TSR podcast Episode 130

“Team Testing, 1,2,3 repeat”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

Tim got a ¼ scale car, well kind of anyways.

 

Maclan team testing weekend. Colin, Dave, Craig, Nathen, John, Kyle,

Bring the rain….

Eating in a parting lot until the sky’s opened up,

Hey, look at this dude with a little hand!

How many dudes can you get into one hotel room?

Time for hallway hits with our matching watches…

Sunday came without rain and so the testing was jumping off.

Build a team, build some memories.

The undercover car, what can I say it’s amazing.

Let us do some videos.

 

Covid and the Vegas race

 

Big Chiefs weekly updates

 

 

News items

 

R1 bailing on drag racing, how much of this is our fault?

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by Competition X)

Cold Solder Joint:

A solder joint with poor electrical integrity. It is not mechanically, or electrically solid, and has a rough or grainy look. Cold joints can cause radio interference.

 

Main Topic:

 

Tire Talk (rear) with Tim!

Starting off the categorization we have two “BELTED and NON-BELTED” all tires fall into one of the two categorize.

A belted tire

Non-belted

Tire bands,  

Tire size

Tire compound.

Foam inserts

 

I personally run Belted without foam tires exclusively in my car.

1,2,3 repeat, success with routines.

Routines and becoming consistent.

Let us walk through my pre- and post-run details.

Charge the pack.

Prep the tires and keep them warm.

Tune time.

Lane choice

Burn out (carpet is the way, low RPM, and light pressure)

At the point of no return so let us get all the data we can. Slow Mo, GNSS, timing system

Let the car go! They want to go straight if I do not mess it up.

Braking and the drive back. Run two profiles like Tim.

Clean and prep the tires.

Pull the data and analyze all the info you got, video, et, mph, data log (voltage, stages)

Make the changes, I suggest one at a time, this is the long road not the short one to success.

 

 

 

Featured Item of the week

 

Undercover drag wings “Hit Man” drag chassis.

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Maclan racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode

“Big Chief Big Show”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

Bruce Wayne Lively, brother Mason James getting what one needs for a poop story, inof and a good laugh

 

BIG SHOW WITH BIG CHIEF!!

Willie Trent shout out for putting it all together.

 

Tim Notes:

 

The big Maclan announcement came and it was a fun weekend.

So much excitement and welcoming I was really overwhelmed but it all.

 

MaxAmps, buy direct and Win!

 

Undercover drag wings announcement

 

Daniel Judd show?

 

Drag race life, its all about bodies and tunes and tires and its none stop, and I LOVE it.

 

 

Featured Item of the week

 

Maclan DRK (Drag Race King) esc 229.00

Pick one up at Your Battery Buddy. com your first stop when looking for drag parts.

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Maclan racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode

“New Year New Everything”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

Maclan announcement

Software development, TSR esc coming

 

Poop Phone is finally retired, for the new iPhone 12 pro MAX, Oh what did I do now…..

 

Wait, want a new poop story?

 

VP car and how close are we to a Vegas winning car?

 

 

News items

 

Proline and the mass exodus, what is going on?

 

Well remember when Horizon bought out Hobbico? Proline is part of that deal and if you were paying attention when they announced it you would know that some folks have already had a run with Horizon and don’t seem to feel the brand has anything for them anymore.

 

Could we be seeing the final days of real money contracts for RC drivers? You better offer more than just your ability to wheel if you plan to make a living off this industry. Things are changing and even though the players are young they are believing that the old requirements to get a check in RC are the same and I am sorry to tell you they are not.

 

 

 

RC Word Of the Week

Contract: An agreement between private parties creating mutual obligations enforceable by law. The basic elements required for the agreement to be a legally enforceable contract are: mutual assent, expressed by a valid offer and acceptance; adequate consideration; capacity; and legality.

 

Main Topic:

 

 

The Maclan ESC and motor and what have I learned?

 

Talk about the software and how it works: stages, timing, delays and how it all plays together.

 

GNSS logger and how it can be a help? Read the G’s

ET is off by about .15 but mph is on the money.

 

**Body battle: Malibu, Vette, IROC

 

IROC: Until this body came out the Vette was my choice for over all speed and aero dynamic smoothness but this one changes that and for me the IROC is the body to run if you have a 70 mph no prep car.

