THE WORLD'S LEADING R/C CAR MAGAZINE December 1994 Formula 1 Fun! Join Parking CLASS p. 94 USA $4.50 CANADA $5.50 miya Pajero Traxxas Nitro Buggy OFRIA Blazer SST c o n t e n t s VOLUME 10, NUMBER 12 * DECEMBER 1994 D E P A R T M E N T S | 10 What's New 14 Readers' Rides 19 Inside Scoop by Chris Chianelli 150 National Organizations 194 Chris's Back Lot C O L U M N S 24 Pit Tips by Jim Newman 2 8 Troubleshooting by John Huber 33 R/C Doctor by Doug Mertes 36 Nitro News by John Huber 38 Scoping Out features by John Rist 6 8 NORRCA Off-Road Nats T H R A S H T E S T ' S " ] Has the best off-road racer arrived? by George Gonzalez 44 OFNA Blazer ' 8 0 Project Desert Thunder Don't wear this with khakis Building an off-road ballistic missile by George Gonzalez 8 8 Joel Johnson's EV1OSS Setup The champ's building secrets • by John Howell and Joel Johnson 94 F1 Fever! The premier parking lot racers • by Staff 62 Traxxas Nitro Buggy 112 Diff Basics Fuel-powered frequent flier by Stan VanDruff Keep it light and smooth • by Doug Mertes 1 2 6 Christmas Wish List Gimme, gimme, gimme • by Chris Chianelli N THE COVER: photos by Walter Sidas. his page: photo by A.R. Flatbush. 1 8 7 Track Directory E D I T O R I A L Group Publisher LOUIS V. DeFRANCESCO JR. Publishers DR. LOUIS V. DeFRANCESCO YVONNE M. DeFRANCESCO Associate Publisher GARY OOLZALL Group EdItor-ln-Chief TOM ATWOOD Senior Editor CHRIS CHIANELLI Editor JOHN HOWELL Managing Editor KAREN JEFFCOAT Associate Editor JOHN HUBER Technical Editor FRANK MASI Copy Director LYNNE SEWELL Senior Copy Editor KATHERINE TOLLIVER Copy Editor DEBRA D. SHARP Managing Art Director ALAN J. PALERMO Art Director BETTY K. NERO Formula for Fun? Assistant Art Director STEPHANIE L. WARZECHA Graphic Artists ROBIN DEMOUGEOT MICHAEL BOUSE S Staff Photographer WALTER SIDAS o what's all this hoopla about Formula 1 cars and the park Image Technician LISA KNORRA ing lot racing scene? I must admit that, until recently, I had Systems Manager GORDON OPPENHEIMER never really been a big fan of full-size Fl racing; I mean, the cars look pretty cool, but I thought Fl was mostly a Director of Marketing GARY DOLZALL European deal and that there weren't any Fl races here in Circulation Manager JEAN BINGHAM ABBOTT the USA. I was always partial to Indy car racing. I kind of compared F1 racing to soccer, which is extremely popular Production Manager MARY REID McELWEE in Europe but hasn't quite "arrived" here. Well, I was wrong!; Fl races Production Assistant ARLENE MELKO are held all over the world, even North America. Anyway, I started to watch the races on ESPN, and I got hooked. I Advertising Manager SHARON WARNER quickly found that Fl cars are the ultimate high-performance racing Advertising Account SHELLEY BYINGTON Executives JILL E. SHERTER machines—they're totally sick! Did you know that these cars' 3500cc, JILL ELLEN MOLINARO JENNIFER IZZO overhead-cam, eight, 10, or 12-cylinder engines put out 675hp, go as Advertising Traffic ELISE SILKOWSKI fast as 210mph, and can also pull 4G! How about 0 to 60mph in 2 sec Coordinator onds and 0 to l00mph in 4.5—yikes! That's totally insane. I won't even get into details about the cars' active suspensions and engine SUBSCRIPTION PRICES: telemetry systems. U.S. & Possessions (including APO & FPO): 1 year (12 issues), $29.95; 2 years (24 issues), $54.95. Canada: Well, when Fl R/C cars started to show up here at the office, 1 soon 1 year, $45.96; 2 years, $86.62 (includes G.S.T.). Elsewhere: found myself messing with them more than with any other type of car 1 year, $42.95; 2 years, $80.95. Payment in U.S. funds. Single-copy prices: $4.50 (USA); $5.50 (Canada). Canadian that came through our doors. What's really cool is that you can take G.S.T. number R130754872. one right out of the box, find a smooth parking lot and have a blast. If RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION (ISSN 0886-1609, USPS 001-087) is published monthly by Air Age, Inc., 251 Danbury a couple of your buddies get them, too, you have the perfect formula Rd., Wilton, CT 06897, USA. Connecticut Editorial and Business Office, 251 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897. Phone: