aklindeman
RCTalk Qualifier
- Messages
- 147
- Reaction score
- 384
- Points
- 190
- RC Driving Style
- Racing
Earlier this year my parents bought me an SC7 to race at my local track (Shout out to MHOR in Colorado, SCT is a health class on Wednesday nights). This was quite a surprise for someone turning 49. But, I used to race with my dad as a teenager and I think he's been just as much into watch me race as I have been racing. Short course is, of course, one of the most fun classes to run.
Most of the fast guys at the track had moved to a custom battery mount. Rotating it to an inline configuration instead of transverse across the chassis. Most of them just taping the battery down, which I'm not super pumped about doing. I was searching around for parts I could re-purpose when I came across the just about to be released Vision Racing chassis for the truck. I had MHOR get a kit in for me from the first batch.
I now have a handful of races under my belt with the new setup. I have to say, it has transformed the truck. Getting all of the weight down low with the steel belly plate has drastically improved the center of gravity. I can take high speed corners much faster. And getting the battery inline has also helped the truck rotate faster in the slower corners. If you're competitively racing an SC7, you should seriously consider this upgrade. I measured the weight balance before and after. I was able to get within 1% of the stock setup with the battery in the rear position and then adjusted fully forward.
The bad:
The first batch seems to have shipped without the battery hold down risers. VR will get them right out to you though. I'd wager they've fixed this for kits currently shipping. But, it could bite you if you're grabbing a unit off the shelf right now. Just be aware.
The kit has no provision for a motor fan. You're on your own here. I was able to sorta get the stock mount to work. I tried the VR B7 carbon fiber chassis fan mount and it wasn't much better. I ended up with a waterfall style mount that was 3D printed from Donathen RC. It looks good. I just had to modify the direction I soldered the wires to the motor to make some room for it.
There are no pre-cut chassis protectors for this thing. Not even VR sells one (Yet). You will have to roll your own here. This whole thing is mostly aimed at carpet and turf racers, so running one is often a requirement.
The included battery hold down is a bit of a let down. I have been racing with 4000 mah battery packs. They have plenty of capacity for a five minute race. They are light. My SC7 was right at minimum weight, while running a steel front bulkhead, steel electronics mounting plate, and another few grams of lead weight in front of the servo. The stock battery mounts don't handle the little battery well at all. So, I was running a Vision Racing battery hold down with a single rubber o-ring. I still run that mount in my B7. It will not fit in the VR SCT chassis. The included mount would require a lot of foam to get the battery secure. I'm not a huge fan of the rotating tab style mount in the first place. I have been running my 4800 mah pack instead. But that adds a lot of extra weight that I just didn't have before. This was by far the cheapest way to get your vehicle under minimum weight. That allowed me to play with the weight balance and really get it where I wanted it. Thankfully the balance is pretty much the same, but I'm about 100 grams over weight now. This whole setup is heavier than stock even without taking the battery into account. I think it's worth it though. And now I can throw light parts at rotating mass first. I had not put any light upgrades on the truck before, since I would have just had to add it back.
Most of the fast guys at the track had moved to a custom battery mount. Rotating it to an inline configuration instead of transverse across the chassis. Most of them just taping the battery down, which I'm not super pumped about doing. I was searching around for parts I could re-purpose when I came across the just about to be released Vision Racing chassis for the truck. I had MHOR get a kit in for me from the first batch.
I now have a handful of races under my belt with the new setup. I have to say, it has transformed the truck. Getting all of the weight down low with the steel belly plate has drastically improved the center of gravity. I can take high speed corners much faster. And getting the battery inline has also helped the truck rotate faster in the slower corners. If you're competitively racing an SC7, you should seriously consider this upgrade. I measured the weight balance before and after. I was able to get within 1% of the stock setup with the battery in the rear position and then adjusted fully forward.
The bad:
The first batch seems to have shipped without the battery hold down risers. VR will get them right out to you though. I'd wager they've fixed this for kits currently shipping. But, it could bite you if you're grabbing a unit off the shelf right now. Just be aware.
The kit has no provision for a motor fan. You're on your own here. I was able to sorta get the stock mount to work. I tried the VR B7 carbon fiber chassis fan mount and it wasn't much better. I ended up with a waterfall style mount that was 3D printed from Donathen RC. It looks good. I just had to modify the direction I soldered the wires to the motor to make some room for it.
There are no pre-cut chassis protectors for this thing. Not even VR sells one (Yet). You will have to roll your own here. This whole thing is mostly aimed at carpet and turf racers, so running one is often a requirement.
The included battery hold down is a bit of a let down. I have been racing with 4000 mah battery packs. They have plenty of capacity for a five minute race. They are light. My SC7 was right at minimum weight, while running a steel front bulkhead, steel electronics mounting plate, and another few grams of lead weight in front of the servo. The stock battery mounts don't handle the little battery well at all. So, I was running a Vision Racing battery hold down with a single rubber o-ring. I still run that mount in my B7. It will not fit in the VR SCT chassis. The included mount would require a lot of foam to get the battery secure. I'm not a huge fan of the rotating tab style mount in the first place. I have been running my 4800 mah pack instead. But that adds a lot of extra weight that I just didn't have before. This was by far the cheapest way to get your vehicle under minimum weight. That allowed me to play with the weight balance and really get it where I wanted it. Thankfully the balance is pretty much the same, but I'm about 100 grams over weight now. This whole setup is heavier than stock even without taking the battery into account. I think it's worth it though. And now I can throw light parts at rotating mass first. I had not put any light upgrades on the truck before, since I would have just had to add it back.
