My First 1/8 scale buggy race

[godale03]

Well guys,

I had my first 1/8 scale buggy race of the year, (believe it or not!) and it was not as good as I had hoped it would be. I broke an aluminum shock tower two laps into the first qualifier. I got a little over zealous on the second jump and nosed it right into and piece of 8 inch PVC drainage pipe located in the infield. Snaped the shock off at the top of the tower, and bent and craked the right side top of the tower. Kinda sucked. It was a very hard hit though, right dead into it with the shock tower. However, since the track is behind my LHS I just simply went inside and bought another $40 shock tower. Not bad on my first race, blew $40 part 1 minute into the first heat. So I had the new tower on in about 5 minutes. That was the good news. The bad news is, that I also cracked the aluminum spacer and screw that held the shock away from the tower. I thought my day was done. So I started to pack it up and head home, when everyone out of the wood work came to my aid trying to help me find the part to fix my buggy. Well one of the guys found a plastic bushing that held the shock just far enough off to work and I continued racing. So my day ended with a dead last performance 6 laps down. I had a real hard time keeping the car on its wheels in the jumps. I kept landing on the nose. I will have to work on that a bit. I just can't believe how many folks I had helping me out. That was pretty awesome. I didn't even ask for help. It was great.

Well I learned a lesson. Have a bunch of extra screws and things in your box at all times. The only question is where do I get them? Do you guys know where I can get a bunch of spare screws, washers, and stuff ? The big stuff like the shock tower was easy to find, the screws and spacers were a totally different story. My buggy is an XTM Xterminator Pro. Thanks guys. I can't wait to get out there and race some more. After all, if you aint breaking it, you aint racing it!

Tom

 

[BUDDHA]

thats whats great about this hobbie and the people that do it.but you do have your occasional jerks who wont help (ran a cross a couple of them,thats because its all about themselves.what goes around comes around and i have seen it happen).love seeing this happen to people where everyone lends a hand to someone who is need.

 

[godale03]

thats whats great about this hobbie and the people that do it.but you do have your occasional jerks who wont help (ran a cross a couple of them,thats because its all about themselves.what goes around comes around and i have seen it happen).love seeing this happen to people where everyone lends a hand to someone who is need.

It sure blew my mind. It was amazing. They were all running around trying to run find me a part that would work for me just so I would not have to go home. I had more help than I could have asked for. I was up and running before the next heat.

 

[digger]

Sounds like ya had a great time even if ya did break up the buggy a bit.
You meet a lot of good people in the hobby. I don't run my cars with anyone, but it felt good that all the guys would help with a plane if need be. Their are some that want to help but know less than they think they do.
Would like to try some racing. Track about an hour away and haven't had the time.

Don't know about screws and stuff. Kyosho used to have a screw assortment. Think Duratrash did too. Some companies carry screw packs for different cars. But can't think of any names. Good luck.

 

[beason]

you can go to a "screw and bolt" company (man that sounds bad lol) and get handfulls of what you need, or order a screw kit.. its a bit more expencive but they do all the work for you and its all in a little box set.. oh and the nose down thing.. maby try accelerating through the top of the jump.. my savage is bad about that i have to hit the gas as i go up the ramp and let off just as i clear it.. also revving in the air will bring the front up ..

but hey it coulda been worse.. you coulda took out someone elses buggy, or had a run away.. sounds like you did good for your first time..

 

[Plaidfish]

If your buggy is diving after you leave the jump make sure your brakes aren't dragging a little.....as far as pieces/parts I get a bunch of screw sizes from your manual and order 5-10 of each from McMaster Carr.....or look on flea-bay for buggy part lots and buy the parts floating around on some of those.....I got tons of little bins I stock w/ misc crap for the track just so I can do some redneck engineering at the track...

