if you haven’t checked out the dNanoclub forum, then you won’t know about the most recent dNano mod that has taken over racing at our shop. i recall a visitor asking about wide wheels but not having anything available, now Dahm once again comes up with the perfect solution and the basis for a new ‘Ultra Grip Race Spec‘ now available for order at our online shop. i call it ultra grip because the car setup is low profile and the rear wheels are made of 2x 18FA size X-Power Racing Wheels (1 pair on each side), mended together and 2x tires (X-Power 20° compound for RCP type surface). aluminum rear wheel hubs are size 1 and ball differential/pinion gearing is either 31-32 spur & 6-7 pinion depending on circuit layout. front wheels are 17FRA or 18FA depending on body and preference, front tire compound is X-Power FRA20° Slick Tires (for high grip, FA20° for less grip). we’re now using the new Kyosho Super Soft FRP Rear Suspension plates with soft front springs. this setup only works well with bodies designed for a 6+ rear wheel hub size, any more narrow and the rear wheels/tires will stick out from the shell. you’ll want your front suspension plates at 6+ so this also limits the number of shells that can be used (available sets use X-Power size 8 carbon front suspension plates). this is a racing setup and if you want to win, this will get you there. buy the full, pre-built race spec from nanotrax or just buy the necessary parts and build it yourself! if you order from nanotrax, you’ll get handmade 17FRA dish wheels with an ‘edge’ that prevents your tires from coming off during collisions or rubs against the side of the track. discuss this with your local club in case it violates any rules, the cornering and high speed stability of your car will be vastly superior to other standard setups!
we had an interesting Thai New Year with new visitors and lots of company on the deck, check out the photos below. as always, if you need any assistance or have questions about dNano, please visit our online community @ dnanoclub.com for lots of info and assistance from other dnano fans!
i’d say we have a head start on the world when it comes to dNano. that’s not bragging, its just that we’ve had to do everything to keep it interesting and find new ways to be more competitive amongst our small group of dedicated racers. Dahm -for example- is one of the most talented mechanics in the business of go-kart racing and he so happens to be the most innovative, creative member of our club. recently, he’s taken on the responsibility of setting up our rental cars as his technique is to always make a car as easy to drive as possible for anyone. he always comes up with unique ideas and always finds a way to ‘make it work’. with this in mind, i asked him to tune an F40 but added the additional challenge of converting it to an MM (mid motor mount) chassis. could he do it?
at first, he tried it as an RM…it was horrible. the bounce in the RM chassis is simply impossible to completely eliminate. he knew he had to do something radical and so he did. he toiled over which of the many dNano body mounts could be used that would allow an MM motor mount and finally came up with one that worked – backwards. he used a 506-Ferrari FXX body mount turned backwards and sanded down would allow him to install an MM motor mount with a standard rear suspension plate. the difference was startling. no more rear chassis bounce and a comfortable installation of a Kyosho friction shock gave us an F40 that was competitive with all other GT style dNano. have any radical mods you’ve done with your dNano? share them with other fans, owners and interested r/c addicts like yourself @ dnanoclub.com!
Joom surprised me with a birthday party on February 12 and it was definitely unexpected as my birthday is on the 14th (PJ’s is on the 13th). you can check out photos from that on our Nanotrax Facebook Fan Page. we all got a bit tipsy before tuning, practicing & racing on a new layout we call ‘The Bends’. there’s no definite ‘straight’ as its mostly a mix of long and swaying curves. Dahm has come up with the best setup so far, dropping times just above 8 seconds. i haven’t had much practice time recently so i’ve had only moderate success at competing with the other 3 consistent club members. the online shop has kept me busy, most images for products have been loaded and we’re clearing out a lot of items that won’t get re-stocked in our ‘discounted section‘. check that for great deals, new items like the HOT Motor 2S and a full re-stock of the popular Foam Racing Wheels for dNano. both Dahm & Brian C have helped develop a new mod to increase rear chassis grip, be sure to check that out on the dnanoclub forum and if you’re in Pattaya, stop by to enjoy the experience for yourself! just a quick update to let you know we’ve still got a pulse, back at ya when i have something interesting to share.
we’ve reached January 2012 and things are still moving along well at nanotrax. we’ve seen members come and go, some due to their own personal issues, others due to me and my big mouth. i think i should extend an apology to those turned off by anything i’ve said or done during your visits to our shop. i have my opinions and i’m often very blunt when expressing them. my views are unusual and i’m sure the way i run my shop and manage my business may rub some people the wrong way. i don’t know everything but i’m constantly learning and growing. my role at the shop has evolved and with other projects in the works, i’ll be less of a presence on a social level but always available when needed. i hope this will give visitors more of an opportunity to share & enjoy with one another without my influencing the atmosphere as i have in the past.
nanotrax is also the exclusive worldwide distributor for X-Power R/C products and that has become a key part of our daily operations. after closing the 2nd floor due to lack of interest, we moved order fulfillment into the space and have streamlined processing as a result. i look forward to the constant growth and evolution of that element of our operations as we move into the new year. if you’re a shop owner and wish to carry X-Power R/C products online or at your local shops, please contact us by sending an e-mail to sales@xpowerrc.com.
we’ve had some racing recently and that’s breathing life back into the shop. we welcomed another ‘Brian’ along with his cute little daughter, Selina into the family. Dahm and Brian C have come up with some extreme mods that have raised the bar for speed and handling in dNano, be sure to check out some of Brian’s posts @ dnanoclub for what he’s up to! we’ve had a few visitors, check out photos in the gallery. i’ll have our online shop updated with all the latest stuff from X-Power and a clearance sale on all PN Racing items within the next few days. until next time, keep the miniature racing scene alive wherever you are!