 

Vette: it looks aero dynamic and guess what it is, this body was the fastest body in the group averaging 1 mph faster speeds over the other two. The downside is this body likes to fly if you get the car just the tiniest bit sideways during braking, something I seem to do way too often due mostly to having to run on a spot with a short shut down area causing me to get into the brakes too hard too soon.

 

Malibu: boxy but flat sides make it stable going down the track and a tiny bit better during braking over the Vette

 

Featured Item of the week

 

Maclan SSI-065 battery powered soldering iron, small badass and under 100 bucks.

550°F $89.99

 

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, Maclan Racing, MKS Servo, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode 127

“Rainbows and Sunshine all day long”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

Sponsor time is coming, have you been a good supporter?

 

Tekin, what’s going on because we are hearing all kinds of crazy things Tim?

 

Tim Notes:

 

Testing: More of the same if not even better.

 

UC car: solid, A to B over and over. I did pull out too much slipper at the end of the day and causes it to get wild on the hit.

 

VP: Solid, what a pleasure it is to drive this car.

The wheelie bar is AWESOME

Told to make a link adjustment and it just made the car even more consistent.

 

JC belted were awesome

 

Tire prep is on point.

 

Bodies, the vette… I got it figured out so I don’t fly it in the air every run but it still feels a bit sketchy during breaking if you don’t go light on the breaks

 

The Malibu, I have no idea if this body is poor aerodynamically but on the track it’s the most stable thing I have ever run. It does have a blunt nose but the sides are pretty flat and the hood, roof and decklid are flat and allow for a larger amount of air flow which will make downforce.

 

Switched the vette off the VP and put the Malibu on,

 

UC gets the Cuda

 

Magnets all around!! This is the best way to mount a body for SO with tech and BS

 

Next step? More power! So I sent a motor off to PMT, Talk to them if you want to go faster.

 

Moving to a 3.5 or am I?

 

Winning Ratio:

2.4-up 80%

2.2-2.3 15%

2.0-2.1 5%

 

Avg race winner, 2.2-2.3

 

Phone in the toilet and how you too can ruin your phone….

 

 

News items

 

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

Turnbuckle

This is an adjustable link that has conventional threads on one end and reverse threads on the opposite end. This enables you to make vehicle adjustments without having to remove the link from a vehicle completely.

 

Main Topic:

 

KOTS is at 256 drivers

 

Featured Item of the week

 

1Up racing wheel nuts 12.00

Introducing the new 1up Racing Lockdown M4 Wheel Nuts! Our low-profile serrations feature an oversize outer diameter and narrow inner diameter offering up to 200% more surface area to put your wheels on lockdown! It’s easy to see the difference compared to commonly used wheel nuts which dig into and damage the wheel surface, resulting in excess flex.

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Tekin racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode

“One Car, Two Cars, Red Car, Blue Car”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

*Yuma race

Fighting and tire marks….

No prep perp, Now what?

Do friends need to fight for this to be fun?

 

Tire prep do we need to go over this whole thing again?

The track should have addressed those marks as soon as they were seen, to let them go and not expect people to want to stage in them is silly and this is what you end up with.

 

This is why the simple rule of no marks on the surface works so well, Clean them prep them whatever but have them dry and do a burn out on a carpet.

 

*Motor claim, well that makes things fun.

 

News items

 

Rudis motorsports buy out, we spoke to the new owner and here is what we got.

Congrats on the No Name Podcast for reaching 100 shows!

 

Ryan Mayfield wins in AZ, but it was a street outlaw car!

 

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

Dual Rate:

An adjustment found on most transmitters which allows adjustment of the distance a servo arm will travel.

 

 

Main Topic:

 

*The New VP car

Shocks on the wheelie bar

Big ass bumper/splitter

 

 

*The New UC car

Magnets were the way to go: and it seems to work great here is what I used:

KJ magnetics, 12lbs counter sunk disks

One on the body mount and one on the body.

Flashing tape is the best tape I have ever found.

 

Dyno time: We built one for the prostocks and it got us championships, but can we build one for the street outlaw cars?

 

The minipro, or the old brass wheel?

 

What do we need in a Street Outlaw motor?

Rotors?

