Turnigy Nitro 1/8

[aMawds]

Got a Turnigy Nitro 1/8th scale truggy from hobbyking. Wasn't expecting much out of it, just wanted to dip my feet in the water to see if I'd enjoy a surface vehicle as much as I'd enjoy planes and helicopters. The answer is yes
Got a computerized radio since they are a must with air vehicles, and I've grown accustomed to the menu's and such. Took me a LONG time to start the thing, since this was my first time with nitro as well. Spent the next few days tuning in the dark since I worked late and had no time to play in the day time. I think I made just about every mistake in the book with this thing. With about a quart of fuel through the motor, the batteries for the receiver cut and it went straight into some bushes, high centered and revved it's heart out. Pinched the fuel line to cut it. Luckily didn't break anything. Happened again a couple days later where it jumped a full sized curb in a parking lot at full throttle, then regained connection as it hit the ground. Was expecting at least a broken A arm. Nope. Still fine. Got a rechargeable receiver battery that day and now I charge it every couple of days. Never again. That receiver eats batteries like nobodies business. I also ran it a bit lean and got the temps up to 330 at one point. Learning.

Today I finally got it tuned properly after much trial and error. It finally drops to a stable idle whether I just came out of an extended WOT run or just tapped the throttle. I can let it idle for any length of time, pin it, and it doesn't hesitate. Temps don't go above 280 if I'm constantly on it, and temp slowly drops about a degree every couple seconds in idle. I also followed a guide and did a little polishing of the intake and side ports(can't remember what those side ports are called) before getting the tune just right, and it seriously FLIES. I know I didn't exactly go the recommended route while learning with this thing but I have to learn my own way or I won't enjoy it. If I nuked the motor, no big deal. Learning experience. I planned to put a quality motor in it sooner rather than later because I figured that would be the weak point, but so far it has been a painless joy once I figured out what I was doing and I'll run it until it doesn't hold a tune and has no compression left. I absolutely LOVE this thing.

Now I'm just bashing basically. I like flying around on gravel like a rally driver, and jumping it over the little bumps around my property. Naturally I want to learn more about modding it now. What would your recommendations be for some next steps with this truggy. I'd like to skip recommendations to spend more on a different car because so far it has been absolutely bullet proof. I've heard about different grease weights in the diffs but I like how it handles at the moment. It does have cheap plastic shocks but they also seem fine for the time being, and will likely run them until they leak, break, or I decide they aren't shiny enough I was thinking tuned pipe? I'm assuming they didn't exactly spend a lot of time designing the pipe on a budget truggy, but I don't know if that matters much. Seems like all you can do is shift the power band around with different pipes but I'm likely wrong. Insight?

 

[Sixtysixdeuce]

What vehicle is this you speak of? I see no 1/8 truggy available from HK, only a 1/8 buggy.

 

[Punisher]

It sounds like it's doing everything you want it to. My advice; drive the wheels of it and replace bits when you break them.

Learn from your mistakes using this rig (as you have been doing = well done!) when you want more, buy a more serious set up (no offence intended) - Losi 8ight T or Mugen.


If you want to tinker, try adjusting the suspension - shock oils, spring rates, camber, castor, anti squat (assuming you can made these adjustments to your rig) - it's amasing what difference adjusting these makes to the cars handling (good and bad).


For the most part though, your car will get to a stage/age and it will need maintenance (bearings, clutches, etc) this keeps most people busy, poor and at times a little frustrated - save your $$ for the next stage. Whether it be maintenance of the car, or upgrading to something better/different.


With respect to your batteries - look into LIFE batteries . . . .

Have fun!

 

[aMawds]

You're right it is a buggy. Guess I don't know the difference
It is running quite well. Just learned that I can slip the tuned pipe back and forth to adjust the power band which kept me busy for a bit. As I tune it better and break it in better it starts more reliably each time. The addition of a fresh OS #8 plug helped a ton as well. I have a stronger ignitor coming as well, the hot shot 2. I think you're right about saving some cash. I'm surprised at the tuning abilities. Just about everything is adjustable. Also found out I can get 4 gallons of Maxy's nitro for a hair over 100 bucks shipped which beats the 32 a gallon from my LFS. Also learned there's a nice dirt track less than a half hour from my house. Running 20% at the moment, thinking of jumping to 25%. Thoughts?

