August 1, 2013

TLR 8ight-E 3.0 8th electric buggy

TLR 8ight-E 3.0 8th electric buggy

Following on from the success of the TLR 8ight 3.0 buggy, the new TLR 8ight-E 3.0 has been developed to meet the specific requirements of the electric 1/8 buggy racer and features many specific design cues that further optimise the 8ight platform and hone it for the specific rigours of electric racing. The 4mm 7075-T6 hard anodised chassis has been optimised for equal lateral flex characteristics and facilitates the lowest possible mounting of the motor and cells thus lowering the overall centre of gravity to improve handling and direction change. Motor and cell placement now resembles the layout used on the SCTE 2.0 SC truck. Other features included in the new kit are 16mm shock absorbers, aluminium suspension pivots and redesigned shock towers with optimised camber link and shock mounting positions. The kit is topped off by a new aero package that makes use of the experience gained with the 8ight 3.0 nitro buggy and includes a wing with wickerbill option and a new aggressively styled body shell with large shark fin.

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July 31, 2013

DDM 5ive-T HS-900SGS servo install kit

DDM 5ive-T HS-900SGS servo install kit

DDM have a dedicated Hitec HS-900SGS servo installation kit for the Losi 5ive-T available. Included in the set are Hitec’s new ultra high voltage servo, taller heatsink-design servo mounts and a clamp-type aluminium servo arm to keep the steering linkage at a decent angle. Included in the set is also a 4S 14.8V 3600mAh receiver battery pack and a voltage regulator that directly powers the servo and while offering selectable 6V to 8V receiver input voltage. The set is rounded out by red BEC-type connectors and shrink wrap tubes.

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July 31, 2013

Carsten Keller wins EFRA GP in Bischofsheim

Carsten Keller wins EFRA GP in Bischofsheim

The well-known Rhein-Main-Circuit in Bischofsheim played host for the German EFRA 1/8th nitro buggy GP. The race was set as a pre-warm-up for the club and the German RC car association as the track will be the place of next year’s EFRA European Championship. Just before the meeting the track received some make-overs here and there in the form of a new pit exit and some updated curbs but overall the Rhein-Main-Circuit was well known for most of the driver that came from all over Europe including Finland, the UK, Switzerland, Austria and of course Germany. Friday was set a the practice day and most of the drivers made good use of the chance to adopt their cars, engines and tyres to the scorching hot temperatures. Saturday saw the qualifiers and at the end it was JQ Products’ own Joseph Quagraine who took TQ in front of Kyosho’s Martin Hansen who had Simon Esser (Xray) and Carsten Keller (Kyosho) in tow.

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July 31, 2013

Marc Rheinard to run THECars at the NEORace

Marc Rheinard to run THECars at the NEORace

JQ Products may not have won a World Championship so far but can now say a World Champion is running their gear. The company today announced that three time IMFAR Touring Car World Champion Marc Rheinard is going to run JQ Product’s latest nitro and electric 1/8th buggies at the upcoming NEORace later in August. Having run 1/8th buggies at various occasions Marc has a bit of experience with the noisy, dirty stuff so it will be interesting to see where he ends up given the Neobuggy races are well known for their challenging track layouts.

Source: JQ Products [jq-products.com]


July 31, 2013

Team Associated’s Albano Wins at Nor-Cal Champs

Team Associated's Albano Wins at Nor-Cal Champs

Nor-Cal Hobbies hosted their fifth annual Northern California Off-Road Championship in Union City, California. Nor-Cal’s best drivers battled for the chance to win the belt. The track was designed and built by Kevin Jelich, who provided a fast and technical, sugared-prepped track. The race consisted of three rounds of qualifying on Saturday, with a fourth round and triple A Mains on Sunday. Albano TQ’d overall in the 2WD Modified class with his Reedy/ProTek-powered, Centro-converted B4.2 by less than a second over A Main Hobbies driver Tyler Vik. A1 went to Vik because of a bobble out of Albano early in the race. In A2, they battled again for most of the race until a small gap was made towards the end that allowed Albano to take the win. With the overall going to A3, the pressure was on. The start was marked with the two again battling for the one spot until Albano got a good lead over the rest of the field and took the overall.

Source: Team Associated [rc10.com]


July 31, 2013

Buechler & Tjepkema win at NCT Series Rd4

Buechler & Tjepkema win at NCT Series Rd4

The past weekend saw round 4 of the NCT Series in Burlington, WA. With perfect weather and over 175 entries it was not a race to miss. In the 1/8th Electric Buggy class Tekin’s Jayson Tjepkema, Nate Clark, and Nick Buechler battled it out. They all ran a pace on the exact same second in Q1 with Clark taking the round. Buechler would take Q2 and Q3 to secure the pole position for Sunday. A1 would be a close battle for all 10 minutes between Clark and Buechler but Nick would take the win. A2 would go to Clark with Buechler 2nd coming down to A3 to decide the overall. After getting off to a rough start and dropping to 3rd, Buechler was able to work his way back up to the lead and pass Tjepkema to take the win by about one second securing the overall win. This weekend’s results gives Buechler the points lead in 1/8 Electric Buggy and going into round 5 in Lewiston, ID next month.

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July 31, 2013

Bittydesign D812 Force body shell

Bittydesign D812 Force body shell

Bittydesign introduce the Force design body shell for Hot Bodies’ D812 buggy. The Italian company tried to create a body shell that attracts a wider range of people with the kit body shell being a love it or hate it affair. Sporting an updated cab design that received a distinctive shark fin, the main work was done in the engine head area in order to allow more cooling air to reach the engine. Two reversed scoops create better airflow that also generates additional downforce for improved balance. The body is a direct replacement for the stock part, comes made from 1.0mm polycarbonate and included protective film, window masks and a decal sheet. In addition suitable dirt shields for the rear lower A-arms are available to protect the arms, driveshafts, and tie rods from becoming excessively dirty when running the car in damp, wet or muddy conditions.

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July 31, 2013

X Factory X-6 Cubed available soon

X Factory X-6 Cubed available soon

Announced some time ago and finally shipping next week is X Factory’s latest evolution step of the X-6 buggy, the X-6 Cubed. The buggy that broke the mould for modern day mid-motor vehicles received a huge make over and is now based on a slim carbon fibre and aluminium double deck chassis for optimised weight distribution, better cornering and improved jumping characteristics. The chassis is designed for the use with saddle or shorty LiPo battery packs, it features a new tower forward design to bring the rear shock tower forward for an improved shock position and to relocate the rear wing and the kit makes use of X Factory’s known 4-gear transmission. The Cubed will become available as conversion kit for existing Team Associated B4, B4.1 and B4.2 buggies as well as an upgrade kit for X-6 Squared vehicles. Included in both packages is a redesigned body shell and new medium downforce rear wing.

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