Here are the dates for this season's Oval racing in Mt. Pleasant.

Oct. 13
Nov. 17
Dec. 08
Jan. 12
Feb. 09
Mar. 08
Apr. 12

Same as last year doors open at 10:00 , signup at 11:00 and racing at noon.
location:
West Intermediate School
440 S. Bradley
Mount Pleasant Mi.

Jon's Hobby/West Intermediate RC Racing Rules

General - All classes with "stock" in their name also allow the Street Spec 21-turn motor. This DOES NOT mean you can put a Spec armature in a stock can.

7.4V ("2S") LiPo batteries (where allowed by class rules) must either have a hard plastic case or be protected by the construction of the car. Anyone wanting to run a LiPo battery without a hard case must present the vehicle to the Race Director or his designated tech official (i.e. Me) for approval. The Race Director reserves the right to disallow use of a LiPo battery if the vehicle's construction does not adequately protect the battery.

Legend - Spec tires, spec 21-turn or ROAR 27-turn stock motor, and spec 4-cell battery. No brushless, no lipo. See attached Word document for complete Legends rules.

Stock truck - Rubber tires, spec 6-cell or 1500 stick battery, spec 21-turn motor or ROAR stock 27-turn motor. NO brushless motors, no lipo.

Super Stock truck - Foam tires, 13.5 motor, spec 21-turn or stock 27-turn motor, any 6-cell Nimh/NiCd battery. We will also allow an approved lipo.

Stock buggy - Same as Super Stock truck.

Spec Pan Car- Spec motor or Brushless EX 13.5 motor, spec 4 cell battery and spec tires, NASCAR body with spoiler only (no wing). Old style 13.5 can also be run. No sintered rotors or converted endbell/large bearing.

13.5 Pan Car - Brushless 13.5 or stock 27-turn brushed motor, 4-cell Nimh battery. NASCAR body, spoiler only (no wings).

4300/10.5 Pan Car - Brushless 10.5 (4300) motor, 4-cell Nimh battery.

1/18th Scale - 2 or 4 wheel drive. Brushed or brushless motors allowed. Battery can be either 6-cell NiCd/Nimh (2/3A size cells) or 7.4V (2-cell) LiPo.

Touring Car - Brushed 19T or brushless 10.5 turn motors, or stock/spec. Battery can be either 6-cell NiCd/Nimh or 7.4V ("2S") LiPo. No open-wheel style bodies.

Ha I got the 2nd post. C u guys on the 13th

haha i got my favorit number

Dates are on the calendar, me and the girls will be there!

See you all on the 13th, can not wait for another great season of racing at MP. Thanks to jon and all the people that help him put on the show, great job guys!

As if the debate on what classes to run wasn't enough, I'll stir the worms up some more...

Any thoughts on stock 6-cell class allowing Lipo? We're talking Nimh at 7.2V, Lipo at 7.4V. But take those IB4200 cells that are coming off the charger at 1.25+ volts now, that's a starting voltage of 7.5V. I know in 4-cell it isn't fair, but any thoughts on the 6-cell classes?

Just tossing it out there...if you're going to toss it back, keep it lightweight!

I tell you what.. after seeing not one, but two IB4200 packs go bang in Grand Rapids a few weeks ago... I'm not so sure that Lipo's aren't safer than these Nimh packs! I'd much rather have something catch on fire and burn down, than go off like a 12 gauge and turn into a freaking projectile!!!! It makes me think twice about charging packs in the near vicinity of my face!!

:) :p ;) :o :thumbsup: :wave:

People who have tested & raced with both LiPo and IB4200's have found that a fresh pack of 4200's is slightly faster. The problem with the IB4200's is that they don't stay matched and discharge themselves when they're just sitting around. And new packs are ALWAYS faster than ones a couple of months old. Even worse is that not all the cells in a pack self-disharge equally. I suspect what sometimes kills them is when someone charges a pack that doesn't have all cells equally discharged. 3 out of 4 of my 12th scale packs had one cell at zero volts after sitting (untouched) over the summer. Trickle charging the pack seems to have revived them, but it appears that the only way to race with these things is to discharge them on an individual-cell discharge tray JUST BEFORE you charge them to race. Then partially recharge them after the race. Personally, I'm not willing to put this much effort into baby-sitting these tempermental cells.

I've raced a 2 tracks this summer where most of the racers have switched to LiPo packs (myself included), and haven't seen any problems with LiPos from Orion or MaxAmps. (I suggest avoiding Apogee packs right now.) Most just have 1 LiPo pack and run it in all 4 races. I think we should allow them in any 6-cell class that doesn't have a battery limit (i.e. Stock Truck, the RLK class :tongue: ). In the long run, it costs a lot less to run LiPo, and less $ generally means more racers.

