i’ve been so busy enjoying the stuff that comes in, i haven’t taken the time to post it here on the blog! Kyosho released their foam tires a couple months ago, Atomic has released Lexan suspension plates and X-Power has released a variety of items that will take your dNano’s performance to the next level. we’ve got all X-Power optional parts available @ our online shop but if you’re looking to make these items available for customers in your area, contact X-Power directly for dealer information. below, you’ll find a gallery of everything we’ve received since July 2010. thanks to all our visitors local and international for your patronage and continued support – we’re still here because of you!
i’ve always considered myself a dnano ‘purist’ because i championed the aspect of ‘realism’ because each car is designed to be a replica of its full size counterpart. unfortunately, racing had slightly altered my view of things since many of the available choices just aren’t race cars. their stock setup would get you killed in a race with guys who ‘know what they’re doing’ so don’t be afraid to ‘play’ with things a bit. the first photo in my gallery is of the underside of my Lamborghini Gallardo. it has some serious battle scars since this chassis started as a Porsche 911 GT3. after finally realizing that car is just too narrow to be competitive with the GT type dnano, it’s been a Lamborghini Countache LP500S and a Ferrari F40 in its’ previous ‘lives’. the custom body we made proudly wears more scars, none of my four (4) dnano are shelf queens so they all have felt the pain of bumps and crashes in the heat of a final. i’ll be tossing the Gallardo into the fires of F1R on Sunday for the next club race but i couldn’t do it without a few small changes, here’s what i did to make it perform just as well as my Mazda 787b (which is no small feat for those who know about the Mazda):
the stock setup for the Gallardo is extremely narrow but there’s room underneath the shell to modify a few things but first, you’ll need a Kyosho Friction Shock as the other damper kits can’t fit under the body without cutting a hole (the mount comes into contact with the shell eliminating suspension – not gonna work!). now that your Gallardo still looks great, lets move on to tech specs. i’ve added some small box cutter blades for additional weight at the bottom/center of the chassis which helps hold the car down during high speed cornering. 2nd, i’ve created negative camber by switching out the (4) lower front suspension plate to a (5). this increases stability in cornering with a wider track width and reduces roll by changing the angle of the front wheels. fast cornering speeds are critical to fast lap times which -of course- are critical for the win. if you do this, its best to use the stock plastic upper plate and ‘dremel’ the kingpin holes to allow for an angle, preventing excessive rubbing or binding. 3rd, the rear of the car is just too narrow and instead of the standard (3) aluminum rear wheel hub, i’ve added a (4) which add even more corning stability. your suspension plates and front shock springs will depend on the surface you’re racing on, i use PN Racing soft on both F1R and F2L. i use 25° front tires and 10° rear tires + 18-size racing wheels all around (X-Power). the tires will break-in after a few laps and give excellent overall grip for the long, 30-minute final. my power plant? the X-Power ‘HOT’ for F1R and Kyosho X-Speed or stock on F2L with 32T/7T – spur/pinion gearing. the idea isn’t to have the fastest car, but a fast car that gives you the easiest, most reliable handling for a consistent performance that will take you from start to the checkered flag in first place. do you have a special setup for your dnano? post a comment here on the blog and share your experiences!
while we’re dicussing customs, i decided to go with an LP640 Auto Scale body for future races because the Reventon Type Shell is a bit top heavy and though it looks good, lacks the racing attributes that i need on Sundays. Joom and i added a Spoiler Kit + X-Power Stickers which give it that GT feel. we now have both of these items in stock at our online shop so if you’re looking that racing feel to your murcielago, get them both while supplies last.
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since a recent race report, we’ve had a running joke in the club amongst Hugh, Calvin & Myself. winning means layin’ the pimp slap down on your opponents and i think my win today certainly qualifies high on the ‘dnano pimp slappin’ meter after gettin’ spanked for several weeks in a row by Robby, Ian and a few others in the club. though its great to get a ‘W’ under my belt, i can’t take the credit as i drove a car hooked and tweaked by Dahm, our most frequent Thai participant in our club races and a highly skilled automotive technician who works in full size car racing and go-karts. he visits the shop often to practice and work on tweaks for his dNano collection. one of his best works is a Porsche Carrera GT. out of the box, its not exactly a competitive car, but after a few weeks in Dahm’s hands, its amazingly fast, owns the lap record on F1R (CW) and is one of the most precise, easy to drive cars i’ve had the pleasure of pimp slappin with. he’s not a highly skilled driver, so he asked if i’d like to give his creation a run in this week’s club race and i gladly accepted.
