Red RC - RC Car News

German AME distributors Ruddog have introduced the new T-Shox V2 1/10th touring car shock absorbers. Completely redesigned AME left no stone untouched inside and out but the design of the shock absorbers remained the same with a through-type shock rod making volume compensators unnecessary. Thanks to the redesign with a better guided shock rod the shocks offer a more consistent and smoother ride. The piston now moves perfectly through the shock body which results in optimised oil flow over the whole dampening movement. The design also results in zero rebound and thus perfectly matched left-right and front-rear shocks. The set included a total of four shocks and it is usable for a range of touring cars including the latest offerings from Yokomo and Xray.

New features:
– Big bore shock body
– High grade silicon pressure compensation bladder
– New silicon sealing O-ring
– New guidance shims
– Pre-mounted piston and shock rod for a play free piston
– Easier to build
– T-Shox assembly tool included

Source: Ruddog [ruddog.eu]

Racers Edge have introduced their new Ultra 120 Touch AC/DC touch-screen multi-chemistry charger. Featuring a new 16-bit CPU the charger allows for safe and accurate charging of Lithium-Polymer cells, including the new LiHV  batteries, as well as LiFe and a range of other cell chemistries with a charge rate of up to 12A, with automatic protection against reverse polarity input or output. A convenient 5V USB outlet delivers power to charge phones, tablets, or other devices. Advanced users can adjust the LiPo charge termination voltage to extract maximum performance, while a built-in cooling fan enhances reliability and efficiency. The control software allows the user to choose from 10 different alerts, beeps, and tones to provide additional personalisation options. The device includes removable AC and DC power input cords, balance board, charge lead with T-plug output, and stylus pen.

Specifications:
– Input: 100V-240V AC, 11V-18V DC
– Battery Type: Ni-Cd, NiMH, LiPo, Li-ion, LiFe, LiHV, Pb
– NiCd/NiMH: 1-15 cells
– Lithium: 1-8S Pb: 2V, 6V, 12V
– Charge rate: 0.1A-12.0A (0.1A steps)
– Discharge rate: 0.1A-5.0A (0.1A steps)
– Battery capacity: 50-15,000mAh
– Safety timer: 10-990 minutes (user adjustable)
– Trickle cCharge: 0.1A or off
– NiMH/NiCd peak sensitivity (- Delta V): 1-15mV

Source: Racers Edge [racers-edge.com]

The first round of the 2017 South-African ORE national championship was held at the Welkom RC Arena, host of the 2018 IFMAR ISTC 1/12th World Championships. It is fair to say that the facility has revived RC racing in South Africa and for the first time in many years there were five Touring Modified mains, a full 1/12th Modified main as well as a full main of 1/12th Stock. In Touring Modified and for the first time in many years over 46 entries ensured competitive racing and the drivers had to be at their best to qualify for the A-mains. The battle for the podium was really hot with great runs from Hein Kotze, Anderton Smith, Antonio Caroli and Ashley Hurley. After missing the first qualifying run it was Hein Kotze who put in great runs in Q2, Q3 and Q4 to secure the TQ spot. Youngster Ashley Hurley improved Alexander Hagberg’s 2016 record to 12.7s and showed that he was a force to be reckoned with by qualifying in 2nd with Antonio Caroli 3rd and Anderton Smith in 4th.

In A1 there were some accidents but it was Hein Kotze who took the win with Antonio 2nd and Jason Hillcoat managed a great 3rd after starting in 9th place. In A2 Hein Kotze was unfortunate to break his rear wing which allowed Antonio Caroli to take the win with Shaun Schutte second and André Greeff a good 3rd. In A3 Hein Kotze drove a perfect race to victory with Ashley Hurley second and again Jason Hillcoat achieved a fine third place.

Modified Touring final results:
1. Hein Kotze – Xray
2. Antonio Caroli – Xray
3. Jason Hillcoat – Tamiya
4. Shaun Schutte – Xray
5. André Greeff – Xray
6. Anderton Smith – Xray
7. Ashley Hurley – Xray
8. Willem Janse van Rensburg – VBC Racing
9. Deon Gove – Xray
10.Willie du Plooy – Xray

The Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring class was very competitive with fast laps recorded by these drivers. Some of last year’s drivers moved to the Modified class and it was a battle between Jean Wessels, Pieter de Villiers, Francois de Jongh and Jonathan Wilken for the TQ spot. Jonathan won the first three qualifying rounds and secured a great TQ. Jonathan Wilken also managed to win both A1 and A2 to settle the win. It was a great battle between Pieter de Villiers and Jean Wessels for the final podium positions.

