Tamiya 58526 XV-01 Rally chassis video

I want this car soo much, I'm already saving and having a clear-out on ebay so I can afford it. I will want a better shell though.

Tamiya 58526 XV-01 Crossover Rally chassis

I cant wait for this, RC rallying is fantastic, and I have been using a TB01 which is a great rally car with brushless power.. however, this new car looks even better.

Here are the specs and some pictures from the hobby show



XV-01 PRO

This is a PRO-spec version of the R/C 4WD XV-01 chassis. "XV" stands for "Crossover Vehicle". As the name implies this vehicle is intended to serve as a common all-terrain platform which can be used for rally cars, on-road cars, and pick-up trucks. It is equipped with covers to protect the drivetrain and R/C units from dirt and debris and its suspension provides a ground clearance of over 10mm. The motor is mounted at the front and power is delivered via a drive belt to the front/rear gearboxes, which are equipped with gear differential units. The "PRO" spec kit comes with plenty of Option Parts as standard equipment.

Features
- Front-mounted motor is housed in a gearbox which has been designed for ease of maintenance. Separately available Slipper Clutch Set (Item
54378)
- Radio gear components are protected by covers that are secured by screws. The ESC space features a detachable cover which incorporates ducts for heat dissipation. Wheel well liners help deflect dirt and debris.
- A hatch on the underside of the XV-01 chassis enables quick access to the battery.
- Holes in the chassis bottom help remove any debris which may block steering movement during off-road use.
- Reversible-type rear suspension ensures plenty of suspension stroke for off-road driving. The separate suspension mount also makes it easy to change settings such as Toe Angle.

Here are some of the option parts

Ardent "Le Mans" 24hrs

Its Getting close, the biggest race in Motorsport.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest sports car race in endurance racing, held annually since 1923 near the town of Le Mans, France. Commonly known as the Grand Prix of Endurance and Efficiency, race teams have to balance speed against the cars' ability to run for 24 hours without sustaining mechanical damage to the car and manage the cars' consumables, primarily fuel, tyres and braking materials. The endurance of the drivers is likewise tested as drivers frequently spend stints of over two hours behind the wheel before stopping in the pits and allowing a relief driver to take over the driving duties. Drivers then grab what food and rest they can before returning to drive another stint. Today it is mandated that three drivers share each competing vehicle.

OK so that was from Wikipedia but that mainly because I want to let you know about is the Ardent "Le Mans" 24 Hours.

A 24 Hours Radio controlled car race, that's insane but should be awesome fun!

Last year was the inaurgal running of this event. Last year 14 Teams started the 24 hours and 13 Teams finished. Check Out the late Dez Chand's review from last years event.

This year, I'm entering. Part of PWS Racing I'll be racing through day and night. Test day to be announced in the not to distant future. I'm excited about this.

Check out the Facebook page for more details.

Thanks for reading.

Ardent Raceway

Ardent Raceway is arguably the premier permanent indoor R/C facility in the country. Click on the picture to link to there website.

Ardent Raceway is located in Kings Newton, a small village just outside Melbourne in south Derbyshire. Its roughly about 5 minutes from East Midlands Airport which is 5 minutes of junction 24 of the M1. In an old farm building is housed a national quality indoor R/C Carpet track, well stocked shop courtesy of MB Models (www.rccarshop.co.uk) of Leeds and a Cafe.

Ardent Raceway caters for the 'Ardent RC Racer' but also for the RC enthusiasts. Running there own club night on Tuesday's but also providing Derby Radio Car Club's home on Friday nights. But it doesn't stop there, Tuesday and Friday from 13.00 is open for practice and 10.00 till 18.00 on Saturdays. Sunday they have a "BIG" Sunday meeting from 10 till around 3-4pm and then flying inside from 19.00 till 22.00. Catering for flyers as well as car racers.

Along with weekly racing, Ardent has been host to quite a few national event. Most recently the BRCA F1 and World GT nationals.

They also hosted the BRCA Winter Nationals and the Ardent winter series which is now the biggest in europe i believe. The next video is from the winter series. Andy Moore (2006 IMFAR ITSC World Champion, Multiple british champion) and Olly jeffieries (Another multiple britsh champion) share a car. GENIUS!

12th Nationals, Petit RC and the Team Durango winter series to name a few.

For the last two mentioned, Ardent converted the track into an off road carpet surface that looked epic.

Track design at its best. Ardent changes the track every now and then to shake things up. the venue attracts some very good drivers including Andy Moore but on the hand offers a friendly racing atmosphere too.

