Alu Steering Rack

Following on from a recent blog when I described the upgrade aluminium steering rack. I orderd two from Spec R, one for my car and one for my son's. I duely fitted them after removing the plastic kit version.  I added 2 x 0.3mm shims to prevent any binding and to remove any possible slop.

When assembled, they immediately felt smoother and more free. At the track, our small technical track became more technical with the addition of a chicane at each end of the track.  I must admit to struggling with chicanes, having difficulty finding the right balance between turn in and rotation, with just enough of both to prevent oversteer. The new aluminium steering rack felt smooth and I was able to navigate both chicanes easily,  the new steering unit must take some credit for this. One thing to watch out for is to ensure the fixing screws are tight enough as the posts are metal, I almost made this mistake !

At the same time I replaced the ballcups on both cars with Tamiya ones which turned into a huge job due to a part falling out of the battery box on my digital calipers, rendering them useless. This meant that all 12 turnbuckles had to be re-built manually and adjusted while in place. The new ballcups were a much better fit than the kits ones and don't have any "give". The kit ones on my son's car had started to pop off, indicating that they were wearing and needed replacing.

These have proved to be worthwhile upgrades along with the aluminium servo mount which I had added recently.

Correcting steering slop

Last week I brought out the S1 after an absence of about a month. On arriving at the track I noticed a bit of slop in the steering, and compared it with my son's S1. Mine definitely had too much, and this became apparent during the course of the night.

The track had a straight with a sweeper and two hairpins, followed by a quick left then right  hairpin, which if taken properly could be taken quicky as a chicane.  The chicane was where the slop let the car down and I had to back off a little to make sure I got through without any mishaps. This affected my lap times and consequently I didn't achieve the number of  laps I would have liked, although I did manage to win my three heats.

On returning home after racing, I stripped down the steering for closer inspection. This revealed no damage or wear, so I decided to shim the front section of the steering rack. When I originally built the car, the advice on the forums was to shim the steering rack which I did, but only the rear section.  This shimming is for the front part as this is where the slop has crept in over time.

A single 0.3mm shim was added but when re-built it wasn't enough to remove the slop. The addition of a second 0.3mm shim sorted this out.

 

Picture of the shims in place prior to re-building


Spec R make an upgrade which is standard on the R1 and PRO versions of the car.  Part SPR-R1A120 Aluminium Steering Rack pictured below is a direct replacement for the plastic part on the S1 car. This is on my wishlist for improving the car as the alloy parts remove the flexibility which is associated with the plastic parts, and also removes the problem of slop in the steering.

Spec-R S1 Endurance Race at Racework Hobbies in Singapore

RaceWorks Hobbies in Singapore organized its first on-road endurance on 2 November 2013.  A total of 9 teams took part in the event, run over 4 hours. Each team, consisting of 3-4 drivers, ran the Spec-R S1 Sports Edition 1/10th Touring Car powered by 17.5T motors with ESCs in “Blinky” mode. Teams were required to rotate their drivers every 40mins.

The drivers and cars who took part in the race.

S1 cars are ready!

Despite a thunderstorm that stopped just 45mins before flag-off, the race was able to proceed as planned with only a 15 min delay. Just 2mins into the race, Team Quantum climbed up to the top with very consistent laps. They remained in 1st position throughout the first 2 hours, but mechanical problems in the 3rd hour resulting in several pit stops, allowing the 2nd place car of Team Trident to close up the gap and eventually overtaking Team Quantum for the lead.

With just 40mins to the end of the race, both teams were on the same lap, with Team Trident having a 6 sec advantage over Team Quantum. However, at the very last minute, Team Quantum crashed, losing momentum as a result. With the heat off, Team Trident opened up the gap and finally took the checkered flag completing 606 laps, 2 laps ahead of Team Quantum.

It was worthwhile noting that all 9 teams were still running at the end of 4 hours. A great testament to the Spec-R chassis as well as the preparations all teams had made for this event.

RaceWorks Hobbies would like to thank all participants and race sponsors (Spec-R Racing, Overtake RC and Quantum Racing) for making the race possible.

Results for the race are as follows:

The Champion - Team Trident! Congrats drivers!

The 1st runner up - Team Quantum

The 2nd runner up - Team JonHo

 

Reported by Racework Hobbies - Singapore

 

(Courtesy of www.spec-r.com the official Spec R website)

 

 

As a club racer of the Spec R S1, along with my son who races the same car, we can speak for the reliability and durability of the S1 car.

