cfigelski

TCS Race R/C Madness

Carissa Figelski on Apr 02, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged

This year's TCS event had a low turnout but was fun overall. I finally hit the track with my F104X1. I was pretty impressed that it handled well out of the box. I did thicken up the dampner tube with 20,000 diff lube and I feel I still could go thicker. I did take a pretty hard shot at the end of the straight and broke my lower pod plate. It was an easy fix and I was back on the road again. One thing I did find hard about the F1 compared to touring car was that I couldn't really see the front wing and wedged it into the board a good few times. I finished 2nd overall. Now on to NITRO racing outside!!! Woo Hoo!!

F104X1

Carissa Figelski on Mar 23, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged

The F104X1 is built. Just need to mount up some tires and cut out the body. Can't wait to run it! I know we are having a TCS event in a few weeks so I be able to at least try it out on the carpet. We are trying to get a spec class of F1 going for the summer. We want to set up at our track an asphalt track in the parking lot, nothing special. We have been tossing around ideas for the rules and have all come to an agreement to run locked 21.5T brushless motors, esc in blinky mode, and rubber tires. Hope fully this takes off and we can also run this class during the winter as well!

Snowbirds wrap up

Carissa Figelski on Feb 06, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged

Well another year has passed as well as another Snowbird nationals. I can say my performance in 1/12th scale was good, but my driving could have been better. I can tell that from mot have a high grip track to practice on was definitely a factor for me at this race. I defiantly learned some things and I have some ideas to go home with. The race is always a great race with great people! The race was run smooth and the track was killer. I'm already anticipating my next year's trip!

Now......what is next? Not sure, but I'll keep y'all posted!

Snowbirds

Carissa Figelski on Feb 05, 2012
Tagged in: Untagged

This weekend has definitely been not as good as I was hoping in touring car. I had signed up for "stock" 17.5 blinky class. This class had Jaco blue tires as the handout spec tire. My 417 had been handling great at home but had way to much traction here as the bite was high. I have ended up not doing so well and qualified in the E main. I am currently waiting on running my main because even though I didn't do well I think it is still important to run the main I qualified for.

On the other hand, my second class of "stock" 17.5 blinky 12th scale went really well. I qualified 16th and finished 2nd in the B main. I was reeling the leader in for the A main bump position, but I was my own worst enemy and hit a board and fell way back. There is always next year for this class and I will be sure to be ready to make the top nine!

Happy New Year

Carissa Figelski on Dec 31, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

Happy New Year to everyone near and far! I hope 2012 will be a great. I have some great races coming up this year. 2wd buggy is a growing class a my home track and we are putting in a new separate 1/10th off-road track. Things are looking great for this upcoming year for Tamiya!

Weekly Carpet Racing

Carissa Figelski on Dec 29, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

Since I've had a few weeks off from my dog training, I was happy to actually be able to participate in our Thursday night on-road series. From the past Sunday, I made a body change from a lightweight Protoform Mazda Speed 6 to a regular weight Protoform LTC. It was definitely the right change. It seemed to smooth out the car in the corners and not pivot so much on the front end. I was able to TQ and did my best run yet this season. I ping ponged off a few walls in the main and the car felt like it had a slight tweak. I have a little work to do for next week. I hope my 417 keeps getting better since big races are around the corner.

Carpet racing is on!

Carissa Figelski on Nov 30, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

I started off my carpet season running two touring car classes. As usual I always participate in the RCGT spec class since it's a class I brought into our track. It's definitely the biggest and most competitive class right now. Since it can be a durability challenge which it has been the last month, I run my 415 which holds up pretty well in its fourth season!

I have also been running my 417 in rubber tire open class. Open class meaning 17.5T boosted or 13.5T non-boosted. I've been having some trouble with rear traction, but I would rather not go to running 28s since if I do attend Snowbirds this year I won't be running as soft of a tire.

I hope to finish up my 12th scale and my F1 car this weekend so I can start running both classes! Four classes on a race day will make it exciting! At least I know my RCGT car is very little maintenance other than charging the battery. I also know the F1 will be very easy too!

F104X1 BUILD

Carissa Figelski on Nov 28, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

Well, I'm finally getting into the F1 class! I thought Snowbirds had an F1 class this year so I ordered one up! But after some research I believe they may not be offering the class this year, but this F104X1 won't go to waste.

I started to build it up yesterday and I can't believe how easy it goes together. I do recommend that you have your electronics ready while you are build this car since installing the electronics are thru several steps in the build process. I have if about 75% built, but I did not have any spare electronics with me at the track so I had to cut it short on the build.

This car is great for any level of racer looking to build a kit! Pics coming soon!!

Focusing on what to concentrate on this winter season.

Carissa Figelski on Sep 30, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

The winter season is coming up fast and I'm torn what to run for the indoor season. I love running touring and 1/12th pan, but the carpet off-road scene is drawing a ton of people. A lot of people are getting 2wd buggies and 4wd buggies. I may run a little off-road, but definitely I know for sure I'm going to run touring! I have not been to many big, big races this year again due to not having the adequate supervision for the pup. My husband is looking to travel to off-road races this season and it may be a good idea to go to carpet races for myself. This will at least have someone at home to take care of the four legged kid!

So for off-road possibilities, 2wd or 4wd? I'm not sure which way to go. Our 2wd buggy look awesome as well as some of the new versions of the 4wd buggy. I love seeing the buggy class coming back to racing! Reminds me of the good ol' days in racing!

Race of Champions RCM Enfield, CT

Carissa Figelski on Sep 21, 2011
Tagged in: Untagged

The weather has started to finally to co-operate with us for September. This past weekend we had the Race of Champions at RCM. The turnout was OK, but not as large as with some of our other trophy events. It was a two day race with three qualifiers on Saturday and three qualifiers on Sunday. The track had been changed up for this weekend so it took just one run for me to get used to the new layout. I had some motor tuning issues the first two qualifiers. I came to find out the I had a leak in my fuel tank on my 801XT right in the seam. This must have just happened with the last few weeks. I think I may have damaged the motor from the air leak, but I didn't have time this past Sunday to do further investigation. So I changed the tank and put in my old, old backup motor. This motor runs OK, but I don't get the great run times like with my newer motor. I used the third qualifier to tune in the engine. I ended up starting for the main in the sixth position. Off the start of the 20 minute main, I worked my way up to fourth. The two front runners crashed and I was up to second place. I went into the corner a little too hot and flipped over first place. As a good sportsman, I waited til the marshal flipped him back over and let him go. By this time, we were back to third and fourth place. First and second were running close and tangled up in the far left corner of the track giving me the opportunity to take over the lead position. I was able to retain the lead for the win!!

TRF Blog