New to it :)

[budgio]

Hi all
(My first post btw.)

Just bought and built my first car in 20 odd years and i,m interested in running it at a local club in the near future just to get the hang of things again.
The last buggy i raced was a Kyosho Tomahawk many moons ago and it performed well in its day and i,m hoping to be running a decent setup when i start up again in the next few months.

A couple of questions..

Is my tamiya df-03 (keenhawk) a decent entry level 4wd buggy? (no hop ups.)

Where would be my local tracks for 1/10 offroad ? (i,m near oxford)


Thanks in advance

budgio

[DCM]

It is a decent kit, and once you think that you are keen, then there are a few needed upgrades, to make it more reliable, them being proper front driveshafts and some better shocks.

[VONDUTCH]

Welcome Budgio,I'm a relative newbie myself and I'm sure you'll find this site to be a great help Don't know of any tracks down your way but just get out with your car and see how you go.Seems alittle too easy to get bogged down with a lot of technicalities,just try and have fun-IMHO. Take it easy mate.

[JCJC]

Hi Budgio, and welcome.

Local tracks would be in the Chiltern Mid South area, these are not all local, but worth the drive, good bunch of racers, all levels, varied surfaces. Info can be found at John Spencers new site http://www.freewebs.com/tufc2003/

And on DMS site at http://www.modelcarclub.co.uk/index.php? look for the Chilterns forum

I guess your nearest would be Silverstone, I believe they run mostly inside and have an outside grass circuit for the summer, holding two regionals this summer and the Juniors & Vets (inc F3’4’& 5’s?) in September.
Stotfold run most Sundays, outside on astro.
Also a club in Newbury that meets one night of the week, may be buggy racing at Milton Keynes and Wycombe? DMS in Watford run one evening a week, no regional this year but may host a weekends racing inside in October?

Sounds like you will need to get some practice in if you can, good to have more racers in the area, may see you around. Any questions please ask – on ere or PM me for more of my limited knowledge.

[budgio]

Thanks for the replies peeps

I,ll probably go to the race meets at Silverstone,Swindon and Stotfold in the next few months to see what goes on.

For the time being i,ll keep an eye on these forums and start upgrading my keenhawk which i,m enjoying running in.

Can anyone recommend me a good motor(but not too fast)and battery to get the extra speed i,ll need? my ESC is a mtronics sonik rv11.

[jimmy]

I'm not sure what the ESC can handle, but an ideal motor for this car would be a 19 turn spec - one of the V2 type motors from orion or peak, it's what I have raced with in the past in other cars and the speed and power is excellent and very controlable.

[JCJC]

Good advice, the V2 type motors and the checkpoint's have the advantage of lasting longer due to different design of the brush layout, I find the checkpoints easier to solder, propper tags.

If you are looking for shops, I have used DC racing at Evesham, Microtech in Swindon, DMS in Watford and ModelImages in Letchworth, John at ModelImages is involved with Stotfold and "race directs" at CML track in Newbury, usually has stuff at trackside. All have motors and good advice.

Stotfold would be a good place to visit to see whats going on, a Sunday afternoon club meeting or a look around at the last winter series meeting on March 18th would see most of the local racers attending.

[budgio]

Once again thanks for the info its much appreciated

I now have the df-03 hop up shocks, DF-02 uj's all round,one way set and slipper clutch fitted and ready to go.

The motor i went for was a Peak v2 19t spec but will also keep an eye out for the the checkpoints as ive heard a lot of good things about them.

Also bought 2 bog standard 7.2v 4000mah battery packs and a cheapo fast/slow charger,full set of xmods split crystals 27 am and spare tyres.

So ....Do i need much else before my 1st trip out ?

[Spencer Mulcahy]

A twelve volt battery some chairs to sit on a pit table cant think of anything else at the mo.

[dan_kitty]

keep an eye on the screws underneath the front c- hubs mine fell out pretty quickly and you dont get spares with the kit. Probably just my bad luck or bad construction. threadlocking does the trick. But dont overtighten or the steering sticks.

[budgio]

Originally Posted by Spencer Mulcahy

A twelve volt battery some chairs to sit on a pit table cant think of anything else at the mo.

A trip to Halfords and Homebase then .....HMMM whens next 10% day

Thanks guys

[budgio]

Well here she is (in DI shell)



using GPM shocks at the mo until the df-03 shocks turn up

also got new front and rear carbon graphite towers on the way