Coming from Xray and made for the XB8 series of vehicles are 6.8mm steering knuckle ball studs with backstop. The pivot balls are available in a short 8mm and a long 11mm variant both of which feature an M3 thread and a hardened surface for less wear. Their design with backstop reduces the change to popping of the ball cup in the event of a crash or in a hard landing. The balls come in sets of two.
Schelle Racing Innovations have introduced 67mm conversion wheel axles for Team Associated B6 racers that want to run latest “long bone” setups. The 67mm conversion axles work with aluminium rear hub units by Schelle (B5M and B6) and Team Associated (B5M) and the axles replace the kit units while keeping the same overall track width. The long 67mm bones can move through the range of suspension travel with less angle mis-alignment. This translates to less bind on power and more rear grip as the suspension works under load instead of locking out due to the drivetrain. The axles are sold separately or in a conversion set with CVA bones included.
Coming from Team Associated and made for the RC8T3 and RC8T3e is the Factory Team 133mm CVA driveshaft set. It can be used as a replacement option to the universals that come standard in the kits. The CVA assemblies will provide a more aggressive steering feeling, perfect for use on smoother track surfaces. The CVA sets can be also be rebuilt as wear occurs and they require inner 15x21x4mm bearings.
Source: Team Associated [teamassociated.com]
UK Nosram distributors Schumacher have introduced the new HD StockSpec brushless speed control. The HD Stock Spec comes pre-installed with the all-new v5.1 software. This software is adapted to the new hardware and new vital features have been added to make it best possible for today’s need in Stock racing. Initial Drive Feel Compensation (IDFC) has been developed especially with Stock racing in mind to maximise the comfort of initial drive feel over the whole race. Activating IDFC will provide initial drive increments depending on the temperature of the motor. This innovative feature will help to match the same power feeling on throttle over the whole race. Users can either select no compensation or adjust more IDFC to match the desired feeling on throttle after the motor gets hotter and battery weaker. Newly developed Stock parameters for the timing allow to unleash the full power potential in all boosted classes. The new BDX-S break rounds off the package for Stock drivers. Four different brake types including BDX-S are now included, enabling maximum braking power with increased response for pin-point accuracy when entering tight corners. By the time of release, Nosram continues to use its well-known system for trackside adjustments with push buttons, with no need to use a separate programming unit. The Nosram HD speed control series however is designed to support external programming device which is planned to be offered later on.
The 4th annual The Dirt Lone Star Challenge was held at Thornhill Racing Circuit. The race has been growing yearly, bringing in more entries each year, this time totalling 358. This year for the track layout Joey and Thornhill decided to incorporate a “joker” lane into the track. The joker lane was optional and you could use it one time per qualifier per class and twice for each main per class; it was an easier and faster section which saved about 5 to 7 seconds off a lap. In the 30-minute Pro Nitro Buggy final Jake Dellinger started 2nd behind Noah Dickerson. The tone went off and Jake followed Dickerson around for the first two laps. Both of them used their joker on lap 1 but for lap 2 Noah took the normal line while Jake took the joker again, giving him an instant 5 to 6 second lead, which he turned into a 10 to 12 second lead before Dickerson ran into mechanical issues. Ultimately Jake went on to finish the main in first, nearly a lap and a half on 2nd.
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Available now from Team Orion is the World Championship winning CRF 21 7-port V3 WS Edition nitro off-road engine. The second engine David Ronnefalk used to win the 2016 IFMAR World Championship with, the 7-port variant is a replica of the World Spec engine and it was developed throughout the 2016 season in cooperation with Team Orion’s U.S. team to offer a power plant that delivers both power and maximum control. The engine uses the new World Championship winning V3 platform with a completely redesigned crankcase which is stronger and uses a different internal volume. The 7-port sleeve features a new timing and exhaust port shape to deliver extremely high RPM. The dual tungsten-balanced crankshaft revolves in high-quality Swiss ball bearings and the updated carburettor allows for optimised mixture tuning and perfect drivability. In addition to the engine, the CRF EFR 2149 exhaust set is available which is based on the 2-times World Championship winning 2058 pipe. It is keeping the same bottom-end feeling and crispy sound but offers better fuel efficiency and cleaner response in the mid-RPM range.
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The opening round of the Swiss 1/10th electric off-road national championship was held in Islikon. While Team Associated’s Patrick Hofer scored a double TQ and win in the 2WD and 4WD classes, it was Xray driver Philip Jeisy who took the day’s win in the Stadium Truck category. Jan Dissler (Team Associated) would end the day on the 2 spot from Rene Bachofner (Team Associated) in 3rd.
Coming from Serpent are updated rear lower arms for the Cobra SRX8 buggy. They feature a third shock mounting position for increased setup possibilities but remain the same in terms of rigidity. They can be run without or with a combination of moulded or carbon inserts to reinforce them and they also allow to run “short” or “long” arms with the longer arm has been proven to have better jump landing and to be more stable over rough terrain while the shorter arm provides more rotation and corner speed on smoother tracks.