for...you guessed it: parking lot racing. So check the Fl cars out. You 203-834-2900. FAX: 203-762-9803. Michael F. Doyle, Chief Executive Officer; Y.P. Johnson, President; G.E. can turn right to our Fl special section and catch Fl fever! DeFrancesco, Vice President; L.V. DeFrancesco, Secretary; Yvonne M. DeFrancesco, Treasurer. Second Class Postage There's a ton of other hot features this month. Check out Chris's Permit paid at Wilton, Connecticut, and additional Mailing Offices. Copyright 1994 by Air Age, Inc. All rights reserved. Christmas Wish List, the low-down on Joel "Magic" Johnson's race- CONTRIBUTIONS: All materials published in Radio Control winning EV10ss (speed secrets galore!) and—of course!—our in-depth Car Action become the exclusive property of Air Age, Inc., Thrash Tests. uPnulbelisssh erp. rTiohre aPrurabnlisgheemr aesnstu mise sm naod ere sInp ownsriitbiinlitgy fwoirt hu ntshoe As if that isn't enough, our art director, Betty Nero, has done a fab licited material. Only material accompanied by a SASE will be returned. ulous job of giving the magazine an awesome new look. ADVERTISING: Advertising rates available on request. All of us here at Car Action wish you a safe and happy holiday sea Please send advertising materials, insertion orders, etc., to Radio Control Car Action, Advertising Dept., Air Age, Inc., son. See you in '95! You won't believe what we've got planned! 251 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897. Phone: 203- 834-2900. FAX: 203-762-9803. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Don't miss any issues! Send your new address to Radio Control Car Action, Subscription Dept., P.O. Box 427, Mount Morris, IL 61054, six weeks before you move. Include the address label from a recent issue, or print the information exactly as shown on the label. The Post Office will not forward copies unless you provide extra postage. Duplicate issues cannot be sent. We want to hear from POSTMASTER: Please send Form 3579 to Radio Control y o u ! Write, fax, or e-mail us over the Car Action, P.O. Box 427, Mount Morris, IL61054. Internet: Car Action, Air Age Publishing, 251 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT 06897; fax: (203) 762-9803; e-mail: Chris Chianelli—[email protected]; John Howell (Doog)— [email protected]; Karen jeffcoat—[email protected]; John Huber—[email protected]; Member Audit Bureau of Circulations Frank Masi—[email protected]. PRINTED IN THE USA 6 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION I If you race with foam tires, you need a L E T T E RS tire truer. MAXMOD offers several sizes to suit your budget. Check these out! EXPERIENCE NEEDED? aren't the best choice for off-road. Bench I recently built a Tamiya Ford As for the shocks, the "black" Escort RS 4WD car. I'm 13 and shocks are hard-anodized and will Racer want to know if a lot of building last longer than the gold ones. experience is needed to build the They both work equally well, but DC Truer Tamiya King Hauler. By the way, I after some time, the gold finish PN 10-003 love your magazine. will begin to wear off, and then KEVIN WONG the aluminum body will wear out West Vancouver, BC, Canada next. John Our "Entry Level" model runs on 12 volts DC. Big performance for a small budget. Powerful enough Kevin, if you've built an Escort, for even 1/8 scale tires. you're well on your way. It isn't APPLES AND ORANGES really harder to build a Hauler, but Help! I'm planning to buy an R/C it's much more time-consuming. monster truck, but the one I want Pro Instead of four tires, there are 10; costs way too much. My second instead of two gearboxes, there choice is the Kyosho USA-1. Is it as Tire are two gearboxes and a three- fast as an old-style (circa 1987) Truer speed transmission. The body is RC10? I want to be able to keep up also more work, because it's plas with my friend's car. If not, what PN 10-001 tic, and it must be painted from mods would I have to do? Also, the outside and fitted with lots of how can I get my ideas for a new chrome accents. I'd say that if you R/C listened to? I wrote to Tamiya; 20 pounds of pure muscle. Our top of the line built an Escort, you can build a as of yet, no word. Keep printing a unit. Massive torque with constant speed make Hauler. Just don't expect it to be great mag! short work of even the toughest tires. 