February 21, 2014

Chassis Focus – Darren Bloomfield

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Chassis: Agama A8 Evo FR (with 2014 parts)
Engine: Bullitt B219
Tires: Beta
Radio/Servo: Sanwa/Spektrum
Remarks – The latest addition to the Nemo team, 2012 European Champion Darren Bloomfield is running an updated version of the Agama A8 buggy that features some new for 2014 parts, such as higher shock towers (and new longer shocks) and new wishbones, that can incorporate stiffeners that will be available in graphite or aluminium. The aim of the update is to make the car easier to use on any surface and allow the use of similar settings in every condition. In terms of setup, after the first rounds of practice Darren decided to follow the American part of the team working mostly on shocks, putting them more upright.

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February 21, 2014

Chassis Focus – Jared Tebo

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Chassis: Kyosho ST-RR Evo
Engine: Orion
Tires: AKA
Radio/Servo: KO Propo
Remarks – Apart from some Lunsford titanium bits such as the turnbuckles, the reigning 1/10th scale 2wd World Champion is running a stock version of the Japanese truck. Able to TQ the second round of qualifications here at the DNC a change of shocks and camber link positions on the front helped to get rid of the understeer that Jared was suffering from in the first round and according to his own words ‘adjusting the front and centre differential oil concluded the chase to the perfect setup’. A lighter oil in the front and a thicker oil in the centre gave him the speed he needed in the centre of the corner and allowed him to put in a fast and clean run.

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February 21, 2014

Chassis Focus – Mike Truhe

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Chassis: Serpent Cobra-T 2.0
Engine: Top Plus 7C
Tires: Proline
Radio/Servos: Futaba
Remarks – New Serpent signing Mike Truhe is making his big race debut running his new sponsor’s gas cars and having focussed on the company’s mid motor car in the passed weeks he is playing catch up. Compared to his standard setup he has been playing around with the rear shock angles, as well as the front, laying them down more to help make the car less reactive. Running some already available option parts he is also using a lot of weight in the back of the car to bring the standard truggy up to legal weight, all of which is mounted near the rear of the car.

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February 20, 2014

Chassis Focus – Adam Drake

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Chassis: TLR 8ight 3.0
Engine: Novarossi Keep Off 21-4
Tires: Pro-Line
Radio/Servos: Spektrum/Hitec
Remarks – TLR factory driver Adam Drake is running a pretty stock version of the latest 8ight here at the DNC. New for this race is the bodyshell, expected to be released in the coming days, sporting new sides that according to the Drake drastically change the airflow over the car. The cab has also been modified, now a bit wider and more vertical, and which has been moved further towards the front of the buggy. Finally to finish off the body there is the option of running a rear fin mounted behind the engine which doubles as a body clip washer. Satisfied with the behaviour of his 8ight, the current ROAR national champion told us he has decided to stick with his standard setup allowing him to better read the track changes and proceed with small adjustments from one run to next.

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February 20, 2014

Chassis Focus – Ty Tessmann

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Chassis: Hot Bodies D8T “Ty Tessmann edition”
Engine: OS Speed
Tires: ProLine
Radio/Servos: Airtronics/Savox
Remarks: Hot Bodies factory driver Ty Tessmann is running the near final version of the soon to be released Ty edition D8T truggy, something he and his father have been developing over the past year. Featuring many new parts, the rear end of the car has had the most attention, now sporting longer shocks with a dedicated new tower, new hubs and A-arms with inserts to easily adjust the geometry and longer dogbones to allow them to run more droop. The front end will sport new c-hubs and steering knuckles, but the final versions were not finished in time for this event and so they are running the prototype versions at this year’s DNC. Another interesting feature are the custom Avid carbon arms stiffeners, that make the car more precise when the track is high bite and very technical.

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February 9, 2014

Chassis Focus – Brent Thielke

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Car: Team Associated RC10 B5
Motor: Reedy Sonic Mach2 8.0
ESC: Reedy prototype
Batteries: Reedy 5800 65C SQ
Radio/Servo: Airtronics

Associated team manager Brent Thielke is running the all new B5 in rear motor configuration here in St Louis. Having only run the car for a limited time before coming to the JConcepts Winter Indoor Nationals he is still learning how to get the most from this all new platform but compared to his B4 he says it feels more solid on track with the car more responsive to the drivers input. BT is also running a number of soon to be released Factory Team option parts on his car including blue anodised aluminium rear hubs which are more durable and offer finer roll centre adjustment through the use of a vertical ball stud. Other optional parts include an aluminium steering set, aluminium rear arm mounts, aluminium front pin brace and graphite battery strap.

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