I've raced a 2 tracks this summer where most of the racers have switched to LiPo packs (myself included), and haven't seen any problems with LiPos from Orion or MaxAmps. (I suggest avoiding Apogee packs right now.) Most just have 1 LiPo pack and run it in all 4 races. I think we should allow them in any 6-cell class that doesn't have a battery limit (i.e. Stock Truck, the RLK class :tongue: ). In the long run, it costs a lot less to run LiPo, and less $ generally means more racers.

I'd like to try to Orion 3200mah in the buggies. Assuming I use just 1 pack per day per vehicle, I'm still looking at needing to buy at least 4 packs this year (I've got 3 kids I'm supporting now) and I might have another. That's 5 packs. I'll still run a 4-cell nimh in the pancar, because I want to stay in 13.5 stock class. But for 6-cell stock buggy, I'd love to switch to Lipo and have a battery that can do 3 runs a day easily and maybe last for multiple seasons. I just don't want to order until somebody gives me the offical "Okay"...

another brand new bought today and just recieved by the matcher in the last couple of weeks went today at the cellar. luckily they only vented real hard and didn't blow. like i said though they were fresh and it was there first charge.

Rob - Assuming that we (Jon actually) decides to allow them, you should look at one of these:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKAU0&P=7

It charges 4 packs independently, and is designed ONLY for LiPos, so you can't put it in the wrong mode. It has a maximum charge rate of 3 amps, which is perfectly OK for the Orion packs. I've been using it for my 18th scale packs.

That charger looks pretty neat.

Rob - Assuming that we (Jon actually) decides to allow them, you should look at one of these:

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKAU0&P=7

It charges 4 packs independently, and is designed ONLY for LiPos, so you can't put it in the wrong mode. It has a maximum charge rate of 3 amps, which is perfectly OK for the Orion packs. I've been using it for my 18th scale packs.

Wow, that is definitely a charger to look into. At first I thought it was timer-based (because of the mah dial) but the manual seems to indicate otherwise. That is about the same price I paid for just one of my 3 PitBulls X3s! To be able to handle 4 packs at once would be awesome.

Guess I'm going to have to stop at the shop and have a talk with Jon. I'm already going to spend this weekend seeing if any of my 9 GP3300 packs can do 2000mah still. I really don't want to even try waking up my IB4200s.

Like Kevin said, wake them up slow. I too found a few packs that only 1 cell had dropped to 0 volts.

My new rule of thumb is if I put a pack in the discharge tray, and any of the cells immediately go out... I trickle just that cell up for a bit, until it will stay on for a bit in the discharge tray. That way I know all the cells are at 0.9V when I start to charge them together.

alright guys don't jump all over me for this but i just talked to mel about what we might want to do about a class. all i'm asking is if we could get enough guys to run this every race day at mp. what mel and i talked about was a truck class with the 17.5 motor spec tires and batteries. nobody is saying this is going to happen just want to see if anyone else would be interested. if we could get enough for say two heats it would be great but i don't want to do anything that would add more time to the race day just a shifting of some drivers from one class to another. there is a possibilty that the 4300 class might not have enough people to run it every race day due to the brl series and alot of the drivers dropping down to 13.5. please don't yell at me just let me know your thoughts in a civil manner without any threats of violence. thanks al

Are you talking about a pancar chassis truck class? If so maybe. except for spec batteries. Spec batteries suck. As opposed to the IB4200's that BLOW! LOL!

Al - you also have PM on the way.

Are you talking about a pancar chassis truck class? If so maybe. except for spec batteries. Spec batteries suck. As opposed to the IB4200's that BLOW! LOL!

Al - you also have PM on the way.
yes a pancar chassis and as far as batts it seems like some of the new 4200's are having a problem right now i won't buy any myself right now. i kinda like my body parts in the position there at right now. maybe jon has an idea of another battery to use or somebody else could think of one.

Anything but spec batteries,maybe everybody run the same gear ratio?

Anything but spec batteries,maybe everybody run the same gear ratio?
tire size could make a big change on gear ratio and you would be trying to run the same size all the time which would put the tire bill alot higher which would be nice to avoid. trying to keep cost down.

We could go with the EP4200's. That is what I raced with all of last season.