we have club racing weekly on Sundays with qualifying starting @ 5pm. we run a 1-hr session, broken into 15-minute increments with Groups of 2-4 drivers taking turns in 4 sessions to record their fastest lap and earn a place on the final grid. a 10-minute break precedes the 30-minute final and today’s competition was interesting to say the least. i grabbed the TQ spot with an 8.98 best lap followed by Ian, Olaf, Hugh, Calvin & Dahm. Ian started fast as he always does, but the speed and handling of the Porsche was too much and it led the rest of the way. Dahm and Hugh battled for position for a long while until Hugh broke a servo gear assembly in his 787b, ending his hopes of finishing the race. in the last 5 minutes, Olaf had taken the 2nd spot away from Ian but his battery gave in, allowing Ian to re-secure the 2nd spot while Dahm gave Calvin a lesson, maintaining his position in 4th. Ian still holds the points race lead but Olaf won’t relenquish the crown without a fight so we’ll see how this season unfolds. last week, we welcomed Ek as a new member and Julian Campbell visited to race with us from Indonesia (see photos). we’ve had an unusual number of new visitors, all asking for membership information so check below the race report for the latest info!
| Season 3, Round 6 @ F1R – August 8, 2010 – Main A Final (30 Mins, F1R ZigZag, CW) | |||||
| Pos. | Total Laps | Avg. Lap | Best Lap | Laps Leading | Name / Car |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 177 | 10.21 | 52/9.05 | 174 | Qon / Porsche Carrera GT |
| 2 | 167 | 10.82 | 52/9.61 | 3 | Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 |
| 3 | 165 | 10.93 | 63/9.39 | 0 | Olaf / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 |
| 4 | 140 | 12.89 | 127/11.02 | 0 | Dahm / Mazda 787b |
| 5 | 139 | 13.02 | 5/9.84 | 0 | Calvin / Lamborghini Reventon GT |
| 6 | 89 / DNF | 20.61 | 52/9.95 | 0 | Hugh / Mazda 787b |
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Rentals & Access – NanoTrax is a miniature r/c racing club and caters primarily to members but we’re always excited to welcome people want to ‘have a go’ and interested visitors in general. if you’re looking to give 1:43 scale radio control car racing a try, we have five (5) rental cars available for 300THB per hour. all non-members, must pay a facility use & maintenance fee (120THB per day) to race on every visit. if you plan on visiting often, purchase membership for only 7,000THB per year and this fee is waived. occasionally, F2L is closed to all visitors but when available, can be used for group racing. currently, we cannot accept groups larger than 5 participants and reservation must be made in advance for groups of 5 or more. renters must be at least 12 years of age, provide a 500THB deposit and agree to a 150THB per incident damage fee when applicable (our circuits are built to protect models, normally rentals go without any damage). please contact me @ 084.782.9648 (English or Thai) for more information.
Membership Info – members are provided many benefits including 1) complimentary facility use and maintenance, 2) storage for car & tools, 3) hi-speed wi-fi internet for mobile devices & internet work station, 4) full time happy hour (buy 2 get 1 free beer, draft or bottle), 5) championship participation and points collection, 6) 15% discount on all parts and accessories available in the shop, 7) up to 6 months membership suspension for non-local members, 8) member tee-shirt and membership card and more! we’re able to keep the shop open due to the support of our members and we do our best to take care of them to show our appreciation. we do reserve the right to reject applications or cancel active membership for any reason, this right will be used only to preserve the atmosphere of fun and friendly competition amongst all participants.
i have four dNano and i take them all to battle at one time or another so anyone who does the same knows exactly how much maintenance is required to keep them race-ready. if you don’t, no worries, i’ll break it down for you. the process is actually very simple, we’ll start with step one:
STAGE 1: The Breakdown
1) remove all wheels and use a small brush to get the dust out. this is more cosmetic than anything but i can’t imagine dirt caked into your wheels can help increase performance. 2) remove rear of the chassis by disconnecting the body mount (attachment screws inside battery compartment). this way, you don’t have to remove your rear suspension plate for the process. note: if you have a damper installed, of course you’ll need to remove the containing plate from the spring/mount and separate the springs and damper discs. 3) remove the wheel hubs and ball differential and completely dismantle the diff. 4) remove the upper front suspension plate and loosen the tie rod to release the front knuckles. 5) dismantle the front knuckles, removing the ball bearings from their seats as well.