120 VAC. rolling as quickly. John CHRIS MARSH Reidsville, NC Deluxe GEARING UP Chris, if you're trying to keep up Tire First of all, you have the best mag with an RC10, you'll have a hard around. I just recently got an time with a USA-1. It's just in a Truer RC10, and I have a few questions. totally different class. It would be Is the 64-pitch gear better than the like racing a Dodge K-car against a PN 10-002 48-pitch one that's in the Stealth? Ferrari. If you want to compete Are 64-pitch gears good for off- against an RC10, get one. As for road? Will they strip easily? Are the getting your ideas heard...I'm Our most popular model. 71/2 pounds of power and accuracy. Its size makes it great for the racer black shocks better than the gold listening. John who travels. 120 volts AC. shocks? MARK BALLOU St. Petersburg, FL GET DIRTY My friends and I are writing in Tire response to your "Get Dirty" article Because 64-pitch gears have in the August '94 issue. We love smaller teeth than 48-pitch gears, Durometer your mag and the article, and we're they're more fragile. They are, hoping that we get to see more PN 40-001 however, smoother and quieter. If articles like that—maybe even a you're running on-road, they're a shootout! R/C Car Action is our good idea, but they probably only link to the R/C world, because To really know your tires you need one of these. we live in such a small community Accurately measures rubber hardness. Can be that the nearest R/C dealer is at WRITE TO US! We welcome your photos, used on foam and cap tires. drawings, comments and suggestions. Letters least 50 miles away! We rely on should be addressed to "Letters," Radio your articles when we go to make a MAXMOD tire truers include adaptors Control Car Action, 251 Banbury Rd., Wilton, CT purchase. Thanks. for 1/10 and 1/12 electric pan cars. Many 06897. Letters may be edited for clarity and Also, we've noticed that off-road other adaptors are available. brevity, and each must include a full name and electric, which we all run, has been GET SMOKIN' with address or telephone number so that the identi pushed to the side. We wanted to ty of the sender can be verified. We regret that, let you know that there are still off- owing to the tremendous numbers of letters we road electric enthusiasts out here; receive, we can't respond to every one. try not to forget us! We're hoping INTERNET ADDRESSES: to see a stock motor shootout and, minisports John Howell: [email protected]. possibly, a modified motor Chris Chianelli: [email protected]. shootout. We appreciate the time John Huber: [email protected]. you took to read our letter and P.O. Box 538 Monrovia, CA 91017 Karen Jeff coat: [email protected]. would like to thank you also for Ph (818) 359-7737 • Fax (818) 359-5434 (continued on page 164) 8 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION nW H Ae T w' S TRINITY Onyx Motor The Onyx is the latest in the Speed Gems line of machine-wound motors and, like all the Speed Gems motors, it features the Epic EX-Tech technology. This 14-turn double is an excel lent all-around motor that works well in most racing applications. Its features PROTOFORM Vortex L.D. include 5.0 wet magnets, dual ball bearings and This 1993 Dirt Oval Nationals-winning body has great adjustable timing. details; molded-in "vortex generators" for more efficient Part no.—9204; price—$45. air flow; and add-on right-side and center air dams. Trinity Products Inc., 1901 E. Part no.—1904; price—$20.95. Linden Ave. #8, Linden, NJ Protoform, 5455 S. Western Blvd., Hamburg, NY 14075; (416) 646-7638. 07036; (908) 862-1705. today's modified WINGS WEST RC1OTs and Deep Cycler RC1 0GTs. The 5000 bearings are shielded stainless This new product will dra steel and have matically extend the life of three times the your AAA to 15V Ni-Cds. It load rating of 3/8- slowly steps down the Ni- RPM inch-diameter bearings! The Cd, then "jolts" it and Bearings and molded white, dyeable car applies a precision Carriers for riers are designed to lower RC10GTand the CG and eliminate almost all telescoping of the RC10T dogbones and universal. These heavy-duty axle bear Part no.