Turns? 2.5-4.5 or do we need a 4.0 motor (it has to do with the internal winding and the direction it goes.

 

 

 

 

Featured Item of the week

 

1UP racing TS-100 Pro Put iron soldering set (89.99)

12-24v DC Power Source (XT60 Male Plug).  We recommend our 6S LiPo battery or a 24v power source for best performance!

 

 

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Tekin racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode

“Summer of LOVE or something”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

Love you Todd! Get Well!!

 

Tim Notes:

 

The internet and reading the horrifying abuse people put their cars or equipment through… blowing tires off freewheeling or needing 100K RPM….

 

Mid motor vs rear motor and what I have learned

 

Tyler’s Birthday bash race and how did it go?

SO HOT! The weather….

Ice Cream

First round of death! I smashed her up good…. Again, with the tires hitting???

 

How many more times am I going to rub the tires on the body before I finally raise it up?

**Corvette summer….

The Heat and your oils…. We should be talking about how the heat and cold effects the shocks and Diff oils.

 

Flat Tire Blues: How am I going to get home and the story of my night with tow companies….

 

Next UP** San Diego test day, Great weather, car kind of working and second fastest…

 

Racing is not the same anymore and I know why but not sure I can get back there ever again, and this makes me very sad.

 

 

Taking MCT oil and now others are joining me, What’s it do Timmy?

 

News items

 

SkyRC GPS thing that can measure the et of 132 feet. What a find whoever dug it up

 

Graupner USA is back!

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

Servo Reversing

This is just what it sounds like. Radios with this function allow the user to reverse the output of the servo. This is useful when you switch the radio system between vehicles that may use different servo placement or orientation.

 

 

Main Topic:

 

Arrow talk….

So, it works wide and then it doesn’t… WTF

Before we go down the Arrow timeline let me make it clear, I have set up MANY race cars I know a couple of people have had success with them but I should point out a few things not to knock them down but to remove this any doubt I didn’t start in RC yesterday. The issue is I am a trier and don’t like to be defeated, it would have been VERY easy to put this car on the shelf and never touch it again but I knew something was wrong and I wanted to know what it is…

It feels like it’s all going away from me, like I am standing on a dock in a bay as the ship slowly pulls out. Do I jump in and swim for it before it gets too far away or just let it sail?

 

Lets go down the list of things I have done, sort of an Arrow timeline

Got the car long before anyone else and boy was a shocked… it was thin and flexible… Boo

Started changing everything but really needed a thick chassis.

Got a thick chassis and it worked wide,

Then I went for a narrow car…. Where did it go and why do I have everything breaking now?

Had to re-find the car when I finally went back wide, and the car worked….

Where the issues really are……… First run brass hubs might have been all my issue.

Diff going locked to 200K, tire rubs, all these problems….

 

 

13.5 class, it looks fun and I really didn’t think I would build anything for it but guess what? The Vega body came out and now I am building one…..

Motor, 3D printed from Monster RC parts

Exhaust (where to put it)

lights (I am getting out of control)

Still need to figure out a rear spoiler

Going scale is NOT cheap…… Well if you go scale like I go scale….

Magnets the worlds greatest body mounting system (12 lbs for the win)

And I managed to bust up the 13.5 so that should tell you something about my street and this Arrow car…. The street is just simply off limits I must realize that.

ROAR motors…. Why do we have to deal with this…

I must find a place to test or I will never get up to speed.

 

Vanishing point car (MIP B5 trans case)

 

Undercover car, both associated based. (all B6 parts) I am hoping to see them SOON! Please dear lord.

 

 

 

Featured Item of the week

 

Get your MaxAmps.com "Dickies" style Work Shirt today. 19.99

These shirts are very good quality. Features a large "MA" logo on the back and a smaller MaxAmps.com logo on the chest.

 

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Tekin racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awe

TSR podcast Episode

“On the Road Again”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

Battery break in and how I cycle packs

 

Funny how easy in the RC hobby we rape other people’s ideas….

 

The old wiggle some part that’s clearly broken in a video…..

 

Bodies how lucky are we?? SO many to pick from its crazy

 

Tire prep rule and why it is even this way, basically its for all the cheaters that we cant control.

Fantom motor sheet, one rotor reading, no sensor board and stack resistance… I should call it the data for people that have no idea what they are looking at… its feel good data.