 

[godale03]

Thanks guys, I have a few learning curves to get through but all in all I think I was starting the get the hang of it. I will check the brakes for drag when I get home, I didn't even think of that. Thanks Plaid. Beason, thanks for the info, I was starting to figure it out that if I gassed it at the top of the jump or blip the throttle in the air I could right the car, but I guess I was a little gun shy after breaking the car first few seconds on the track. I guess I have to get over that. You are right, at least I didn't take out someone elses buggy, although going into a turn I did touch wheels with someone and we both spun, but it was fun. I started to get the hang of the track towards the end and started blowing off some 20 sec runs, but for the most part I would either flip, or just not give it enough throttle to make the jumps. I will check out the parts stuff on flea bay. I guess I could take the size of the screws and get my LHS to just order me a few packs of everything. I just can't wait to get out there again!

Hey Plaid, How exactly do you check your brakes for drag? Now that I think of it I am not sure how to check. If they are draging it is very slightly. Thanks dude.

Tom

Sounds like ya had a great time even if ya did break up the buggy a bit.
You meet a lot of good people in the hobby. I don't run my cars with anyone, but it felt good that all the guys would help with a plane if need be. Their are some that want to help but know less than they think they do.
Would like to try some racing. Track about an hour away and haven't had the time.

Don't know about screws and stuff. Kyosho used to have a screw assortment. Think Duratrash did too. Some companies carry screw packs for different cars. But can't think of any names. Good luck.

Digger,

Man it was great. I love running by myself, but getting out there with a bunch of guys just out to have a good time was thrilling to say the least. It is neat to be out there trading paint and racing for position. My heart would pound as I would get the jump on someone going around a turn, or on the straights. In fact the guy that won the main was the guy that helped me get my buggy back running again. You have to try racing, it is a whole other aspect to the sport. I think you will enjoy it. Take care my friend.

Tom

 

[Plaidfish]

Tom just turn on your radio and RX...I do the bowling toss (nicely) so the car rolls away pretty fast from you...if it only goes like 10 ft or less you have something dragging.....
what I find funny about racing is I work myself up so much as I'm going to the stand I get too excited and blow the whole thing.....when I run during practice I look like I'm the friggin track pro....I mean I can go whole tank w/o flipping over and still just dog most of the guys on the track.....but add the tension of racing and I just loose my cool....come into corners too hard, traction roll......come across the corners I like to air over and go too fast, crash......hit the rythm section all off beat....but during practice I got the line down....maybe I need to take a shot of jager' before the races

 

[godale03]

Tom just turn on your radio and RX...I do the bowling toss (nicely) so the car rolls away pretty fast from you...if it only goes like 10 ft or less you have something dragging.....
what I find funny about racing is I work myself up so much as I'm going to the stand I get too excited and blow the whole thing.....when I run during practice I look like I'm the friggin track pro....I mean I can go whole tank w/o flipping over and still just dog most of the guys on the track.....but add the tension of racing and I just loose my cool....come into corners too hard, traction roll......come across the corners I like to air over and go too fast, crash......hit the rythm section all off beat....but during practice I got the line down....maybe I need to take a shot of jager' before the races

Tell me about it my friend. I get so damn tense... well it was my first 1/8 scale race so I guess you can add a bit of nervousness to the deal, but during practice, I run much better than in race conditions. I still flip during practice, but I am not flipping as much. I don't know I guess I just need more practice. But one thing was cool, is that the guys I was racing against were running much more expensive buggies and I was able to hang with them then I would flip it and the fantacy was over..... :shrug: Man to steal a line from you Plaid... that RG X would run like a scalded dog man..... What a rush.

Tom

 

[Plaidfish]

if you have a dremmel and some polishing stones, take out the crank and polish the journal/the intake port on the crank/ the carb throat/ the sleeve ports and the exhaust port on the case.....I found w/ just a nice polish on it they really rev up noticeably more....I was destroying the conrods w/ 30% though...I dropped to 25% after the last one I got pinched and it's still going wicked strong after 3.5 gallons since the pinch....if you're really looking for some performance increase I did one w/ the beveled edges on the fuel intake at the crank and it gets better top end too.....the RG is rad cause if you blow it up they're pretty cheap and if you mod one nice they are great sleeper engines.....

