Things a No Prep newbie should know?

[Beer_Goggles_RC]

Very new to the world of no prep. Pretty much don’t know anything other than 132’ is the 1/4 mile equivalent for 1/10 scale.

What are some things that I should know about no prep that will make it easier to get into?

Things like, how a race day works, how classes are managed and how to identify the class that I want to run, racer etiquette, and most importantly, how to make my car as fast as possible?

 

[WickedFog]

@johnnydmd would be the man to answer your questions. We have two drag cars, but nothing special, and definitely don't compete or anything like that.

 

[luke66]

You'll need money.

You probably already knew that but there ya go.

 

[Chubaka]

You'll need money.

You probably already knew that but there ya go.

Speed cost money. How fast do you wanna go, how much do you wanna spend?

 

[Beer_Goggles_RC]

Speed cost money. How fast do you wanna go, how much do you wanna spend?

My only goal is to be faster than myself

 

[Chubaka]

My only goal is to be faster than myself

Great answer. Just don't drive faster than your guardian angel can fly.

 

[WickedFog]

My only goal is to be faster than myself

Way to aim low

If you're going to dump a bit of money into one, I suggest you do it piece by piece. All of the RTR kits you can get, you'll end up replacing everything anyway.

 

[Tunedfrog]

I have lots of experience with no prep drag racing.
This is how I do it, win the car in a drawing, send it to Breydon.

 

[WickedFog]

I have lots of experience with no prep drag racing.
This is how I do it, win the car in a drawing, send it to Breydon.

Breydon doesn't even drive it like a drag car. He loves to wiggle the steering and watch it wobble back and forth. He actually has rubbed the paint off both front fenders doing that

 

[Beer_Goggles_RC]

Way to aim low

If you're going to dump a bit of money into one, I suggest you do it piece by piece. All of the RTR kits you can get, you'll end up replacing everything anyway.

That's pretty much the goal with the Nitro Drag Slash project. I've had the losi 22s and associated dr10 cars but feel like I almost immediately hit a wall with the upgrades. It'll be fun to see what upgrades give me the best performance and speed increases as this build comes together. Plus I like tuning nitros in my garage with no ventilation makes me feel like I'm in the top fuel pits

 

[Tunedfrog]

There's truth to driving it like you own it.
I'm still blown away with the size of those things.

 

[johnnydmd]

If you're lucky, find a group of racers that are around you and start racing with them. That's really the best way to get your feet wet. You don't want to jump into a big national event right out of the gate, it can be pretty overwhelming. Also, since you're running nitro, you'll need to either find other nitro guys, or find guys that are willing to let you run with them. Most groups/events have at least one "run what you brung class" at the very least.

Also, try to find people that race "dry tire". For starters, that gives your nitro a car a fighting chance. If they are using tire preps (which IMO is not really "no prep" but that's a whole other conversation), then most nitro cars have very little chance. If you can get your car to run in the mid 2s range, say 2.4-2.7 on dry tire, you'll be fairly competitive. Don't listen to the guys saying they ran 1.6 or 1.7 on dry tire - that's BS - they're using these new "rubs" on their tires which is NOT dry tire, but some groups allow it for some stupid reason.

As for getting faster, well that's easy. Get rid of weight. Add power. Add traction.

For traction, your rear tires need to be belted, or use tire bands - otherwise they will balloon, and you'll wipe out on the top end. Use something to condition the tire - my go-to is WD-40. Wipe the tire clean with it, let it sit for five minutes, and the tire becomes tacky. At the staging line, use a carpet (wool if possible) to do a pretty decently long burnout to heat the tires up. Very important in dry tire.

For power, at some point you'll want to upgrade the engine, either by having it modded by a reputable drag-engine modder, or by swapping it out for something more powerful. The easiest swap is the OS .21tm, which isn't cheap, but it's worth every penny. You'll also want to ditch the EZ start for a pull start, or better yet, a bump start with a sealed rear plate. That thing is heavy and robs power. You'll also want to change your gears. Go with a 22t clutch bell, and a 70t spur. I'll double check that, I think that's what I have on my single speed car.

For weight, this is where it gets fun. Ideally you want the car around 5-5.5lbs. You can go as low as 4.5 "legally", but traction will start to suffer. I think a stock Slash is somewhere close to 7lbs or just under. You can drop a bunch of that right away by swapping out the lower plate for a CF one. Xtreme Racing makes one that's really good. Dropping the EZ start will take away quite a bit. Get rid of the big gas tank and put in one from a Jato. You don't need all of that. You can also swap out the servos for low-profile ones to save some more weight. Get the super thin front tires and wheels, couple of companies make them, they are sold at aMain Hobbies.