 

Ryan Mayfield out doing test hits in the street, good times all over.

 

Old questions from the last show we missed.

Tommy Burgess: No prep is getting stupid fast in a hurry, what do you think?

Dale Tounzen: does bracing the stock arrow work?

Mark Vyne: Feeling on tire prep?

 

New questions.

 

News items

 

Birthday Bash race, Saturday night (8pm) start time.

 

RCX coming back to Pomona May 22? Really?

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

A Arm

This generally refers to the upper and lower suspension arm of a vehicle; the arm’s 2-point chassis hinge and single point mount at the hub resembles the letter “A”.

 

 

 

Main Topic:

 

 

Street wars another perfectly inconsistent consistent race for me.

 

Before we get to that I did manage to sneak into a Proline video…

 

The car worked for a few hits and then went right, and I mean right. It doesn’t help that I keep drawing the fastest dudes in first round but come on I need a race car!

 

Trip to Arizona with my girl

 

What a burger, what a disappointment

 

It was HOT HOT HOT

 

Two races, One day! I could only make one race though….

 

Met Colin Branch and of course racing in AZ is always fun. Got some time with John Schutlz and my buddy Todd Solterio.

 

The car was not good, back to turning left on the hit. And I mean like worst then you have ever seen…. Now what?

 

Found a dead bearing and another bend dogbone….. ok this is getting silly, how on earth can narrowing a car cause all these issues?

 

Same kid won both races, Hats off for that effort. Kyle Ahs

 

Dutch bros coffee, So lets talk about the line and experience. Long ass line, gave us the coffee early (stress) and then we finally got out of the line quicker then I expected.

 

I am don’t trying to keep this car narrow, it worked or at least started to work wide and ugly so guess what its going to be wide again.

 

So off we go to rebuild it all….

 

Tire prep and what I have learned and tired.

 

Birthday Race and what is my plan for this one… No where to go but up

 

 

 

Featured Item of the week

 

MaxAmps 5000 Mah Graphene 2 cell hard case 99.00

This new graphene technology provides incredible benefits including:

 

High power energy density

Low internal resistance

High discharge rate

Long cycle life from improved electrical and thermal energy

Better charge retention

Specifications:

 

45+mph in most brushless setups (7.4 volts)

True 175C rating

30 minutes average run time (5000mah capacity)

ROAR Approval Pending

Lifetime Warranty

5C fast charge capable

Hard outer case

5mm bullet connectors

138mm x 47mm x 25mm

258g

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Tekin racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!

TSR podcast Episode

“The ARROW Car”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

 

Good Bye to our friend Grant…..

 

(MY) Covid world…. And my week at home…

 

Battery Break in secret

1st run half power, full squeeze 2-3 seconds burst and recharge

2nd run, 2 passes 2-3 seconds back to back, recharge

3rd run, Full power 1 pass full squeeze. Recharge

4th run, 2 passes back to back full power, full squeeze 3 second burst, recharge

You will see less heat and puff and from here forward you can go crazy.

 

I spent 100 bucks to narrow my car 1 inch

 

13.5 class WTF did I do?

 

Kitchen draw wheels for wheelie bar wheels! RAD

Jalapeno Balls…..

 

Super Chip race and James Dribble in the ARROW 70 mph

Not as big as others but still a nothing historical RC drag race.

Tire problems, lets talk about tire prep.

 

Where are all the tires? No Clay, no belted… What the heck is happening?

 

 

Add a timing system and watch all you people go away……

News items

 

Happy Birthday MATT!

 

Vegas cash night (Friday… What the heck) so I didn’t go

Mark and Jack in the finals both Az dudes. Mark won… But wait there is more!

Tire prep issues… Drama that didn’t involve me for once.

 

The Thick chassis is on the site! (What would I run if I was ordering?)

 

Jconcepts Caddy body is released.

 

The new Cuda body… Oh BOY

 

Route 66 Flagstaff cash race AUG 22, I plan to go

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

Slipper Clutch

This refers to a device found primarily in off-road vehicles that allows the spur gear to slip under excessive load. This feature protects the driveline from excessive wear and, when set properly, makes it easier to drive in loose conditions.