—7023; ings and carriers can take price—$29.95/set. the increased torque and RPM, 14978 Sierra Bonita Ln., side pressure generated by Chino, CA 91710; (909) 393-0366. TRAXXAS SRT Traxxas' all-new racing truck is the first to have a no-breakage guarantee on its suspension parts: if they break, Traxxas will replace them—free! The truck's features include Traxxas' Zero-Flex, dual-plane composite chassis; stand-off or large-capacity, hard-anodized, Teflon-coated, big-bore shocks; Pro-Line deep-cycle circuit. XTR tires; 272 Magnum tranny; 16 ball bearings; and hex-drive hardware. This eliminates the memo Part no.—2503; price—$335. ESP ry effect and restores your Traxxas Corp., 12150 Shiloh Rd. #120, Dallas, TX 75228; (214) 613-3300. Aluminum battery to its original Servo-Saver capacity. It's easy to use: just connect the leads to Replace your stock Clod your battery (red to posi Buster servo-saver with tive, black to negative), ESP's new heavy-duty, turn the switch to "on" and spring-loaded unit. It walk away. Best of all, it comes with bronze bush uses only the power in your ings and all the necessary battery for deep cycling (nc hardware. outside power is needed). Partno.—ESP038. Partno.—DC-5000; ESP Hobby Mfg., 6215 Lou Ave., price—$79.95. Unit C, Crystal Lake, IL 60014; (815)455-5440. Wings West, 7166 Crown Point Rd., Coos Bay, OR 97420; (503) 888-2849. 10 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION TOOL RESOURCE PARMA Desoldering BMW Body Pumps This BMW 325i body is To remove solder quickly Parma/PSE's newest. When you race it on and safely, try these two your Tamiya 4WD new clesoldering pumps. saloon car, its incredi Model S601 CD is for use on ble detail and realism static-sensitive materi will turn heads. als; model S501AS Part no.—10384; price—$19. (not pictured) Parma International/PSE, 13927 Progress Pkwy., North Royalton, OH is an 44133; (216) 237-8650. a n t i - ^ ^ _ static pump. Both Q WELD WINDWARD PRODUCTS provide instant Q Weld Repair Portable Hobby vacuum action, and Putty Meter each pump has a heat- resistant plastic body and a Repair steel, aluminum, This light, compact meter self-cleaning, conductive chrome, plastic, glass and will help you to determine Teflon tip. the condition of your receiv Part nos.—S601CD, S501AS; er battery pack. It puts a 37- prices—$17.99. $14.99. ohm load on the battery The Tool Resource, P.O. Box being tested, and the dis 1106, W. Dundee, IL 60118; (708) play shows the current 468-0849. that's provided by the bat tery. (A strong receiver pack will show a 129mA read ing.) The WP2000 can also test diodes and measure AC and DC voltage, resistance and DC current to 200mA. Part no.— wood with Q-Weld. It sets WP2000; in 5 minutes and stays set— price— even when exposed to $29.95. moisture. It comes in a resealable container and Distributed by can be sanded, sawed, Horizon Hobby drilled, tapped, machined Distributors, PARAGON and painted! The epoxy 4105 Fieldstone, Fluorescent Rims and hardener are combined Champaign, IL Paragon's popular Centerline rims are now available in in one stick, but they won't 61821; vibrant fluorescent colors: hot Pink, Fire Orange and harden until they have been (217)355-0022. cut and kneaded together. Saturn Yellow. Outshine the competition! Each set Q-Weld can be mixed by includes two front and two rear rims. VMP2000 Part iws.—HP014 (pink), F0014 (orange), SY014 (yellow); hand and washes off with price—$7.50/set of four. soap and water. Paragon Racing Products, 340 Industrial Blvd., Waconia, MN 55387; Price—$2.95/2-ounce container. (612)442-6364. Q-Weld Co., 5320 W. 16th St., Ste. 349, Indianapolis, IN 46224; (800) 995-4314. TAMIYA F1 Hop-Ups & Replacement Parts Tamiya's Mo-scale F1 car class is becoming one of the most popular racing classes in the nation, and demand for parts has never been greater. Tamiya has responded with a comprehensive line of F1- specific hop-ups and replacement parts that ranges from the basics (suspension arms and diff sets) to high-tech options, such as one- piece ball thrust bearings and