The 3rd Annual South Valley Invert was hosted by Cottage Grove R/C Raceway in Cottage Grove, Oregon this past weekend. The event attracted some of the region’s fastest 1/10th off-road drivers and in the 2WD Modified Buggy class it was Kyosho’s Tanner Day who grabbed the TQ and win from Kyosho teammates Andy DiBrino and Joe Pillars.
Traxxas’ long-running Slash 2WD short course truck is now available in a new bodyshell variant, resembling the truck of former Indy driver and now off-road racer, Arie Luyendyk Jr. His GUNK-sponsored truck features a very recognisable blue, orange, and white paint scheme that sets it apart from the crowd. The truck itself comes with a 12T 550-size brushed motor, watertight and sealed electronics as well as a 2.4GHz radio system, 4-amp DC fast charger and a 7-cell 3000mAh NiMH battery pack.
Coming from X Factory and made for the Team Associated SC5M short course truck is the Infinity chassis kit. The set is made up of 2.5mm carbon fibre and saves about 70 grams to make for better handling and improved performance especially in 17.5 Stock classes. The carbon fibre chassis also flexes far more than the aluminium tub, with the flex is controllable so drivers can quickly adjust their truck to suit different tracks and lay-outs by tightening or loosening bolts on the side decks and side rails. The chassis will also not tweak as aluminium does, making for more predictable performance run after run. The kit includes the new lower deck, sandwich side rail, several small parts as well as mounting hardware and a manual.
View an image of the converted truck here
Team Associated have introduced a line of lightweight Factory Team 48 pitch pinion gears. Machined from 7075-T6 aluminium and coming with a hard-anodised finish for long wear the pinions feature two set screw holes, laser-etched tooth count and the larger sizes of 30 and up have holes for additional weight reduction. The pinions are available in a range of 17T to 35T sizes.
Pro-Line have a range of new off-road related products available such as a 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor True Scale body, BFGoodrich crawler tyres and 5 inch PowerStroke XT shock absorbers. Starting with the bodyshell, the all-new 2017 Ford F-150 Raptor True Scale truck body is made for many of today’s SC trucks such as the Pro-2, Slash, and SC10 and it makes for a highly detailed yet functional replica of the unreleased 2017 Raptor thanks to the body’s details and the comprehensive sticker sheet. As usual the body comes clear and including window masks.
During last weekend’s final of the 2015 JConcepts Indoor National Series MIP have shown us their all-new Roller Pucks drive system. Building on the design of MIP’s popular Pucks drive system, the design revolves around 360 degree rotatable bushings that can move freely inside the driveshaft bone while also being able to rotate independently of the pin that captures them. This, together with a clever material mix makes for greatly improved wear characteristics compared to the composite Pucks system. The system was specially designed for Modified class racing and it replaces the standard outdrive and drivepin assembly with a construction that is much less prone to wear while being easier on the wallet as only the metal pucks need to be replaced once they start to wear whereas the standard “narrow drive pin” design make the replacement of both the driveshaft and outdrive necessary. The Rollers Puck system is fully compatible with MIP’s Pucks and 17.5 Aluminum Pucks drive system meaning the plastic parts can easily be replaced with the Roller Pucks hardware set although the somewhat delicate aluminium drives are only recommended for the use in 17.5T buggy. The MIP Roller Pucks drive systems will soon be available for all popular 2WD and 4WD buggies as well as for many trucks.
Reedy have introduced a range of optional rotors for their Sonic 540-M3 line of brushless motors. Available are 12.3mm, 12.5mm and 13.0mm modified as well as 12.0mm, 12.2mm and 12.5mm spec rotors that help to fine-tune the characteristics of the motors in terms of peak RPM and available torque. Each rotor is laser-etched with its specification and part number for easy identification and technical inspection. Included is also an assortment of spacers to adjust the rotor’s position within the case.
The 30th instalment of the famous Pro-Line Cactus Classic will be held from March 7th to 13th at Hobbytown/SRS in Phoenix, Arizona. The event will see the usual mixture of Modified, 13.5T Superstock and 17.5T Stock classes and sign-up starts today, December 1st at rcsignup.com. More information about the event can be found here.