 

[cvec7]

Tom just turn on your radio and RX...I do the bowling toss (nicely) so the car rolls away pretty fast from you...if it only goes like 10 ft or less you have something dragging.....
what I find funny about racing is I work myself up so much as I'm going to the stand I get too excited and blow the whole thing.....when I run during practice I look like I'm the friggin track pro....I mean I can go whole tank w/o flipping over and still just dog most of the guys on the track.....but add the tension of racing and I just loose my cool....come into corners too hard, traction roll......come across the corners I like to air over and go too fast, crash......hit the rythm section all off beat....but during practice I got the line down....maybe I need to take a shot of jager' before the races

lol, same here, awesome during practice....not so much so during races....

But I did almost race my hyper 7 yesterday, but decided not to. I drove an hour to this supposedly awesome track. Only to get there and be really dissapointed. Some of the things that pissed me off about the track were:
-on the phone, they were all misleading saying that the track was 275'x90' (which it was) but it was a very crappy layout, tons of wasted space
-driver's stand sucked, there were sections of the track you couldn't see no matter what
-pit lane was a laugh, just a little dirt lane in front of the driver's stand, no railing or anything
-entry fees were WAY to high for this crappy track
-one guy was bitchin at me for beein on his frequency, when he had a damn XS3 Pro....
-I drove an hour 10 mins for this?
-rules/regulations meant NOTHING to these people, there were 8 guys runnin 1/8 buggy, two had violators, one had a LX Pro comp, not sure what the others were, but everyone but me and another guy were runnin illegal buggies
that were too wide, fuel tank was too large, engines were all .26- a collari .30

For those reasons, I just drove a few runs and packed up and left after the first 1/8 buggy heat. The track was NOTHING like my old track in MO, but to be fair, it was a pro-level track w/ national and regional events, but it was such an awsome track. It was fun as hell even if it you crashed all the time. But I still wasn't impressed w/ that track. I think it could've been a lot better if they wanted to...

But it was not a total waste since I found out that my steering linkages like to work themselves loose a lot...didn't quite get a chance to test the knuckles 2.0 because the track was kinda muddy, and anything would've been fine on the track. But as I recall, the MP777 wheels have the spokes in them so mud doesn't get stuck in them...if that's what they were designed for, they worked GREAT! No mud whatsoever in them....unlike my dish rims on the savage when running in mud...

But the other guy who had the race-legal buggy was runnin a K3 w/ a crazy-ass RB in it, and like EVERY fiorini option part on it, it was sweet...I was very jealous, lol...and he was the only guy I had respect for since he had a race-legal rig, and tried to help me every time my car broke.

 

[psunitro]

Yeah, smaller tracks dont always follow ROAR rules. I dont mind it at my track b/c if the person who is "outside the box" was winning, they would let him know that he would have to change something. Has not happened yet in 1/8 or MT. Most of the good drivers will have "legal" rides and will do better than the new guy with his RTR Violator.


I hear you on getting butterflies when walking up the stand for heats and mains. I still do and i'm not sure why,guess its almost too much fun to be legal. And having a hard tome in the heats/main VS practice, remember EVERYONE is RACING,and lapped/slower traffic is not always easy to get around. I am just at the point where I am getting a little faster around the track and it is hard to get around people sometimes,b/c I am not used to passing,i'm used to getting passed! The best thing to do is race the track not the other people until you get better. It will come. Heck i'm even doing better(MT class) and if I can not come in last, you can too! LOL

 

[Plaidfish]

I do real well when I race others in practice, but you're right it's cause we would be the only people racing then not 8 people....on practice nights we usually get a good group of 4-6 guys going moto style racing....I like that the most.....I've pissed a few people off cause I wanted to race someone and they were just running laps and lookin for the line they like the best.....I don't bother doin that too much cause they always get shut down on me and you have no back up......just run it til it flips is usually how I end up driving in races.......

