Its OK.. I'm not dead

I haven't had much to write on this lately. Money has been really tight after the move from WA so racing toy cars hasn't really been something I can justify. I've been keeping an eye on all the different forums and sites and seen the release of a couple of new cars. The one that has caught my eye the most (after months of wanting a 3Racing F113) is the new SpeedPassion SP-1. It just seems to me to have a good thought process behind it, and I really like the front suspension layout, which allows all the different widths without buying option or extra parts. Possibly the only area I personally don't "like" is the friction roll shock, but that's nit picking. The price is also pretty good. Its 99% possible this will be my next F1.

I keep reading rumors about a narrowing kit for the F113 and if it appears in reality it might make the decision a bit harder, but until it appears the SP is my new first choice

I will be going racing F1 shortly. I'm planning to do the Interclub at Logan in Brisbane (which held the 2012 On Road Nationals) as F1 will be run. I don't really care about the whole interclub thing as technically it doesn't apply to me but racing will be fun. I'll be using My F1-09 in 200mm setup because I can't get batteries to suit the 190mm version. The 190mm car needs short lipos to be setup properly but the 200mm doesn't seem as touchy and I can use my full size battery packs. I am not expecting to win but I am hoping to have some fun.

I have done a little bit of racing in 4WD tourer however. I managed, finally, to get to my new local club, and even though the turnout was a bit small, I did a few runs in my rebuilt Tigermoth LCG. Despite having year old tyres,  a 3 year old 17.5 and an even older SP ESC I was only about 0.4sec from the fastest time of the regulars. A little tweaking and a newer motor and ESC and a approximately 6 year old car would be keeping up with current Xray's and the like. 

The LCG has always fascinated me as a car - it suits my driving style almost perfectly and it rarely needs more than a few small tweaks to be near or matching the pace of tracks I have visited while traveling. 

Tigermoth LCG - this chassis doesn't have the front and rear diff braces

 
While on paper it appears simple and well set out, the suspension is frustratingly unreliable and difficult to set to exact camber and castor settings. The single deck and center shaft design makes the car prone to destroying belts and pulleys, especially when running mod motors. It also is very "old school" as far as pulley sizes and diff ratios and there is nothing like a gear diff available. It does have a very good spool idea, which I've recently noticed Tamiya also doing, replacing the diff balls with some sort of friction material. This allows a spool action, but in hard impacts etc the diff can slip which helps prevent breakages.

Despite all its quirks I have persevered with it the longest of any chassis I've ever owned. It has been extensively modified to try and overcome the problems I've encountered - shorter rear belt, various braces to control chassis flex, converting the diff to a Tamiya TA04 diff pulley (allows me to use better diff balls) and modifications to rear uprights to change the arm angle and roll center. I am considering getting a full carbon fiber chassis plate made rather than the CF/Polystyrene original chassis plate. I do have to wonder how practical it is to persevere, but with the current market flooded with almost identical chassis designs, with little to truly differentiate between them, its almost "better the devil you know" then having to start from scratch with a whole new car.

Maybe I should just build my own car...