my first race! tips?

[Nitroaddict]

I will be entering my first touring car race sponsored by the LHS on next Sunday. I am very excited, but would appreciate any tips the veterans could give me. I am familiar with basic racing stratagies, as my father is a retired Indy car driver, but I do not know how well they will translate to RC cars. The race is a temporary setup on a nice new parking lot. From what I have been told, there are not alot of seasoned racers there, mostly HPI's ect...

Any suggestions or hints would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Mayhem]

fresh battery's everywhere.

 

[Candyman]

1. Don't crash.


And would we know who your dad is??????

 

[Nitroaddict]

sorry about the double post - I am a computer moron!

Doubt it - Buddy Clemons - raced Indy and sprint cars from 1945-1964
Raced at indy 3 times in the late 50's early 60's, cannot remember which exact years.

 

[nitro dave]

Buddy Clemons!!! Your dad is Buddy Clemons!!! nope don't know who that is.

 

[mjime714]

make sure your suspension is tuned right. Thread lock all metal to metal parts and ca metal to plastic screws. Double zip tie your coupler for the exhaust (if you have one). Zip tie your air filter. Good wheels for the contitions and make sure you have extra.

These are all to make sure your car will finish the race. There is nothing worse than being in a race and then you loose something or break something. You can't win if you dont finish the race.

Remember...
-Fast cars dont win races.
-Good drivers with a slow car will beat a bad driver with the fastest car 9 out of 10.
-Good driver with a fast car is lethal.
-Good driver with a fast car who breaks will loose to the bad driver as long as the bad driver finishes the race.

I dont know where you lie as far as how fast your car is and how well you drive, but as long as you finish, you had a good day.

 

[Candyman]

Ok. So I was trying to be funny with the first reply. But it does hold true. Don't crash. And you'll hear another universal wisdom. "Slow is fast". No need to lay into the gas all the time. Good pace. Steady laps. Keep trouble behind you. Less time on the boards means more time at speed. Don't race the leaders if you're going a lap down. Nothing worse for your reputation than to hack the leader when you're waaaaaaayyyyy behind. So just get out there. Make use of the practice sessions. Learn the track. Set your steering dual rate to make the turns easier, lessen your chance of spinning out.
And to go along with Mayhem, always double check all your equipment. Make sure the tx is fine. Good batteries in the tx and car. Make sure all the controls are working right. Glow ignitor charged. Fresh fuel. Spare parts or at least the green to run into the shop to buy what you break.
I'm sure some guys who have been on the track more recently may be able to fill in some gaps..

And I have no clue who your dad is. But that's ok, you have no clue who mine is..

 

[Nitroaddict]

mjime - As far as the speed of the car - it is an NTC3 that i just finished building - installed a Rossi .12 - using nitro shoes foams. As for the driver - I am fairly adept at driving the car - but have never had it on a track - just parking lots. Thanks for all the tips so far - keep em coming, I am listening to them all!

 

[mjime714]

You got a good platform for racing. Good luck and most of all HAVE FUN!!!!!

 

[SilentHunterKellen]

i have one thing to say. "Braking for Speed" ...self explanitory. Trust me on this one. Also..."At the end of every straightaway is a turn." GOOD LUCK!!!

-Kellen:thumbsup:

 

[Akina'sMtx-2]

Do everything as everyone posted, all are good tips. Crashing? Yes it does happen, you just got to learn to use the brake and avoid other cars. When you have time, be turn/corner marshal, people help you, you sould do that in return. Having a pair of nicely fit gloves will come in handy when marshalling others, or something can come up, like a coupler blow out when the engine and pipe is hot, watch out for the head. During practice, you said this is a new track, throw on tires and try them, use what ever you feel that stick to the track. You can ask the other guys around, to see what they run, you can use what they use. Make sure you have extra wheel nuts, body pins, thread loc, ca glue(must), and tires. Its also good to have some dog-bones and spare suspension parts. Good luck, have fun and let us know how did you do.

 

[Rob D]

"loose is fast and on the verge of uncontrolable...Rubbings racing and racins Nascar" Days of thunder

The guys pretty well hit it just pratice as much as ya can and try and get friendly with some of the other racers who might help ya out

 

[Smurfola212]

 

[Çh®i§tiªñ]

Hey! Tell your dad that Henry Harrison says hello!!!!! My uncle Henry was top in the worlds for funny car racing back in the day. Drove for the L.A. Hooker team and then some. He knows your dad so let him know.

Thanks!

BTW - If you can get out to the track prior to the race, do it. Get your rides suspension tuned to the track, write down the settings and stick with them. Have a complete spare set of tires if big stakes are on the line and a spare on the batteries and mentioned earlier. Spare glo plugs are a must too!

Lastly, when you enter the corner you should be slowing down and half way through the turn you punch it. Unless you powerslide which is slightly different.

Good Luck and let us know how you do!!!

 

[Nitroaddict]

thanks for all the help so far guys - i plan to bring a digital camera also - so i will post pictures! christian - thanks for the heads up, i will let my dad know, he is from LA too - Anehiem actually.

when i brake going into a tur - my car tends to spin out easily. I know this is normal, because full size cars will behave this way to if they are mid engined like an rc car is. Is there a way to correct this? or should i just brake first - then turn - then come on throttle as i round the apex?

 

[mjime714]

I find myself breaking before I get into the turn and then blip the throttle as I am in the turn. I'm not familiar with the NTC3, but is it a solid solid or is it running diffs?

Also, spinnng out has a lot to do with the suspension tuning. I would go out and try to find some setup sheets for your car and try their settings.

I find myself breaking before I get into the turn and then blip the throttle as I am in the turn. I'm not familiar with the NTC3, but is it a solid solid or is it running diffs?

 

[Nitroaddict]

i am running front and rear diffs - thanks for the advice, however, please take a look at my post in the general nitro section - i may not be racing this weekend, my friend wrecked my car at lunch

 

[KMN]

Originally posted by nitronewbie
i am running front and rear diffs - thanks for the advice, however, please take a look at my post in the general nitro section - i may not be racing this weekend, my friend wrecked my car at lunch

Good ole friends... first rule there. If you're going to be racing it, don't let friend bash around with it. I've had more headaches because of friends breaking everything possible because they could'nt control the 4-tec...

Mailboxes, curbs, trees, grass... arrrrrggg...