Pro-Stock 13.5T Touring final results:
1. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
2. Jean Wessels – Team Associated
3. Pieter de Villiers – Xray
4. Francois de Jongh – Xray
5. Christo Hitchins – Xray
6. Michael Rabe – Xray
7. Juan Wessels – HPI Racing
8. Fanie Viljoen Snr – VBC Racing
9. Petrus Wasserman – Xray
10.Willie Pienaar – Team Associated

The FWD class was dominated by the Eugene Wessels and Francois de Jongh throughout the weekend with Eugene eventually securing TQ and the win.

13.5 FWD Touring final results:
1. Eugene Wessels – TOP Racing
2. Francois de Jongh – TOP Racing
3. Fanie Viljoen Sr – VBC Racing
4. Paul van der Westhuizen – VBC Racing
5. Christopher Dolphin – MTS

In Formula 21.5T it was the usual fast drivers Jonathan Wilken, Pedro de Gouveia and Tyronne Wilken who showed great pace from the start. Tyronne Wilken made a great debut with his new Yokomo to secure TQ and winning both A1 and A2 to secure the overall win. It was left to Xray team mates Pedro de Gouveia, Willie Pienaar and Jonathan Wilken to fight for 2nd and 3rd.

The final results for the Formula 1 21.5T A-Main:
1. Tyronne Wilken – Yokomo
2. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
3. Pedro de Gouveia – Xray
4. Willie Pienaar – Xray
5. Wayde Solomon – Xray
6. Brett Ross – Xray
7. Michael Rabe – Xray
8. Jared Rabe – Xray
9. Riaan Truscott – Xray
10. John Fitzsimmons – VBC Racing

With the 1/12th Modified class an event at the 2018 Worlds, the entries are growing and a full A-main was on the cards. Local driver Antonio Caroli showed awesome pace during practise with regular sub-12s laps already bettering Alexander Hagberg’s 13.7sec pace of 2016. He had some bad luck during qualifying and it was Ashley Hurley who took TQ with consistent runs with André Greeff starting from third. Ashley had some bad luck during the finals but Antonio Caroli was super-fast and improved the lap record to 11.347s consolidating A1 and A3. It was up to Xray team mates Ashley Hurley and André Greeff as well as the 2015 champion Wayne Joelson to battle for the remaining podium positions.

1/12th Modified final results:
1. Antonio Caroli – Xray
2. André Greeff – Xray
3. Wayne Joelson – Yokomo
4. Marius van Niekerk – Xray
5. Ashley Hurley– Xray
6. Shaun Schutte– Xray
7. Raymond Loots– Xray
8. Anthony Smith– Xray
9. Joseph Schauerte – Serpent
10.Willie du Plooy– Xray

The newly proposed 1/12th 13.5T stock class as an event at the 2018 Worlds draw some new drivers to this class which ensured a full A-main. It were Xray team mates Francois Laubscher, Gerry Esterhuizen and Jonathan Wilken who battled it out for TQ with Francois eventually managing a consistent pace to secure TQ. Francois won A1, Jonathan A2 and with Francois again winning A3 which gave him the overall win. Jonathan managed to finish second overall with Gerry Esterhuizen taking the remaining podium position.

1/12th Stock final results:
1. Francois Laubscher – Xray
2. Jonathan Wilken – Xray
3. Gerry Esterhuizen – Xray
4. Anthony Smith – Serpent
5. Bianca Landman – Xray
6. Brandon Solomon – Xray
7. Hannes Kruger – Xray
8. Wayde Solomon – Xray
9. Michael Rabe – Xray
10.Jared Rabe – Xray

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

The Latvian 2016/17 Carpet Fights indoor off-road championship recently concluded with the sixth and final round. Overall in the 4WD Buggy class it was Evalds Butans who took this year’s title from vice-champion Ugis Zikmanis and third placed Maris Sprancis. Janis Daubergs and Krisjanis Rolis completed an all-Xray top 5 result.

