Chassis Focus – Ty Tessmann

Chassis: HB D413
Motor: Orion VST2 Pro 4.5
ESC:Orion R10.1
Batteries: Orion 4o00
Radio/Servo: Futaba/Savox
Body – Pro-Line Type R

Remarks – Current 1/8th scale World Champion Ty Tessmann is running the HB D413 with a number of option parts to make it work better on Astro. The backbone of the car is the new 6mm longer chassis plate and thicker top deck to make the car stiffer. In the drive train the centre diff has been changed out with an as yet unreleased slipper put in its place which is better in high grip conditions. In the front there is a new ball raced aluminium steering rack while both front and rear there is new diff cases that have higher hinge pin mounting points that allow the car to be run with lower ride height without changing the car’s resting geometry.

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Chassis Focus – Michal Orlowski

Chassis: Schumacher CAT K2
Motor: LRP 5.5
ESC: LRP Flow 3.8
Batteries: LRP 4500 Shorty
Radio/Servo: Sanwa/KO Propo
Body – Kit body

Remarks – Reigning 4wd European Champion Michal Orlowski is running the all new CAT K2, which was debuted at the opening round of the EOS in Germany a fortnight ago. Coming here with a new battery and electronics layout, the battery mounted in line with the chassis has made the car much easier to drive compared to sideways. Starting practice with the same setup from the warmup, he has added more rear toe in to make the car easier to drive and played around with tires and front tire gluing to get rid of the edgy feel.

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Chassis Focus – Dustin Evans

Chassis – TLR 22-4
Motor – Orion VST2 Pro 4.5
ESC – Orion R10.1
Battery – Orion 4000
Radio/Servos – Spektrum
Body – Lightweight Cab forward body

Remarks – Dustin Evans is running a slightly modified version of the 22-4 from TLR here in Japan. The car sports machined delrin front lower arms on the car which offers up an additional pivot point on the c-hub so that the tire has more leverage on the shock. This makes the car less aggressive on the front end so that it wont flip in the corners. At the rear of the car the wishbones have been reversed so that the shocks can be mounted on the front of the rear shock tower, reducing the weight transfer off-power. In terms of setup, Dustin has not tested on astro with the car in this configuration but in the early runs he has found the car to be less edgy than anticipated.

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New in the Pits – JConcepts Part 3

In the third part of our New in the Pits with JConcepts, we focus on option parts specific to the Associated B5M. First up are new steering blocks made from aluminium which feature a fixed 4mm trailing position. Using an adapter sleeve for the axle bearings it makes it easier to get better alignment for the bearings over the stock part. Lightweight, it has machined pockets in the part’s surface and will be available in blue or black.

At the back of the car there is new 2-piece rear hub carriers with vertical mounted ball stud. Lighter than the standard hub carrier it also features a smaller outer bearing than the stock version. The top bracket offers 2 stock locations for the camber mount as well as the ability to have 3 locations on the bracket itself allowing you to easily change the camber gain.

Also new for the B5M is this new honeycomb milled chassis plate which has been made out of hard anodised 7075 aluminium. The machining removes 23 grams of weight compared with the stock B5M chassis while the way it has been milled further helps its rigidity. To complete the looks it has machined chamfered edges and laser etched JC logos.

For the B5 range of vehicles there is a new carbon fibre front shock tower similar to what JC had available for the B4 range of cars. Machined from 4mm thick carbon it sports an aluminium front camber link brace that stretches across the front of the tower and which offers multiple camber link mounts, 3 instead of 2, and the ability to move the whole mount up and down in 2 positions. Further to this there is two different brackets, a standard wider version and a narrower version that moves the ball stud mounts closer together. Also for this assembly there will be 2 different shock towers, one for standard front arm and one for gullwing arm configurations.

Finally for the rear of the B5M is a new rear bulkhead which was inspired by a version that JConcepts made for the C4.2 buggy. A slim stance rear bulkhead, this lightweight aluminium part has integrated sway bar mounts and comes in anodised black or blue and sports chamfered edges for looks. Mounted to a 4mm thick carbon fibre rear shock tower, it along with all the other parts will be available in the next few months.

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New in the Pits – Yokomo YZ4

Debuted at the opening round of the EOS in Germany 2 weeks ago where it won in the hands of Lee Martin, the new YZ4 from Yokomo has been designed by Shin Adachi and is a big departure from the previous model. Featuring a dual belt design, replacing the previous shaft drive version, both belts drive a 2wd style 3 gear transmission at either end of the car. This allows the use of small gear driven differentials, the size of the diffs being the basis of the new car, but with small belt pulleys prone to slip this gearbox idea was developed. The result is a car that is easier to drive in the way the power is delivered .

The new configuration sees the motor centrally mounted under the top deck and allows for multiple battery mounting positions for adjusting the weight distribution in the car and can even accept saddle packs in both orientations. Developed on Astro and carpet, but set to work very well also on dirt, it sports an aluminium chassis with a 15 degree kick up with very little overhang so that it can clear jumps without catching at the front. The top deck has touring car inspired flex adjustment and apart from the uprights, c-hubs and shocks is a completely new car. Expect it to be released in November.

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Chassis Focus – Billy Easton

Chassis – Serpent SRX-2 MH
Motor – LRP 6.5
ESC – LRP Flow
Battery – ProtekRc 4250
Radio/Servos – Airtronics/ProtekRc
Body – Kit body

Remarks – Serpent Offroad head designer Billy Easton is running a prototype version of their upcoming 2WD buggy called the SRX-2 MH. The car features a low profile transmission, although a standard transmission version of the car will also be made available. Both the low profile and standard transmissions will be produced in 3 and 4 gears versions, the choice on which will come standard in the kit is still to be decided. Up front the kick-up plate has machined from aluminium, while the chassis on Billy’s car here in Japan is carbon but as it is still a pre production car it may still come with an aluminium chassis in the kit. Finally the car will be supplied with two different pairs of side guards to allow for different LiPo orientation.

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