X3.5 Ready to go...

New car ready to take out and stretch its legs.

X2 update-new batteries

Its been a while since I updated, but I've been moving into a new house. I'm just about all setup with my new workshop.

My old Thunder Power 4s 3300 mah 25c batteries were getting old and I needed to replace them. I just got in three brand new Thunder Power 3200 mah 4s 40c batteries. I will be able to use these 3 packs on the X3 and X5.

I will be testing in the next couple weeks and I'll post my updates as soon as I get some data.

X5: new gears

Its been a while since I have updated the site, but I am still working hard on my cars. I have installed steel gears on the X5 to help reduce the chances that I will destroy a set of gears on my next run. I am also getting a new set of Thunder Power 12s 40c 3200 batteries for my next test session.

I am currently in the process of buying a new house. My wife and I should be moved in the next couple weeks and I should be able to test again.

I've also put together a new set of tires for the X2. These tires are based on a 1/8 scale on road tire and are much harder than the drag racing tire I have been using. I will test these new tires on the X2 next time I go out testing. Stay tuned!

Video: X2 hits 97 mph

I tested the X2 on November 30th and had some really good luck with the car. I limited the center shock travel so the motor plate wouldn't scrape the ground. I managed 97 mph on 8s. Everything went well except the very high winds we encountered that day. You will notice in the video that I was driving the X2 in the opposite direction that its usually run. The wind was either a cross wind or a head wind. I think the wind had something to do with the speeds that day.

I was doing a couple test passes when I did the 97 mph pass. Unfortunately the video equipment didn't catch the 97 mph run. Once the equipment was running, I did some more passes but could not get another 97 mph run. The next 4-5 passes were all at about 91-92 mph.

I am planning to test this weekend weather permitting. I am going to step up to 12s. I am also going to reduce the upsweep of the rear end of the body to reduce some downforce and drag. I am hoping for some triple digits. The layout of the car is similar to what I ran at Rockingham on 12s:

X2 testing - 89 mph

X2 ready to go with some extra lexan added to the front for more downforce.

Bottom of the front end. The X2 was getting so much extra front end downforce, it was scraping against the concrete during hard braking.

I had great success using this clear lexan body at the ISC event at Rockingham. I hit 86 mph running the X2 front wheel drive before I blew a tire. I figured that If I can get some more downforce on the front end I could reach higher speeds before the tires blow. I cut a piece of lexan to extend over the front of the car by about an inch and the sides about an inch. This increased the front area and therefore increased the downforce. I was happy with the results. I hit 89 mph and the car felt nice and stable. I need considerably more run up room for the front wheel drive X2 than I do for the 4wd drive X5 and X3. The only problems I ran into was the bottom of the front end scraping the ground and wearing away the screws used for the motor mounts. For the next outing, I'm going to modify the suspension so the motor mount plate will stay level to the ground and not scrape the ground. I'm shooting for 100mph for the next testing session.