If you want anymore info, I'll try help best I can other than that click on the picture at the top and check out there website!

Thanks for reading,

Xray T3 2012 racing update

Just an update about my Xray T3 2012


As i said in the shakedown blog, the car drives great. It feels good and smooth, delivers a good driving experience that i'll really impressive with.


I mentioned about the race times I experienced at the shakedown. I have since thought more about this and going on the amount of laps I do is the wrong way to look at it. I realised this when I got to ardent to find the track had changed. Don't get me wrong I love how the track can change like it does.


I thought to myself that counting the amount of laps would be the best way to do it. but when you think about it more I realised that as the layout changes then so will the amount of laps. A much better way to study my improvement would be to look at the consistency of laps times.


Last night i attended ardent raceway's (www.ardentracing.com) club night. Previously I had some races with some very erratic laps times. Last night was no different but on a smaller scale. In my first heat I made a few noticeable mistakes and these are the ones I feel I have to cut out first.


By the last round I had two laps where I was four seconds slower than my average due to silly errors. My speedo is a HPI Flux Reload but this doesn't have turbo function which effects my speed down the straight but I feel i'm quick in the twisty bits, when I keep concentration that is.


Thanks for reading.

VRC Pro

VRC Pro is a virtual radio controlled car simulation at present supporting 1/8th to 1/12th on road classes.

This is well worth checking out. Its a great way to improve your r/c driving skills in between race meetings. its also possible to race online against thousands of other racers all over the world. Its not free but its reasonable price.

However these is one glitch. To play you will need a adapter to plug into your computer and receiver so you can use your own transmitter. Now some people might be saying that "you don't need the adapter to play VRC Pro". This is correct however, this is a simulation and a simulation is supposed to be like the real thing and you can't do that without using a transmitter. We don't race with a keyboard.

You can play VRC Pro on a free trail which is great and the site will actually ask you if you want to purchase an adapter directly from the site at I believe 50% off. I recommend this. I got one from Hong Kong but it took for ever to get here and the plugs are wired the wrong way so i have to plug them in upside down.

Subscriptions - they aren't bad, you can get one, three, six or twelve month. I believe generally they work out at  around 8 euro's a month. Anyway money bit is boring so more interesting stuff to talk about.

I tried it first on the trail period for a month. Now I don't get a lot of time to use it if I'm honest but I decided that its was great and bought a three month subscription. Why is hear you ask, well it is a great representation of our hobby on your computer. I hadn't raced or ever driven an r/c car since 2006 so I'm rusty. i was never any good anyway but my point is this can help. In the trail membership your given 3 track. one outdoor oval, a outdoor circuit, indoor carpet track and a outdoor practice park. I started messy about on the outdoor circuit and was crashing into everything, after half hour or so I was getting round without crashing. after more practice i went from lapping 16 seconds to 13 second consistent laps. that is probably really slow I don't know but the point is I improved and I intend to continue to practice to try and improve even further.

After you've purchase your subscription and registered you asked to download the software. once downloaded your met with your pit table.

Now i could go through and explain what everything does but i found an awesome set of video's online that explain it perfectly to be honest. so "if it ain't broke, dont fix it" as they say. This video takes you through the layout and what everything does.

The rest of the video for his series, detailing what things do and how to use VRC Pro. 

Thank for viewing.

Bodyshell

One on my favourite job is painting body shells. I love the creation you can make. Its art!

I don't like cutting them out but I’m going to show you how i do it all.

My brand new Mazda 6 body shell.

First thing i do is taken it out of the bag is cut the rough shape. I find that painting the shell first very difficult to mount and cut wheel arches properly.

I cut rough because i find it a hassle to cut accurately with so much extra Lexan hanging around.

Once i had the unwanted Lexan out of the way i cut more accurately to the cut lines. I try to cut on the outside so i have room to trim afterwards.

Next is to ream the holes for body posts. I do all my cutting before painting.

I sit the body on the chassis and line it up, checking distance from wheel nuts; do the moulded cutline for the arches fit remotely? Once I’m happy with the position i mark the holes and ream.

Then i cut out the wheel arches, again i can see how they line up as with a painted shell i can’t.

Time to wash the shell and apply the window masks and any paint masks. Here I’m going for green headlamps and bottom grill so i have used the decals on the inside as masks.

Time to paint, largest and darkest areas first

No paint bleed, well impressed

Done, finished off with two tone rear wing.

The finished article. Tie to wreck it now lol

Thanks for reading.