Chassis Focus – Yusuke Suguira

Chassis: Kyosho Lazer ZX6
Motor: Muchmore Fleta 5.0
ESC: Muchmore Fleta Pro
Batteries: Muchmore 4500
Radio/Servo: Sanwa
Body – Lightweight Kit body

Remarks – Current 4wd pace setter Yusuke Suguira is running his Kyosho Lazer ZX6 with a number of option parts on the car. Having tested extensively at the Yatabe Arena’s permanent astro track in the lead up to this race he is running his base setup here in practice with just a few small tweaks. In terms of new parts on the car Yusuke is using new shock towers front a rear that have higher shock mounting points that allow the car to run a lower ride height while maintaining the shock’s full travel. The chassis also has a rear stiffening brace for better flex characteristics and finally there is an unspecified update to the car’s drivetrain.

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Chassis Focus – Bruno Coelho

Chassis: Xray XB4 16
Motor: LRP 5.5
ESC: LRP Flow
Batteries: LRP 4500
Radio/Servo: Sanwa
Body – Kit body

Remarks – European Champion in 1/10th 200mm and surprise 2wd pace setter at the opening round of the EOS, Bruno Coelho was fastest in free practice and 2nd after controlled practice here in Japan with the all new Xray XB4 16.  The car, which is the final production model, sports an all new aluminium chassis plate with no top deck, the latter being replaced with carbon braces mounted to the centre of the chassis plate. The weight in the car has been moved forward by moving the motor and electronics closer to the front, the result being a car that carries a lot of speed in the corners yet is very easy to drive. Other changes include new front wishbones with different inner pivot pin position, reinforced gearbox cases front and rear and an all new bodyshell.

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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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