STAGE 2: Cleaning
maintenance primarily means cleaning the areas where dust likes to creep into moving parts which hampers performance. in a tiny car, these tiny intrusions can cause serious issues over time and slow lap times in the short run. 1) take all ball bearings including the four (4) in the front knuckles, one (1) in the motor case and two (2) in the ball differential (carefully remove the e-clip on the base ball bearing, i’ve lost a few of these when they bounced away while removing with a twezer), soak them in a chemical specifically meant for the purpose, i use Brak-leen (contains tetrachoroethylene) but this is a chemical brake cleaner and is normally only available for industrial use. its excellent for this purpose as it coats the surfaces of the bearings making them super smooth, extending life and improving performance. 2) check the wheel shafts and remove collected dust strings around the base of the shaft. this dust slows rotation and over time can damage ball bearings. once clean, drop them in the solution with the ball bearings. 3) clean front knuckle ball bearing seats with a tweezer and tissue to remove dust and dirt (especially if you use oil for your bearings!) 4) all parts of the damper & ball diff should now be wiped free of dirt, dust and oils. toss your pressure plates and ball races (diff balls) into the solution where your ball bearings and other rotating, metal parts are now getting treatment. shake the solution every 2-3 mins and let them soak for a total of about 10 minutes. 5) use a brush to clean dust from all parts of the chassis, tissue + tweezers to get at those tiny parts your brush won’t reach in and around the motor case
STAGE 3: Re-Construction
oils should only be used in 2 places on your dnano: the ball differential and the damper. oils attract dust/dirt and that never mixes with well with a high performance racing model. use oils sparingly, watch for external dirt collection and use a brush to remove what you can see as needed. 1) put the diff back together, using 1K wt oil (Kyosho) or 5k-10K+ wt oil (X-Power) on both sides of the spur gear covering the diff balls. 2) install the diff and wheel hubs, carefully tightening the right hub only close enough to touch the bearing, too tight and rotation may bind. 3) re-attach the rear of the chassis, re-oiling the contact sides of the damper plates with a viscosity thick enough to slow action, but not suspend it. 4) move on to re-building the front knuckles and complete your maintenance task with a complete rebuild of your chassis. if any of your screw seats are stripped due to over-tightening, pick up a set of X-Power screws, replacing them with the straight screws first and when/if these no longer hold, use the included tapered screws.
if you practice 3-5 days a week and race weekly, you’ll want to do this maintenance about once or twice a month – OR – you can move to Pattaya, join as a member at our club and we’ll handle the service for only 199THB ;-). just a quick note, Joom and I installed spoilers for Hugh and Calvin who has moved from an FXX into an all new, Scarlett Red Reventon. this weekend was a long weekend, so before the shop opened we welcomed visitors from Surin. one of them is a big r/c fan, saw NanoTrax online and was excited to get the chance to visit in person. i just came back from the gym and we had no staff, but they didn’t mind so we gave them a tour and Bun picked up a souvenir NanoTrax T-Shirt and photos to mark the occasion. maybe we’ll have more Thai visitors who love R/C visit us again soon? i truely hope so.
Posted In: Photos,R/C Advice |
this week, we welcomed a new member – Ryan from the (USA). he’d found our shop online and needed a hobby to help him relax while here working in Thailand. this is his 2nd visit, and like many others, decided to support our efforts to maintain the best mini r/c racing facility in the world. unfortunately, he’s already on his way to another project in Southeast Asia but we’ll miss him and his excitement for the hobby dearly!
