Serpent have announced the signing of Nicolas Rodriguez to their French 1/8th off road team to drive the S811 Cobra. The former French Cup winner and European Championship runner up, will power his car with RB engines and expects to race the full line up of French races next season as well as the Euros in Germany next summer.
Source: Serpent [serpent.com]
TeamXcore Racing have released their latest product, the X0907 low profile digital servo. Rated for 4.8v and 6.0V it can travel 60° in 0.09sec and 0.07sec and has 7kg/cm and 9kg/cm torque respectively. Its 46 gram weight and 40 x 20 x 26.5mm footprint make it perfect for mounting into tight spots.
Source: TeamXcore [teamxcore.com]
Sweep Racing have announced that their own line of truggy tires are coming soon. The new truggy wheels and tires are built to the maximum specs to follow current trends while feedback from the buggy Exagon tires have given them the best lug shapes and height of the pins. These tires feature Exagon’s known surface versatility pattern design and longevity with great traction and steering over off-camber corners. Available in 4 different rubber compounds Silver dot (Ultra soft compound), Blue dot (Extra soft compound), Red dot (Soft compound) and White dot (Medium compound), they will be available with matching wheels and inserts later this month.
Source: Sweep Racing [sweepracing.com]
Xray have released this optional brass engine mount for the NT1 that provides solid engine mounting and easy adjustment. The Monoblock Engine Mount is recommended for all conditions, providing a stiffer design than the standard single engine mounts but is still a bit more flexible than the Multi-Flex 1-Piece Engine Mounting System. The engine area of the car and the area between engine and 2-speed is reinforced but the flex of the chassis is still available. This reinforced area of the chassis between the engine and 2-speed gears reduces the chance of spur gear breakage or stripping. CNC-machined from premium brass material. Precision machined with highest tolerances using premium fully-automatic German CNC-machines. Ultra-strong construction provides very long life and durability in even the most extreme racing conditions. The weight of the monoblock from brass material is 53.5g and is heavier by 26g then standard monoblock. Thanks to this extra weight, car has more incorner steering and not so much extra weight is needed.
View the engine mount in place here
Losi have released their 1/8 Ultra Digits G2 buggy tires in pink compound, ideal for indoor racing on high-traction or tacky surfaces. The tire itself features a multi-level clustered pin design that has the pins grouped very closely providing incredible traction on hard packed tracks. The closeness of the pins enable the tire to have minimal lug flex which provides superior grip. The tall pins are supported by a base pin which aids in support. Also the closeness of the pins enables the tire to easily survive hour long mains on high bite surfaces.
Source: Losi [losi.com]
KO Propo have released a number of new products including the new PC-101L charger/discharger that can take car of all your battery charging and discharging needs. This light and compact AC/DC charger will charge NiCD, NiMH, Lipo, Life & Pb types of batteries and includes banana plus to Tamiya style plug, Tamiya to Dean’s style and Tamiya to Rx pack plugs for most of your charging needs. A high visibility LCD panel allows you to easily monitor what’s going on, while an aluminium heat sink and built in fan keep everything cool. KO have also released the BLZ-350 brushless ESC for sensor or sensor-less motors. Able to be configured for forward + brake, forward + brake + reverse or forward + reverse, it comes set for use with 2S LiPo but can be used with NiMH/NiCd 6 cell or LiPo/LiFe 2 cell.
New Team Durango signing Brian Kinwald sent us this race report from the Southwest Indoor Grand Prix last weekend. “The two fastest Team Durango DEX410s were mine and Quaid Simik’s. I was the Top Qualifier and won the A main. Our cars were really good, especially over the 22 foot crossover gap that only a 4wd car could manage (yes 22 feet! – the announcer wouldn’t let us not jump the big gap … he had everyone in the building cheering every time we made it). When I say only a 4WD car could jump the gap, I mean only Quaid and I with our DEX410s could clear this monster jump. A lot of people were really impressed with the car, with its handling and durability.”
Source: Durango [team-durango.com]
Reigning 1/8th scale World Champion Atsushi Hara has been seen testing a new cab forward bodyshell (click image for larger version) for the Hot Bodies D8. Using it to TQ the recent Japanese Nationals, this type of design would offer faster steering response as well as better cooling and more airflow to the rear wing, while rear winglets add extra downforce to the back end of the car. A unique feature is what looks like a roll over hoop integrated into the body, just forward of the cooling head, which would help protect the engine in the event of a crash, something that can easily happen at a punishing high speed track like the one in Pattaya for next week’s World Championships. We have contacted Atsushi for more information but most likely will find out more this weekend when we arrive in Thailand.
Images: O.S. Speed [osspeed.com]