high-capacity shocks. Twelve tire options and 15 body sets are also available. Tamiya America Inc., 2 Orion, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; (714) 362-2240. DECEMBER 1994 11 R E A D E RS TAKIN' NITRO TO THE GRAVE The list of mods that Marvin "Butch" Jones made to his Kyosho USA Nitro Crusher goes on and on. Marvin, who resides in Renton, WA, sent us this picture of his tricked-out truck as well as his mod list that includes hop-ups such as a IRON RIDE Parma Crave Digger body, an O.S. RX-B .21 engine, full ball bearings throughout, eight gold shocks, a DuraTrax tuned Ivan the Ironman only wishes his Toyota was as sano-looking pipe and V-spike tires, front and rear stabilizers and a quick-fill as this truck. Steve Pannulla, who hails from Coram, NY, sent fuel tank. The truck is controlled by a Futaba Magnum Junior us this photo of his 1/8-scale Mugen Toyota pickup. Steve's radio, and a 9303 servo handles the steering chores while a truck is powered by a Rex three-port Super Competition 9301 takes care of the throttle/brake duties. buggy engine. An Airtronics XL2P radio controls the truck; a high-speed servo controls the throttle; and a high-torque servo controls the steering. It looks pretty sharp, Steve; now get out there and get that thing dirty! CHEAP STREET Spotting a bargain he couldn't resist, Dan Baraszu of "Readers'Rides" is our way Plymouth, Ml, bought this Tamiya Subaru Brat for 50 of recognizing the unique, bucks and then added some other sale items. The innovative—and sometimes results? As you can see, Dan now has a cool-looking street ride for a reasonable price. bizarre!—vehicles that our Dan's pavement pounder is equipped with a complete set of bearings, CRP front shocks readers have created. Send and rear stabilizer, a Trinity Monster Horsepower motor, Blackfoot rear rims and slick us a sharp, uncluttered, tires and a Bolink Ford "Vickie" body. well-exposed color photo of your car or truck (no Polaroids, please!), along with a brief description, to Readers'Rides, R/C Car Action, 251 Danbury Rd., Wilton, CT06897. It we choose your photo, you'll receive a 1-year subscrip tion to Car Action, or an extension of your existing subscription. You'll also be eligible for the sixth annual "Reader's Ride of the Year Contest" in January 1996. Write your address and ALANS ARMY phone number on your letter Does this guy like trucks or what?! Alan Boyce of Surrey, England, sent us this photo of and on the back of each his fleet of 32 trucks. There are several Clod Busters (in various stages of modification), a photo you send, in case we couple of Bull Heads, a Big Brute, a Monster Vette, a Double Dare, a Nitro Thrasher, a need to contact you. USA-1, a few Heavy Metal Monster Tanks...the list goes on and on. Man, with 32 trucks, it probably takes Alan half an hour to figure out which radio goes with which truck! 14 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION A TRIBUTE Leon Montfrooy of the Netherlands made this car as a tribute to the late Ayrton Senna—one of the most famous F1 drivers in the world. Leon's Tamiya McLaren Honda has been modified with a Sauber rear wing, and it's equipped with a Futaba receiver and a Hitec speed control. Leon adds, "I haven't driven it yet. It just looks too good." Well, Leon, we have to agree with you there. It's definitely a fitting tribute to an excellent racer. THE FIRST ONE...SO FAR John Meroth of Tampa, FL, sent us this photo of his son Tony's modified RC10GT. It's diesel-powered and probably the first of its kind. John contacted his friend Bob Davis of Davis Model Products, who pro duces diesel conversions for glow engines. John convinced Bob to produce a kit for his DOG-DAY .12 O.S. CZ-R and, according to John, the truck rips! After some minor clutch mods, AFTERNOON John tried the new MIP clutch setup for the What the heck is going on here? truck—the perfect addition to get the Steve Roach of Ft. Wayne, IN, has an power to the ground properly. John RC10T that he modified with a informs us that the diesel-powered .12 graphite chassis and shock towers, a CZ-R can put a major whuppin' on all .12 glow-powered engines. It sounds Tekin 420 G2 speed control, MIP