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LR Racing- RC Cars
RC Cars are a great hobby for people of any age to get involved in and is relatively cheap compared to other forms of racing.
RC cars come in many shapes and sizes. Most IC (internal combustion) and electric cars are 1/10th scale although some electric cars are 1/12 and some IC cars are 1/8th. Some RC cars are 1/5th scale, around 3 feet long but to drive these cars you need a really big area. Most of the IC cars are 2 stroke but some (e.g. Kyosho SuperTen Four) are 4 stroke. There is also many types of RC car racing such as off-road, on road touring and many others including RC car drag racing! Some RC cars can reach speeds of over 80 mph and accelerate from 0-60 faster than a Ferrari! They are also considerably cheaper than a Ferrari and can be put away in a box for storage.
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My Kyosho SuperTen GP 4WD RC car My own RC car is a Kyosho SuperTen GP 4WD. It has a 2.5cc (.15 ci) engine hooked up to an automatic 2 speed transmission. It has a tuned length exhaust and is fully ball raced for faster top speeds and quicker acceleration. I have added other 'go faster' items such asa new air filter, rear anti-roll bar, ball bearings for the steering and a foam bumper to protect the car from the impacts which are recieved from the faster speeds. I have custom made some parts in my Dad's workshop such as carbon fibre suspension braces and steering plate and I have replaced the plastic ball joints that come with the anti-roll bar with high-quality metal ones. The car can reach speed of 60 mph thanks to an incredible power to weight ratio. It also handles very well now but when I set the car up as it says to in the instruction manual it had a tendancy to roll over. It is now running 0.5 degrees of camber in the rear and 1.5 degrees in the front with 1mm of front toe in. The anti-roll bar also helps handling considerably. As of yet I haven't raced it at a proper race track, only in car parks. I found that quite a lot of RC cars have setup sheets published on the internet, but the SuperTen didn't, so I decided to make one myself using modified diagrams from the Kyosho instruction manual. If you have a Kyosho SuperTen and would like a copy of this setup sheet then e-mail me and I will e-mail it back to you (you must have a program that can read Lotus Freelance graphics (.PRZ) files) or I will send you one through the post (this might take a while so please be patient). Please remember that all the diagrams are Kyosho copyright so use the sheet only for your own private use. |
This is my car! |
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Tips on IC car maintainance IC cars need a lot of care and attention (not that electric cars don't). Here are some tips on how to keep your IC car in tip-top condition:1-Always break-in new engines properly according to your instruction manual.
2-Always run the car with the body on, otherwise if you crash you can damage your engine and servos.
3-Clean the car well. The easiest way to do this is to buy a can of automotive brake or carb cleaner. It gets of the toughest oil, dirt, grease etc. and evaporates quickly. If your car is clean it is easier to see any problems or breakages which need to be fixed. Also an old toothbrush is helpful for small tight corners.
4-If you have trouble starting your car, try taking off the glow plug and flooding the engine. Pull on the recoil starter and fuel should come out from the cylinder, where the glow plug was. Keep pulling on the recoil starter until no more fuel comes from the cylinder, then replace the glow plug and start as normal. I found that this usually works well.
5-If your fuel tank vibrates a lot then try fitting some small rubber o-rings onto the screws that hold on the fuel tank. When the fuel tank vibrates it froths up the fuel and this could lead to air going into the fuel line and making the engine stall.
6-Use a fuel filter and always use an air filter. If any dirt or dust enters the engine it can be expensive to fix.
7-On off road cars, sometime when they roll over the exhaust pipe digs in leaving a plug of mud in the exhaust pipe which then stalls the engine. Try fitting some rubber tube to the end. Instead of digging in it should just bend.
8-To get scratches out of your body, try using a metal polish such as Brasso. This doesn't take the scratches out, but it takes the edges off of them making them less visible. Use turtle wax afterwards for a great finish.
9-Make sure your engine is well ventilated. The side windows should be cut out and if you can get a cooling fan it is well worth it. If not, a hole in the windscreen helps a lot. This only applies to full bodied cars.
10-Make sure your glow plug is in good condition. If it isn't starting will become difficult and your engine will lose power.
If you have any more tips then e-mail me and I will publish them along with your name.
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A view of the Kyosho SuperTen Competition III complete with an O.S LD-X Power Block engine and carbon fibre top plate. |
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How to get started If you want to get started with radio control cars (IC or Electric) then check out Racer Magazines web page (there is a link on the links page). It has links to many manufacturers and racing clubs in your area. |
A view of the chassis on my car |
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