October 7, 2013

Chassis Focus – Meen Vejrak

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Car: KM Racing K8
Engine: O.S. Speed
Fuel: Cosmo
Tires: Zac Project
Bodyshell: Protoform R18
Radio/Servo: Airtronics

The reigning 1/10th 200mm World Champion, Meen Vejrak is one of a number of top racers running KM Racing’s new K8 chassis. Having been one of the car’s development drivers he has done many laps of the Kei Tune track in preparation for this event. In terms of setup Meen says because the traction is slightly different to how it has been in the past, most probably due to the large number of drivers running on the track, he has made some shock oil and piston adjustments to try to get more steering in the car. The car is expected to be released to the public following the World Championships.

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September 29, 2013

Chassis Focus – Ryan Cavalieri

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Car: Associated B44.2
ESC: Orion
Motor: Orion 5.5T
Batteries: Orion
Radio/Servo: Airtronics

Defending 4wd World Champion Ryan Cavalieri is running the Associated B44.2 with a number of specific parts for the unique track conditions developed following the Nationals and Worlds warmup race. The most noticeable part is the one off aluminium chassis plate which was made to help dissipate heat but also add more weight to the car lower down to help combat the high grip conditions. Ryan is also running gear diffs on the car as well as updated drive cups from the centre drive spur gear as the track is very unforgiving on the cars drivetrain. RC is also running the newly released low friction ball cups and harder A-arms and on top he is using the latest B44 shell from JConcepts. In terms of setup he has worked on stiffening up the front end by running harder springs, stiffer oils and even trying a front anti-roll bar.

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September 28, 2013

Chassis Focus – Ryan Lutz

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Car: Team Durango DEX-410 V3
ESC: Tekin
Motor: Tekin
Batteries: Protek RC
Radio/Servo: Futaba

Ryan Lutz is now back running the standard DEX410 V3 having broken his prototype yesterday in practice. The main difference between the cars on track is that the prototype lands better, which he puts down to it having a longer chassis and different component layout as well as limited up travel. Ryan has now tried to limit the V3’s up travel which he says worked quite well on landing in Saturday’s final practice but now wants to tip over so he needs now to find a good compromise. The Durango is working well in practice setting the quickest lap time in controlled practice with the prototype in the hands of team mate Joern Neumann, with Lutz in 2nd with the current car.

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September 28, 2013

Chassis Focus – Naoto Matsukura

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Car: Yokomo B-Max4 III
Esc: Yokomo BLS-R3.1
Motor: Yokomo RP 6.5T
Batteries: Yokomo
Radio/Servo: Sanwa

Naoto is running the new B-Max4 III from Yokomo which is a mostly new platform over their previous chassis. The chassis is now made of aluminium with the car not utilizing a top deck it is still very stiff through the use of braces. The drivetrain is also new with Naoto choosing to use ball diffs, despite gear diffs coming in the car as standard. The suspension components are retained but there is new shock towers and floating steering servo mount. The new car seems to be running very well with Naoto setting some of the fastest lap times during practice.

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September 28, 2013

New in the Pits – Sanwa & Tekin

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Sanwa have their new Super Vortex Zero ESC here on display which through the use of an optional RX-472 receiver and its built in SSL functionality can do some cool stuff. Using the company’s latest M12 and latest Excez transmitters you can not only receive speedo and motor temperatures in real time but also the rpm of your motor as well. On top of that you can change the parameters of your ESC directly through a menu on the radio. The speedo itself runs with the usual range of competition motors and comes as standard with the grey anodised heatsink as well as the cooling fan and sensor cable, but Sanwa will offer a limited edition red and purple anodised version of the heatsink.

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Introduced here in Chico the RSX competition brushless speed controller is being used by Ryan Lutz among other drivers. The compact unit is designed for the use with 2S to 3S LiPo battery packs and it offers a billet aluminium heatsink housing, an optional fan shroud system and a highspeed fan for maximum cooling. The controller is compatible with sensored and sensorless motors, offers easy on-board programming and an adjustable high voltage BEC system with 6V to 7.4V output. Sporting an 180A rating the RSX is good for the use with motors as low as 2.5T with 2S batteries and 8.5T motors with 3S packs.

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September 27, 2013

Chassis Focus – Ty Tessmann

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The car that won this year’s US Nationals in the hands of Ty Tessmann has broken cover here in Chico. A very non conventional design the HB D4-13 can be configured in two ways with a shorty pack on one side at the rear with the motor mounted to the rear of the centre diff and the electronics to the front or with a saddle pack at the rear and the motor to the front of the car and main electronics in the middle. Looking like a well finished car, nice features include a centre gear differential, wishbones that can be stiffened with insert plates, widely adjustable Ackermann, carbon chassis & top deck and the unique front and rear shock tower braces. The car normally comes with a 3 piece body shell but Ty is using his own designed Pro-Line Type-R shell this weekend.

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View the full HB D4-13 gallery here