1998 Question of the Week:

"What tips do you have for other Team Associated Racers?"

Have a good attitude at all times, and keep the wheels lower than the body.

All of the hop-ups in the world won't do as much good as driving practice. If there is not a track near-by, build one; I am!

never get mad at your car or truck. This is for fun and is not a big deal. If things don't go your way, stop before you break your car and have to pay big bucks for replacement parts. I've seen guys take other cars out just because the other car is faster. Don't be like that and drive with a cool head.

I have been racing my DS for a while now, actually more on and of, and i had decided to reverse my transmission (turning it 180 degrees) to produce a mid motor terror, the car handle pretty well, i just wanted to let other ds owners know that doing this is possible, do some modifications are needed. what this means is that you will have a better center of gravity and you will be able to play around with other components of the car, as to where to position them on the chassis, whatever your preference would be so you can control its weight distribution, this might improve your lap times now that the car has a better balance the mid motor idea comes from some articles in radio contraction and i believe a mid motor car is a true racer .

i think one of the best tips is to keep your car or truck clean. After a nite of racing, i always clean my racer. I also inspect the racer to see if i have any damage, or missing parts. I find this to be very good practice for me, and i would suggest, if you don't already do this, that you start, i have found many loose and missing parts this way.

Cliff-kb9n

The only tip that is really important is PRACTICE! If you run your car with the stock set up, it is almost the best it can be. The only way to go faster is to drive better. When your a better driver, then the car might need some minor tweaking to shave your lap time. You can copy anyone's car set up, but if you spin out ,or hit a wall, the set up didn't help as much as one hour of practice during the week. JP

Drive, drive fast, drive often

HAVING DONE THIS FOR 14 YEARS, I WOULD SAY THAT ATTENTION TO BASICS, IE. CAMBER , CASTER .TOE-IN, TOE-OUT ETC. THESE ARE THE THINGS I SEWE MOST OFTEN THAT RACERS NEED TO PAY ATTENTION TO.

PRACTICE

Tip 1: The front aluminum chassis brace for the GT/DS/T2 lines up perfectly with the outer camber link holes in the RC10GT's rear shock tower If you run with the outer camber position place an extra aluminum brace across the shock tower before you screw in your ball ends. This little mod will make your rear shock tower virtually indestructible.

Tip 2: I installed an Inventive technologies CVEC pipe on my OSCV last week. The results were nothing short of absolutely amazing. My truck will sit at Idle without me touching the radio for over twenty minutes and I didn't notice any power loss at the top end just a much smoother and wider overall powerband.

always buy graphite or carbon fiber parts they are stronger and are lighter.

Hold your freakin line!!

Careful of your battery placement, because if you put it all the way forward your rc may have the tendency to nose dive and visa-versa.

listen to more experienced racers. don't hit your car into the wall because you're [angry]. and don't take it apart because you didn't win.

The only tip I can think of would be to buy the BEST r/c's on the market. If they don't buy the best they won't own an Associated. But I'm sure they already know that. I know it's not much of a tip but the Associated's are HOT right out of the box.

3 tips... 1) Check Your Attitude at the door/gate 2) faster is not always quicker 3) Get a good charger, most important piece of equipment!

Don't try to always have the fastest or best car because someone will always have a better car than you

Have Fun!!!

Time your laps when you practice. When you make a change to your setup, change one thing at a time and check if the change made you faster or slower. Sometimes a change seems to make your car faster but your lap times are slower. Only if you time yourself can you be sure. Also, check your lap times and MPH when you race and the other racers to see how you are doing.

For off-road drivers: Buy B2 or B3 if you have one of the older cars. Use fast (at least 0.1sec/60deg) steering servo, that helps a lot especially with a modified motor. Do not buy "cheap" radios, they're not reliable.

Do not join "The Roof Club". (drivers whose cars are often upside down belong to The Roof Club, in finnish "KattoKerho") :) Race only with Associated cars. Off-road is cooler than on-road, because the jumps and flying mud, height differences, etc...

Use forever associated products.

Keep your car clean so you don't feel that you have ruined it and have to spend frustrating hours cleaning it.

learn your car's handling, you don't need to go out and buy the newest car part that came out 1 hour ago to win, just be able to drive smooth with what you have, be consistent. You will probably finish better than someone that has a ballistic car, but can't drive it through a corner without traction rolling because of his brand new tires!

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