 

[Sixtysixdeuce]

You're right it is a buggy. Guess I don't know the difference

Left to right, an RC10GT 1/10 stadium truck, a Tamiya 801Xt 1/8 truggy and an OFNA Ultra LX Comp 1/8 buggy.

As you can see, a truggy is considerably wider and longer, with much larger tires.

 

[aMawds]

Left to right, an RC10GT 1/10 stadium truck, a Tamiya 801Xt 1/8 truggy and an OFNA Ultra LX Comp 1/8 buggy.

As you can see, a truggy is considerably wider and longer, with much larger tires.

Got it. Makes sense, since my understanding behind a truggy is that it is a more stable platform originally put together by hobbyists morphing monster trucks with buggies. Good to know I have a buggy. That would explain why I couldn't seem to find any tires for my ride with nearly the same dimensions in a 17mm hub.

So the local track is apparently open almost constantly and it costs an extremely reasonable 3 bucks to practice all day. It is on the property with the hobby shop that owns it which is cool if I need something I didn't bring out. Planning to call them later today and asking about the track so I don't inadvertently show up and break any rules that could put me on anyone's bad side. I'm interested in learning how to tune suspension, and make modifications to speed me up around that track, then eventually start racing.

 

[Punisher]

Running 20% at the moment, thinking of jumping to 25%. Thoughts?

Go for it.

Got it. Makes sense, since my understanding behind a truggy is that it is a more stable platform originally put together by hobbyists morphing monster trucks with buggies. Good to know I have a buggy. That would explain why I couldn't seem to find any tires for my ride with nearly the same dimensions in a 17mm hub. .

Buggy tires are all 17mm - easy to find.

So the local track is apparently open almost constantly and it costs an extremely reasonable 3 bucks to practice all day. It is on the property with the hobby shop that owns it which is cool if I need something I didn't bring out. Planning to call them later today and asking about the track so I don't inadvertently show up and break any rules that could put me on anyone's bad side. I'm interested in learning how to tune suspension, and make modifications to speed me up around that track, then eventually start racing.

Now you are talking! Racing is FUN!

 

[aMawds]

Called them. The rate is actually a still reasonable 5 dollars and they have electricity, water, and an air compressor all free to use. Neat! The place is called J & S hobbies, an apparently pretty popular track. There's a few videos of buggy and truggy races on YouTube from a couple years back. The track looks very well maintained. I'll be trying to go tomorrow around noon assuming weather is tolerable to burn a half gallon of fuel while I tune it to run better on the track. Judging by others smoke trails and my glow plug still looking brand new after running three tanks, I think I'm still more rich than necessary

 

[Punisher]

So . . . how did you go at the track?

(Harder than it looks, isnt it?!)

Have fun?

 

[aMawds]

Haha yes I did. The guys there were absolutely awesome. The stock tires were crap, so a guy there let me try his set, and another guy ended up giving me a lightly used set. From there they helped me solve a couple issues with my buggy and give me advice on what to change. I have 40w in the shocks (bit too stiff for the track but a massive improvement when jumping), 5k in the front and center diff's, 3k in the rear. Waiting to test the diff changes the next dry day that I don't work. Car was a bit slow and the combo of deshimming the head and the diff changes turned what I thought was a quick car into a true handful in my driveway. They pointed out the small flaws in my budget car but said it seemed to jump very well and were rather impressed with how well it was doing. They said once I get it dialed in for the track I should have no problem at least trailing close behind their Losi's. I broke the center diff main gear (the one that meshes with the motor pinion) and cracked my wing. A Losi gear bolted right up to the center diff and after a bit of trimming of the surrounding plastic on the carrier worked fine. I'll deal with the wing when I spent less time on my lid. To answer your question, MUCH harder than expected. I picked it up quickly. Not having orientation issues like newer drivers helped a lot. Let me focus purely on jumping. I'm hoping the better bite and acceleration will make it easier next time I make it there.