like a 4-stroke motorcycle, and it can literally smoke the tires on asphalt! steering, CVDs and Golden shock shafts. It also has Tecnacraft 6-40 turnbuckles, RPM rod ends, a Trinity Ex-Tech 11 -turn motor and a Futaba 9303 servo. But forget the mods...what about the dog? I sure wouldn't want to fall short on a jump and hit Fido here; he looks mean! HOPPED UP HOG Christian Danner of Voerde, Germany, sent us this picture of his souped- up Tamiya Toyota Bruiser. Christian's truck is controlled by a 7-channel radio, which operates the throttle, the steering, the three-speed trans mission and the working light bar, taillights, headlights and turn lights. ALOH-SI Power is provided to the Tekin 61 OR speed control by an 8-cell, Travis Fukumitsu of Honolulu, HI, sent us some photos of 4400mAh Sanyo pack. Other features include M6-scale, chromed his Losi Double-X buggy. Travis's car is equipped with a exhaust stacks; a handmade hood scoop; an aluminum bedliner and Twister modified motor, a Novak 410-Mlc speed control, a rollbar; complete ball bearings; and each wheel has an extra damper Futaba S1 32 steering servo, Tecnacraft titanium turnbuck and a leaf spring. Christian also made a custom aluminum trailer hitch les, MIP CVD drive shafts and a pack of Trinity 1 700 SCRC for his scratch-built, 50-inch-long, three-axle trailer that totes around his cells. The body was painted and photographed by his highly modified Kyosho USA-1. friend Aaron Chock. Nice job! 16 RADIO CONTROL CAR ACTION In search of fun and glory, cause life's too short to be a sheep • by Chris Chianelli R emember Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots (right), where you'd try to smash your opponents head off? Well, this is even better. Every once in a while, our Japanese friends over at RCM magazine do a JOCKS story on these killer radio-controlled robot wars they have. They have an absolute blast doing it. Shown below are a few of the "battle bots" that participate in the event. Well, it seems as if it might be starting to catch on Whether or not you like the styling of the '95 Dodge Ram, you have here in the States as well. Last August, the 1st International R/C Robot Wars was held to admit it's daring. Well, you don't have to admit it; but if you don't, in San Francisco with 20 entries and more you're wrong! Anyway, Pro-Line's new Mo-scale version, which than 1,000 spectators. looks very hot (in my opinion) is vacuum-formed out of crystal- Anyway, the robots ranged from a weird-looking, clear Lexan and includes a molded rear wing. It's currently avail armored-car lookalike able for both the RC10T and RC10GT (gas truck). If you look really equipped with a C02 closely at the photo, this truck is equipped with Pro-95 "Edge" front ramming device to tank- tires—Pro-Line's latest front truck tire. Mark Pavidis TQ'd in tread-powered, assault-type vehicles. Sounds pretty wild to Modified at the ROAR Nationals with these tires. They were also me. There were three events at used to TQ and win the Stock A-Main. Find out why they're called the "war": a one-on-one battle to "The Edge" in next month's "Inside Scoop." the death; an escort attempt where one robot tried to escort another robot across the arena, while a third robot tries to disable the first robot and the one it was escorting; and a melee free-for-all where all the robots entered the arena and, ultimately, only one was left standing. Associating Interested yet? Well, stay tuned because, in an upcoming issue, with winners contributing author Rob Wood will bring you this wild o. Cal. Raceway, CA—'94 ROAR Truck National Championship. Team Associated's winning reputation is once again reinforced by having five RC10T trucks in the Stock A-Main and seven in the Modified A-Main. Now that's what I call a strong presence! The gorgeous Renee Carrol—Miss So. Cal. Raceway with Mark Pavidis (right), who was Top Qualifier in both the Stock and Modified class and Barry Baker, who was second i Stock. Mark also won the first A-Main in Modified and was leading in the second A-Main by 3 seconds when his motor stopped for some reason, giving the heat to Brian Kinwald's Losi Double-XT. Brian DECEMBER 1994 19