When Spektrum RC introduces the 2.4GHz transmitting technology to RC some four years ago the RC world was pleased to see the ever feared radio glitches be not a problem anymore since the “spread spectrum” technology got rid of the usual interchangeable crystals used in conventional transmitters. The radio just needed to be switched on and within milliseconds looked for a free frequency to use. Absolute space age!
In 2008 renowned RC-Car product designer Renato Vita developed a line of 1/8 scale off-road tyres that are exclusively distributed by Reckward Tuning in Germany. The heads behind RT (Reckward Tuning) are none less than Daniel and Matthias Reckward. Both kindly supplied us with the new Tourex nitro off-road tyres.
How much influence do tyres have on the handling of a racing car? 30 percent? 60 percent? Up to 75 percent and more, according to chassis designers and Pro drivers alike. That’s why tyre choice is so critical on the cars overall performance and the reason why so many different companies all over the world offer tons and tons of different treads, compounds and even rims. All of them want to produce THE tyre. One of the most proactive manufacturers in the game is Pro-Line Racing based in sunny California, USA. Products like the Knuckles 2.0, Bow-Tie and Crimefighter are backed with wins at IFMAR World Championships and countless national and international titles. The newest addition to their range is the Revolver tyre and once again it is a true winner although it was released only a couple of days before the 2008 1/8 off-road World Championship in North Carolina after a very short development time.
The Speed Passion name is around in the scene for some time now, making itself popular especially with the Competition R range of Modified brushless motors used by World Champions like Surikarn C. or Marc Rheinard. After the initial success of the motors it was only logical to develop a line of suitable brushless speed controllers.
First up SP the Gran Turismo and Feigao ESC for all 1:10 scale needs with a small footprint, low weight and high specs. From the beginning the Gran Turismo speedo was designed especially for all high current applications such as on- and off-road racing with low turn high power Modified motors (down to 2.5T). A bit later the more spec racing oriented Feigao was dropped in favour of the new Gran Turismo LPF which uses the proven Gran Turismo architecture and footprint – different from the Feigao.
Listening to the news one would be forgiven for thinking 2009 is going to be a year with little to look forward to. During the off season Formula One was shocked by the news that the Honda F1 team would be no more, while the World Rallying Championship took a hammering with the loss of the iconic Subaru team and Suzuki. The r/c industry will not escape the knock on of the world’s current economic downturn but its not going to be all doom and gloom, at least not for fans of 1:10 onroad nitro.
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Team Associated have given us another sneak peak of their SC10 that we wrote about last week. Although already presumed with the name, the car has now been confirmed as a 1/10th scale chassis and as we can see, it is another CORR series style truck.
Source: Associated [rc10.com]
Vita Tuning have produced their Active Caster system for the Mugen MBX-6. Made from machined aluminium, this 2 piece system allows the racer to adjust the original upper wishbone angle by +3 or +6 degrees. Doing this means that the car can be stable at high speeds but give steering when needed at slow speeds, making the car less nervous and easier to drive.
Source: Vita Tuning [vita-tuning.de]
During the World Championships in Thailand we got talking to the Russian designer of the new Awesomatix touring car and we showed you the first CAD image of the car. Now the team behind the car have released full details about this new concept and puts to rest the queries we had about how exactly everything worked. Going against the trend in current touring car design they have utilized many unique features, including some patented innovations, all designed to improve the handling characteristics. The two outstanding features of this car are a new patented suspension dampening system, smooth, lightweight and with a low centre of gravity. The dampening system is fully adjustable without the need for disassembly and the compression and rebound dampening rates are controllable and consistent. The other thing is the drive train that combines the benefits of shaft and belt drive systems, without the negative side effects such as so-called ‘torque steer’, associated with shaft drive RC cars. These two properties have allowed them to incorporate many other innovations that are not obvious upon initial inspection.
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