New in the Pits – AKA

New from AKA are two 1/8th buggy tires, the first of which is the Rasp, a small pin tire suitable for hard packed low dust conditions. Considered more of a qualifying tire it features thread reinforcement to support the pins. Available in late March in super soft, soft and medium compound.

Also new from AKA is the Chainlink, a tire that was previously available as a 1/10th buggy tire, it is suitable for hard packed blue groove. Essentially a beefed up version of the 1/10th tire it features a dense thread pattern which offers long wear and consistent handing. Also available in late March in super soft, soft and medium compound.

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Chassis Focus – Ryan Maifield

Chassis – TLR 8ight-T 3.0
Engine – Team Orion
Tyres – JConcepts Chasers Green
Fuel – Sidewinder
Radio/Servos – Airtronics/Hitec
Body – JConcepts Punisher

Remarks – Former DNC winner Ryan Maifield is using the TLR 8ight-T 3.0 with some option parts, including Lunsford turnbuckles and TLR aluminium option parts throughout. In terms of setup, making some changes to his base setting he has removed some rear toe and went harder in the rear shock oil to make the car rotate more. Ryan is also debuting the new JConcepts Chasers tire for Truggy.

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Chassis Focus – Ryan Lutz

Chassis – Tekno RC NT48
Engine – Alpha A352
Tyres – AKA Impact soft
Fuel – Byron Fuel
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Body – Kit body

Remarks – Ryan Lutz is running a standard version of the NT48 1/8th truggy from Tekno RC. Using his base setup from the Battle of the Sikest, which was held at the Fear Farm late last year, he plans to go for harder diff oil on all three diffs to stop the car from diffing out which is causing the tires to balloon coming out of the corners. For the first qualifier he is also planning Grid Irons from AKA in place of Impacts.

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Chassis Focus – Austin Blair

Chassis – S-Workz S350T
Engine – Protek RC Samurai
Tyres – AKA Impact soft
Fuel – Byron Fuel
Radio/Servos – Airtronics/Protek RC
Body – Test body

Remarks – A-Main team driver Austin Blair is running the newly released S-Workz S350T truggy. Using the same setup as his home track Silver Dollar Raceway, he has just adjusted the clutch to make it stiffer to get more punch out of the corners. Using the new big bore shocks from the S-Workz buggy, he is also using 8 gram weights on the rear uprights to keep the wheels more planted over the bumps.

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Chassis Focus – Jared Tebo

Chassis – Kyosho Inferno MP9 TKI3
Engine – MX
Tyres – AKA Chainlink soft
Fuel – MX
Radio/Servos – KO Propo
Body – Kyosho Cab forward

Chassis – Kyosho Inferno ST-RR Evo
Engine – MX
Tyres – AKA Gridiron soft
Fuel – MX
Radio/Servos – KO Propo
Body – Kit body

Remarks – Former DNC winner Jared Tebo is running the same package as last year with the exception of the engine, which is the OS based MX engine. Jared was very complimentary of the power from the engine and says he now doesn’t have to push his cars so much. For his buggy he is running a different shock piston setup, something which he tried for the first time at the recent Kyosho Masters in Vegas, which comprises of fewer but larger piston holes than normal. Also on his buggy he is running the newly released Chainlink tires in soft compound which he says have very low wear and are very consistent and suited best for dry dusty conditions. In terms of the truggy it is a pretty basic setup for Jared, with the exception of the new MX engine which he ran in the truck for the first time here yesterday. He is using a M2C Racing radio tray that he says mounts the battery box better than the standard setup and also uses a King Headz rear chassis brace.

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Chassis Focus – Adam Drake

Chassis – Mugen MBX7R
Engine – Novarossi Mito 4
Tyres – Pro-Line Blockade M3
Fuel – Flashpoint
Radio/Servos – Futaba/Hitec
Body – Kit

Chassis – Mugen MBX7T
Engine – Novarossi Virtus .21S
Tyres – Pro-Line Holeshot M3
Fuel – Flashpoint
Radio/Servos – Futaba/Hitec
Body – Kit

Remarks – Adam Drake is making his race debut for Mugen here at the Dirt Nitro Challenge at the Fear Farm in Phoenix. Having just in the past few days put together a deal with Mugen for this race, he has a long term goal to work together with the company. With such a short time to get his car’s ready Adam built his buggy and truggy himself while his eBuggy came assembled from team manager Tim Long. Running with a base setup from the team and having only two days of practice at two different tracks in California prior to coming here he has still a lot of learning to do but is pleased with the performance of his new rides so far considering his limited time with the cars.