 

 

I hope to report on more successes of the Spec R cars in future issues of the Spec R Racer blog.

Spec-R R1 Team Driver T. Kueng Wins Annual Championship at Team Power Club in Hong Kong

The Team Powers Club was held on 03 November 2013 in Hong Kong. Spec-R R1 driver C. Keung was the Annual Champion!

Congrats to C.Keung!
(Courtesy of www.spec-r.com - the official Spec-R website)

Review of Spec R Aluminium Servo Mount

Last Thursday night I tried the Spec R Aluminium Servo Mount for the first time on my Spec R S1 touring car.  I had ordered it directly from the Spec R website, and it arrived in about a week.  The part is a direct replacement for the two servo mounting posts, so I removed the old servo mounts and screwed the servo to the mounting holes on the new mount, before fixing the mount to the chassis using the two screw holes below the top plate.

I then took the car to the track in anticipation.  Immediately, the car felt more responsive which is due to the added flex.  The car felt like it changed direction quicker and felt more planted through what was a tight, twisty, slalom style infield, which was also quite a quick track.  The correct line through the infield was important to get a quick, smooth lap, and the new servo mount provided the flex and responsiveness to be able to do just that.

All in all, a worth while addition to the car and I look forward to trying out more upgrades in the future.

R1 S1 PRO Comparison

After checking out the new Spec R R1 PRO kit, I decided to do a comparison between this and the existing R1 and S1 kits.  Below is a table which compares the S1 and R1, with the new parts on the R1 PRO kit below.

Differences are highlighted in bold

R1

S1

- High strength and high precision anodized alloy parts for added durability and style - Ultra narrow chassis design with high quality Carbon Graphite 2.5mm main chassis; 2.0mm upper deck and 3.0mm shock towers. - Slimmer transmission/motor mount components and design for improved handling and smoothness - Dual bellcrank steering for precise cornering performance - Front/Rear Suspension Arm mounts are adjustable for a variety of fine tunings for different track conditions - Lightweight and smooth rear gear differential is included - Enhanced acceleration from the use of lightest transmission components - Front/Rear Suspension system with carbon reinforced plastic parts - Improved material and stronger plastic parts(with carbon) - Lightweight and anodized alloy turnbuckles and ball studs - Full metal oil shocks for best performance   - Balanced chassis design - Internal gear ratio 1:1.9

- High strength and high precision anodized alloy parts for added durability and style - Narrow chassis design with high quality fibre 2.5mm main chassis; 2.0mm upper deck and 3.0mm shock towers. - Slimmer transmission/motor mount components and design for improved handling and smoothness - Dual bellcrank steering for precise cornering performance     - Lightweight and smooth rear gear differential is included - Enhanced acceleration from the use of lightest transmission components     - Improved material and stronger plastic parts(with carbon)     - Metal oil shocks parts with plastic shock body for best performance - Balanced chassis design - Internal gear ratio 1:1.9

What's new on R1 PRO SPEC?

    - 2.25mm USA High Quality Graphite Classis
    - 2.00mm USA High Quality Graphite New Style Upper Deck
    - 3.00mm USA High Quality Graphite F/R Shock Towers
    - Alu. Central Servo Mount
    - Alu. Fan Mount
    - Soft Shock O-ring

So, with the new parts on the R1 PRO kit, where does that leave the R1 kit ?  There's not much of a price difference, although the PRO kit doesn't include the new motor mount which in my opinion it should.  Will racers continue to buy the R1, or go for the R1 PRO kit ?

I emailed Spec R this week and asked about the possibility of a Conversion kit for those who have the S1 or R1 kits and don't want to have to buy a full PRO kit.  You may remember amongst others, Kyosho released a SHIN conversion kit for the Stallion which upgraded the car.  The reply from Spec R was that they don't have the conversion kit, but they "will consider it".

So, there may be a conversion kit in future, so watch this space !!

BRCA R/C Touring Car Championships - Round 5 Mendip

See video streaming of the BRCA Touring Car Championships - round 5 from the Mendip circuit.

http://rcracingtv.net/2013/09/brca-electric-touring-car-championships-round-5-mendip-live/

Unfortunately - No Spec R Team !!