Clogher Valley MCC

[jimlee]

Hi Mark...just replied to your email....
Racing on Thursday as usual and then the next week the "Jumps" come out......
You're more than welcome to Fly over us again....

[mole2k]

Will be good to see you back up again soon mark, you should try and get the week after again, it's worth it alone to hear jim complain.

[colmo]

After tonight's racing, a hearty 'well done' to Mark aka. noreargrip, for a lesson on how it's done, and a big thank you for helping me get my new car to actually finish (It broke down three times in the first practice lap). He was also overgenerous in his description of my performances...much appreciated

[mole2k]

Yeah deffinately he helped me get my car from understeering impossibly badly to just understeering extremely badly

Gonna sit down and rebuild the entire thing to see if I can figure out whats wrong, it's normally not anywhere near that bad.

[colmo]

I've been giving thought to the business of running touring cars in the present venue, after mole2k cleaned up the week before last with his XRay, but at terrible cost.

I've realised that it might not be best to treat it like a traditional touring car race (especially on jump nights!), but rather like a rally-type venue.

Thing that don't work:
1. Lightweight shells (they get smashed - and not always by the track boundaries...)
2. Most tyres.

Things that might work:
1: Nitro shells - they seem to be made of thicker material to handle the rough stuff. They're a bit wider at 200mm, which brings me to my next point. ABS shells like those made by Kamtec may also work.
2. Wider track using offset wheels - increased stability on ultra-low traction surface?
3. Narrow mini-pin tyres - I recently learned they work better in low-grip situations that standard width tyres. Might require additive for a little extra bite. I did recently suggest metal spikes to mole2k, and not entirely in jest...
4. Plastic chassis - more flexible than carbon fibre, and can't be tweaked; especially by jumps - yes, they'd have to do the jumps just like the buggies!

In short, I think a tough workhorse like a Tamiya TA05 would perform well at much less cost than a thoroughbred racer like the XRays - yes, the XRays would be better, marginally, but the Wesleyan Hall is a surface that favours the good driver more than a good car.

[Freakypen]

Originally Posted by colmo

After tonight's racing, a hearty 'well done' to Mark aka. noreargrip, for a lesson on how it's done, and a big thank you for helping me get my new car to actually finish (It broke down three times in the first practice lap). He was also overgenerous in his description of my performances...much appreciated

Nice one bro......though all said and done...u still suck
You need a good Losi back Haha!!

[noreargrip]

thats a lot of sponsers bro! did u read that somewhere?.

[noreargrip]

colmo,i have the perfect solution.go check out a team associated sc10.they are the best thing since my b4,and my b44,oh and, sorry getting excited again.seriously man i want one they are cool.check out the video clip on associateds web page.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Freakypen

Nice one bro......though all said and done...u still suck
You need a good Losi back Haha!!

I'm well aware of my awfulness - I am a noob after all!...I don't, however, know who you are? The Losi connection makes me suspect a certain hobby shop owner...?

Originally Posted by noreargrip

colmo,i have the perfect solution.go check out a team associated sc10.they are the best thing since my b4,and my b44,oh and, sorry getting excited again.seriously man i want one they are cool.check out the video clip on associateds web page.

If a club anywhere in NI started up a short course truck class, I'd be there like a shot, though I'd favour a Traxxas Slash (the videos on Youtube for it are simply unbelievable), for it's sheer indestructibility and waterproofing (I am, after all, from Fermanagh, the geological equivalent of a wet sponge). It would be a cheap class to race, too, using more or less stock vehicles.

[mole2k]

Some form of trucks would rock. Although if I was gonna make a push for any extra class it would have to 2wd buggys to go along with the 4wd's

I'm hoping I might have a bit more steering this week, rebuilt the shocks and have gotten a little bit more droop from them so it hopefully will generate even a little bit of grip on the front wheels this time round.

Should be getting the digger into the hall on wedensday to dig us a nice big bombhole off the tabletop, i'm sure Henry wont mind.

[Freakypen]

Originally Posted by colmo

I'm well aware of my awfulness - I am a noob after all!...I don't, however, know who you are? The Losi connection makes me suspect a certain hobby shop owner...?