 

 

Main Topic:

 

 

 

Did another cash day and well I am consistent…. First round looser, this time at least it was to a fast car…

Tyler is doing a great job, we are all seeing racing out here grow and that’s awesome, New people new fun.

 

Got to do testing and it went great! Met a bunch of new folks and all where super cool, I have no idea what everyone’s name is but I look forward to getting to test with them again.

 

Good lord it was hot

 

So, lets talk about the arrow car, I finally LOVE IT!

 

Shocks (front 62mm, 80wt; rear 75mm, 80wt)

 

Motor and ESC (RSPro black, 4.5 Eliminator)

 

The chassis likes Rake

 

Slipper and transmission (locked diff “no more leaking diff..) Built a new transmission and things are better... weird.

The slipper… I don’t even want to talk about it but here goes. It’s a VTS Revolution slipper an so far its worked for me but I am not sure any slipper wouldn’t have worked it was the first I tired.

 

Thank you to Troy and James for so much help and guidance.

 

When I went to Az it was to learn and man did I ever, plus all these guys were very open to helping. James has been nothing but help with ideas and very open to what he is doing and what’s worked (friend?). I can’t thank him enough for the help and Troy for encouraging me to try a slipper.

 

Tire warmers, oh BOY those guys use them and now I see why! The benefits of using one are higher then the cost to me.

 

Tire gluing machine is wonderful, now that I have used it a few times its pretty great.

 

Found some new wheels I really like that have massive offset (proline f11)

 

Belted tires and my battle with the car wanting to turn left at halftrack. My bodies are too low.

 

I did score over 47k views on the video of my care spinning down the track, but I also learned what the heck is going on with my car. Made Gabe’s day… some people…..

 

Can I run non belted again? I am not sure, but I hope so.

 

I do love that I feel good inside that I have a solid game plan for the car each run. I know I am at the beginning, but it feels closer.

 

MaxAmps 4750 Graphene shorties are so great I often over look what I have in battery power!

 

Testing adjustments

 

Now I need more power (how are you going to do that?)

 

Maybe some teeth on the pinion

 

Do we

Night one of another two night show case

TSR podcast Episode

“Arizona or Bust”

Hosts: Tim Smith and Matt Howsen

 

Show introduction and welcome.

 

 

Tim Notes:

 

Truce talk, If, When and WHY?

 

 

News items

 

 

 

RC Word Of the Week (brought to you by RC Driver)

Pitch

In its simplest terms, this refers to the size of a gear’s teeth. For instance, a 32-pitch pinion gear has larger teeth than a 48-pitch gear. The number represents how many teeth per inch.

 

 

Main Topic:

 

 

Arizona Cash Night.

 

The drive up was uneventful

 

Get to see Todd and its HOT

 

Another wife takes me out in first round… Is this my new thing?

 

No freeway over pass lights made a dark rack so not many photos or video

 

Ran the DB10 into a light pole then won the next round.

 

I ran the DB10 and it wheelies a lot so I learned something about roads, flat vs crowns and wheelie cars vs driver cars. So much being learned every time I go out and this is 100% the reason I wanted to get to racing even if I really am not at a level to win anything.

The DB10 was a cone lover…..

 

I did run the Arrow after the event had wrapped up and made about 15 hits in a row. Some good mostly bad BUT it seems to be working now with smaller front shocks.

 

Went to the B side and won my first round, then realized all the fast dudes were on that ladder and now I am screwed…

 

Lost to James but he won so that’s not bad

Chatted all night long

 

Falling in love with the Vanishing point car mostly because its AE based, and I seem to love that.

 

The Vanishing point Slash conversion (see live feed)

 

Is Losi coming out with a car?

 

Shout out to Alan, James and the crew for putting on such a well-run race. 1200 bucks to winner, 150 to B side

I got a shirt! Thanks!!

 

Trying to sleep without a noise machine…. WTF

 

Drive home, why not I am awake.

 

No breakfast thanks Covid-19 Bugles and fun-onions

The big Red BUG

 

Long drive but it was nice, and I should plan to do it more often.

 

I NEED a Solid race car…..

 

Found a hidden shirt and hat in the car! Thanks, Coy

 

Featured Item of the week

 

Thank you to MaxAmps, MKS Servo, Tekin racing, Graupner USA, CowRC, All you awesome fans, We love you all!