September 16, 2013

Tamiya TRF418 – First images

Tamiya TRF418 – First images

As expected some weeks ago japanese company Tamiya introduced their new TRF418 touring car during this week’s Tokyo Hobby Show. The revised top-of-the-foodchain TC sports a large array of new parts such as a new upper and lower deck as well as a new carbon fibre bumper brace and rear shock tower. On the aluminium side of things the 418 has redesigned front and rear bulkhead parts, new front bulkhead covers, a new motor and layshaft mount and an updated spool body and new 20T pulleys to offer. The new motor and layshaft mount separates the parts from the upper deck allowing for more torsional flex while the steering knuckles make for a more linear steering feeling. Other updated parts include revised front and rear A-arms for the use with ball-type anti-roll bars, new steering knuckles and rear hubs, as well as updated springs and spool outdrives with the latter scrubbing 2g of weight from the drivetrain. We bring you more information on the 418 kit as soon as we get them.

Click here to view more photos


September 16, 2013

Team C TM2 chassis stickers

Team C TM2 chassis stickers

Team C are busy adding more chassis protection stickers to their line up of decals. Following first touring car stickers the company is currently working on respective variants for the TM2 2WD off-road buggy. The pre-cut stickers will become available in several designs to complement with a wide range of body shell colours and help to protect the bottom side of the carbon fibre chassis plate against wear and tear while adding a splash of colour to your buggy.

Click here to view the colour variants


September 16, 2013

Sweep Silicone high viscosity ball differential grease

Sweep Silicone high viscosity ball differential grease

Sweep introduce their new silicone grease for ball differentials. It is of thicker viscosity than standard diff grease making it stick to the pressure plates longer increasing their lifespan and that of the diff balls. The grease is also good for the use on thrust bearings as well as sealed bearings and is recommended for any heavy-duty application where high pressures or loads are occur. The grease works in a large temperature range of -30°C up to 200°C and has a good resistance to moisture and water.

Source: Sweep [sweepracing.com]


September 16, 2013

Ben Sterling wins 2WD Modified at Wodonga Cup 2013

Ben Sterling wins 2WD Modified at Wodonga Cup 2013

The 2013 Wodonga Cup took place in Wodonga, Victoria and it was Kyosho’s Ben Sterling who TQ’d two out of three qualifiers to take overall TQ for the finals. After scoring a win in the first final and having a nightmare run in leg number two Ben had to win in the decisive final in order to take the overall win for the day. On the tone Ben started off well but coming a little sideways and onto the grass later on allowed Glen to take the lead that only last for a couple of laps until he came wide onto the main straight allowing Ben to take the lead again. He then held Glen off again for 3 laps until Ben made a mistake after the triple and Glen made a move up in the inside. With 2 laps to go Glen got crossed up coming off the back sweeper and Ben made the move. The last lap Glen pressured Ben hard, at this point the Kyosho driver was just driving really defensively. Glen tried to make a move on the inside of Ben off the little double in the middle of the track but hit the curb and flipped. This gave Ben some breathing room and he just finished off the lap conservatively to take the overall win.

Source: Ben Serling [bensterlingrc.com]


September 14, 2013

Xray XB9E 12T pinion gear

Xray XB9E 12T pinion gear

Xray have added to their line of high-performance pinion gears for the XB9E with the release of this 12T version. Manufactured from special steel for toughness and durability, precise tolerances assure unparalleled concentricity. Precision-cut teeth with chamfered edges the pinion comes with the M4x4 set screw.

Source: Xray [teamxray.com]


September 13, 2013

JConcepts Nissan Armada SC body

JConcepts Nissan Armada SC body

New from JConcepts comes the radically looking Nissan Armada short course truck body. The exterior of the Armada is built to cater to racer demands. Aggressive, high-impact headlight and grille treatment has an unmistakable straight-on look. Included in the front hood design are reverse louvers which are built-in to allow two air-escape passages. The famous Nissan fender treatment has an additional raised section which allows plenty of front tire clearance under load. The raised section is double purpose and also functions as an additional air escape feature while the low-profile roof line helps maintain a low centre of gravity allowing the SUV to transition the turns like a JConcepts heritage truck design. Two, rear, easy to trim, Hi-Flow cut-outs chiseled between the SUV rear windows along with upper access for ream-able hole cut-outs complete a polished air release package. The body comes with decal sheet and window masks and is a direct fit on Slash, SC10,  XXX-SCT, SCT-E and SCT 410 trucks with others may fit with additional trimming.

Click here to view more photos


September 13, 2013

On the Grapevine – Flowood

On the Grapevine – Flowood

Last weekend I was back on board a Delta Airlines flight bound for the US, while it felt like only a few weeks since I last crossed the Atlantic Ocean I was little shocked when I discovered its actually been 5-months since we covered our last American event. On that occasion my trip was to Dallas, Texas, for the JConcepts Indoor Spring Nationals at Mike’s Hobby Shop when thanks to track owner Mick Darnell I also got the chance to visit Gas Monkey Garage from the Discovery Channel hit show Fast & Loud.   Luckily when traveling to the US from Ireland Dublin Airport has one of only a few purpose built facilities outside of the North America that allows US bound passengers to undertake all immigration and customs inspections prior to departure meaning no queuing on my arrival at the other side.  As part of the process one must fill out the details of your trip including its purpose and the address at which you will be staying and this lead to a funny reaction from the US immigration officer.  While he found the purpose of my trip, reporting on a model racing car event, unusual enough when he saw the hotel address he responded in an slightly amused tone ‘Your staying in Flowood!!!’.

Continue reading On the Grapevine here


September 13, 2013

Jon Ander Lorenzo wins Spanish Stock nats Rd3

Jon Ander Lorenzo wins Spanish Stock nats Rd3

The third round of the Spanish touring car nationals was held at the Clubcar10 circuit in Bilbao. The weather during the weekend was very unpredictable giving the drivers a hard time to prepare and adjust their cars. Come Sunday racing started in wet conditions again but the track dried up for the finals. At the end it was Jon Ander Lorenzo who took the win in the Stock class in front of round 2 winner David Perez and Koldo Imanol Seras, last year’s winner of the Bilbao round.

Click here to view the top 10 result