If a club anywhere in NI started up a short course truck class, I'd be there like a shot, though I'd favour a Traxxas Slash (the videos on Youtube for it are simply unbelievable), for it's sheer indestructibility and waterproofing (I am, after all, from Fermanagh, the geological equivalent of a wet sponge). It would be a cheap class to race, too, using more or less stock vehicles.

Oops You've got me wrong-I wasnt disrespecting anyone haha! I was having a go at Mark ( noreargrip ) as he is my brother!! And I'm sponsored by Horizon hobby UK-thats the losi connection.

[jimlee]

Originally Posted by colmo

.....but the Wesleyan Hall is a surface that favours the good driver more than a good car.

Give some top drivers a plank of wood, 4 wheels and a motor and they could still make an "A" Final......
I'm still of the belief that if you drive what the leading drivers in a club drive, then it's down to an individuals ability where they qualify.....
At the end of the day it all down to the "thumbs" or "trigger" finger......

Racing on polished floors is a dying art...I remember at least 4 different venues that were well supported in the past in "Norn Iron". Ballymoney, Ballymena, Newtownards and Carrickfergus.

Today Touring Cars are suited and designed for carpet or "circuit racing" while the 1/10th scale "Buggies" don't even have an off road track to race on over here.....
TC racing at CVMCC would require a lot of hard earned cash being spent and at the minute I feel that "If it's not broken then why try to fix it?"

[mole2k]

It's a pitty really that polished floor racing is dying out as I've always quite enjoyed racing on the slippery stuff as well as racing on grippier surfaces. I think really we need to get an off-road track sorted if there is the interest. I for one would love to race outdoors, a nice astroturf track at craigavon would be great if there was going to be the support to race on it.

[colmo]

Originally Posted by Freakypen

Oops You've got me wrong-I wasnt disrespecting anyone haha! I was having a go at Mark ( noreargrip ) as he is my brother!! And I'm sponsored by Horizon hobby UK-thats the losi connection.

No worries...an intrafamilial Losi-AE rivalry, eh? Can you get sponsorship if you aren't any good? Like in cricket, where the tail-enders don't get a bat sponsor, but plenty of protective equipment - "Look, that's my 14th crash tonight, and I still haven't broken anything!" - Mark's suggestion of turning up with a truck has merit in that regard...

Originally Posted by jimlee

TC racing at CVMCC would require a lot of hard earned cash being spent and at the minute I feel that "If it's not broken then why try to fix it?"

My post earlier on the subject was about how TC racing could be done without deep pockets - using cheaper cars, longer-lasting shells and hopefully slightly harder tyres. Did you know that the BRCA has CVMCC listed as racing both buggies and TCs? http://www.brca.org/Clubs
That's partly why I showed up that first night with a TC. I've managed to acquire some narrow blue mini-pins specifically for CVMCC, and hope to put my theories in practice, once I've got the buggy sorted! Variety is the spice of life...

Originally Posted by mole2k

It's a pitty really that polished floor racing is dying out as I've always quite enjoyed racing on the slippery stuff as well as racing on grippier surfaces. I think really we need to get an off-road track sorted if there is the interest. I for one would love to race outdoors, a nice astroturf track at craigavon would be great if there was going to be the support to race on it.

I'd be interested too...astroturf would be the most viable surface here, as any bare or thinly grassed earth would turn any race into a mud crawl!

The slippery stuff is certainly a deep-end experience for a noob (as I have found!) - on astroturf, the difference between A finalists and the newbies is maybe three laps, whereas on polished wood, it's more like 10-15. It might be worth putting something up on the CVMCC site about the special setup requirements for that surface, though nothing too technical to scare off the novice.

[noreargrip]

theres no real set up that will help anyone new to polished wood racing.the only difference in my car from drop in racings astro turf is going from silver all round to green springs.they are just one grade lighter.its just about being confident about sliding the car.almost knowing what the car is going to do before it does it.many people will change their car set up a lot without really felling much difference.just track time helps.throttle control for me is vital.i know you would think your car isnt moving that fast out of corners so its natural to give it loads.but wheelspinning cars move less.for me im only using full throttle about half way down the straight.

[noreargrip]

Originally Posted by jimlee

Give some top drivers a plank of wood, 4 wheels and a motor and they could still make an "A" Final......
I'm still of the belief that if you drive what the leading drivers in a club drive, then it's down to an individuals ability where they qualify.....
At the end of the day it all down to the "thumbs" or "trigger" finger......