 

[godale03]

Yeah, I had a blast man. It is such a rush running that car around the track. I just don't get to race as much as I would like. That probably has alot to do with the nerves. I have worked it out though with my better half to have at least one saturday a month to race, and if I can find more time than that is cool too. I just can't wait until Jonathan is old enough to race. Right now he is 4 and doesn't have the hand eye cordination down yet. As soon as he is old enough I am going to try and get him hooked and then I can race every weekend, because it will become a "family" event! I won't be able to race until at least 10, but until then I will bash my heart out. Thanks for the info guys...

Hey by the way CVEC7 what track did you drive too? Just curious. I believe you live somewhere near DC Right?

Tom

I do real well when I race others in practice, but you're right it's cause we would be the only people racing then not 8 people....on practice nights we usually get a good group of 4-6 guys going moto style racing....I like that the most.....I've pissed a few people off cause I wanted to race someone and they were just running laps and lookin for the line they like the best.....I don't bother doin that too much cause they always get shut down on me and you have no back up......just run it til it flips is usually how I end up driving in races.......

You blew the conrod with 30%? That sucks. I am running 30% now. Is there anything that I can do to prevent a conrod problem, or is this something that as long as I am running 30% I will have to deal with. I want to get as much life out of this mill as I can. Thanks for the info Plaid.

Tom

 

[cvec7]

I drove down to a track in Winchester, VA. It's owned by the people who have the main street essentials hobby shop in Stephen's city VA. So far, I have yet to venture across the state border for a track, but if I can't find any, I may have to start heading up into maryland. I found a few that are not too far from me (a little over an hour) but they seem like they might be in a more "shady" area of MD, so I dunno yet. But I did hear of a track some guy started up in his back-yard that has lapcounting and all, and should be pretty similar to VB's sweet-ass track, lol. And plus it's out in manassas which is really close to me (like under a 20 minute drive, it would be like a 10 min. drive if the traffic didn't suck so much ass out here)

And ya, I'm near DC, I'm actually down in Haymarket, VA.

Also, psu, I know what you mean, I have no problem w/ guys running cars like the violator and such, IF they are in fact pretty new, or just new to 1/8. But all these guys are doing is taking advantage of the lienency of the track. They are all pretty good, and realize, "hey, why spend $400 on a comp. .21 engine and starter box, when I can simply buy a $150 big-big-block, and do well w/ spending less than half?"

 

[digger]

Hey cvec7, are you a long way from Tazewell? There is a "Gizmo's" hobby store with a track. Don't know when they race. Haven't seen the track either. Just been once. Got a nice hobby shop. Mostly cars. http://www.gizmoshobby.com/ About 2 miles from Apex hobbies.

Not trying to derail your thread Tom. Get out and practice if ya have the time... Give em hell next week!
Most of all, have a good time, bro!

 

[cvec7]

LOL, I am 324.16 miles away according to mapquest...a bit too far for me to drive when there are other tracks w/in 2 hours that I'm sure are fine.

 

[UltegraSTI]

which md track did u run at?

-ult

 

[godale03]

Hey cvec7, are you a long way from Tazewell? There is a "Gizmo's" hobby store with a track. Don't know when they race. Haven't seen the track either. Just been once. Got a nice hobby shop. Mostly cars. http://www.gizmoshobby.com/ About 2 miles from Apex hobbies.

Not trying to derail your thread Tom. Get out and practice if ya have the time... Give em hell next week!
Most of all, have a good time, bro!

Not derailing at all my friend. All is good! I plan on getting as much practice as I can.

Tom

which md track did u run at?

-ult

Me? If you were asking me, I run at a track in Hollywood MD called Dougs Hobby Shop II . It is a small track but very technical and a blast. It is just a bunch of local guys who get together and race. We have an electronic lap counting system and although we don't play by ROAR rules we are very fair and the guy that runs the races breaks the cars into stock and modified so that everyone is running with like RC's and nobody is at a disadvantage. It is a blast! Also our drivers stand, although not covered, is great. Nice view of the whole track.

Tom