Red RC - RC Car News

RC Concept have introduced their new 3-port MC3X and 5-port MC5X nitro off-road engines. Both power plants utilise the new 2017 X-Line carburettor with a double bottom-end adjustment and DLC-coated crankshafts. The carburettor will improve idling, give a smooth power band as well as increased top end power while the DLC-coated crankshaft will last up to 3-times longer with also increased conrod life. Other features include high-quality ceramic rear bearings, Swiss-made front bearings as well as updated cooling heads.

Source: RC Concept [rcconcept.net]

Coming soon from Serpent is the latest incarnation of the popular 411 platform, the 4.1. Intended to be a more conventional alternative to the somewhat complex Project 4X touring car, the 4.1 offers a class-standard design and features such as a centrally mounted 7075-T6 aluminium motor mount, an upgraded rear differential with new internal gears for smoother operation as well as big bore shock absorbers with pre-oiled X-rings. Also part of the 4.1 package are hard compound suspension parts, a 2mm carbon fibre main chassis and flex-type top deck, ball-raced anti-roll bars as well as a centrally mounted floating servo mount along low friction belts and pulleys. The kit will hit stores about mid-June.

Source: Serpent [serpent.com]

The MSC Ober-Mörlen club held their German Nationals warm-up race last weekend and it was Mugen’s Carsten Keller who brought home the TQs and wins in both the 1/8th Nitro and Electric classes. Carsten’s Mugen team mates Jan Sievert and Sebastian Winterstein completed the podium in the Nitro Buggy class.

Source: Mugen [mugen.eu]

The opening round of the Finnish Summer Nationals was held at the Hyvinkää track. As usual the 2WD portion of the event was held on Saturday while Sunday was 4WD day. Thankfully the weather was great all weekend, making for good racing conditions on the pretty old and blown-out track whose large size and high speed sections are enjoyed by most drivers. The opening 2WD qualifier was a very close affair between Karri Salmela and Joel Valander. Both were separated by 0.1s in the end, with the better end for Karri as Joel got sideways on the last lap which cost him the TQ. In the following rounds Joel would hold the upper hand to grab the overall TQ from Karri in 2nd and Toni Niinivirta 3rd.

In the final Karri put a lot of pressure on Joel but the latter would be able to defend all attacks and so he brought home wins in the opening two mains to grab the overall victory from Karri in 2nd and Toni 3rd.

2WD final results:
1. Joel Valander – Xray
2. Karri Salmela – Team Associated
3. Toni Niinivirta – Xray
4. Konsta Saarinen – Xray
5. Mikko Luopajärvi – Team Associated
6. Juha Aromaa – TLR
7. Oskari Mäki – Team Associated
8. Jani Hovi – TLR
9. Antti Silvennoinen – Team Associated
10.Tuomo Otsavaara – Xray

Sunday 4WD day and it was again Joel who stole the show in the qualifiers. Having a somewhat hard to drive car in the practice rounds he adapted the setup and although his buggy feeling a bit slow he was able to TQ the first three rounds and lock the overall TQ. Karri lined up in 2nd again from Konsta Saarinen who did some solid runs.

The opening A-main was pretty crazy as Karri passed Joel on first lap, but on second lap Karri came sideways from the big double and Joel hit him full throttle when he appeared sideways in front of him. Both were whipped off the track and Joel also got into trouble with other drivers and he was almost dead last and half lap from the leader. Joel nevertheless started to push and was able to recover while Karri made mistakes and soon Joel found myself leading the race and bringing him the win. In A2 Joel just did some clean laps and finished in 1st with a big gap to take the overall win.

4WD final results:
1. Joel Valander – Xray
2. Karri Salmela – Team Associated
3. Konsta Saarinen – Xray
4. Mikko Luopajärvi – Team Associated
5. Toni Niinivirta – Xray
6. Juha Aromaa – TLR
7. Jani Hovi – TLR
8. Eeli Vieno – Xray
9. Valtteri Eklund – Xray
10.Jamiel Gabrielsson – Team Associated

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]

Japanese brand Spice, know for their Yokomo BD7 single belt conversion kit, have released first images of a new FWD M-size car they are working on. No details are known yet but the prototype images show a car that used a belt-driven transmission as well as select Yokomo parts. The car will be used at the forthcoming IRCC race in Japan and given the results it may go into production very soon.

Source: Spice [hgd-spice.jp]

The DCRD 1/8th Off-road Championship was held recently in South Korea with about 150 drivers signing up for the event. Hwang Sunyoung made a clean sweep in the 1/8th E-Buggy and Pro Nitro Buggy classes by bringing home the win in both categories. Jeon Hanyoung and Jin Sunghyun would come in 2nd and 3rd respectively in the E-Buggy class while Jeon Hanyoung and Shin Dongcheol completed the podium result in the Pro Nitro Buggy category.

Source: Serpent [teamserpent.com]

Coming from Radtec is a new kingpin and steering block tool that allows to perfectly align the kingpin threads in composite steering blocks. The tool utilises a specially designed tip with an M3 thread on the upper end while the plain lower part slides into the steering block’s lower kingpin hole, ensuring the thread is cut at a perfect angle. By rotating the steering block the opposite thread can be cut. On top of having the two holes aligned, which will eliminate unwanted misalignment and friction, the tapping will also ensure easier assembly of the steering knuckle and C-hub area. The tool uses a machined aluminium handle and a titanium-nitride coated tool tip and it will hit stores very soon.

Source: Radtec [radtec-rc.com]

HRC Distribution have introduced the new HRC Racing TSW wrap-style wire protection sleeve. Offering a C-shape the sleeve simply wraps around the wire, adding protection from wear and tear and also helping to bundle loose wire such as the ones from charge harnesses. The sleeve is available in two sizes, as 13mm diameter variant for 16AWG to 8AWG wire and also as 6mm variant for servo wires. Both come in packs of 100cm.

Source: HRC Distribution [hrcdistribution.com]

WRC from Italy have introduced a carbon fibre motor fan mount for the STX touring car. Machined from high-quality carbon fibre the part attaches directly to the left vertical upper deck and its adjustable fan mounts brackets allow the attachment of the most commonly used fan sizes and designs.

Source: WRC [wrc-racing.com]

RPM have introduced a rear bumper and skid plate for the Team Associated B6 and B6D buggies. Weighing in at only 5.5g the part hardly adds any weight but it is 52mm wide and extends rearward by roughly 32mm at a 45 degree angle for added rear bulkhead, A-arms and differential protection. Additionally it sits 2.4mm beneath the chassis. This skid area of the bumper lends extreme skid resistance to the back of that expensive aluminium chassis and helps reduce skid and impact damage to the rear of the buggy.

Source: RPM [rpmrcproducts.com]