Round 1 of the 2020 Texas Electric On Road Series was held at Mike’s Gulf Coast RC Raceway in Porter, Texas last weekend. Eventual winner, Chris Adam pulled away early from the pack in the Modified Touring class to cruise for the win as Andrew Doherty defended for his very life for the entire race from Michael Toth, who perhaps was slightly faster, but simply could not find a way around Andrew.
Continue reading the report here
Japanese electric off-road frontrunner, Kohta Akimoto has announced his new partnership with Hobbywing and Sunpadow. The former long-time Team Orion factory racer will be using Hobbywing’s XeRun XR10 speed controllers along with the XeRun V10 brushless motors and Sunpadow competition LiPo batteries at all major events across Japan, starting immediately. Kohta has the following to say about the deal:
I am excited to join Hobbywing and Sunpadow for the 2020 season and I am happy to release useful data from my races on my social media page to help support Hobbywing and Sunpadow racers.
Following a first teaser image Capricorn have now released first renderings of their forthcoming new C04 1/10th 200mm nitro touring car. The vehicle will incorporate several updates compared to the previous C03 platform such as a new chassis, an updated upper deck, greater rear suspension geometry choices, and redesigned front steering hubs. Full details will become available in time of the release with pre-order of the new kit starting immediately.
The latest addition to T-Works’ tool line is a ball bearing checker and removal tool. Usable with the most popular metric and imperial size ball races, the tool allows to easily check or remove bearings by sliding it into the ball bearing and spinning it to check the condition of the ball race, while the tool also allows to work the bearing out of its seat, such as uprights, steering blocks or diff cases. Machined from high-quality aluminium and coming with a black surface coating for a long life, the tool also features white laser-engraved markings for easy ball race size checking.
Coming from RC Maker and made for the Xray T4 2020 mid-motor touring car is the new SlimFlex carbon fibre chassis. Tested and developed for over six months by RC Maker’s team drivers, the chassis will offer improved handling especially in low-med traction conditions. A new design sees the chassis narrowed all round to provide less scrubbing in corners, leading to increased corner speed. This increases flex substantially, so to counteract this, the designers have recessed the diff and spool cutouts instead of cutting them all the way through. Not only does this bring the chassis back up to the desired amount of flex, it also improves aerodynamic performance by not preventing air from under the chassis being forced up into the car, detrimental to handling. As well as this, RC Maker have removed the holes for the short arm blocks as they compromise the strength and accuracy of the chassis, and also alter the flex characteristics. Screwing weight to the car is now even easier thanks to the added front weight holes, these can be used to screw RC Maker’s “Weight Shift” front weights to the chassis, giving drivers a place to add weight, whilst also being adjustable left/right. All of these features combined make for a chassis which is easier to drive, with more traction and faster lap times, in both Stock and Modified classes. The chassis is precision cut and countersunk in house in Australia from high quality 3K 2.2mm carbon.
Xpress have announced the release of new optionals for the XQ10 touring car in the form of brass and graphite lower bulkhead plates as well as a 3mm chassis stiffener plate. Starting with the bulkhead plates, the set includes a brass and a carbon fibre plate that can be individually installed under the bulkhead’s diff or spool area. They help to limit overall flex if desired plus the brass plate adding a certain amount of weight if conditions call for it.
Power HD have introduced their new waterproof WH-65KG high-torque large scale servo. It offers 8.4V high-voltage compatibility, up to 65kg-cm of torque, a stainless steel geartrain for durability, double ball bearings and a blue anodised aluminium middle section. It is ideal for all heavy duty large scale applications including 1/5th scale cars.
View a list of the features and another image here
Coming from Traxxas and made for the Rustler 4×4 monster truck are the new Sledgehammer tyres that provide extreme traction on a variety of off-road terrain. The Sledgehammer’s increased diameter provides improved ground clearance while the open-block design clears away mud and debris for exceptional traction on loose surfaces. They are perfect for both the Rustler 4×4 and Stampede 4×4 models as the increased diameter provides additional ground clearance and the extreme open block tread design clears debris for unmatched traction. A new heavy-duty wheel design provides additional strength and the eyes are sold pre-glued and ready to install.
Source: Traxxas [traxxas.com]
