ASK Cubby- Intelligent Questions, Questionable Answers

“Stock SCT Racing

I plan on racing the stock 2wd SCT class this summer. Stock class is all about the power so which 17.5 would you buy for an SC10 off-road?

Travis B.”

Cubby- Yo hey there Travis, thanks for taking the time to write in.

So, which 17.5 stock motor would I buy? None of them! They all blow. They just don’t have much wattage and are a horrible watt/dollar value.

Over the winter, myself, as well as several of our other BigSquidRC Bash Crew members, went out and did some racing. We did some oval, we did some carpet, we did some clay-doh indoor off-road, and yes, we learned a lot. We learned that most tracks have really gotten their acts together. All the facilities that we raced at were top notch, had no scoring issues, and they had what I considered to be great announcing. However, it was still rc racing. So while the venues have upped their game to help bring people in, the rules are archaic and run people off.

The 17.5 class is just ridiculous. I raced some stock this winter, as well as some mod, and stock is even worse than it used to be. Cheating is rampant, gearing a motor till the rotor glows, than dropping it one tooth is the norm, and that is lunacy. There are guys switching/tweaking/tuning their “stock” motors between rounds just to milk a couple more watts out of them, just to go out 5 minutes later and burn them up.

ROAR has never “gotten” brushless. Brushless means insane power without a lot of maintenance, ROAR turned brushless into the exact same thing they had with brushed, a game that no sane person is gonna wanna play for very long. I would totally skip the idiot stock class, bolt in a ridiculous (but legal!) Castle system, and go out on practice days when all the gnar-core won’t yell at you so much for getting in their way.

“Rubber Racing

My man Cubby, how you been? We haven’t talked for a couple months, but now I have a question for you. You know mostly what I do is speed runs, but I want to try my hand at racing off-road this summer. You already know my Kraton, do you think I can race it? What mods do you think I will HAVE to do?

Best Regards,

Phil G.”

Cubby- Hey big Phil, long time no email, but good to hear from ya again.

I think only you, Phil, would want to take a speed run ARRMA Kraton and go race 1/8 truggy with it the next weekend. LOL. While I really don’t want to think this hard, this is what I would do.

Your Kraton is heavily modded for speed runs, you are going to want to put the suspension and diffs mostly back to stock. Yes, keep some heavier diff oil in the center, but you certainly don’t want any of the diffs locked, or even near locked.

Next up is a big one, tires. Check the website, forum, or FB group from the track you plan on racing at, then look for tire recommendations. You will of course have to take off your speed run tires, and hopefully bolt on the hot tire for their off-road track. If you can’t find a tire recommendation, go with Pro-Line Blockades as they work well on a huge variety of different tracks. Buy at least 2 entire sets, you will need them for one race day.

Once you have your tires, it is time to change your gearing. You are probably geared for 100 mph+ right now, you will need to knock that down to around 40 for a large outdoor track.

Lastly, some tracks will have transponders, some do not. Check to see if your local track has extras, or if you need to supply your own. If you need to buy a transponder, expect to pay close to $100.

After that, go out and focus on ONE thing, having FUN while you race! Oh and, report back, I am dying to hear how you do with a “speed run” Kraton in the local 1/8 electric class. With some suspension/diff/tire tweaks, the Kraton is more than capable of winning at your local track, the question is, are you?

Have a question? Need an answer? Have a rant that you just have to get off your chest? Why not shoot me an email? thecubreportrc at gmail dot com is my addy and is open 24/7 for your email enjoyment.

YOUR Cub Reporter