September 7, 2013

Chassis Focus – Dustin Evans

Sat-Evans22-9

Chassis Name – TLR 22 2.0
Motor – Team Orion
Batteries – Team Orion
ESC – Team Orion
Tires – JConcepts
Radio/Servos – Spektrum
Remarks – Former National Champion and Reedy race winner Dustin Evans is running the recently released TLR22 2.0 here at FRC in Mississippi. The main changes to the car is the new front end geometry around the steering knuckles which move the pivot point more to the centre of the wheel which helps make the steering less twitchy, making for smoother turning in the corners. Dustin is running the car in mid motor configuration in preparation for the Worlds and says that he hasn’t run a rear motor 2wd buggy in several months. Also on the car is the optional cab forward body shell, Dustin preferring this to the standard kit shell.

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August 22, 2013

Chassis Focus – Yuichi Kanai

Thurs-KanaiMP9-3

Chassis Name – Kyosho Inferno MP9
Engine – RB Yuichi Kanai edition
Fuel – Byron (Handout)
Tires – AKA
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Remarks – Kyosho designer and former World Champion Yuichi Kanai is running a standard car with a few option parts but has nothing new in development with him for this race. Compared to how he runs his car back in Japan, he is running harder springs and prior to going out on the damp track he changed to super soft AKA Impacts and put tape on his rear wishbones and rear guards to allow quick and easy cleaning. One interesting fact is that Yuichi still runs an old crystal radio.

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August 22, 2013

Chassis Focus – Atsushi Hara

Thurs-HaraMBX7-9

Chassis Name – Mugen MBX7
Engine – OS Max XZ
Fuel – Byron (Handout)
Tires – AKA
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Remarks – Former HB driver Atsushi Hara is running a stock out of the box Mugen MBX7 bought from a shop in Thailand and features only 3 option parts, the chassis front upper plate, the aluminium servo saver arm and a Futaba aluminium servo arm. Having only gotten the car prior to coming to China for the FEMCA race his first outing was with the stock setup and although he has tried many set-up changes, including set-ups from Robert Batlle which he found to aggressive, he has reverted back to the stock setup with only softer springs and .2mm thinner front and rear anti-roll bars. For round 4 of qualifying he is going to try super soft AKA Impacts in the slightly damp track conditions, having run a soft compound version on Wednesday.

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July 13, 2013

Chassis Focus – Joern Neumann

Sat-JoernDurango-2

Chassis Name – Durango Prototype
Engine – Picco Boost
Fuel – Runner Time
Tires – JConcepts
Radio/Servos – Futaba
Remarks – Joern, along with team mate Hupo Honigl, are running a prototype Durango here in France. The car is almost completely new apart from the drivetrain and is performing very well this week with Joern qualifying in 8th position. Having only got the hand built car just before the Euros warmup race, he has only driven it once since. Overall the car gives more traction and steering than its predecessor and with both drivers happy with the performance we will most likely see a similar car go into production in the coming months.

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July 13, 2013

Chassis Focus – Lee Martin

Sat-MartinMBX7-1

Chassis Name – Mugen MBX7
Engine – Beat B4 Plus
Fuel – Nitrolux
Tires – Pro-Line
Radio/Servos – Sanwa/Xpert
Remarks – Since arriving in France, EP Offroad European Champion Lee Martin has softened up the setup on his MBX7 adjusting diff oils, shock oils and roll bars to get more traction and to also get the car to rotate. Having run Ions, Big Blox and most recently Blockade from Pro-Line until now, he will use Big Blox from the Semi final practice onwards which he believes are similar to how the Blockade feel but he feels he makes less mistakes using them.

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July 11, 2013

Chassis Focus – Yannick Aigoin

Thurs-AigoinRC8-10

Chassis Name – Team Associated RC8 / Centro conversion
Engine – nVision
Fuel – Meccamo
Tires – ProCircuit Hot Dices
Radio/Servos – Spektrum
Remarks – Two-time European champion Yannick Aigoin is running the Centro conversion on his Associated RC8 buggy. With the engine mounted 10mm further forward and the rear offset increased by 8mm, through a new rear upright and mounting it to the wishbone so that it is shorter, the car is working well for the Frenchman. In terms of setup it is almost identical to that used in his National Championship but he has slightly tweaked the diff oils for the conditions. In terms of tires, like all his ProCircuit team mates he has tried the different options of tires available to him but has reverted to the Hot Dices which he says just work the best.

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