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i’ve been busy with other little projects in addition to our custom body project(s), here’s just a quick list of what’s going on: 1 – Nissan Fairlady Z - i’d changed my Nissan over to 20′ size wheels because its shell has very low ground clearance and would snag on uneven tiles and drag during high speed cornering. resolving this problem meant sanding away the ‘skirt’ spoiler from the shell (i hate to do this cuz the body is absolutely beautiful! (DNX407MA) but its necessary for peak racing performance). X-Power sent some samples of their Foam Tire-Wheels over for testing but unlike other brands, theirs come installed on a black racing wheel already. for those who have raced dNano, you know occasionally the tires can get pulled off the wheels and strong adhesives aren’t ideal for use with dNano, so pre-glued foam tires is a major plus. the wheels can be re-used by removing the foam after extended wear and used with normal tires and that’s another bonus. performance-wise, the grip is outstanding! on the F2L Power Slide layout, there were no longer any ‘sliding’ issues as Soft (S) front and Very Soft (SS) rear combo had my Z on rails! these should be in stock sometime in late August. check the online shop for info on the most recently added items available for dNano including the new Optional Spoiler Kit for the Reventon Type Shell (see photo).
2 – Racing Stickers – X-Power recently sent some racing stickers over as well, they allow you to turn a plain, lifeless dNano shell into a decked out, racing livery. i needed a hobby knife to cut the stickers but the adhesive is strong enough to hold on slick, clear coat bodies. unfortunately, over handling can cause the print to rub off so its probably best to apply a clear coat if possible. while water decals will be thinner, these make creating a custom livery much easier. they provided a pack of 10 sheets, each with a different assortment and more than enough stickers to create a nice livery for 1 or 2 shells. these should be in stock by early august. 3 – eAsy Adjust Differentials - i’ve converted all my installed dNano diffs from their original shaft to the XP Easy Adjust Diff (if you already have a ball diff, use the conversion kit here). when racing on a low grip, endless curve layout, the diff has to be loose for efficient cornering. high grip, high speed layouts allow for tuning the diff to a tighter setup for better straight-line speed and acceleration. having 2 circuits with varying surfaces in the shop means a lot of work with diffs and the change has reduced the time it takes for tuning & maintenance. consider making that change if you’re like to ‘tinker’ a lot like i do. speaking of maintenance, i’ve got to do some for Hugh before he gets back from his vacation to Kon Kaen (North Thailand) so i’ll review my step-by-step process in my next post. see ya then!
every week is a small event for our small r/c racing club here in Pattaya but this weeks event was special as we honored our racing points champion, Olaf and loyalty award winners, Ian & Doug. Joom whipped up some spring rolls for the occasion and everyone appreciated the excuse to enjoy free draft beer but only after our first race of Season 3. since Robby is still visiting us, it wasn’t hard to guess who would prevail in this contest. he was clinical in practice and preparation and it showed as he sailed to victory, the closest competitor being me and i trailed by 15 laps! the wide lanes and multiple corners present opportunities to reduce lap times and provide passing lanes that kept the 30-minute final interesting despite the major gaps in the final lap totals. Olaf performed well with his R8 placing 3rd and Daam participated to grab 4th place. Ian wrecked his DBR9 but was able to best Hugh who placed 6th and Doug drove his Reventon, wrapping up the field in 7th place. the points race is now underway with six competition-packed months lying ahead of us to decide who will hold the awards at the end of Season 3. thanks to all members who participate throughout the season, local and abroad.. nanotrax is only special because of you!
Season 3, Round 1 @ F1R – July 4, 2010
Main A Final (30 Minutes, F1R-ZigZag, CCW)
1 -Robby / ENZO Ferrari (183 Laps | 9.87 Avg. Lap | 47/8.91 Fast Lap) +20pts
2 -Qon / Mazda 787b (166 Laps | 10.92 Avg. Lap | 93/8.90 Fast Lap)
3 -Olaf / Audi R8 (159 Laps | 11.4 Avg. Lap | 26/9.58 Fast Lap) +11pts
4 -Daam / Porsche Carrera GT (135 Laps | 13.34 Avg. Lap | 26/11.58 Fast Lap)
5 -Ian / Aston Martin Racing DBR9 (129 Laps | 14.01 Avg. Lap | 30/9.93 Fast Lap) +6pts
6 -Hugh / Mazda 787b (124 Laps | 14.61 Avg. Lap | 13/11.31 Fast Lap) +5pts
7 -Doug / Lamborghini Reventon (101 Laps | 18.5 Avg. Lap | 18/11.61 Fast Lap) +5pts
TQ = Robby / ENZO Ferrari – 8.86secs
