ASK Cubby, Version- Poetic Questions, Irresponsible Answers

“Dear Cubby,

With you being the biggest know-it-all in rc, I have a question. What is the proper way to take a corner with my truck? Like, what is the fastest way? Is there a right and a wrong way? I just want to go faster.

Thank You,

RadShot”

Cubby- Hey now “Mr Radshot”, hit us up with your snail mail for your free sticker pack.

And yes, of course there is a “right way” to take a corner in rc, here are the 3 very simple steps-

1. Enter corner wayyyyyyyy too hot.

2. Slam into the side of the guy in front of you to get slowed down. Just use him like you would a berm.

3. Pound the gas to exit corner. You don’t want to stick around for a retaliatory strike.

So there ya go, that’s the “fast” way to take a corner in rc.

Anyways… to get back to real life here, here are a few real tips for taking corners in rc-

1. The biggest mistake I see by noobs is going into corners too fast. Think “enter slow, exist fast” when you practice.

2. In nearly every circumstance in our sport/hobby, riding a tight apex is the going to be the fast line. The slower the corner, the tighter you need to ride the apex, the faster the corner, the farther from the apex you can go.

3. Another big mistake I see noobs making is sliding around too much. Sliding/drifting is not fast in rc, perfectly planted tires will result in the highest corner speed. If you are sliding half way around a corner you are losing time (unless you are drifting or racing dirt oval, but that’s another story). Tires ARE HUGE in every form of racing, and that also applies to rc. There are few other changes that can literally cut seconds off your lap times like tires can. Proper tires for the conditions simply allow you to carry more mph without loss of traction. Shock spring/piston/camber/etc adjustments can also help give you more traction to carry more speed in the corners.

4. Yet another mistake I see is noobs making all the time is poor line choice. By that I mean- in nearly every corner you’ll want to go in slightly wide, hit the apex tight, then come out of the corner wide, that is just a proper racing line in most forms of racing. Sure, there are some super tight corners that are faster taken by pivoting, but most corners will be taken faster by using a proper racing line.

5. I even see some of our staffers doing this one- they slam the steering wheel full left and full right. That creates a loss of traction and lower corner speeds. If you watch the uber pros you’ll notice that never slam the steering full left or right, they give a smooth input to the wheel, and don’t give it too much input either.

6. One more for the road- I see a lot of drivers getting on the gas too late. The first half of most corners you will be coasting (or braking, or slowing down via steering input or drag brake, long story), but at the apex you need to get on the gas. Not slam on the gas, but roll on the throttle. Any input you do too quickly can lead to loss of traction, so roll on the throttle at the apex (not 10 feet after it, or 2 feet after it).

Have fun, practice a lot, drive smart, and you’ll end up faster than your buddies.

“Thunder Tiger MT4 G3

Hey Cubby,

What is going on with Thunder Tiger? I see the Mt4 G3 has been shelved? A new MT4 G5 is taking its place. Looks like the general consensus is not receiving the new G5 too well and are wanting an updated G3. With what the fans have home brewed for hop ups, the MT4 G3 has been proven to be, in my opinion, king of the monster truck/truggy for bashing. If they do stop making MT4 G3’s my concern is parts availability. Seems like Tower Hobbies has stopped carrying parts. The only place you can really get anything, and its not a lot, is Ebay.

Please tell me you have an inside source and they are not allowing the MT4 G3 to go the way of the dinosaurs.

Thanks

Jonathan F.”

Cubby- Ya know Jon, a lot of people are wondering what’s up with Thunder Tiger. They went from relative obscurity here in the States to one of the kings of the local bash spot. So here is some info for ya…

For years Hobbico/GP/Tower carried Thunder Tiger, but they do not any longer. TT was picked up by HRP Distributing. A lot of local hobby shops are dealers for HRP, so they should be able to get you new product and parts. If your local dealer can’t get the parts for ya, try dropping HPR a line to see what’s up, I am wayyyy too lazy to do so myself.

Btw… the last I heard, which was probably a couple of months ago, the MT4 G3 is still a current and supported model from TT. So while they might be going through some distribution changes here in the states, the truck and its parts should be readily available again at some point.

Lastly… to see the current line-up of off-roaders from TT check out This Link. We have our fingers crossed as we are trying to get our hands on the new stuff here soon.

Yup, that’s it for this week ya bunch of piranhas. Get crazy and send me an email, Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com is my addy. Make the big time get a free sticker pack, be named “Letter of the Month” and we’ll even hook ya up with one of our uber t-shirts.

YOUR Cub Reporter