4WD Buggy top 10 overall:
1. Ēvalds Butāns
2. Uģis Zikmanis
3. Māris Sprancis
4. Jānis Daubergs
5. Krišjānis Rolis
6. Haralds Freimanis
7. Jānis Kļimenkovs
8. Jānis Jēkabsons
9. Viesturs Avotiņš
10.Toms Puķītis

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

The opening round of the Italian GT national championship was held at the Il Lombrico track in Milazzo. In the F2 category Andrea Catanzani took the Super Pole after the qualifiers and he would also dominate the 45-minute A-main by coming out some eleven laps in front of second placed Fabio Valente while third placed Mauro Meli ended the day another five laps down in third.

Source: BMT [bmt-team.com]

Coming from T-Works is a carbon fibre radio plate for the Kyosho MP9 TKI4 and the older spec TKI3 kit. Replacing the standard part with a lighter and cooler looking item the place is a direct fit on the nitro buggies and it comes machined from high-quality sheet material.

Source: T-Works [rc-tworks.com]

HRC Distribution have another Team Magic option part for the E5 Monster Truck available, this time in the form of an aluminium shock absorber set. Included are threaded black anodised aluminium shock bodies for easy ride height adjustments, aluminium shock caps for durability, and orange springs for looks. The shocks come as pairs and they are usable on the E5 and E5 HX trucks.

Source: HRC Distribution [hrcdistribution.com]

Japanese company Acuvance has introduced the new Xarvis brushless speed controller for 1/10th scale applications. The speedo is housed in a machined all-aluminium case and it features an integrated on/off switch, a separate receiver wire for convenient replacement and an integrated low-profile high-flow heatsink that can be equipped with an optional fan unit. A dedicated port for an optional programming unit and Bluetooth dongle makes programming of the ESC, that offers a blinky mode as well as several turbo and timing as well as Rev-limiting functions, easy. The controller is available in the three colours of black, red and purple.

Specifications:
– Voltage input: 6V-7.4V
– Motor limit: no motor limit
– Dimensions: 30.5x35x20.5mm (footprint 30.5x35mm)
– Weight: 50.6g w/o wires
– BEC: 6V/3A

Source: Acuvance [acuvance.co.jp]

Season number five of the Japanese Speed King Tour kicked off at the Rajiten Nagoya indoor tarmac track in the Aichi prefecture. The race format was left the same as in the previous year and classes run would be Touring Modified, Touring Stock and Oval. In the premier Modified category, newly-signed Infinity driver Akio Sobue showed great speed at his home track, taking the TQ after the three qualifying rounds of qualifying and dominating the 7-minutes A-final from start to finish. Yokomo driver Yugo Nagashima had to settle for second and Kazunari Tomita (ARC) finished third.

In the Stock class and although Shogo Eida took TQ with his Serpent car, Takeshi Yokoyama drove his Spice single belt converted Yokomo to winning honours with Inakagata second and Mastumoto third.

Finally in the Oval class it was Naito who brought home the win with Sato and Nagata coming in second and third respectively. Round 2 of this year’s Speed King Tour will take place at TM Wakayama track on the 23rd of April.

Source: Speed King Tour [facebook.com]

SWorkz have introduced the new S35-3E 1/8th electric buggy kit. The vehicle utilises many of the new parts introduced with the S35-3 nitro buggy, such as newly designed suspension arms with optional carbon fibre covers for the front upper arms, a new steering system with optimised Ackermann geometry as well as new shock towers to accommodate the larger L-BBS shocks. Other features include 6mm shaft universal driveshafts for improved drivetrain efficiency, and the hard-coated Lower Friction Coefficient L.F.C. 7075-T6 aluminium chassis can utilise a balance weight system for quick weight bias adjustments. The kit also comes standard with a couple of factory team option parts and it is rounded out by a refined shock system for a more planted ride. The kit will hit the stores very soon.

Features:
– S35-3E 7075 aluminium lightened main chassis with L.F.C system
– S35-3 series competition rear lower arm set
– S35 Series competition aluminium rear hubs
– S35-3 series competition steering plate
– S35-3 series competition aluminium steering knuckle plates
– S35-3 series L-BBS Pro Shock System set
– S35 series BBS emulsion shock caps
– S35-3 series front and rear pro shock tower for longer BBS shocks
– S35-3 series special lightened 6mm axle wheel hub system
– S35-3 series 6mm axle universal cross drive shafts
– New centre diff transmission drive shaft system
– S35-3 series aluminium rear lower fully adjustable toe-in block system
– S35-3 series Pro-composite carbon front upper arm covers
– S35 series Falcon 3 clear body shell

Source: SWorkz [sworkz.com]