almtx3

I was wondering if any of you guys out there race your RS4 3 18ss at a track. I know it might not be the best choice for racing at a track but heres my story.

Ive owned several RS4's throught out the years and raced a Serpent impact and impulse back in the day at my local track. After a while the track closed down and I sold my serpent. This was about 5 years ago. I recently found out about a track opening not too far from where I live (Homestead RC Speedway). I couldnt pass up the opportunity. I did not want to get back into the whole serious racing scene or high performance track cars (ie: R40/Mugen/Serpent) so I opted for the 18SS. My 18ss has a few hop up parts but nothing crazy. Its a bit intimidating out at the track running with the typical big money Race cars (mainly Mugens and Serpents) But everyone at the track welcomes me and my car and everyone is awesome when it comes to helping me out. The car holds its own as best it can. Its taken me a while to finally get a good set up that works on the track and I was just wondering if anyone else has raced their RS4 3 out at a track? Chime in with your set up...

RS43 18ss Set up

HPI Graphite Upper deck - 73056
Sway bar kit (purple front and back) - A209
Foam GRP Tires 35 up front 40 for the rear.
HPI Aluminum Threaded Shocks - 72170
Blue Progressive Springs
MIP Racing Clutch
Fiber Brake Disk

8° Front Upright
1° Rear hub

Front Shock Tower setting
B1 Shock
E4 Camber Link

Rear Shock Tower setting
A2 Shock
E4 Camber Link

-2° camber all the way around

This set up seems to work fairly well when the track is warm and has good traction. Ill admit, I let most of the cars around me when I get into traffic but I have chased down my buddies serpent. The HPI kept up surprisingly well but the serpent eventually pulls away. I definately have to fight alot harder to get the car around the track as opposed to the other cars. The HPI is alot less forgiving as the higher end cars. Although the RS4 3 is not a true track car like the R40 it sure fits my budget and I have as much fun with it as I did with my Serpent. Its a ton of fun (and half the price) and I would love to hear from anyone elses experience out at the track with an RS4.

HeLLsGoD

The 18ss isnt really a competition chassis which lacks alot of adjustablility but hey why not dude, its always fun to be the underdog.

Firstly youll need to find out which classes they hold on your local track and which rules (engine size, ports, exhaust, etc.). You might be able to join the outlaw class if they have one.

SteveM

My Feedback: (1)

My local club used to have a large and loyal nitro on road following but with the ever increasing costs of kits and motors to be competitive the scene fizzled and the on road nitro scene basically died. In an effort to revive the class, there was a motion tabled last winter to run a 'Spec Nitro' class this summer based on the HPI 3 Evo RTR kits. This is about as basic as they come with fixed camber and castor and set gearing. So far we have three heats running every second Wednesday and there is growing interest. Unfortunately, HPI have discontinued these kits replacing them with the 18SS version. This isn't a problem as we also allow these kits as long as the tuned pipe is replaced with the plastiv version and the air filter replaced with the economy version.

I don't have any setups to share as we are all running box stock setups. The fixed links keep everything equal for experts and newbies alike and it boils down to driver ability. Sort of like IROC style racing. The cars are easy to run and maintain and with the factory two speed they are still surprisingly fast. Great fun.

almtx3

Very true about the underdog comment Hellsgod! Thanks for chiming in! At the track they still havent got any serious classes yet. They are still trying to get more people involved. I usually just go on Saturdays which is practice so Im not really racing yet. There is word of an open class outlaw 1/10 scale they want to hold but there still is not enough people to get it going.

For now I bash around with the guys on practice and usually in the afternoons they organize a quick race. No points no pressure just fun!

almtx3

SteveM - The ever increasing costs of kits and engins was the biggest factor in me choosing the RS4. Having owned a high end car I know how expensive it can get. Add to that the fact that new kits and better engines are popping up more frequently and the pressure to stay on top of the game means having to buy better gear as better gear become available. Its like an ongoing cycle. Hey if you are serious about it and have the money Im not knocking it one bit, but for those that are on a budget and just wanna get out there and run a few hot laps there really isnt much. I think what your club did was great. Running the EVO's sounds like fun. Not too expensive and great entry level car. Driver ability is definately the key there!

SteveM

My Feedback: (1)

The high cost of running a competitive nitro car even on the local club level was the reason why I stuck with electrics all these years. That's all changed now with my club's decision to race the 3 Evo RTR kits in box stock trim. I've seen it all first had as my club has a loyal nitro group. Living in Canada doesn't help as prices here are always much higher that in the US.

My club's 'Spec Nitro' web pages are located at the following link. I am not in the picture as I was the one behind the camera.

http://users.xplornet.com/~jlagace/nitro/

almtx3

Thanks for chiming in Steve! Having a class like that is a great idea. Its a wonderful way to get everyone involved in racing without breaking the bank. Below is a link to the track I go to. The guys there work really hard and are constantly adjusting the track to the drivers needs. Everyone there is very helpful and serious about the sport. As I mentined before, I was a bit intimidated going out there with my HPI and being surrounded by hi-end serpents and Mugens. I must admit that everyone out there is extremely nice and accepting of my car. I am certainly the underdog but all the guys there have been really helpful. Since there is no class for my HPI I mainly run on practice days and the guys usually do small practice races that I try to get in on. Its a blast! No pics of me on the link below as well, I was not there on the day they took them.

http://www.myspace.com/rcspeedway