You'll also need a wheelie bar. There are a few options out there, or you could just make one with a strip of CF and some ingenuity. Otherwise, the car will end up on it's lid after about five feet

Choose a good body that is known to fit well. Proline Corvette is popular. Remember you'll need either Bandit or Drag Slash rear arms to fit any of these bodies other than the super wide Parma ones.

Most importantly, don't listen to the electric guys who bash nitro. Most of them have daddy issues

Good luck!

 

[Beer_Goggles_RC]

If you're lucky, find a group of racers that are around you and start racing with them. That's really the best way to get your feet wet. You don't want to jump into a big national event right out of the gate, it can be pretty overwhelming. Also, since you're running nitro, you'll need to either find other nitro guys, or find guys that are willing to let you run with them. Most groups/events have at least one "run what you brung class" at the very least.

Also, try to find people that race "dry tire". For starters, that gives your nitro a car a fighting chance. If they are using tire preps (which IMO is not really "no prep" but that's a whole other conversation), then most nitro cars have very little chance. If you can get your car to run in the mid 2s range, say 2.4-2.7 on dry tire, you'll be fairly competitive. Don't listen to the guys saying they ran 1.6 or 1.7 on dry tire - that's BS - they're using these new "rubs" on their tires which is NOT dry tire, but some groups allow it for some stupid reason.

As for getting faster, well that's easy. Get rid of weight. Add power. Add traction.

For traction, your rear tires need to be belted, or use tire bands - otherwise they will balloon, and you'll wipe out on the top end. Use something to condition the tire - my go-to is WD-40. Wipe the tire clean with it, let it sit for five minutes, and the tire becomes tacky. At the staging line, use a carpet (wool if possible) to do a pretty decently long burnout to heat the tires up. Very important in dry tire.

For power, at some point you'll want to upgrade the engine, either by having it modded by a reputable drag-engine modder, or by swapping it out for something more powerful. The easiest swap is the OS .21tm, which isn't cheap, but it's worth every penny. You'll also want to ditch the EZ start for a pull start, or better yet, a bump start with a sealed rear plate. That thing is heavy and robs power. You'll also want to change your gears. Go with a 22t clutch bell, and a 70t spur. I'll double check that, I think that's what I have on my single speed car.

For weight, this is where it gets fun. Ideally you want the car around 5-5.5lbs. You can go as low as 4.5 "legally", but traction will start to suffer. I think a stock Slash is somewhere close to 7lbs or just under. You can drop a bunch of that right away by swapping out the lower plate for a CF one. Xtreme Racing makes one that's really good. Dropping the EZ start will take away quite a bit. Get rid of the big gas tank and put in one from a Jato. You don't need all of that. You can also swap out the servos for low-profile ones to save some more weight. Get the super thin front tires and wheels, couple of companies make them, they are sold at aMain Hobbies.

You'll also need a wheelie bar. There are a few options out there, or you could just make one with a strip of CF and some ingenuity. Otherwise, the car will end up on it's lid after about five feet

Choose a good body that is known to fit well. Proline Corvette is popular. Remember you'll need either Bandit or Drag Slash rear arms to fit any of these bodies other than the super wide Parma ones.

Most importantly, don't listen to the electric guys who bash nitro. Most of them have daddy issues

Good luck!

Johnny you are the absolute MAN!

 

[WickedFog]

Johnny you are the absolute MAN!

He's likely the world's most knowledgeable guy when it comes to nitro no-prep. Did you check out his Invader thread? Be prepared to be blown away if you haven't read through it.

 

[johnnydmd]

He's likely the world's most knowledgeable guy when it comes to nitro no-prep. Did you check out his Invader thread? Be prepared to be blown away if you haven't read through it.

Well thank you for the kind words, lol. I think that thread is a pretty good example of starting out not having much clue but throwing a lot of darts and seeing which ones stick I kinda cringe at some of what I did early on! Hopefully people can get to the latter half of the thread and get better ideas, haha.

 

[WickedFog]

Well thank you for the kind words, lol. I think that thread is a pretty good example of starting out not having much clue but throwing a lot of darts and seeing which ones stick I kinda cringe at some of what I did early on! Hopefully people can get to the latter half of the thread and get better ideas, haha.

It's the most interesting RC journey into modding a nitro, or just sbout any RC I have ever followed. And I've never seen a lot of the things you came up with for that build.