This was the 2nd time visiting the Toowoomba track and the first time at night. Unfortunately, I was the only F1 there so it became more a test and tune for me rather than proper race meeting.
Also unfortunate was the failure of my new batteries to arrive. I had hoped that would arrive in time for this race meeting so I could start working on my 190mm car again. As it turned out, it gave me some more time to play with the 200mm car, and in particular the ESC settings. I am still determined to make the Tekin work for me as other people certainly seem to be able to make it work for them. I also went back to my tried and true tyre combination - TRG Rears and Shimizu fronts.
I also had a little play with making my 190mm car. Nothing serious just played around with battery position and mounted a Alfa World GT body. Hey - its either that or I get bored!
All set up and it was time to get things on the track. I had to decide whether to run in with the tourers or the mini's. Mini's were closer to the same pace so that was done. I also had a problem with a servo which needed soldering. The 190mm/WGT needed more work so it was benched. Being night time the temperature was dropping pretty quickly so I actually grabbed my tyre warmers out, which are normally used on my tourer.
Round 1
A quick practice run showed up a little issue with the diff so I
changed the thrust bearing from the standard bearing back to a proper
thrust bearing. This race was all about learning the track (which was different from my first visit) and getting a feel for the car. The changes to the ESC throttle curve and neutral width were making quite a difference and the throttle response was much smoother. Paradoxically to achieve this, I had to make the throttle curve on the ESC more aggressive, but with the radio settings it actually worked better. I had also fiddled with the brake settings and this was also working more to my liking, allowing me to use the brakes to help the car turn if needed.
The race was pretty uneventful given being the only F1. Its more about trying not to hit anyone or be hit. Corner entry speed was actually a bit faster than the mini's but I had to be more conservative on throttle application out of the corners and I was much faster in a straight line. The main point that came out of the race was the discovery the rear tyres came off the track, after a 6 minute race, colder than when they started out of the warmers.
Round 2
A change to a softer spring on rear main shock was the only change for this race and much like the first it was pretty uneventful. The spring change made the rear end more consistent over the race duration.
Round 3
For this race the main change was to the diff setting, allowing a little more slip. This change made the car more forgiving when accelerating out of the corners and meant I could drive it a little harder and get on the power a little earlier. However, without lap counting (was considered pointless given the situation) I can't be sure if the lap times reflected the car feel.
There is where the night ended. Due to a miscommunication with my partner I ended up packing up early and heading home. On one hand there was probably little point on finishing the night out as its hard racing only yourself. On the other, I could've tried a few more changes - Eg. changing the toe out to try and get a more aggressive turn in, one area I felt the car was lacking a little. The positive was that the car felt more like what I remember from WA. Ok, its on a different track from the Interclub but so were the tracks in WA. I guess I'll have to make another trip and find out.
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