As for J&S and the guys who were there, I cannot repay them enough. One gave me tires, another showed me how to clean my tires so they don't get plugged up between runs, another scrounged up a muffler mount since mine got loose, and they all gave me a direction to go with tuning. Everyone was welcome too. One guy had an electric 1/10th 2wd electric, three were running expensive 8th scale nitro buggies, and one guy was bashing around with stadium trucks while yet another was tuning a monster truck and doing cart wheels on the track. I've never felt so welcome around RC guys. Ice talked to plane guys at a local field when I flew more and they gave me a huge cold shoulder when I wanted to pay money out of pocket that day to join the club. I fully intend to race this buggy when summer comes around. I will make it competitive against all odds or break it trying x)

 

[Punisher]

That's great mate! - I had a smile on my face when reading your post - obviously you had a great time - I was smiling because you reminded me of my first track experiences.

It's funny how I quickly went from driving around in circles bashing (nothing wrong with that) to considering tyres, shock oils, ride height, diffs and brake bias - then eventually racing lines and cleanly clearing triples and quads.

It sounds like the guys at the track were great - happy to help a new-comer - it's nice to hear that you met some good blokes that were happy to share their time and experience.

It's hard starting off with the racing – lots of breakages, fighting with a poorly handling car, learning to tune . . . but once you are over the initial teething pains, it’s addictive!

I still like bashing - I get out at least once a week with a mate, we have a great time and lots of laughs.

I must say though, each time I finish a racing meet, I'm preparing my car for the next practice and looking forward to the next race meet.

Mate - it sounds like you too have been bitten by the racing bug!

Good on ya - and thanks for sharing your experience with us.


Ps - "I will make it competitive against all odds or break it trying" - First? Last? Pft! Who cares!? So long as you keep improving, and have fun doing it!!!

 

[aMawds]

Exactly the same way. So addicted that I was changing to a heavier shock oil on the bench while waiting for my receiver battery to charge. Silly me, forgot to charge it before heading out and it died on me 3 hours in. Now I keep a pack of AA's and the stock battery holder as a backup. I was amazed at how little I broke. Still I just sent in an order for a bunch of spare parts, as well as different springs and anti sway bars. Nuts how cheap the parts are for this buggy. Full set of front and rear a arms are 5 bucks. A wing is just over 2 bucks, fuel tank (just in case) is the same price. A full motor is 60. I'm so excited to get back to the track and test my changes. I went a bit too hard on the shocks but I bet that weight will work well in the summer when the fluid will thin out and the track is smoother. Going to try 30w next. Too bad it rains all week

 

[Punisher]

Yeah it's just trial and error with the set up - the pits are always a flurry of activity between qualifying runs or races with drivers hastily making adjustments to their cars.

It's amasing what a dramatic difference a small changes can make. It's handy to have the race timers to track the affect of the changes.

I've kinda settled on my set up now and only make minor tweaks at a race meet depending on the track conditions and how I am feeling on the day (also might be a bit of the placebo affect happening too!)

 

[aMawds]

The other guys definitely had dialed buggies. Good to see what a good set up is capable of so I have something to shoot for. Need to go back. I have the itch and it's driving me nuts

 

[Punisher]

When I first started out I had enough trouble just getting the car around the track . . .

Then I could get it around, but stacked it a lot . . .

Now I can do laps and only have the occasional accident.

I run mid to top of a 8-12 car Truggy field.

I can hold my own, but the top two or three drivers are REALLY good - they are just so quick - I can drive as fast as I dare and only keep up with them for a few corners.

But every time I race, each time I practice, I improve a little bit more.

I'm out for a practice tonight.

Trialing a few minor changes to the suspension - hopefully get through a bit of fuel.

Racing not this, but next Sunday for the first round of the 2014 racing series - really looking forward to it!