ProMatch has 'em.

http://www.promatchracing.com/proddetail.php?prod=12204

Or LiPo or LiMag! :)

Trucks? Trucks? What? I like the idea. But i hate trucks (my opinion). I think We are looking to cut cost a little by what I am hearing. I propose this. Spec tires a must! I am not sure about the spec packs although they are cheap, I am not sure I could settle with going that slow and being my only class. I would run just one class if it went like this : Spec tires, 17.5 brushless motor, nascar body, no wing just spoiler, Lipo Batt.
I know some will have to do something about a charger. I don't have a clue about lipo's yet? How much are they and would I have to buy 1 or 2... From what i hear, I could by one orion LIPO and be good to go for awhile!? Seems cheap enough.
Mel you can use my charger (when I am done of course)

Ray

Trucks? Trucks? What? I like the idea. But i hate trucks (my opinion). I think We are looking to cut cost a little by what I am hearing. I propose this. Spec tires a must! I am not sure about the spec packs although they are cheap, I am not sure I could settle with going that slow and being my only class. I would run just one class if it went like this : Spec tires, 17.5 brushless motor, nascar body, no wing just spoiler, Lipo Batt.
I know some will have to do something about a charger. I don't have a clue about lipo's yet? How much are they and would I have to buy 1 or 2... From what i hear, I could by one orion LIPO and be good to go for awhile!? Seems cheap enough.
Mel you can use my charger (when I am done of course)

Ray
from what i'm reading about lipos they will turn the 17.5 into something faster than the 13.5 so i don't think that would work just defeat the purpose of going to the 17.5. also i'm only talking truck bodies not truck trucks. worse scenario for me i would buy a spec motor and batt and run spec i'm just looking at something different first. there are also some different batts. we could look at it doesn't have to be spec i'm just trying to stay away from the bombs that they are making now. it's like having a grenade with the pin pulled and not knowing when it was going to blow..........

Trucks? Trucks? What? I like the idea. But i hate trucks (my opinion). I think We are looking to cut cost a little by what I am hearing. I propose this. Spec tires a must! I am not sure about the spec packs although they are cheap, I am not sure I could settle with going that slow and being my only class. I would run just one class if it went like this : Spec tires, 17.5 brushless motor, nascar body, no wing just spoiler, Lipo Batt.
I know some will have to do something about a charger. I don't have a clue about lipo's yet? How much are they and would I have to buy 1 or 2... From what i hear, I could by one orion LIPO and be good to go for awhile!? Seems cheap enough.
Mel you can use my charger (when I am done of course)

Ray

I'm hoping that we could run the 17.5 w/lipo in with the 4300 class. From what I have seen of the results they are very comparable.

If were going to run Lipo batterys everyone would have to bring a cast iron pan with lid to charge them in. No puffed batterys would be allowed in the school. Lipo batterys burn real good. Do a google search for "lipo battery fire" and you will see. I'm afraid the guys that are blowing up 4200's will be the same guys that burn down a table and get us kicked out of the school. Lipo batterys are 7.4 volts for a 2 cell so they would only work in a 6 cell class.
They need a lipo charger and cell balancer. We could try them in touring car class or 17.5 pan car class but I don't think we are ready to turn kids loose with lipo batterys in stock truck or buggy, they are just to dangerous in the wrong hands. I know this is the future but I don't have the time to stop a kid in the pits for pluging a lipo pack into a 15 min timer charger. For saftey I want to take it slow with the Lipo batterys. How many guys have been using them and have the right charging equiptment? JB

Ok! Now what?

Let's race!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At this point, from what I have seen, I feel a lot more comfortable with the Lipo's than I do with the IB4200's. At least the Lipo's don't become projectiles even when they are charged wrong. I don't think its necessarily operator error either. Everyone I've talked to has said there has been a huge increase in failed cells on the IB4200's.

As far as using them and having the charging equipment, count me in. Any Duratrax ICE, or the new Team Checkpoint TC-1030 will charge Lipo fine. I know some of the guys have sent their CE GFX's in and had them updated to do Lipo too.

i give up maybe i'll just wait till next summer and run my 1/4 scale alot less trouble and i get alot more run time for my buck.

Spec tires , spec batts, spec motor, Nascar body until we figure something out. lets go racing with that al.

Ray

if it was really up tp me I would love to race with all the same guys in the 13.5 class with 4200 batts. Keep it the same as last year with some more company. All was good with me then. I am not opposed to running spec for awhile though. I will just make a spec car and a 13.5 car.