Racing on polished floors is a dying art...I remember at least 4 different venues that were well supported in the past in "Norn Iron". Ballymoney, Ballymena, Newtownards and Carrickfergus.

Today Touring Cars are suited and designed for carpet or "circuit racing" while the 1/10th scale "Buggies" don't even have an off road track to race on over here.....
TC racing at CVMCC would require a lot of hard earned cash being spent and at the minute I feel that "If it's not broken then why try to fix it?"

oooh those locations bring back memories.thats where it all began for me.i preferred tc racing on polished wood,but i still much preferred buggies.for me touring cars was much more expensive too.we were using maybe 2 complete sets of schuey mini spikes each race meeting.in buggies you could get 3-4 meetings out of tyres indoors.if the interest was there probably all these venues would still be available.

[colmo]

We should encourage Warren to have a few sets of soft springs handy for any newbie needing them - it would have made my life easier! I'll hopefully be sorted for springs by next week, both buggy and TC.

True about the throttle control - I'l freely admit to being trigger happy.

I think the two major issue with RC in NI are expense, and indoor space. Ideally, the best class to suit these requirements would be something slower and/or smaller - 1/10th minis or 1/18th scale (like a Sacker Sport, Trinity Itsy Bitsy or Maverick Atom) would be two possible solutions - cost of entry is below £100 (maybe a little more for minis?), and sundries are dirt cheap. It would also serve as a feeder class for some, who then want to go up to 1/10th with the big boys.

[mole2k]

Originally Posted by noreargrip

theres no real set up that will help anyone new to polished wood racing.the only difference in my car from drop in racings astro turf is going from silver all round to green springs.they are just one grade lighter.its just about being confident about sliding the car.almost knowing what the car is going to do before it does it.many people will change their car set up a lot without really felling much difference.just track time helps.throttle control for me is vital.i know you would think your car isnt moving that fast out of corners so its natural to give it loads.but wheelspinning cars move less.for me im only using full throttle about half way down the straight.

I've always found that throttle control was the main thing for indoors as you really control the entire car on the throttle, the steerings only there for minor corrections .

If I could get my 501x handling like your b44 i'd be happy .

[noreargrip]

i dont think using smaller cars is a good idea for new people.in my experience they are usually more difficult to control and dont handle as well as 10th buggies.no one will have parts for them either.also too many racing classes wont help the growth of any sport.always better to use what youve already got.as for venues jim lee mentioned 4 venues that we used many moons ago.the carrick indoors woudve been easily as big as craigavons track.newtonard was the leisure centre,with the rubbery sports hall type floor.it was huge.we ran 2 and 4wd modified.i used a 11 turn in my b4.ballymena and ballymoney were both larger than clougher.wooden floor racing was always with 27turn stock motors.they were quite fast, but provided close racing because beginners and middle class drivers could control them much easier.

[noreargrip]

[quote=colmo;234378]We should encourage Warren to have a few sets of soft springs handy for any newbie needing them - it would have made my life easier! I'll hopefully be sorted for springs by next week, both buggy and TC.

True about the throttle control - I'l freely admit to being trigger happy.

I think the two major issue with RC in NI are expense, and indoor space. Ideally, the best class to suit these requirements would be something slower and/or smaller - 1/10th minis or 1/18th scale (like a Sacker Sport, Trinity Itsy Bitsy or Maverick Atom) would be two possible solutions - cost of entry is below £100 (maybe a little more for minis?), and sundries are dirt cheap. It would also serve as a feeder class for some, who then want to go up to 1/10th with the big boys.[/quote


i think for expense we havnt had it so good!nosram have great spec motors for 32quid.nosram are effectively lrp.and thats brushless! you would pay that for a stock spec brushed motor 12 years ago.with the old motors came lots of maintenance,changing of brushes and skimming motors.batteries,one lipo is all you will need for a seasons racing.i can remember paying for 5 packs of ni cds 50pounds each and you were lucky to get a season out of them before they went off,and that was paying 150pounds for a good charger and discharger for them.any new sport you go into will have an initial outlay.buggy rtr cars are £180 for a b4.but you can get started with quality kit from oople or e-bay for much less.most buggies are also quite a bit cheaper than touring cars.unless tc is really your thing i think all things considered buggies are more affordable way into the sport.