its a shame i’m so horrible with names because we’ve had a load of new visitors and made so many new friends but i can’t keep up with all of them! not only have we had a steady flow of old friends, we’re getting new ones from our feature on XTV, produced by Pattaya Channel. they’ve yet to release it on YouTube but when they have, i’ll load it here @nanotrax. check out the gallery to see whose been in and what we’ve been up to. i’ve been busy with multiple projects and admittedly lazy with race reporting but believe me, we’ve had a few and its been fun in small groups. check out our new fan page on Facebook and if you’re looking for the latest parts for dNano and Auto Scale Collection items for Mini Z, stop by our online shop. that’s the short of it for now, i’ll catch ya in a few days when i have more to report. thanks for your continued support!
the McLaren Racing Shell came and went recently… a testament to how rare items for dNano get snatched up quickly by dedicated fans. if there’s anyone who knows about dedicated, its the nanotrax crew and we’ve pushed for important replacement parts (main frame -plastics only with ic tag- set) that you can find now available @ our dnano and mini z online shop. there are also new dnano optional parts on their way into stock + the latest optional parts for Mini Z AWD. currently, we’re weathering the storm of the current economic atmosphere and we expect to be here for years to come, providing a special little something in an infamous city called Pattaya.
on sunday, we held the last race on the disastrous ‘WTF’ layout which i believe drove everyone away from play at the shop. it was difficult and certainly, that word and ‘fun’ just don’t seem to fit together for most people. as a matter of fact, we held only 2 races and ran in only one direction before removing and installing a new one. Hugh was rather direct, frank, honest…. even rude with his vocal melee on the layout but… he was right. it had to go and now, i’m sure he and everyone else will find fun again with ‘Blur’ on F1R. i call it that because the lanes are wide and action will be ridiculously fast. Gary surprised us with a rare visit and Calvin re-joined us on sunday so i suspect we’ll have some interesting racing to say the least during the next 5+ weeks before he leaves us again. i’ll get around to posting the race report over @dnanoclub soon so visit there to check that out and share your thoughts and experiences with dnano and club racing in your area.
in a brutal economy, one has to do what’s necessary to survive. for that reason, you’ll notice our shop hours have changed with our closing 2 days a week to reduce expenses, thereby extending the potential life of nanotrax. as soon as we made this decision, new people start arriving for a visit… weird. like yesterday, i planned to enjoy a free day away from the shop but as soon as i open the front door, a distant visitor from Egypt greeted me with an excited look in his eyes and being someone who loves R/C, this meant i had no choice but to open the shop for him on our ‘closed’ day. Hossam is an airplane pilot and he went out of his way to come from Bangkok on a short break to visit us @ Nanotrax. he walked away with a dream to start something similar in his own country and i wish him luck, success and thanks for visiting with appreciation for what we’ve done here. Joom is also on a mission to assist in our survival by expanding her menu selections which we’re hoping to make available to Pattaya thru Waiter On Wheels, a delivery service in the area. check out the gallery for some her best creations and stop by the shop to enjoy them in person.
so after four months of high speed insanity on ‘Funnel’, it was time to do my thing once again on F1R, our showroom dnano racing circuit. i’m always interested in mini r/c but racing on the same layout can get boring so -if you haven’t noticed- i conduct this ritual every 3-4 months depending on my mood and motivation. normally, i come up with an idea and sketch it on paper but it rarely comes out as envisioned but it normally works out to an interesting challenge and a unique work of functional art. i’m not sure what to call this one, so please give me your suggestions on the thread i’ve opened @ dnanoclub. if you’re in the area, stop by to check it out but i’d say on a dnano circuit difficulty scale of 1 to 10, this ranks a clear 8+ and we’ll all be retuning our cars for the challenge!
the shop is quiet as usual but racing on Sunday has picked up pace with a few of the members returning to get back into dnano racing. we’re in the last month of running on our ‘Funnel‘ layout but we’ll definitely miss it when it has to be changed. its given everyone a challenge due to its tight cuts and high speed straights. even Robby, one of the top Mini Z drivers in Europe has had his hands full tuning for it and recorded one of very few 2nd place finishes in a recent club race. to get the latest race reports and dnano news, visit our forum @ dnano club. speaking of dnano news, Kyosho has released new FRP rear suspension plates and an independent producer dropped a new McLaren shell with Marlboro and Lark racing livery are now available for pre-order in our online shop.
i recently installed LED lights on my Scooby drifting body. its in the Formula D series and i believe they’re all prepped for the install with ports at the headlights, tail lights and exhaust pipe. unfortunately, the LED lights kit (R246-8903) we have available requires more than what’s included with the kit to actually get it going. this set seems to be prepped for install on MR-02/MR-03 chassis but the AWD MA-010 battery port setup isn’t the same leaving us with the need to do a major modification or adapt with what we do have. luckily, the kit’s power supply port is the same required for the Minium AD 3.7v 150mAh battery. this allows one to completely separate your LED power source from the chassis, which insures use of them won’t affect overall performance of the car. check out the pics here and if you’re looking to add some bling to your Mini Z, grab one of the few R246 LED Light Kits we have available @ the shop.
it’s one thing to do the build, it’s another to do the report. after respectable sales and consistent interest in the ‘Drift Spec AWD‘ i piloted in our latest YouTube video, i decided i’d take the special, limited edition Kyosho Alice Motors Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X AWD Chassis and build a special ‘Drift’ version i call the Alice Motors Drift Spec 2. it has more bling than the original Drift Spec and it includes a limited edition Champagne Perfex 2.4GhZ KT-18 Transmitter. i took photos of each step in the build and break it all down in the gallery below. for questions or comments, send all e-mail to qon@nanotrax.net
