Back With a Bang....And the Phone is Ringing...

After the month of August being filled with such jollies as holidays, racing and the like it was back with a bang for me at BenRacing today and what a day it has been! After living a life of laptimes and racing lines for a month it was both refreshing and welcome to find my life had changed once again to deals on wheels!

I don't know if it is me or if model car racing is getting more and more popular as the years go by...it certainly seemed that way today with the phone not stopping ringing all day. Add to this trying to catch up with all of the emails that I have missed since I have been away and there was a really hectic feel to the shop and proceedings.

Also, starting tomorrow is the launch or our xmas campaign....funny but September always seems a long way off to get things started but I can be sure that it will come around faster than a blink of the eye! Before we know it Santa will be trying to squeeze his little butt down every chimney and hundreds of kids (and adults!) will be opening presents on Xmas morning.....

This year should be really good in the shop, last year was busy and was our first 'real' xmas, but this year you can be sure that we will be offering even better deals than we did last year!

What will be the Xmas number one seller? The Traxxas Revo 3.3 RTR , the HPI Savage X, or will this year be the year of the Kyosho Inferno ST-R? I have no idea! I'll let you know December 25th!

Revolution Starts with Evolution!

"What the hell is he on about?" I hear you ask!!! Well, gains in performance in racing are made in small steps - one after another....often large jumps result in the wrong direction. Ferrari base their winning philosophy on continual improvement (and one Mr. Schumacher) So with this in mind Kyosho have released this upgrade kit for the V-One RRR to convert it the V-One RRR Evo. The kit contains plenty of small changes that will not only increase the performance of the car but will at the same time increase the reliability.

The radio plate has been changed to accommodate the throttle servo in an upright position, this makes radio installation a lot easier. The rear brake pulley has now been integrated with a grub screw rather than a pin, this reduces the 'wind up' in the transmission and should result in a smoother transmission.

Also changed is the rear geometry - this now has more holes to incorporate more camber link positions. This will allow more adjustability of the rear of the car, helping it to master even more tracks!

The shock absorbers casings have changed to allow a wider range of springs to be fitted, allowing more adjustability. Also in the shock, the standard piston now has 1.1mm x 2 holes in all shocks which increases the pack slightly. The shocks are topped off by a new design diaphragm.

To stop all of this phenomenal speed, a new-design polished brake disk has been included, paired with softer brake linings.

The transmission has had an upgrade too with a new main-shaft and new main gears made from a high durability plastic.

So, if you want the new Kyosho V-One RRR Evo then the quickest way to get one is to upgrade your RRR with one of these upgrade kits. I am just upgrading mine, and I cannot wait to try it at next week's EFRA 200mm European Championships.

Only 500 More Emails to GO!

Well, back from holiday and what do I find....yep it's hammering it down with rain to wash off my newly aquired tan and it's flippin' cold. More emails to answer than I can shake a stick at and paperwork now coming out of my ears! Had fun on holiday though...took a rent-a-scooter to the max (well, I thought I was Valentino Rossi for the day...) drive it like you stole it! Oh well....

Whilst I was away Chris Deakin, former Editor of Radio Race Car International magazine sent me over another article - this time looking at the art of going fast. What every RC racer strives for. Take a minute to read this and you will see your lap times tumbling!

Over to you Chris!

"To be fast – first you need to be slow"

So you are at your race meeting, you stand on the rostrum checking out the track, which is more important – to be fast on the corners or the straights?
Well the simply answer is the first one. If you are fast in the corners you should be fast on the straights – simple!!
When you look at a track you really should take a very close look at the slow(er) corners, this is where you will find the most time – it’s obvious really, but you would be surprised how many people miss this point, in fact more people seem to concentrate on straight line speed, ignoring the fact if you leave a slow corner 5mph faster you will be that much faster at the end of the straight. In fast corners you should be travelling fast, so any improvements you make will be quite small, especially in any form of controlled racing – yes?

So let’s take close look at cornering, there are always three stages in any corner, entry, mid point and exit. Each has its part to play, and each need attention. Now the first major killer of good corner speed is understeer, this always means you have to back off the throttle, loosing speed straight away, and its speed you won’t recover. So you need to set your car up so it has more ‘steering’ that you need, most modern radios have a ‘volume’ control which electronically reduces the amount of steering throw, also many have an adjustment to either slow or speed up the rate this takes, another very useful feature – use them!!

So let’s consider the entry of the corner, what is your car actually doing? First, if you need to brake try and do this in a straight line, this will keep the car more stable. Also this will help transfer weight to the front wheels, which will help as you turn-in. If you don’t need to brake, just lift of the throttle, this again will transfer much weight. Now you need to use as little steering lock as possible to get the car to turn in to the corner (more lock = more drag), apply to much and the front will slide, causing understeer etc a common fault with many drivers. At this point you really need to be ‘slow’ and controlled. From the entry to the mid point of the corner you should begin to accelerate, hopefully hitting the apex of the corner. From the mid point of the corner you should be hard on the throttle, and also reducing the steering input so the car drifts to the outside of the track. If you get this right you car should steer a wide gentle arc carrying the best possible speed onto the next straight. Now that is the theory, but in reality it rarely happens, unless your name is David Spashett or Andy Moore, but if you practice this simple method you should at least improve your lap times. Over the years I personally have found more ‘time’ at tracks by simply going back to this simple procedure, far more than a new tyre or spring!!
Happy driving…