the shop and see what they sell for the class. They will likely be running a specific motor in the class, like a 13.5T or something. The cost of a motor and ESC is going to be somewhere around $150-$200 or so, depending on what you go with. The Legends class is meant to get people into rc racing cheap. So figure around $400 or so for everything.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I was at my local oval track asking about there schedule and what everyone is racing. It’s an indoor carpet oval and they run RJ speed every weekend because the class is so popular. Five second laps and like an eighty car field. I like the sprinter / USAC midget car class . They use a brushed 25.5 motor.
You add a servo. A 59 dollar ESC and a 25 dollar battery. All the electronics are part of the rules so all the cars are the same.
300 bucks to go racing on a snowy Sunday.

 

[ahr43]

RJ USAC Sprint/Midget looks good to me. Used to run Knoxville every Saturday night back in the '70s. Looks like a fun class True Newb. 'AC'

 

[Iowa crawler]

Rather than start a new thread I though I would just thread jack this one if it’s OK.
I’m building a legends car tonight to race next week. This makes my third and final RJ Speed car. I’m basically stripping electronics out of my crawlers to get these thing going. So all I bought was the kit for 139.00.
This way I can always race. .
So let’s build a legend.

Fist you have to lay everything out and read the instructions. This is not a hi-tech machine. But is not as simple as it seems to build a competitive rig. One problem is the parts are ruff and no bearings so polishing is the first thing.
Axles king pins all get sanded with a drill and 400 grit wet then 1000 grit then 2500 grit and finally polished with jewelers rouge and the Mothers till they are a mirror.
After that it’s a matter of following the directions.

 

[Iowa crawler]

There’s a couple problems that can cause you to not finish a race or just loose a race. The most common is the front wheels. The axle has a e clip that hood it on. They say to use crazy glue to hold the steel axle to the nylon hub and secures the back with a clip. Then the wheel is held with a lock but. But because it’s a bushing you can’t tighten the nut. So when you hit the wall you push the nut tight and the clip is now pretty loos and comes off. Next hit and the wheel and axle pull out of the hub, game over. So if crazy glue is good JB Weld is better. And I drill a tiny recess into the back side of the hub. Now the clip is trapped. Plus I clean the axle and hub before using JB Weld to hold it all together.

The second tip is when building. The rear bearing supports are separate parts from the chassis plate. They are an exact fit and alignment is critical. When I say exact fit I mean they are very difficult to put together when the chassis is assembled. So I install the bearings before step 1. I use an Exacto knife to make a light chamfer on the inside and laying the bearing support on the table I can push the chassis on it and it pushes on straight. .
This is the axle stuff all polished up. You can see the before and after on these upper control arms. And the king pins actually grip the steering hub. So polishing and reaming till the pins fall through is a must.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Basic chassis takes a couple hours to build. You want to leave the cross brace bolts loose. But not sloppy loose. I tighten each bolt while holding the cross bar. When the chassis stops moving I back off the bolt till it just loose enough. This gives the chassis flex. That helps with traction because it’s the only rear suspension you have.

I polished the rear axle in place for a long time using different stuff. Then mount the hub. I cut a notch to hold the set screw. Don’t be bashful about the cut but make it sharp 90deg on the inside. That way if you slap the wall it won’t pinch and bind you up.

Also you will need a servo mount from RPM and a servo saver from Kimbrough.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I like to use the servo tool to adjust the center of travel befor installing the servo. It’s really tight to get in there.

Painted it green and will put some white numbers on it. Want to look vintage. Might go flat black over it later.

I still need to get the battery. 4 cell NiMH that the track owner makes and sells for 20 bucks. But that’s it.

So ready to race for under 175 dollars and about 6 hours work.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I am ready to do some carpet oval racing this winter.
This is my RJ speed lineup . First is the RJ Legends car. Short wheel base 20 T brushed motor with a 4 cell NiMH battery. Next is the RJ Sprinter. It has the exocage runs a 25.5 brushless motor with a 2s lipo battery and finally the RJ modified. Runs a 20T brushed motor with a five cell NiMH battery and has a rear suspension. All three use similar chassis design and are all about the same speed. Every other Friday night and every other Sunday morning are the races so I get to race every week with these.

 

[Iowa crawler]

I found this video. It’s from 2011 but these things have not changed. This video shows the speed and handling.
If you want to go racing this is as good as anything and the most economical.

 

[Iowa crawler]

Just for reference these are the blow up parts diagram so you can easily see the similarity and difference of each kit.
Motor and battery seem to be up to the track.

 

[Iowa crawler]

After running my modified RJ in the last race the rear end would jump sideways if I tried to turn to sharp. And then it was doing when I tried to turn at all. I tried adjusting the diff but what it really needed was cleaning and a good coat of silicon differential grease. And some fine adjustments.
After that it turns smooth like it’s on rails. The lap times when I push it are about 4.25-4.50 seconds.
There is a whole class called breakout. Sorta like bracket racing. The object of the game is to race fifty laps and never go faster that five seconds per lap. 4.99 does not get recorded. If I let off on the throttle just a little I’m at 5.02-5.03. I can adjust my throttle to slow the car down and probably will. But then I can’t catch up or get away from trouble. Should be a blast next Sunday. This Friday night is carpet oval so I’ll be racing oval all weekend.

 

[ahr43]

Hey Iowa crawler. Like the sound of the breakout class. Best idea I've heard in a while to keep racing equal. Spend as little or as much as you want and still win or lose. Interested in seeing how it shakes out on an oval.

Best class of all I ran in RC drag racing was the 2.50sec breakout class in a local series. At one time there were six world champion RC drag racers in that class and nobody had a decided advantage. Back 2010 I think it was. Cheers. 'AC'

 

[Iowa crawler]

It does seem interesting. I think it will be very good practice to see how I can drive super consistent. Practice and setup will be the key.

 

[Addict Rc]

About to get into carpet racing myself the slash is very heavy they don’t allow it at my hobby shop in the SCT racing but I might get a 1 week old SC10 2WD

 

[Addict Rc]

It does seem interesting. I think it will be very good practice to see how I can drive super consistent. Practice and setup will be the key.

Also see if they do free track days my local hobby shop does free track mondays

 

[Iowa crawler]

At my track you can practice from 12:00 to 6:00pm free. On Wednesday, Friday and Sunday it’s racing till midnight sometime. People are there all day long. That’s why they are hard to beat.