Ray

... I know this is the future but I don't have the time to stop a kid in the pits for pluging a lipo pack into a 15 min timer charger. For saftey I want to take it slow with the Lipo batterys. How many guys have been using them and have the right charging equiptment? JB
Jon - I doubt if very many RLK's will buy them. (For that matter, how many kids with 15min. chargers are running IB4200's?) Most of the people who want to use them are experienced racers. I haven't seen any problems during the summer at the 2 tracks where I raced, and at least half of the racers were running LiPo.

And on an editorial note:
STOP SELLING THOSE @#$%& TIMER CHARGERS!

:jest:
Note-The opinions expressed here do not necessarily represent those of HobbyTalk or the Internet in general.

Lipo batterys are 7.4 volts for a 2 cell so they would only work in a 6 cell class.
They need a lipo charger and cell balancer. We could try them in touring car class or 17.5 pan car class but I don't think we are ready to turn kids loose with lipo batterys in stock truck or buggy, they are just to dangerous in the wrong hands.

So if we're not a kid and have the proper charging/balancing equipment, can we use them in the stock buggy (or truck) class? I don't let my girls handle the charging - they are there to just have fun racing.

if it was really up tp me I would love to race with all the same guys in the 13.5 class with 4200 batts. Keep it the same as last year with some more company. All was good with me then. I am not opposed to running spec for awhile though. I will just make a spec car and a 13.5 car.

Ray

Well A-RAY!!
If we all lived in the same Gumdrop, lollipop, rainbows and unicorns world that you come from.... I would love that too! LOL!!

Just messin' with ya!!

I'm runnin a 13.5 and 4300 car.

LETS RACE!!!

Gumdrop, lollipop, rainbows and unicorns? wow, Is that anyway for our past champion to act? MEL do something about that!!!

Ray

Past champion?:confused:

I think you mean REIGNING champion.:woohoo:


Or maybe DEFENDING champion.:thumbsup:


And yes this is how I will act... for now!
In the event that things don't work out on the track, I should at least try to keep the track-smack going on here!

Mel's got my back.

So if we're not a kid and have the proper charging/balancing equipment, can we use them in the stock buggy (or truck) class? I don't let my girls handle the charging - they are there to just have fun racing.
I had the same thought myself. (Great minds think alike? Or maybe we're both just equally crazy.) Only allow them with adult supervision? If necessary I'll buy a fireproof box to charge them in, it'll still be cheaper than buying more expendable NiMh cells.

Scott What part of your back am I to cover? Looking at your back is like looking at a wall.

:-) hehehehe

A big round wall.
Butch

I'm not as round as I used to be.

I've lost a considerable amount of weight. I'll repost a current picture...

Please don't be dissappointed when you see me next. I have cut my hair and changed the color since this picture. Also, I don't wear the loin-cloth so much anymore. It's starting to get cold out ya know.

Batteries / motors / bodys mind OVER LOAD I just want to race
BOOM BANG FIRE if there is a chance they should not be in the school
how much do I spend to drive to race 12 min. in 8 hours
now lipo batt./ charger & 17.5 motor
come on guys I want to have FUN, I love MT. pleasant racing ( K.I.S.S.)

I think that loin cloth is usually called a diaper.
Butch

Man, only 14 days to go!

And after looking at Scott's picture, I'm not sure what he meant when he said "cut my hair". Were you talking about the hair on your head, or your legs? Ewww!

................... Only allow them with adult supervision? If necessary I'll buy a fireproof box to charge them in, it'll still be cheaper than buying more expendable NiMh cells.


Ditto....

I think we need to at least give lipos a chance. This is probably something that could be discussed at the first race on the 13th.

Batteries / motors / bodys mind OVER LOAD I just want to race
BOOM BANG FIRE if there is a chance they should not be in the school
how much do I spend to drive to race 12 min. in 8 hours
now lipo batt./ charger & 17.5 motor
come on guys I want to have FUN, I love MT. pleasant racing ( K.I.S.S.)
John - No one is saying you'd HAVE to buy new anything, just want to make it an option.
And for the record, you raced:
12 min. in October
24 min. in November
27 min. in January
12 min. in February
27 min. in March
39 min. in April
(BUSTED! :lol: Don't mess with the statistician.)

John - No one is saying you'd HAVE to buy new anything, just want to make it an option.
And for the record, you raced:
12 min. in October
24 min. in November
27 min. in January
12 min. in February
27 min. in March
39 min. in April
(BUSTED! :lol: Don't mess with the statistician.)
that may be but on a normal day for 1/4 scale we run that all added togetherplus our regular races. i'm tlaking just practices.

:hat: I wish that I could spell statustishun; statisstission; statisstishin; oh heck, Bean Counter!!!:confused: