January 21, 2017

Chassis Focus – Ryan Maifield

Chassis: Yokomo YZ-4 Proto
Motor: Orion VST2 Pro Lightweight 5.5T
ESC: Orion R10.1 Vortex Pro
Batteries: Orion 4000mAh
Radio/Servo: Sanwa/MKS
Body: JConcepts S2
Tires (handout): Pro-Line Positron/Transistor
Remarks – Ryan Maifield is making his Yokomo debut at the Reedy Race of Champions in Huntington Beach. Having only tested the car for 2 days prior to this event he is using a prototype version of the YZ-4, which features a new shortened chassis plate, centrally mounted steering servo and larger outer belt pullies. In terms of set-up he is working with his team mates to find the perfect balance for the car between hard to drive and fast and has changed the front spring, rear swaybar and rear shock position.

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January 20, 2017

Chassis Focus – Ty Tessmann

Chassis: Xray XB4 2017
Motor: Orion VST2 Pro Lightweight 5.5T
ESC: Orion R10.1 Vortex Pro
Batteries: Orion 3800mAh XS
Radio/Servo: Sanwa/MKS
Body: Kit body
Tires (handout): Pro-Line Positron/Transistor
Remarks – Ty Tessmann is making his race debut with new sponsors Xray, driving the 2017 Xray XB4. having only received the car on the 3rd of January, the Canadian has spent all the time since then testing in California in preperation for the Reedy Race. A steep learning curve to know how all the adjustments work and to what extent, they have made a number of changes to their original setup since arriving at OCRC this week. Needing more steering, they have changed diff oils, front geometry and added more front and rear droop and so far they are very happy with the car’s performance. One interesting point is that he is using the XB2 wing on the rear of the car which is more flat than the kit XB4 version and which he feels is more consistent.

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January 20, 2017

Chassis Focus – Dakotah Phend

Chassis: TLR 22-4 2.0
Motor: Orion VST2 Pro Lightweight 5.5T
ESC: Orion R10.1 Vortex Pro
Batteries: Orion 4500mAh
Radio/Servo: Spektrum
Body: Kit body
Tires (handout): Pro-Line Positron/Transistor
Remarks – Reigning Reedy Race of Champions Champion Dakotah Phend is running his standard setup on his TLR 22-4 2.0. Having tested a number of changes on the car at OCRC last week, he reverted back to his base setup. One interesting point is that on the rear of the car Phend is using the original V1.0 rear hubs and driveshafts as he feels it gives the car a better flow through the corner as opposed the more aggressive cornering on the standard part.

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January 8, 2017

Chassis Focus – Merlin Depta

Chassis – Serpent Project 4X
Motor – LRP X20 13.5T (Handout)
ESC – G-Force TS16
Batteries – Arrowmax 7800mAh
Tires – LRP (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa/Savox
Bodyshell – Blitz GS-F II
Remarks – 2015 8th scale vice European Champion Merlin Depta concluded an impressive DHI Cup finishing 3rd overall from 3rd on the grid in the Super Stock division behind the wheel of the Serpent Project 4X. His example is pretty standard, only sporting some Arrowmax adjustable body posts as an option.

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January 8, 2017

New In The Pits – LRP Flow X TC Spec

We caught up with LRP’s Aleš Dobnikar who showed us an example of their new Flow X TC Spec coming from their first production batch. The speedo has a completely redesigned power and logic board, and now features very powerful FETs customised for LRP. Aleš was kind enough to open the unit for us so as to show the finishing and the FETs in detail. The system now allows for up to 220A of constant power, and as a prototype has already been crowned World Champion with Ronald Volker in China last September.

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January 7, 2017

Chassis Focus – Naoki Akiyama

Chassis – Yokomo BD8
Motor – Yokomo RP 4.5T
ESC – Yokomo RPX
Batteries – Yokomo 5000mAh
Tires – LRP (handout)
Radio/Servo – Sanwa
Bodyshell – Protoform LTC-R
Remarks – Yokomo’s rising star Naoki Akiyama has TQ’d the opening round of qualifying here at the DHI Cup and is set to start third on the grid for tomorrow’s A-Main. Using an aluminium chassis, his BD8 is pretty standard, titanium screws and turnbuckles being the only options used by the Japanese driver, together with a 40g centre weight.

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